Patent Description:
When a subscriber's service is moving from a first mobile domain to a second mobile domain (e.g., a <NUM> mobile domain or network to a <NUM> mobile domain or network), a unified data management (UDM) is tasked to register the subscriber with the <NUM> mobile domain and de-registering the subscriber from the <NUM> mobile domain. However, existing process of de-registering may be incomplete where UDM's de-registration request to an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) is not responded or includes an error message. As a result, instead of disconnecting the subscriber from the first mobile domain completely, the UDM not only maintains the first mobile domain for the subscriber, but also create the registration on the second mobile domain. While this prevents unnecessary disconnections, this configuration creates unnecessary and wasteful signaling between first and second mobile domains.

<NPL> discloses a UDM initiated network function deregistration service operation.

Aspects of the invention attempt to address the shortcomings of the prior approaches.

Aspects of the technology seek to resolve existing practices' shortcomings by utilizing a "purge flag. " The UDM, in one example, if it fails to receive a response or it receives a response indicating an error, may set the purge flag to be TRUE or remove all AMF related information. Once completed, the UDM may proceed to register the subscriber with the second mobile domain.

Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention is provided by the appended independent claims, with the dependent claims reciting optional features.

Reference is also made in the following to other embodiments corresponding to examples deemed useful to understand the invention, even if they do not fall within the scope of the claims. A described aspect provides a system comprising: a processor configured for executing computer-executable instructions for deregistering a user equipment (UE) during a transition between a first mobile domain and a second mobile domain; a data store paired with the processor being configured for storing UE data, the UE data comprising at least one of the following: customer profile information, customer authentication information, and encryption keys for the information; a connection controller being configured for managing all connection and session related information of the UE; upon detecting the UE is transitioned from the first mobile domain to the second mobile domain, the processor is configured to send a data packet to the connection controller to deregister the UE; and absent a confirmation message from the connection controller, the processor is configured to deregister the UE.

The connection controller may comprise a server for an access and mobility management function (AMF).

The confirmation message may comprise a message having a purge flag being false.

The processor may be configured to remove the connection and session related information of the UE at the connection controller.

The connection and session related information may comprise connection and session activities of the UE.

Another described aspect provides a system comprising: a processor configured for executing computer-executable instructions for deregistering a user equipment (UE) during a transition between a first mobile domain and a second mobile domain; a data store paired with the processor being configured for storing UE data, the UE data comprising at least one of the following: customer profile information, customer authentication information, and encryption keys for the information; a connection controller being configured for managing all connection and session related information of the UE; upon detecting the UE is transitioned from the first mobile domain to the second mobile domain, the processor is configured to send a data packet to the connection controller to deregister the UE; wherein the processor is configured to identify an indicia from the connection controller; and in response to the identifying, the processor is configured to deregister the UE.

The indicia may comprise an error message.

The error message may comprise a code according to client status error codes or server status error codes classified by hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) response status codes.

The indicia may comprise an indication of a lack of response after a response timed-out.

The processor may be further configured to set a purge flag to true or to remove the connection and session related information from the UE at the connection controller.

The first mobile domain may comprise one or more of the following: a first mobile communication network and a first WI-FI network.

The first mobile domain may comprise one or more of the following: a second mobile communication network and a second WI-FI network.

Another described aspect provides a computer-implemented method for deregistering a user equipment (UE) comprising: identifying the UE as registered with a first mobile domain; monitoring the UE as the UE transitions from the first mobile domain and a second mobile domain, wherein the first mobile domain is different from the second mobile domain; storing UE data associated with the UE, wherein the UE data comprises at least one of the following: customer profile information, customer authentication information, and encryption keys for the information; managing, by a connection controller, all connection and session related information of the UE; upon detecting the UE is transitioned from the first mobile domain to the second mobile domain, transmitting a data packet to the connection controller to deregister the UE; identifying an indicia from the connection controller; and in response to the identifying the indicia, deregistering the UE.

