Wireless telephone system with a service provider automatically forwarding to each wireless telephone the exact billing time of a telecommunication upon the completion of the telecommunication

• US 20030050044A1
• Filed: 09/13/2001
• Published: 03/13/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Awada, Faisal M., Brown, Joe Nathan
• Application Number:
  US09/952,007
• Publication Number:
  US 20030050044A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/407
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/00 Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/44 Augmented, consolidated or itemized billing statement or bill presentation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/59 based on real time
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8207 Time based data metric aspects, e.g. VoIP or circuit switched packet data
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/83 Notification aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/84 Types of notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0104 Augmented, consolidated or itemised billing statement, e.g. additional billing information, bill presentation, layout, format, e-mail, fax, printout, itemised bill per service or per account, cumulative billing, consolidated billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/22 Bandwidth or usage-sensitve billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/32 Involving wireless systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7813 Time based data, e.g. VoIP or circuit switched packet data
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/81 Notifying aspects, e.g. notifications or displays to the user
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/8129 Type of notification
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/82 Advice-of-Charge [AOC], i.e. notify subscriber of charges/cumulative charge; meter at the substation

Abstract

A wireless telephone system comprising a mobile wireless telephone for receiving and sending a plurality of data telecommunications including an implementation for storing the quantity of times of said plurality of data telecommunications, a telecommunications service provider for transmitting said plurality of telecommunications to and from other telephone terminals, facility in the service provider for keeping track of the quantity of times of said plurality of telecommunications together with a facility in said service provider for automatically sending tracked times to said means for storing the quantity of times in said mobile wireless telephone. At the completion of each of the plurality of communications, the facility for sending tracked times automatically sends the tracked times for each of said plurality of communications. The wireless telephone preferably includes a display, and there is an implementation enabling a user to display said stored quantity of times of said plurality of data communications. These stored quantities may be cumulative so that the user has access to a total of the minutes used which is reflective of the service provider'"'"'s total so that no unexpected or excessive fees will come up.

Claims

1. A wireless telephone system comprising:

a mobile wireless telephone for receiving and sending a plurality of data telecommunications including;

means for storing the quantity of times of said plurality of data telecommunications;

a telecommunications service provider for transmitting said plurality of telecommunications to and from other telephone terminals;

means in said service provider for keeping track of the quantity of times of said plurality of telecommunications; and

means in said service provider for automatically sending tracked times to said means for storing the quantity of times in said mobile wireless telephone.

2. The wireless telephone system of claim 1 wherein said means for sending tracked times automatically sends the tracked times for each of said plurality of communications upon the completion of each communication.

3. The wireless telephone system of claim 2 wherein:

said mobile wireless telephone further includes a display, and means enabling a user to display said stored quantity of times of said plurality of data communications.

4. The wireless telephone system of claim 3 wherein said means for keeping track of the quantity of times of said plurality of telecommunications increase each fraction of a minute to the next higher minute.

5. The wireless telephone system of claim 4 wherein:

said means for storing the quantity of times stores said times in a plurality of weekly time categories; and

said means for sending tracked times sends the tracked times for each of said plurality of weekly time categories.

6. The wireless telephone system of claim 5 wherein said wireless telephone system is a cellular telephone system.

7. The wireless telephone system of claim 2 wherein said means for keeping track of the quantity of times of said plurality of telecommunications increase each fraction of a minute to the next higher minute.

8. In a wireless telephone system including a mobile wireless telephone for receiving and sending a plurality of data telecommunications, and a telecommunications service provider for transmitting said plurality of telecommunications to and from other telephone terminals, a method for providing the quantity of times of said plurality of telecommunications to a user of said mobile wireless telephone comprising:

storing the quantity of times of said plurality of data telecommunications in said mobile wireless telephone;

keeping track of the quantity of times of said plurality of telecommunications in said service provider; and

automatically adding said tracked times from said service provider to said stored quantity of times in said mobile wireless telephone.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said step adding said tracked times automatically adds the tracked times for each of said plurality of communications upon the completion of each communication.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein said mobile wireless telephone further includes a display, and said method further includes the step of enabling a user to display said stored quantity of times of said plurality of data communications on said display.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein said step of keeping track of the quantity of times of said plurality of telecommunications increases each fraction of a minute to the next higher minute.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein:

said quantity of times are stored in a plurality of weekly time categories; and

said sent tracked times are the tracked times for each of said plurality of weekly time categories.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein said wireless telephone system is a cellular telephone system.

