Patent Description:
The present disclosure relates to a field of mobile communication, in particular to a method and system for realizing a service-based Mobile Originated Short Message Service.

In the fifth-generation mobile communication system (the Fifth Generation,<NUM>), Mobile Originated Short Message Service (MO SMS) over Network Access Server (NAS) service refers to a NAS short message service initiated by a user equipment (abbreviated as UE) and received by a Service Center (abbreviated as SC) of short message, which contains short message submission (SMS SUBMIT), short message command (SMS COMMAND), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) message transmission and the like.

<NPL>" discloses the procedure for SBI-based SMMO message transfer, which includes MO SMS Message Transfer Service provided by SMS-IWMSC and SMSF retrieves MO SMS Message Transfer Service from NRF.

Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent by the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In order to more explicitly explain the embodiments of the present disclosure or the technical solutions in the prior art, the accompanying drawings required to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. It is apparent that the accompanying drawings illustrated below are merely some of the embodiments of the present disclosure. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other accompanying drawings may also be obtained according to these accompanying drawings on the premise that no inventive effort is involved.

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be explicitly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Apparently, the embodiments described are merely a part of, rather than all of the embodiments of the present disclosure. The following descriptions of at least one exemplary embodiment which are in fact merely illustrative, shall by no means serve as any limitation on the present disclosure as well as its application or use. On the basis of the embodiments in the present disclosure, all the other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art on the premise that no inventive effort is involved shall fall into the protection scope of the present disclosure.

Unless otherwise specified, the relative arrangements, numerical expressions and numerical values of the components and steps expounded in these embodiments shall not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

At the same time, it should be understood that for ease of description, the dimensions of various parts shown in the accompanying drawings are not drawn according to actual proportional relations.

The techniques, methods, and apparatuses known to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art might not be discussed in detail. However, the techniques, methods, and apparatuses shall be considered as a part of the granted description in appropriate situations.

Among all the examples shown and discussed here, any specific value shall be construed as being merely exemplary, rather than as being restrictive. Thus, other examples of the exemplary embodiments may have different values.

It should be noted that: similar numerals and letters present similar items in the following accompanying drawings, and therefore, once an item is defined in one accompanying drawing, it is unnecessary to make further discussion on it in a subsequent accompanying drawing.

The inventors have found through studies that, in current SMS over NAS architecture, a Short Message Service Function (SMSF) entity and a Unified Data Management (UDM) entity cannot open a service-based interface to an IP-Short Message-Gateway (IP-SM-GW), a SMS router or an Interworking Mobile Switching Center for Short Message Service (SMS IWMSC), which makes that a MO SMS is required to be sent between these network functions through traditional Mobile Application Part (MAP) protocol or Diameter protocol, and makes that a fully service-based MO SMS cannot be realized within a range of 5GS, thereby reducing the flexibility of network deployment, and at the same time, there may be a security issue related to MAP protocol and Diameter protocol when roaming across Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN).

Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a solution for realizing a service-based Mobile Originated Short Message Service, which can effectively realize a fully service-based MO SMS within the range of 5GS.

<FIG> is a schematic flowchart of a method for realizing a service-based Mobile Originated Short Message Service according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

In step <NUM>, a SMSF entity queries an information of a network function capable of providing a MO SMS forwarding service from a Network Repository Function (NRF) entity after receiving a short message transferred from a user equipment.

The SMSF entity queries the information of the network function capable of providing the MO SMS forwarding service from the NRF entity according to at least one of a Subscription Permanent Identifier (SUPI), a Generic Public Subscription Identifier (GPSI), or an address of a SC. The information of the network function capable of providing the MO SMS forwarding service comprises an IP address or a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) address of a corresponding SMS-IWMSC.

In Step <NUM>, the SMSF entity sends the short message to a corresponding SMS-IWMSC in a case where it is determined that the corresponding SMS-IWMSC is capable of providing the MO SMS forwarding service according to a query result. The query result is obtained in step <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the SMSF entity sends a callback IP address and an information of a timer for waiting to the SMS-IWMSC during a process of sending the short message to the SMS-IWMSC.

In some embodiments, the SMS-IWMSC registers a capability of providing the MO SMS forwarding service in the NRF entity during a network function registration procedure.

In some embodiments, the SMSF entity and the SMS-IWMSC interact through a service-based interface.

In Step <NUM>, the SMS-IWMSC sends the short message to a SC, so that the SC sends the short message to a corresponding receiver of the short message.

In some embodiments, the SMS-IWMSC sends a delivery report, which is sent from the SC, to the SMSF entity according to the callback IP address or a FQDN address of the SMSF entity, so that the SMSF entity sends the delivery report to the user equipment.

In the method for realizing a service-based Mobile Originated Short Message Service provided in the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure, the SMSF entity queries the SMS-IWMSC capable of providing the MO SMS forwarding service through the NRF entity, and further use the corresponding SMS-IWMSC to send the short message to the SC, thereby effectively realizing a fully service-based MO SMS within the range of 5GS.