The computer-implemented method may further comprise setting a purge flag to true or to remove the connection and session related information from the UE at the connection controller.

Another described aspect provides a computer-implemented method for deregistering a user equipment (UE) comprising: identifying the UE as registered with a first mobile domain; monitoring the UE as the UE transitions from the first mobile domain and a second mobile domain, wherein the first mobile domain is different from the second mobile domain; storing UE data associated with the UE, wherein the UE data comprises at least one of the following: customer profile information, customer authentication information, and encryption keys for the information; managing, by a connection controller, all connection and session related information of the UE; upon detecting the UE is transitioned from the first mobile domain to the second mobile domain, transmitting a data packet to the connection controller to deregister the UE; and absent a confirmation message from the connection controller, deregistering the UE.

Persons of ordinary skill in the art may appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity so not all connections and options have been shown. For example, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment may often not be depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present disclosure. It may be further appreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art may understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. It may also be understood that the terms and expressions used herein may be defined with respect to their corresponding respective areas of inquiry and study except where specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.

In order that the present disclosure may be more readily understood, preferable embodiments thereof will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:.

Embodiments may now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and which show, by way of illustration, specific exemplary embodiments which may be practiced. These illustrations and exemplary embodiments may be presented with the understanding that the present disclosure is an exemplification of the principles of one or more embodiments and may not be intended to limit any one of the embodiments illustrated. Embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure may be thorough and complete, and may fully convey the scope of embodiments to those skilled in the art. Among other things, the present invention may be embodied as methods, systems, computer readable media, apparatuses, or devices. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. The following detailed description may, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.

To further illustrate aspects of the invention, <FIG> is a diagram illustrating an overview of a system <NUM> for de-registration of a user device (UE) according to one embodiment. For example, in a very brief overview, the system <NUM> may be a 5th Generation (<NUM>) (or New Radio (NR)) network of the 3GPP Wireless Communication Standard, and/or may include elements of a <NUM> network in a standalone infrastructure. For example, a user equipment (UE) <NUM> may start or initiate a given session with a data packet or message <NUM> to be sent to an access and mobility management function (AMF) <NUM> via path <NUM>. In one embodiment, a new base station (gNB or gNodeB) <NUM> may also initiate a request to the AMF <NUM> to begin the session.

In one example, the UE <NUM> may be a mobile device <NUM>, which is further illustrated in <FIG>. In one embodiment, the UE <NUM> may be a smartphone, a tablet, a smartwatch, etc. In another embodiment, the AMF <NUM> may receive these requests and handles anything to do with connection or mobility management. In one embodiment, the AMF <NUM> may not process session management types of messages. Rather, the AMF <NUM> may forward these messages to a session management function (SMF) <NUM> via path <NUM>. In one embodiment, a network repository function (NRF) <NUM> may assist the AMF <NUM> regarding what kind of messages are forwarded. For example, the AMF <NUM> may at <NUM> determine which message may be best suited to handle the connection request by querying the NRF <NUM>. The functional connection between the NRF <NUM> and the SMF <NUM> may be triggered so that the message may be forwarded.

For example, the NRF <NUM> may be configured to perform the functions of network functions (NF) that may provide service registration and discovery, enabling NFs to identify appropriate services in one another in the <NUM> infrastructure. In one example, messages received over the path <NUM> may represent a trigger to add, modify or delete a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session across a user plane. The SMF <NUM> may send messages to a user plane function (UPF) <NUM> over a path <NUM> reference interface using a Packet Forwarding Control Protocol (PFCP).

