Billing method and device in a cellular packet radiocommunication network

• US 20040210528A1
• Filed: 04/09/2004
• Published: 10/21/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alain Rhelimi, Christian Guion, Ghazi Ben Amor, Omar Habbal
• Original Assignee: Alain Rhelimi, Christian Guion, Ghazi Ben Amor, Omar Habbal
• Inventors: Guion, Christian, Habbal, Omar, Rhelimi, Alain, Ben Amor, Ghazi
• Granted Patent: US 8,744,936 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/40
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/146 using digital cash
• 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 15/30 the meter or calculation of charges not being controlled from an exchange
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/41 Billing record details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure of call data record [CDR]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/48 Secure or trusted billing, e.g. trusted elements or encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/67 Transmitting arrangements for sending billing related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/854 Available credit
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0156 Secure and trusted billing, e.g. trusted elements, encryption, digital signature, codes or double check mechanisms to secure billing calculation and information
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0164 Billing record, e.g. Call Data Record [CDR], Toll Ticket[TT], Automatic Message Accounting [AMA], Call Line Identifier [CLI], details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/2026 Wireless network, e.g. GSM, PCS, TACS
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/204 UMTS; GPRS
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/22 Bandwidth or usage-sensitve billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/32 Involving wireless systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/48 Sending information over a non-traffic network channel or another connection than the one actually used, e.g. signalling, D-channel, data and voice
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/8166 Available credit
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing

Abstract

This invention proposes a method to obtain the cost of transmitting a set of data from a transmitting means (2, 3, 16) to a receiving means (2, 3, 16) via a network (4), which consists of creating and sending with the set of data itself a data item, called a ticket (19, 23), used to determine the volume and/or the value of said set of data transmitted. Using said ticket, the receiving means can take into account the cost of executing said set of data thereby simplifying the billing. This invention also concerns the systems used to implement said method especially in cellular packet radiocommunication networks.

Claims

1. A method to obtain the cost of transmitting a set of data from a transmitting means (2,3,16) to a receiving means (2, 3, 16) via a network (4), wherein the method comprises:

creating and sending with the set of data a data item, called a ticket (19,23), used to determine the volume and/or the value of said set of data transmitted.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising checking the financial rights of the receiving means and comparing the purchasing power of said means with the amount required to execute said set of data received, wherein the amount is indicated by said ticket (19).

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

before checking the financial rights, checking the access rights of the receiving means to said set of data received.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

saving in a module (12) of the receiving means the volume and/or the value of said set of data transmitted, and transmitting the stored data in order to determine the cost of transmission.

5. The method according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, wherein the ticket also comprises one or more of the following items of information:

the rank of the ticket in the set of data transmitted with the ticket, the identity of the transmitting means, the certificate of the transmitting means, the serial number of said packets, the value of the packets to be returned to the receiving means, the type of data transmitted.

6. The method according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, further comprising:

updating counters (14) of information concerning reception of the ticket and of said set of data in the receiving means.

7. The method according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, wherein, when the receiving means which have received said ticket (19) have executed the data transmitted, said receiving means creates a cancelled ticket (20) which the receiving means sends to the transmitting means which had sent the ticket (19) to indicate that the data has been received and executed.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising querying all transmitting means which have received said cancelled ticket (20) and of collecting all said tickets received last, said cancelled ticket containing the total sum of the value and/or the volume of all packets received by a station (2) for a given ticket (19) transmitting means.

9. The method according to one of the claims 1, 2, 3, or 4, wherein the transmitting means and the receiving means sign and encrypt the data that they transmit.

13. The method according to claim 5, further comprising:

updating counters (14) of information concerning reception of the ticket and of said set of data in the receiving means.

14. The method according to claim 5, wherein, when the receiving means which have received said ticket (19) have executed the data transmitted, said receiving means creates a cancelled ticket (20) which the receiving means sends to the transmitting means which had sent the ticket (19) to indicate that the data has been received and executed.

15. The method according to claim 6, wherein, when the receiving means which have received said ticket (19) have executed the data transmitted, said receiving means creates a cancelled ticket (20) which the receiving means sends to the transmitting means which had sent the ticket (19) to indicate that the data has been received and executed.

16. The method according to claim 5, wherein the transmitting means and the receiving means sign and encrypt the data that they transmit.

17. The method according to claim 6, wherein the transmitting means and the receiving means sign and encrypt the data that they transmit.

18. The method according to claim 7, wherein the transmitting means and the receiving means sign and encrypt the data that they transmit.

10. An embedded system designed to be installed on a mobile telephony station (2), including data processing and storage means, wherein the system comprises means to take into account the cost of executing the data received by the station using information contained in a ticket received by the station (2) and/or of creating and sending a data item, called a ticket (23), to determine the volume and/or the value of a set of data transmitted by said station.

11. The embedded system according to claim 10, wherein it comprises means to create a data item called a cancelled ticket which will be sent by the station (2) to indicate that the data received by said station has been executed.

12. A mobile telephone including data processing and storage means, wherein it comprises means used to extract from a set of data received a data item, called a ticket, used to determine the volume and/or the value of said set of data received and to start processing of said ticket in order to take into account the cost of executing said data and/or of sending a data item, called a ticket (23), used to determine the volume and/or the value of a set of data transmitted by said station.