Connection management apparatus, connection management system, and connection management method

• US 20060068797A1
• Filed: 09/02/2005
• Published: 03/30/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Shimada, Keiko, Yamaguchi, Hiroki, Iinuma, Kei, Uno, Shigeto
• Application Number:
  US11/217,390
• Publication Number:
  US 20060068797A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/445
• 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 15/28 with meter at substation or with calculation of charges at terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/58 based on statistics of usage or network monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/745 Customizing according to wishes of subscriber, e.g. friends or family
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8016 based on quality of service [QoS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8044 Least cost routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/854 Available credit
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/88 Provision for limiting connection, or expenditure
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0108 Customization according to wishes of subscriber, e.g. customer preferences, friends and family, selecting services or billing options, Personal Communication Systems [PCS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0116 Provision for limiting expenditure, e.g. limit on call expenses or account
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0168 On line or real-time flexible customization or negotiation according to wishes of subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0188 Network monitoring; statistics on usage on called/calling number
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/2026 Wireless network, e.g. GSM, PCS, TACS
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/32 Involving wireless systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/42 Least cost routing, i.e. provision for selecting the lowest cost tariff
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7414 QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/745 Least cost routing, e.g. Automatic or manual, call by call or by preselection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/8166 Available credit
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing

Abstract

When a communication usage fee of a mobile communication terminal exceed a maximum charge, a mobile communication network side is made to manage a connection destination of the mobile communication terminal. When a mobile communication network receives a connection request message sent from a cell phone, it transmits a phone number of the cell phone to a subscriber information server and acquires usage information thereof. When the usage information is determined to be information indicating that the usage fee of cell phone has already arrived at the maximum charge, the mobile communication network sets maximum arrival information in the connection request message and transmits it to a connection management server. When it is determined that the maximum arrival information is set in the connection request message, the connection management server restricts the connection destination of cell phone to predetermined specific connection destination addresses.

Claims

1. A connection management apparatus comprising:

connection request receiving means for receiving a connection request message sent from a mobile communication terminal, from a mobile communication network to which the mobile communication terminal can be connected;

maximum arrival determining means for determining whether maximum arrival information to indicate that a communication usage fee of the mobile communication terminal has arrived at a predetermined maximum charge, is set in the connection request message received by the connection request receiving means; and

connection destination restricting means for restricting a connection destination of the mobile communication terminal corresponding to the connection request message, to a predetermined connection destination when the maximum arrival determining means determines that the maximum arrival information is set in the connection request message.

2. The connection management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising connectable address storing means for storing a connection destination address to which the mobile communication terminal can be connected,

wherein when the maximum arrival determining means determines that the maximum arrival information is set in the connection request message, the connection destination restricting means restricts the connection destination of the mobile communication terminal to the connection destination address stored by the connectable address storing means.

3. The connection management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the maximum arrival determining means determines that the maximum arrival information is not set in the connection request message, the connection destination restricting means sets the connection destination of the mobile communication terminal corresponding to the connection request message, to the connection destination included in the connection request message.

4. A connection management system comprising a mobile communication network to which a mobile communication terminal can be connected, and a connection management apparatus which can be connected to the mobile communication network,

wherein the mobile communication network comprises:

connection request receiving means for receiving a connection request message sent from the mobile communication terminal;

usage information acquiring means for acquiring usage information about communication usage of the mobile communication terminal having sent the connection request message;

arrival information setting means for, when the usage information acquired by the usage information acquiring means indicates that a communication usage fee of the mobile communication terminal has arrived at a predetermined maximum charge, setting maximum arrival information indicating that the communication usage fee has arrived at the maximum charge, in the connection request message; and

connection request transmitting means for transmitting the connection request message with the maximum arrival information set by the arrival information setting means or the connection request message received by the connection request receiving means, to the connection management apparatus, and

wherein the connection management apparatus comprises;

maximum arrival determining means for determining whether the maximum arrival information is set in the connection request message received from the mobile communication network; and

connection destination restricting means for restricting a connection destination of the mobile communication terminal corresponding to the connection request message, to a predetermined connection destination when the maximum arrival determining means determines that the maximum arrival information is set in the connection request message.

5. The connection management system according to claim 4, wherein the usage information acquiring means transmits a terminal ID uniquely specifying the mobile communication terminal, which is included in the received connection request message, and receives the usage information generated based on the communication usage fee and the maximum charge for the communication usage fee preliminarily stored corresponding to the terminal ID.

6. A connection management method comprising the following steps carried out by a connection management apparatus capable of communicating with a mobile communication terminal through a mobile communication network:

a connection request receiving step of receiving a connection request message sent from the mobile communication terminal, from the mobile communication network;

a maximum arrival determining step of determining whether maximum arrival information indicating that a communication usage fee of the mobile communication terminal has arrived at a predetermined maximum charge is set in the connection request message received in the connection request receiving step; and

a connection destination restricting step of restricting a connection destination of the mobile communication terminal corresponding to the connection request message, to a predetermined connection destination when it is determined in the maximum arrival determining step that the maximum arrival information is set in the connection request message.