To further focus on aspects of the invention, the SMF <NUM>, during a session establishment or modification, may also interact with a Policy Control Function (PCF) <NUM> over an interface and a subscriber profile information stored within a Unified Data Management (UDM) <NUM> function via path <NUM>, which may include a role previously performed by a hardware device, such as a home subscriber server (HSS) under the previous <NUM> infrastructure. In one embodiment, the UDM <NUM> may store data in or retrieve data from a Unified Data Repository (UDR) <NUM>. In one example, the UDR <NUM> may store customer profile information, customer authentication information, and encryption keys for the information. In another embodiment, the UDR <NUM> may include connection and session related information of or from the UE <NUM>. Employing a service base interface (SBI) message bus <NUM>, the PCF <NUM> may provide the foundation of a policy framework which, along with the more typical QoS and charging rules, includes Network Slice selection, which is regulated by a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) <NUM>.

Still referring to <FIG>, the system <NUM> may further include an authentication server function (AUSF) <NUM>, a network exposure function (NEF) <NUM>, an application function (AF) <NUM>, and a data network <NUM>. As previously discussed, the <NUM> standalone infrastructure may fully exploit the service-based architecture (e.g., software based functions <NUM>) so that these functions are performed via software implementations.

With <FIG>'s approach, aspects of the invention further enhance the capabilities of the UDM <NUM>. In one example, as discussed, when the UE <NUM> is switching from one network (e.g., <NUM>) <NUM> to another network (e.g., <NUM>) <NUM>, the UDM <NUM> may need to handle the communications between the networks so that the packets from the UE <NUM> between the networks may be transferred seamlessly. It is also understood that the network switching may occur from a variety of networks. For example, it may be between mobile communication networks (e.g., <NUM> to or from <NUM>). In another example, the switching may be from a WI-FI network to a mobile network or vice versa. In another embodiment, the switching may be going from one network provider to another provider. Therefore, it is to be understood that capabilities of aspects of the invention may not be limited by the types of the networks.

However, there are situations where the transfers may not occur smoothly so that a tremendous amount of overhead (e.g., hardware or network traffic overhead) or unnecessary network signaling or traffic may occur.

In one embodiment, <FIG> illustrates a first scenario. <FIG> illustrates a first example of an error where data packets are moving from a network <NUM> to a network <NUM> in response to a UE <NUM>'s movement or request. In another embodiment, the switching may be in response to a network control as well, such as due to network traffic loads or other reasons. In such an example, the AMF <NUM> may register the UE <NUM> or the UE <NUM> may be registered on the network <NUM> (e.g., <NUM>). As such, the AMF <NUM> may set a "De/Reg Call Back URI" as present or active.

In moving from the network <NUM> to the network <NUM>, the UDM or UECM of the network <NUM> may send a deregistration <NUM> to the AMF <NUM> for any of the deregistration reasons. In one embodiment, there may be the following reasons:.

It is to be understood that other reasons may be created or indicated without departing from the scope of aspects of the invention.

In another embodiment, the deregistration <NUM> may be sent to the AMF <NUM> of another network. For example, the first network <NUM> may belong to a first mobile carrier while the second network <NUM> may belong to a second mobile carrier. Therefore, to ensure the registration and/or deregistration is accomplished, the deregistration <NUM> may be needed.

In response to the information sent from the UDM or UECM, the AMF <NUM> may return an HTTP2 <NUM> message <NUM>, unfortunately.

In a second scenario, <FIG> illustrates a second example of an error where data packets are moving from a network <NUM> to a network <NUM> in response to a UE <NUM>'s movement or request. In another embodiment, the switching may be in response to a network control as well, such as due to network traffic loads or other reasons. In such an example, the AMF <NUM> may register the UE <NUM> or the UE <NUM> may be registered on the network <NUM> (e.g., <NUM>). As such, the AMF <NUM> may set a "De/Reg Call Back URI" as present or active.

In moving from the network <NUM> to the network <NUM>, the UDM or UECM of the network <NUM> may send a deregistration <NUM> to the AMF <NUM> for any of the deregistration reasons. In one embodiment, the deregistration may be communicated for the reasons above. It is to be understood that other reasons may be created or indicated without departing from the scope of aspects of the invention.

