IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,542,818
Granted Patent B2
US 12,542,818 · App. 17/802,160 · Granted Feb 3, 2026

Application function node and communication method

Inventor: Hiroaki Takano (Tokyo, JP)
Assignee: SONY GROUP CORPORATION
H04L65/1069H04W28/0268H04W76/10
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,542,818
App. No.
17/802,160
Granted
Feb 3, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

An application function node ( 10 ) includes a control unit ( 13 ). The control unit ( 13 ) acquires session information regarding a PDU session from a UDM node ( 30 ), determines, from a plurality of the PDU sessions, a first PDU session for maintaining communication and a second PDU session for stopping communication based on the session information, and requests to stop communication in the determined second PDU session.

Claims (26)

1 . An application function (AF) node comprising a control circuitry that performs operations including:

acquiring, from a unified data management (UDM) node, session information that includes forced termination information,

wherein the session information indicates a plurality of subscriber permanent identifiers (SUPIs), each SUPI of the plurality of SUPIs identifying a unique combination of a protocol data unit (PDU) session of a plurality of PDU sessions and a network slice of a plurality of network slices, and

wherein the forced termination information indicates a first SUPI of the plurality of SUPIs corresponding to a critical protocol data unit (PDU) session/network slice combination where a forced termination is not permitted and a second SUPI of the plurality of SUPIs corresponding to a non-critical PDU session/network slice combination where a forced termination is permitted: and

based on the forced termination information, requesting to stop communication only in the non-critical PDU session/network slice combination while maintaining communication in the critical PDU session/network slice combination,

wherein the requesting to stop communication only in the non-critical PDU session/network slice combination comprises requesting to stop a beam corresponding to the non-critical PDU session/network slice combination that interferes with a beam corresponding to the critical PDU session/network slice.

2 . The AF node according to claim 1 , wherein the session information further indicates information regarding a first quality of service (QoS) of corresponding to the critical PDU session/network slice combination, the first QoS being higher than a second QoS corresponding to the non-critical PDU session/network slice combination.

3 . The AF node according to claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry requests to stop the communication in the non-critical PDU session/network slice combination by requesting a session management function (SMF) node or an access management function (AMF) node to release the non-critical PDU session/network slice combination.

4 . The AF node according to claim 3 , wherein the control circuitry notifies a terminal device that performs the communication in the non-critical PDU session/network slice combination of a release of the non-critical PDU session/network slice combination, prior to requesting the release of the non-critical PDU session/network slice combination.

5 . The AF node according to claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry requests a terminal device that performs the communication in the non-critical PDU session/network slice combination to release the non-critical PDU session/network slice combination.

6 . The AF node according to claim 1 , wherein, in response to a request from a terminal device that performs the communication in the critical PDU session/network slice combination, the control circuitry determines the critical PDU session/network slice combination and the non-critical PDU session/network slice combination, and requests to stop communication only in the non-critical PDU session/network slice combination.

7 . The AF node according to claim 1 , wherein, in accordance with at least one of a communication frequency or a communication period of a terminal device that performs communication in the critical PDU session/network slice combination, the control circuitry determines the critical PDU session/network slice combination and the non-critical PDU session/network slice combination, and requests to stop communication only in the non-critical PDU session/network slice combination.

8 . The AF node according to claim 1 , wherein the application function node is a network function node that belongs to a core network and is the network function node except a session management function (SMF) node or an access management function (AMF) node.

9 . The AF node according to claim 1 , wherein the AF node is a node that belongs to a local 5G core network.

10 . A communication method performed by a device configured to operate as an application function (AF) node, the communication method comprising:

acquiring, from a unified data management (UDM) node, session information includes forced termination information,

wherein the session information indicates a plurality of subscriber permanent identifiers (SUPIs), each SUPI of the plurality of SUPIs identifying a unique combination of a protocol data unit (PDU) session of a plurality of PDU sessions and a network slice of a plurality of network slices, and

wherein the forced termination information indicates a first SUPI of the plurality of SUPIs corresponding to a critical protocol data unit (PDU) session/network slice combination where a forced termination is not permitted and a second SUPI of the plurality of SUPIs corresponding to a non-critical PDU session/network slice combination where a forced termination is permitted; and

based on the forced termination information, requesting to stop communication only in the non-critical PDU session/network slice combination while maintaining communication in the critical PDU session/network slice combination,

wherein the requesting to stop communication only in the non-critical PDU session/network slice combination comprises requesting to stop a beam corresponding to the non-critical PDU session/network slice combination that interferes with a beam corresponding to the critical PDU session/network slice.

11 . A non-transitory computer product containing instructions that cause a device operating as an application function (AF) node to perform a communication method, the communication method comprising:

acquiring, from a unified data management (UDM) node, session information includes forced termination information,

wherein the session information indicates a plurality of subscriber permanent identifiers (SUPIs), each SUPI of the plurality of SUPIs identifying a unique combination of a protocol data unit (PDU) session of a plurality of PDU sessions and a network slice of a plurality of network slices, and

wherein the forced termination information indicates a first SUPI of the plurality of SUPIs corresponding to a critical protocol data unit (PDU) session/network slice combination where a forced termination is not permitted and a second SUPI of the plurality of SUPIs corresponding to a non-critical PDU session/network slice combination where a forced termination is permitted; and

based on the forced termination information, requesting to stop communication only in the non-critical PDU session/network slice combination while maintaining communication in the critical PDU session/network slice combination,

wherein the requesting to stop communication only in the non-critical PDU session/network slice combination comprises requesting to stop a beam corresponding to the non-critical PDU session/network slice combination that interferes with a beam corresponding to the critical PDU session/network slice.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 25, 2022
From: TAKANO, HIROAKI
To: SONY GROUP CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 060896/0183 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2020-056231 · Mar 26, 2020 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20230081413A1 · Mar 16, 2023
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