<FIG> is a schematic flowchart of a method for realizing a service-based Mobile Originated Short Message Service according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

In Step <NUM>, a SMSF entity queries an information of a network function capable of providing a MO SMS forwarding service from a NRF entity after receiving a short message transferred from a user equipment.

In Step <NUM>, the SMSF entity sends the short message to a corresponding IP-SM-GW in a case where it is determined that the corresponding IP-SM-GW and SMS-IWMSC are capable of providing the MO SMS forwarding service according to a query result.

In some embodiments, the IP-SM-GW and the SMS-IWMSC register a capability of providing the MO SMS forwarding service in the NRF entity during a network function registration procedure.

In Step <NUM>, the IP-SM-GW sends the short message to the SMS-IWMSC.

In some embodiments, the SMSF entity and the IP-SM-GW interact through a service-based interface, and the IP-SM-GW and the SMS-IWMSC interact through a service-based interface.

In some embodiments, the SMS-IWMSC sends a delivery report, which is sent from the SC, to the IP-SM-GW. The IP-SM-GW sends the delivery report to the SMSF entity. The SMSF entity sends the delivery report to the user equipment, thereby effectively realizing a fully service-based MO SMS within the range of 5GS.

<FIG> is a schematic structural diagram of a system for realizing a service-based Mobile Originated Short Message Service according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, the system for realizing a service-based Mobile Originated Short Message Service comprises a SMSF entity <NUM>, a NRF entity <NUM>, a SMS-IWMSC <NUM> and a SC <NUM>.

The SMSF entity <NUM> queries an information of a network function capable of providing a MO SMS forwarding service from the NRF entity <NUM> after receiving a short message transferred from a user equipment. The NRF entity <NUM> provides an information of a network function with a capability of the MO SMS forwarding service.

The SMSF entity <NUM> queries the information of the network function capable of providing the MO SMS forwarding service from the NRF entity according to at least one of a SUPI, a GPSI, or an address of a SC, wherein the information of the network function capable of providing the MO SMS forwarding service comprises an IP address or a FQDN address of the corresponding SMS-IWMSC.

In some embodiments, the SMS-IWMSC <NUM> registers a capability of providing the MO SMS forwarding service in the NRF entity <NUM> during a network function registration procedure.

The SMSF entity <NUM> sends the short message to the SMS-IWMSC <NUM> in a case where it is determined that the corresponding SMS-IWMSC <NUM> is capable of providing the MO SMS forwarding service according to a query result.

In some embodiments, the SMSF entity <NUM> sends a callback IP address and an information of a timer for waiting to the SMS-IWMSC during a process of sending the short message to the SMS-IWMSC.

In some embodiments, the SMSF entity <NUM> and the SMS-IWMSC <NUM> interact through a service-based interface.

The SMS-IWMSC <NUM> sends the short message received to the SC <NUM>, so that the SC <NUM> sends the short message to a corresponding receiver of the short message.

In some embodiments, the SMS-IWMSC <NUM> sends a delivery report, which is sent from the SC <NUM>, to the SMSF entity <NUM> according to the callback IP address or a FQDN address of the SMSF entity. The SMSF entity <NUM> sends the delivery report to the user equipment.

In the system for realizing a service-based Mobile Originated Short Message Service provided in the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure, the SMSF entity queries the SMS-IWMSC capable of providing the MO SMS forwarding service through the NRF entity, and further use the corresponding SMS-IWMSC to send the short message to the SC, thereby effectively realizing a fully service-based MO SMS within the range of 5GS.

<FIG> is a schematic structural diagram of a system for realizing a service-based Mobile Originated Short Message Service according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. The difference between <FIG> lies in that in the embodiment shown in <FIG>, the system for realizing a service-based Mobile Originated Short Message Service further comprises an IP-SM-GW <NUM>.

The SMSF entity <NUM> sends the short message to the corresponding IP-SM-GW <NUM> in a case where it is determined that the IP-SM-GW <NUM> and the SMS-IWMSC <NUM> are capable of providing the MO SMS forwarding service according to the query result. The IP-SM-GW <NUM> sends the short message to the SMS-IWMSC <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the SMS-IWMSC <NUM> and the IP-SM-GW <NUM> register a capability of providing the MO SMS forwarding service in the NRF entity <NUM> during a network function registration procedure.

In some embodiments, the SMSF entity <NUM> and the IP-SM-GW <NUM> interact through a service-based interface, and the SMS-IWMSC <NUM> and the IP-SM-GW <NUM> interact through a service-based interface.

In some embodiments, the SMS-IWMSC <NUM> sends a delivery report, which is sent from the SC <NUM>, to the IP-SM-GW <NUM>. The IP-SM-GW <NUM> sends the delivery report to the SMSF entity <NUM>. The SMSF entity <NUM> sends the delivery report to the user equipment.