In a third scenario, <FIG> illustrates a third example of an error where data packets are moving from a network <NUM> to a network <NUM> in response to a UE <NUM>'s movement or request. In another embodiment, the switching may be in response to a network control as well, such as due to network traffic loads or other reasons. In such an example, the AMF <NUM> may register the UE <NUM> or the UE <NUM> may be registered on the network <NUM> (e.g., <NUM>). As such, the AMF <NUM> may set a "De/Reg Call Back URI" as present or active.

In moving from the network <NUM> to the network <NUM>, the UDM or UECM of the network <NUM> may send a deregistration <NUM> to the AMF <NUM> for any of the deregistration reasons. In one embodiment, the deregistration may be communicated for the reasons mentioned previously. It is to be understood that other reasons may be created or indicated without departing from the scope of aspects of the invention.

In a fourth scenario, <FIG> illustrates a fourth example of an error where data packets are moving from a network <NUM> to a network <NUM> in response to a UE <NUM>'s movement or request. In another embodiment, the switching may be in response to a network control as well, such as due to network traffic loads or other reasons. In such an example, the AMF <NUM> may register the UE <NUM> or the UE <NUM> may be registered on the network <NUM> (e.g., <NUM>). As such, the AMF <NUM> may set a "De/Reg Call Back URI" as present or active.

In moving from the network <NUM> to the network <NUM>, the UDM or UECM of the network <NUM> may send a deregistration <NUM> to the AMF <NUM> for any of the deregistration reasons mentioned previously. It is to be understood that other reasons may be created or indicated without departing from the scope of aspects of the invention.

In a fifth scenario, <FIG> illustrates a fifth example of an error where data packets are moving from a network <NUM> to a network <NUM> in response to a UE <NUM>'s movement or request. In another embodiment, the switching may be in response to a network control as well, such as due to network traffic loads or other reasons. In such an example, the AMF <NUM> may register the UE <NUM> or the UE <NUM> may be registered on the network <NUM> (e.g., <NUM>). As such, the AMF <NUM> may set a "De/Reg Call Back URI" as present or active.

In response to the information sent from the UDM or UECM, the AMF <NUM> may return an HTTP2 "UNEXPECTED ERROR" message <NUM>, unfortunately, which may include other error codes. For example, other error codes may include other client error codes <NUM> to <NUM> and other server error codes <NUM> to <NUM>.

In a sixth scenario, <FIG> illustrates a sixth example of an error where data packets are moving from a network <NUM> to a network <NUM> in response to a UE <NUM>'s movement or request. In another embodiment, the switching may be in response to a network control as well, such as due to network traffic loads or other reasons. In such an example, the AMF <NUM> may register the UE <NUM> or the UE <NUM> may be registered on the network <NUM> (e.g., <NUM>). As such, the AMF <NUM> may set a "De/Reg Call Back URI" as present or active.

In moving from the network <NUM> to the network <NUM>, the UDM or UECM of the network <NUM> may send a deregistration <NUM> to the AMF <NUM> for any of the deregistration reasons as mentioned previously. It is to be understood that other reasons may be created or indicated without departing from the scope of aspects of the invention.

In response to the information sent from the UDM or UECM, the AMF <NUM> may fail to send any error message (which is illustrated as dashed lines) unfortunately.

In other words, with these six scenarios, these error messages or the lack thereof may place the UDM in a difficult state. Because of the error messages or the lack thereof, UDM <NUM> is unsure whether AMF <NUM> has successfully taken over the handling of the data packets. As a result, the UDM <NUM> may need to maintain the subscriber data in the UDR in both networks <NUM> and <NUM>. This prior approach results in unnecessary overhead and signaling in the networks.

Aspects of the invention attempt to overcome such shortcomings. <FIG> illustrates a diagram showing a solution to errors according to some embodiments. Referring to <FIG>, the UDM or UECM <NUM> may send a message <NUM> to the AMF <NUM> by setting a purge flag as "true" for the UE <NUM> on the UDR. In another embodiment, the UDM <NUM> may further delete the AMF registration information on the UDR for the UE <NUM>.

