IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,549,635
Granted Patent B2
US 12,549,635 · App. 17/173,483 · Granted Feb 10, 2026

Systems and methods for exposing user equipment identities to applications

Inventors: Ye Huang (San Ramon, CA); Gerardo S. Libunao (Manalapan, NJ); Raghuram Parvataneni (Edison, NJ); Ravi Sharma (Freehold, NJ); Kirk Campbell (Long Valley, NJ); Suzann Hua (Beverly Hills, CA); Alexander Fadeev (Summit, NJ); Miguel A. Carames (Long Valley, NJ); Sudhakar Reddy Patil (Flower Mound, TX)
Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Inc.
H04L67/141H04L51/224H04W4/14
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,549,635
App. No.
17/173,483
Granted
Feb 10, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A system comprises a Network Exposure Function (NEF) and a Session Management Function (SMF). The MF may be configured to: receive, from the NEF, a first request to subscribe to a notification service offered by the SMF; send a create session request to a User Plane Function (UPF); receive a first response from the UPF to the create session request, wherein the first response includes binding information that pertains to an association between a User Equipment device (UE) identifier (ID) and Internet Protocol (IP) addresses; and send, as part of the notification service, a message that includes the binding information to the NEF.

Claims (68)

1 . A system comprising one or more processors that implement a Network Exposure Function (NEF) and a Session Management Function (SMF) in the system, wherein the one or more processors are configured to:

receive, by the SMF and from the NEF, a first request to subscribe to a notification service offered by the SMF;

send, by the SMF, a create session request to a User Plane Function (UPF);

receive, by the SMF, a first response from the UPF to the create session request, wherein the first response includes binding information associated with a User Equipment (UE) device;

send, by the SMF, as part of the notification service, a message that includes the binding information to the NEF; and

send, by the NEF, the binding information to an application system,

wherein the binding information includes a UE identifier (ID) for the UE device, one or more Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of the UE device, and a Network Address Translated IP address for the UE device.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the NEF is configured to:

receive a second request from the application system to provide the UE ID; and

send a message that includes at least the UE ID to the application system.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the application system includes:

an application or an Application Function installed on a Multi-Access Edge Computing cluster.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the binding information includes one or more of:

a Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number (MSISDN);

an External Identifier (ID);

a Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI); or

an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI).

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the SMF is configured to:

receive, from an Access and Mobility Function (AMF), a request to establish a session for the UE device.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the NEF is configured to:

subscribe to a notification service provided at a Network Repository Function (NRF), and wherein the NRF is configured to:

notify the NEF when the SMF registers with the NRF.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the NEF is configured to:

when the NEF receives the message, update a user profile at a Unified Data Repository (UDR).

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the UPF is configured to:

in response to receiving the create session request, establish a tunnel between the UPF and the application system.

9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the SMF is configured to:

receive, from an Access and Mobility Function (AMF), a request to update an existing session for the UE device.

10 . A method comprising:

receiving, at a Session Management Function (SMF), from a Network Exposure Function (NEF), a first request to subscribe to a notification service offered by the SMF;

sending, from the SMF, a create session request to a User Plane Function (UPF);

receiving, at the SMF, a first response from the UPF to the create session request, wherein the first response includes binding information associated with a User Equipment (UE) device;

sending from the SMF, as part of the notification service, a message that includes the binding information to the NEF; and

sending, by the NEF, the binding information to an application system,

wherein the binding information includes a UE identifier (ID) for the UE device, one or more Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of the UE device, and a Network Address Translated IP address for the UE device.

11 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

receiving, at the NEF, a second request from the application system to provide the UE ID; and

sending, from the NEF, a message that includes at least the UE ID to the application system.

12 . The method of claim 10 wherein the application system includes:

an application or an Application Function installed on a Multi-Access Edge Computing cluster.

13 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the binding information includes one or more of:

a Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number (MSISDN);

a Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI); or

an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI).

14 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

receiving at the SMF, from an Access and Mobility Function (AMF), a request to establish a session for the UE device.

15 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

subscribing by the NEF to a notification service provided at a Network Repository Function (NRF), and

notifying by the NRF the NEF when the SMF registers with the NRF.

16 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising processor-executable instructions, that when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to implement a Network Exposure Function (NEF) and a Session Management Function (SMF), wherein the NEF and the SMF are configured to:

receive, by the SMF and from the NEF, a first request to subscribe to a notification service offered by the SMF;

send, by the SMF, a create session request to a User Plane Function (UPF);

receive, by the SMF, a first response from the UPF to the create session request, wherein the first response includes binding information associated with a User Equipment (UE) device;

send, by the SMF, as part of the notification service, a message that includes the binding information to the NEF; and

send, by the NEF, the binding information to an application system,

wherein the binding information includes a UE identifier (ID) for the UE device, one or more Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of the UE device, and a Network Address Translated IP address for the UE device.

17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16 , wherein the NEF is configured to:

receive a second request from the application system to provide the UE ID; and

send a message that includes at least the UE ID to the application system.

18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16 , wherein the application system includes:

an application or an Application Function installed on a Multi-Access Edge Computing cluster.

19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16 , wherein the binding information includes one or more of:

a Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number (MSISDN);

an External Identifier (ID);

a Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI); or

an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI).

20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16 , wherein the SMF is configured to:

receive, from an Access and Mobility Function (AMF), a request to establish a session for the UE device.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 11, 2021
From: HUANG, YE; LIBUNAO, GERARDO S.; PARVATANENI, RAGHURAM; SHARMA, RAVI; CAMPBELL, KIRK; HUA, SUZANN; FADEEV, ALEXANDER; CARAMES, MIGUEL A.; PATIL, SUDHAKAR REDDY
To: VERIZON PATENT AND LICENSING INC.
Reel/Frame 055231/0847 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20220255996A1 · Aug 11, 2022
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