Pay-per-connection scheme for wireless access to internet

• US 20050043999A1
• Filed: 06/25/2004
• Published: 02/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DRNC Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Ji, Lusheng, Labrou, Yannis, Agre, Jonathan Russell
• Granted Patent: US 7,711,097 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/21
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1432 Metric aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1453 Methods or systems for payment or settlement of the charges for data transmission involving significant interaction with the data transmission network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0236 Filtering by address, protocol, port number or service, e.g. IP-address or URL
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066

Abstract

A pay-per-connection system is coupled to a network service provider and to a client computer. The pay-per-connection system receives payment and a passcode from a user, determines duration of use based on the payment, and provides access by the client computer to the network service provider based on the payment and the passcode without advance sign-up by the user with the network service provider.

Claims

1. A pay-per-connection system coupled to a network service provider and to a client computer and comprising:

a payment terminal receiving payment and a passcode from a user, and transmitting a payment message and passcode,

a local service unit in communication with the client computer and transmitting and receiving information,

an internet service unit in communication with the network service provider and transmitting and receiving information,

a control unit including a database, coupled to the payment terminal, to the local service unit and to the internet service interface unit, said control unit receiving the payment message and passcode from the payment terminal, determining an allocation of usage of a network connection between the client computer and the network service provider using the internet service unit based on the payment message, storing a record including the passcode and the allocation in its database, enabling access for the client computer to the network service provider through the internet service unit and the local service unit for the allocated amount of usage upon the client communicating the valid passcode and other identifying information to the control unit, and preventing other client computers from accessing the network service provider through the pay-per-connection system.

2. The pay-per-connection system as in claim 1, wherein the connection between the client computer and the local service unit is a wired or wireless connection which becomes available for the client computer for the connection usage allocation for an amount of time that is determined by the amount of payment the user of the client computer deposits into the payment terminal and the rate for connection use set by the network service provider and other charges.

3. The pay-per-connection system as in claim 1, wherein the connection usage allocation is determined by the data allocation which is the amount of data bytes that the user sends and receives via the pay-per-connection system, which is based on the amount of payment he user deposits in the payment terminal and the rate for data volume set by the network service provider and other charges.

4. The pay-per-connection system as in claim 1, wherein the payment terminal accepts the payment in the form of at least one of cash, a phone card, or a credit card.

5. The pay-per-connection system as in claim 1, wherein the connection between the client computer and the network service provider is terminated by the control unit upon the exhaustion of connection usage allocation.

6. The pay-per-connection system as in claim 1, wherein the duration may be increased upon receipt of additional payment from the user by the payment terminal.

7. The pay-per-connection system as in claim 1, wherein the control unit comprising a timer which determines the remaining connection usage time allocation of the connection between the client computer and the network service provider, wherein when the remaining time allocation reaches zero, the connection is terminated, when the connection is paused by the user, the time allocation timer suspends counting, and when the connection is resumed by the user, the reduction of time allocation continues counting the duration of the connection.

8. The pay-per-connection system as in claim 1, wherein the control unit comprises a counter that determines the remaining data transfer allocation that can be transferred to or from the client computer and the network service provider, wherein when the remaining data transfer allocation reaches zero, the connection is terminated.

9. The pay-per-connection system as in claim 1, wherein the client computer transmits its passcode and MAC address to the service unit to request connection service, the service unit transmits the passcode and MAC address to the control unit, and the control unit determines whether to establish the connection between the client computer and the network service provider based upon if the passcode matches with the passcode included in any payment message received from payment terminal, whether the MAC address matches and whether there is a remaining usage allocation.

10. The pay-per-connect system as in claim 1, wherein the control unit stores a passlist of passcodes for which the connection is permitted and includes a firewall including a list of allowable MAC addresses which correspond to the passlist of passcodes , and the control unit provides permission to establish the connection between the client computer and the network service provider through the firewall by placing the MAC address of the client computer on the allowable list.

11. The pay-per-connection system as in claim 1, further comprising a web server interfacing to the client computer to let the client computer supply the passcode to the pay-per-connection system when a connection is requested.

12. The pay-per-connection system as in claim 1, wherein the connection between the client computer and the local service unit is a wireless connection.