In another embodiment, the purge flag may initially be set as false in messages <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM>. In other words, the purge flag may be unset while other error messages or error codes are set by the AMF <NUM>.

<FIG> is a flow chart showing a method illustrating deregistration a user equipment (UE) during a transition between a first mobile domain and a second mobile domain according to some embodiments. At block <NUM>, data may be stored for user equipment (UE). In one embodiment, the UE data may include at least one of the following: customer profile information, customer authentication information, and encryption keys for the information.

At block <NUM>, all connection and session related information from the UE may be managed. For example, the connection and session related information may include at least one of the following: connection network, connection time, connection protocol(s), session time, session duration, session protocol(s), etc. As such, a connection controller (e.g., an AMF) may manage the connection and session related information such as storing the information, analyzing the information, updating the information, or the like. In addition, the connection controller may, based on the information, provide or trigger a response. For example, the connection controller may review or monitor the connection information and may trigger a reaction in response to a condition.

For example, upon detecting the UE is transitioned from a first mobile domain to a second mobile domain, a data packet may be communicated to a connection controller to deregister the UE at block <NUM>.

At block <NUM>, an indicia from the connection controller may be identified. For example, the indicia may include a receipt of an error message from the connection controller. In another embodiment, the indicia may include an expiration of a timer.

At block <NUM>, in response to the identifying in block <NUM>, the UE may be deregistered. In another embodiment, the method may further set a purge flag to true or to remove the connection and session related information from the UE at the connection controller.

<FIG> may be a high level illustration of a portable computing device <NUM> communicating with a remote computing device <NUM> in <FIG> but the application may be stored and accessed in a variety of ways. In addition, the application may be obtained in a variety of ways such as from an app store, from a web site, from a store Wi-Fi system, etc. There may be various versions of the application to take advantage of the benefits of different computing devices, different languages and different API platforms.

In one embodiment, a portable computing device <NUM> may be a mobile device <NUM> that operates using a portable power source <NUM> such as a battery. The portable computing device <NUM> may also have a display <NUM> which may or may not be a touch sensitive display. More specifically, the display <NUM> may have a capacitance sensor, for example, that may be used to provide input data to the portable computing device <NUM>. In other embodiments, an input pad <NUM> such as arrows, scroll wheels, keyboards, etc., may be used to provide inputs to the portable computing device <NUM>. In addition, the portable computing device <NUM> may have a microphone <NUM> which may accept and store verbal data, a camera <NUM> to accept images and a speaker <NUM> to communicate sounds.

The portable computing device <NUM> may be able to communicate with a computing device <NUM> or a plurality of computing devices <NUM> that make up a cloud of computing devices <NUM>. The portable computing device <NUM> may be able to communicate in a variety of ways. In some embodiments, the communication may be wired such as through an Ethernet cable, a USB cable or RJ6 cable. In other embodiments, the communication may be wireless such as through Wi-Fi® (<NUM> standard), BLUETOOTH, cellular communication or near field communication devices. The communication may be direct to the computing device <NUM> or may be through a communication network such as cellular service, through the Internet, through a private network, through BLUETOOTH, etc., via a network or communication module <NUM>.

<FIG> may be a sample portable computing device <NUM> that may be physically configured according to be part of the system. The portable computing device <NUM> may have a processor <NUM> that may be physically configured according to computer executable instructions. It may have a portable power supply <NUM> such as a battery which may be rechargeable. It may also have a sound and video module <NUM> which assists in displaying video and sound and may turn off when not in use to conserve power and battery life. The portable computing device <NUM> may also have non-volatile memory <NUM> and volatile memory <NUM>. The network or communication module <NUM> may have GPS, BLUETOOTH, NFC, cellular or other communication capabilities. In one embodiment, some or all of the network or communication capabilities may be separate circuits or may be part of the processor <NUM>. There also may be an input/output bus <NUM> that shuttles data to and from the various user input devices such as the microphone <NUM>, the camera <NUM> and other inputs, such as the input pad <NUM>, the display <NUM>, and the speakers <NUM>, etc. It also may control communicating with the networks, either through wireless or wired devices. Of course, this is just one embodiment of the portable computing device <NUM> and the number and types of portable computing devices <NUM> is limited only by the imagination.