<FIG> is a schematic flowchart of a method for realizing a service-based Mobile Originated Short Message Service according to a further embodiment of the present disclosure.

In Step <NUM>, a SMS-IWMSC registers a capability of providing a MO SMS forwarding service in a NRF entity during a network function registration procedure.

In Step <NUM>, a UE sends a short message to a SMSF entity through an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) entity.

In Step <NUM>, the SMSF entity queries an information of a network function capable of providing the MO SMS forwarding service from the NRF entity according to at least one of a SUPI, a GPSI, or an address of a SC, wherein the information of the network function comprises an IP address or a FQDN address of the SMS-IWMSC.

In Step <NUM>, the SMSF entity sends the short message, a callback IP address and an information of a timer for waiting to the corresponding SMS-IWMSC through a service-based interface, in a case where it is determined that the corresponding SMS-IWMSC is capable of providing the MO SMS forwarding service according to a query result.

In Step <NUM>, the SMS-IWMSC sends the short message to the SC, so that the SC sends the short message to a corresponding receiver of the short message.

In Step <NUM>, the SC sends a delivery report to the SMS-IWMSC.

In Step <NUM>, the SMS-IWMSC sends the delivery report to the SMSF entity through a service-based interface according to the callback IP address or a FQDN address of the SMSF entity.

In Step <NUM>, the SMSF entity sends the delivery report to the user equipment through the AMF entity.

In Step 601a, a SMS-IWMSC registers a capability of providing a MO SMS forwarding service in a NRF entity during a network function registration procedure.

In Step 601b, an IP-SM-GW registers a capability of providing the MO SMS forwarding service in the NRF entity during a network function registration procedure.

In Step <NUM>, a UE transfers a short message to a SMSF entity through an AMF entity.

In Step <NUM>, the SMSF entity queries an information of a network function capable of providing the MO SMS forwarding service from the NRF entity according to at least one of a SUPI, a GPSI, or an address of a SC, and the information of the network function comprises an IP address or a FQDN address of the SMS-IWMSC.

In Step <NUM>, the SMSF entity sends the short message, a callback IP address and an information of a timer for waiting to the corresponding IP-SM-GW through a service-based interface in a case where it is determined that the corresponding IP-SM-GW and SMS-IWMSC are capable of providing the MO SMS forwarding service according to a query result.

In Step <NUM>, the IP-SM-GW sends the short message to the SMS-IWMSC through a service-based interface.

In Step <NUM>, the SMS-IWMSC sends the delivery report to the IP-SM-GW through a service-based interface according to the callback IP address or a FQDN address of the SMSF entity.

In Step <NUM>, the IP-SM-GW sends the delivery report to the SMSF entity through a service-based interface according to the callback IP address or a FQDN address of the SMSF entity.

In Step <NUM>, the SMSF entity sends the delivery report to the user equipment.

By implementing the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure, a fully service-based MO SMS can be effectively realized within the range of 5GS. In addition, since the SMSF entity and the SMS-IWMSC interact through a service-based interface, and the IP-SM-GW interacts with the SMSF entity and SMS-IWMSC through a service-based interface respectively, the security issue caused by using MAP protocol or Diameter protocol when roaming across PLMN is effectively avoided.

In some embodiments, a functional unit described above may be implemented as a general-purpose processor, a Programmable Logic Controller (abbreviated as PLC), a Digital Signal Processor (abbreviated as DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (abbreviated as ASIC), a Field-Programmable Gate Array (abbreviated as FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware assemblies or any proper combination thereof used to execute a function described in the present disclosure.

Those of ordinary skill in the art may understand that all or part of the steps in the above-described embodiments may be accomplished by a hardware or may also be accomplished by a program to instruct relevant hardware. The program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium mentioned above may be a read-only memory, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, or the like.

Claim 1:
A method for realizing a service-based Mobile Originated Short Message Service, comprising:
querying (<NUM>), by a Short Message Service Function SMSF entity, an information of a network function capable of providing a Mobile Originated Short Message Service MO SMS forwarding service from a Network Repository Function NRF entity according to at least one of a Subscription Permanent Identifier SUPI, a Generic Public Subscription Identifier GPSI, or an address of a Service Center SC after receiving a short message transferred from a user equipment, wherein the information of the network function capable of providing the MO SMS forwarding service comprises an IP address or a Fully Qualified Domain Name FQDN address of an Interworking Mobile Switching Center for Short Message Service SMS-IWMSC;
sending (<NUM>), by the SMSF entity, the short message to the SMS-IWMSC, in a case where it is determined that the SMS-IWMSC is capable of providing the MO SMS forwarding service according to a query result; and
sending (<NUM>), by the SMS-IWMSC, the short message to the SC of the short message, so that the SC sends the short message to a corresponding receiver of the short message.