13. The pay-per-connection system as in claim 12, wherein the wireless connection is provided by a Wi-Fi access point.

14. A method of establishing a connection from a client computer to a network service provider on a pay-per-connection basis, comprising:

receiving by a pay-per-connection system from a user of the client computer a passcode and a payment, and from the client computer identifying information;

determining by the pay-per-connection system connection usage allocation based on the amount of the payment; and

establishing by the pay-per-connection system the connection between the client computer and the network service provider based on the connection usage allocation, the passcode, and the identifying information, without advance sign-up by the user with the network service provider.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

preventing other client computers from accessing the network service provider through the pay-per-connection system.

16. The method as in claim 14, wherein the connection is a wireless connection, said method further comprising:

determining the availability of the wireless connection based upon if there is any remaining connection usage time allocation for the said wireless connection which becomes available for the client computer by the amount of money the user deposits and the rate for connection set by the network service provider.

17. The method as in claim 14, further comprising:

determining the availability of the wireless connection based upon the data allocation which is the amount of data bytes that the user sends and receives via the pay-per-connection system, which is based on the amount of money the user deposits into the pay-per-connection system and the rate for data allocation set by the network service provider.

18. The method as in claim 14, further comprising:

terminating by the pay-per-connection system the connection upon exhaustion of connection usage allocation.

19. The method as in claim 18, wherein the termination the connection comprising deleting by the pay-per-connection system the passcode and its associate connection usage allocation from the pay-per-connection system.

20. The method as in claim 15, further comprising:

extending by the pay-per-connection system the usage allocation of the connection by additional payment by the user.

21. The method as in claim 15, further comprising:

pausing the connection usage time allocation by the pay-per-connection system the connection by the user during the duration of the connection.

22. The method as in claim 15, wherein the receiving comprising receiving by the pay-per-connection system the payment by at least one of cash, phone card, or credit card.

33. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

requesting by the client of the pay-per-connection system a refund of a remaining portion of the payment corresponding to an unused portion of the connection usage allocation.

23. A computer-readable medium storing a program executable by a computer and causing the computer to execute the functions of establishing a connection from a client computer to a network service provider on a pay-per-connection basis, comprising:

receiving by a pay-per-connection system from a user of the client computer a passcode and a payment, and from the client computer identifying information;

determining by the pay-per-connection system connection usage allocation based on the amount of the payment;

establishing by the pay-per-connection system the connection between the client computer and the network service provider based on the connection usage allocation, the passcode, and the identifying information, without advance sign-up by the user with the network service provider.

24. The medium of claim 23, further comprising:

preventing other client computers from accessing the network service provider through the pay-per-connection system.

25. The medium as in claim 23, wherein the connection is a wireless connection, said functions further comprising:

determining the availability of the wireless connection based upon if there is any remaining connection usage time allocation for the said wireless connection which becomes available for the client computer by the amount of money the user deposits and the rate for connection set by the network service provider.

26. The medium as in claim 23, further comprising:

determining the availability of the wireless connection based upon the data allocation which is the amount of data bytes that the user sends and receives via the pay-per-connection system, which is based on the amount of money the user deposits into the pay-per-connection system and the rate for data allocation set by the network service provider.

27. The medium as in claim 23, further comprising:

terminating by the pay-per-connection system the connection upon exhaustion of connection usage allocation.

28. The medium as in claim 27, wherein the termination the connection comprising deleting by the pay-per-connection system the passcode and its associate connection usage allocation from the pay-per-connection system.

29. The medium as in claim 24, further comprising:

extending by the pay-per-connection system the usage allocation of the connection by additional payment by the user.

30. The medium as in claim 24, further comprising:

pausing the connection usage time allocation by the pay-per-connection system the connection by the user during the duration of the connection.

31. The medium as in claim 24, wherein the receiving comprising receiving by the pay-per-connection system the payment by at least one of cash, phone card, or credit card.

32. A pay-per-connection system establishing a connection from a client computer to a network service provider on a pay-per-connection basis, comprising:

a payment terminal receiving from a user of the client computer a passcode and a payment, and from the client computer identifying information;

a control unit in communication with the payment terminal and determining connection usage allocation based on the amount of the payment; and

service units in communication with the control unit and establishing the connection between the client computer and the network service provider based on the connection usage allocation, the passcode, and the identifying information, without advance sign-up by the user with the network service provider.