14. The method of claim 9 wherein said step of keeping track of the quantity of times of said plurality of telecommunications increases each fraction of a minute to the next higher minute.

15. In a wireless telephone system including a mobile wireless display telephone for receiving and sending a plurality of data telecommunications, and a telecommunications service provider for transmitting said plurality of telecommunications to and from other telephone terminals, a method for billing a user of said mobile wireless telephone comprising:

storing the quantity of times of said plurality of data telecommunications in said mobile wireless telephone;

keeping track of the quantity of times of said plurality of telecommunications in said service provider;

automatically adding said tracked times from said service provider to said stored quantity of times in said mobile wireless telephone;

enabling a user to display said stored quantity of times of said plurality of data communications on said display; and

billing said user based upon said stored quantity of times of said plurality of data communications on said display.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein said step of keeping track of the quantity of times of said plurality of telecommunications increases each fraction of a minute to the next higher minute.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein:

said quantity of times are stored in a plurality of weekly time categories; and

said sent tracked times are the tracked times for each of said plurality of weekly time categories.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein said wireless telephone system is a cellular telephone system.

19. A computer program having code recorded on a computer readable medium for providing the quantity of times of a plurality of telecommunications to a user of a mobile wireless telephone in a wireless telephone system including mobile wireless telephones for receiving and sending a plurality of data telecommunications and a telecommunications service provider for transmitting said plurality of telecommunications to and from other telephone terminals, said computer program comprising:

means in said mobile wireless telephone for storing the quantity of times of said plurality of data telecommunications;

means in said service provider for keeping track of the quantity of times of said plurality of telecommunications; and

means in said service provider for automatically sending tracked times to said means for storing the quantity of times in said mobile wireless telephone.

20. The computer program of claim 19 wherein said means for sending tracked times automatically sends the tracked times for each of said plurality of communications upon the completion of each communication.

21. The computer program of claim 20 wherein:

said mobile wireless telephone further includes a display, and means enabling a user to display said stored quantity of times of said plurality of data communications.

22. The computer program of claim 21 wherein said means for keeping track of the quantity of times of said plurality of telecommunications increase each fraction of a minute to the next higher minute.

23. The computer program of claim 22 wherein:

said means for storing the quantity of times stores said times in a plurality of weekly time categories; and

said means for sending tracked times sends the tracked times for each of said plurality of weekly time categories.

24. The computer program of claim 23 wherein said wireless telephone system is a cellular telephone system.

25. The computer program of claim 20 wherein said means for keeping track of the quantity of times of said plurality of telecommunications increase each fraction of a minute to the next higher minute.

26. A mobile wireless telephone for receiving and sending a plurality of data telecommunications comprising:

means for tracking the time period of each of said plurality of telecommunications;

means for adjusting the tracked time period of each telecommunication so as to correspond to a standard at which each telecommunication is billed; and

means for storing the adjusted total of the adjusted time periods of said plurality of telecommunications.

27. The mobile wireless telephone of claim 26 wherein said standard is the billing standard of a telephone communication service provider.

28. The mobile wireless telephone of claim 27 wherein the tracked time period of each telecommunication is adjusted to the nearest higher time unit.

29. A method for providing the quantity of times of a mobile wireless telephone uses for receiving and sending a plurality of data telecommunications comprising:

tracking the time period of each of said plurality of telecommunications;

adjusting the tracked time period of each telecommunication so as to correspond to a standard at which each telecommunication is billed; and

storing the adjusted the total of the adjusted time periods of said plurality of telecommunications.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein said standard is the billing standard of a telephone communication service provider.

31. The method of 30 wherein the tracked time period of each telecommunication is adjusted to the nearest higher time unit.