The physical elements that make up the remote computing device <NUM> may be further illustrated in <FIG>. At a high level, the computing device <NUM> may include a digital storage such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, flash storage, non-volatile storage, etc. Structured data may be stored in the digital storage such as in a database. The server <NUM> may have a processor <NUM> that is physically configured according to computer executable instructions. It may also have a sound and video module <NUM> which assists in displaying video and sound and may turn off when not in use to conserve power and battery life. The server <NUM> may also have volatile memory <NUM> and non-volatile memory <NUM>.

The database <NUM> may be stored in the memory <NUM> or <NUM> or may be separate. The database <NUM> may also be part of a cloud of computing device <NUM> and may be stored in a distributed manner across a plurality of computing devices <NUM>. There also may be an input/output bus <NUM> that shuttles data to and from the various user input devices such as the microphone <NUM>, the camera <NUM>, the inputs such as the input pad <NUM>, the display <NUM>, and the speakers <NUM>, etc. The input/output bus <NUM> may also connect to similar devices of the microphone <NUM>, the camera <NUM>, the inputs such as the input pad <NUM>, the display <NUM>, and the speakers <NUM>, or other peripheral devices, etc. The input/output bus <NUM> also may interface with a network or communication module <NUM> to control communicating with other devices or computer networks, either through wireless or wired devices. In some embodiments, the application may be on the local computing device <NUM> and in other embodiments, the application may be remote <NUM>. Of course, this is just one embodiment of the server <NUM> and the number and types of portable computing devices <NUM> is limited only by the imagination.

The user devices, computers and servers described herein (e.g., <NUM> or <NUM>) may be computers that may have, among other elements, a microprocessor (such as from the Intel® Corporation, AMD®, ARM®, Qualcomm®, or MediaTek®); volatile and non- volatile memory; one or more mass storage devices (e.g., a hard drive); various user input devices, such as a mouse, a keyboard, or a microphone; and a video display system. The user devices, computers and servers described herein may be running on any one of many operating systems including, but not limited to WINDOWS®, UNIX®, LINUX®, MAC® OS®, iOS®, or Android®. It is contemplated, however, that any suitable operating system may be used for the present invention. The servers may be a cluster of web servers, which may each be LINUX® based and supported by a load balancer that decides which of the cluster of web servers should process a request based upon the current request-load of the available server(s).

The user devices, computers and servers described herein may communicate via networks, including the Internet, wide area network (WAN), local area network (LAN), Wi-Fi®, other computer networks (now known or invented in the future), and/or any combination of the foregoing. It should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art having the present specification, drawings, and claims before them that networks may connect the various components over any combination of wired and wireless conduits, including copper, fiber optic, microwaves, and other forms of radio frequency, electrical and/or optical communication techniques. It should also be understood that any network may be connected to any other network in a different manner. The interconnections between computers and servers in system are examples. Any device described herein may communicate with any other device via one or more networks.

The example embodiments may include additional devices and networks beyond those shown. Further, the functionality described as being performed by one device may be distributed and performed by two or more devices. Multiple devices may also be combined into a single device, which may perform the functionality of the combined devices.

The various participants and elements described herein may operate one or more computer apparatuses to facilitate the functions described herein. Any of the elements in the above-described Figures, including any servers, user devices, or databases, may use any suitable number of subsystems to facilitate the functions described herein.

Any of the software components or functions described in this application, may be implemented as software code or computer readable instructions that may be executed by at least one processor using any suitable computer language such as, for example, Java, C++, or Perl using, for example, conventional or object-oriented techniques.

The software code may be stored as a series of instructions or commands on a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a magnetic medium such as a hard-drive or a floppy disk, or an optical medium such as a CD-ROM. Any such computer readable medium may reside on or within a single computational apparatus and may be present on or within different computational apparatuses within a system or network.

