Visual display of prepay balance on a mobile station upon registration and post-call

• US 20040198316A1
• Filed: 06/21/2002
• Published: 10/07/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Compaq Computer Corporation (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Johnson, Lorie Anne
• Application Number:
  US10/176,893
• Publication Number:
  US 20040198316A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/406
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2854 Wide area networks, e.g. public data networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/83 Notification aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/84 Types of notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/85 characterised by the type of condition triggering a notification
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/851 Determined tariff
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/854 Available credit
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/32 Involving wireless systems
• 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 2215/815 Notification when a specific condition, service or event is met
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/8166 Available credit

Abstract

A subscriber'"'"'s prepay balance is provided to a wireless mobile station (e.g., a cellular telephone) for visual display to a subscriber. Preferably, the prepay balance information is retrieved by a prepay application and, rather than be provided to an interactive voice response unit for conversion into an audible message, the prepay balance is provided through the network to the mobile station itself and displayed thereon. The prepay balance can be provided upon registering the mobile station with the carrier'"'"'s network and/or upon completion of a phone call. In this way, within a relatively short period of time following the termination of a phone call or during registration, the subscriber'"'"'s mobile station automatically displays the new prepay balance.

Claims

1. A method of providing prepay balance information to a wireless service subscriber'"'"'s mobile station, comprising:

(a) sending a registration message to initiate registering the mobile station;

(b) receiving a message containing information indicative of the subscriber'"'"'s current prepay balance; and

(c) displaying said information on a display associated with said mobile station.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the registration message is sent in (a) upon powering on the mobile station.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the registration message is sent in (a) after the mobile station has been powered on.

4. The method of claim 1 further including receiving the registration message sent in (a) and sending a registration notification message to a home location register.

5. The method of claim 4 further including receiving the registration notification message and sending a service request message to a prepay application to request the subscriber'"'"'s prepay balance.

6. The method of claim 5 further including the prepay application retrieving the subscriber'"'"'s prepay balance and sending a service request response message including a representation of the prepay balance.

7. The method of claim 1 including retrieving the subscriber'"'"'s prepay balance and sending a service request response message to a home location register, said service request response message containing a representation of the prepay balance.

8. The method of claim 7 including receiving the service request response message and sending a registration notification response message containing said representation.

9. A wireless network providing wireless services to which subscribers subscribe, comprising:

a mobile station containing a display;

a switch to which said mobile station wireless communicates; and

a prepay application to which said switch communicates;

wherein said prepay application provides a representation of a subscriber'"'"'s prepay balance through said switch to the display of said mobile station.

10. The wireless network of claim 9 wherein said prepay application provides said representation in response to said mobile station being powered on.

11. The wireless network of claim 9 wherein said prepay application provides said representation in response to said mobile station sending a request to be registered after already being power on.

12. The wireless network of claim 9 further including a home location register to which said switch and said prepay application communicate and wherein said mobile station sends a message to said switch to cause said mobile station to be registered and, in response, said switch sends a registration notification message to the home location register which responds by requesting said prepay application to retrieve and provide the representation of the subscriber'"'"'s prepay balance.

13. The wireless network of claim 12 wherein said prepay application provides said prepay balance to said home location register via a service request response message.

14. The wireless network of claim 13 wherein said home location register provides said prepay balance to said switch via a registration notification response message and said switch transmits said representation to said mobile station.

15. The wireless network of claim 9 further including a home location register to which said switch and said prepay application communicate and wherein said prepay application provides said prepay balance to said home location register via a service request response message.

16. The wireless network of claim 15 wherein said home location register provides said prepay balance to said switch via a registration notification response message and said switch transmits said representation to said mobile station.

17. The wireless network of claim 9 wherein said mobile station comprises a cellular telephone.

18. A wireless mobile station including a display and wirelessly receiving prepay balance information from a wireless network wherein said mobile station shows said prepay balance information on said display.