It may be understood that the present invention as described above may be implemented in the form of control logic using computer software in a modular or integrated manner. Based on the disclosure and teachings provided herein, a person of ordinary skill in the art may know and appreciate other ways and/or methods to implement the present invention using hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

The above description is illustrative and is not restrictive. Many variations of embodiments may become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the disclosure. The scope embodiments should, therefore, be determined not with reference to the above description, but instead should be determined with reference to the pending claims along with their full scope.

One or more features from any embodiment may be combined with one or more features of any other embodiment without departing from the scope embodiments. A recitation of "a", "an" or "the" is intended to mean "one or more" unless specifically indicated to the contrary. Recitation of "and/or" is intended to represent the most inclusive sense of the term unless specifically indicated to the contrary.

One or more of the elements of the present system may be claimed as means for accomplishing a particular function. Where such means-plus-function elements are used to describe certain elements of a claimed system it may be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art having the present specification, figures and claims before them, that the corresponding structure includes a computer, processor, or microprocessor (as the case may be) programmed to perform the particularly recited function using functionality found in a computer after special programming and/or by implementing one or more algorithms to achieve the recited functionality as recited in the claims or steps described above. As would be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that algorithm may be expressed within this disclosure as a mathematical formula, a flow chart, a narrative, and/or in any other manner that provides sufficient structure for those of ordinary skill in the art to implement the recited process and its equivalents.

While the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms, the drawings and discussion are presented with the understanding that the present disclosure is an exemplification of the principles of one or more inventions and is not intended to limit any one embodiments to the embodiments illustrated.

The present disclosure provides a solution to the long-felt need described above. In particular, aspects of the invention remove the uncertainty of signal transitions. Upon detecting the UE is transitioned from a first mobile domain to a second mobile domain, a data packet is sent to the connection controller to deregister the UE; and absent a confirmation message from the connection controller, the UE is deregistered from the first domain.

Further advantages and modifications of the above described system and method may readily occur to those skilled in the art.

The disclosure, in its broader aspects, is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative system and methods, and illustrative examples shown and described above. Various modifications and variations may be made to the above specification without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, and it is intended that the present disclosure covers all such modifications and variations provided they come within the scope of the following claims.

The invention may also broadly consist in the parts, elements, steps, examples and/or features referred to or indicated in the specification individually or collectively in any and all combinations of two or more said parts, elements, steps, examples and/or features. In particular, one or more features in any of the embodiments described herein may be combined with one or more features from any other embodiment(s) described herein.

Protection may be sought for any features disclosed in any one or more published documents referenced herein in combination with the present disclosure.

Claim 1:
A system comprising:
a processor (<NUM>) configured for executing computer-executable instructions for deregistering a user equipment, UE, (<NUM>) during a transition between a first mobile domain and a second mobile domain, wherein the processor is comprised in a Unified Data Management, UDM (<NUM>);
a data store (<NUM>) paired with the processor (<NUM>) being configured for storing UE data, the UE data comprising at least one of the following: customer profile information, customer authentication information, and encryption keys for the information; and
a connection controller (<NUM>) being configured for managing all connection and session related information of the UE (<NUM>) wherein the connection controller (<NUM>) comprises a server for an access and mobility management function, AMF (<NUM>), wherein
upon detecting, by the processor (<NUM>), the UE (<NUM>) is transitioned from the first mobile domain to the second mobile domain, the processor (<NUM>) is configured to send a data packet to the connection controller (<NUM>) to deregister the UE (<NUM>), and wherein:
absent a confirmation message from the connection controller (<NUM>), the processor (<NUM>) is configured to deregister the UE (<NUM>) by setting, by the processor (<NUM>), a purge flag as "true" for the UE (<NUM>) on the data store (<NUM>), or by deleting, by the processor (<NUM>), AMF registration information on the data store (<NUM>) for the UE (<NUM>).