Call charging arrangement

• US 4,791,640 A
• Filed: 10/21/1985
• Issued: 12/13/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/1985
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sand, William C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Olms, Douglas W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Scutch, III, Frank M.
• Application Number:
  US06/789,469
• Time in Patent Office: 1,149 Days
• Field of Search: 370/58, 179/6.3 LC, 179/7.1 R, 179/7.1 TP, 340/825.31, 340/825.33, 340/825.34, 379/114, 379/115, 379/144, 379/186, 379/187
• US Class Current: 370/384
• 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: H04Q 11/0407 using a stored programme control

Abstract

An arrangement is disclosed for charging a credit card number for a call extended from a calling customer line to a called destination via a toll telecommunications network. Calls including supervisory and traffic information from a plurality of calling lines are multiplexed for extending the calls over a time division multiplex communications channel through the call charging arrangement to the network. The arrangement includes a time slot separator for separating the supervisory information from the call information and a switching network for switching the remaining call information to a traffic information receiver. A central processor in the arrangement receives the credit card number from the traffic information receiver and forwards the number to a data base for call charging authorization. When authorized, the processor utilizes the supervisory information to make a record charging the credit card number for the call. In addition, a transmitter in the arrangement forwards the supervisory information to the toll network. The switching network also switches the call information which is combined with the supervisory information to the toll network. Periodically, the call records are sent to a billing system for processing.

Claims

1. An arrangement for charging a customer-entered identification number for a call originated from a calling line and extendable to a called destination via a communications channel, said call including supervisory and traffic information, comprising:

means for separating said supervisory information from said call on said channel;

traffic receiver means for receiving said traffic information including said customer-entered identification number for said call on said channel;

switching means for switching said call on said channel to said traffic receiver means;

processor means for controlling said switching means and responsive to predetermined of said supervisory information from said separating means and to said customer-entered identification number from said traffic receiver means for making a record charging said customer-entered identification number for said call; and

means for communicating said customer-entered identification number to a data base, independent of said arrangement, for returning authorization to charge said number for said call.

2. The arrangement of claim 1 further comprising superpvisory receiver means for forwarding said supervisory information from said separating means to said processor means.

3. The arrangement of claim 1 further comprising termina1 means for interfacing a plurality of calling lines to said communication channel.

4. An arrangement for charging a call to a customer-entered identification number, comprising:

a communication channel extending call communications from a calling line to a telecommunications network for extending said call communications to a called destination;

means for sending said number in said call communications on said channel to a data base independent of said network;

switching means for switching said call communications on said channel to said sending means; and

processor means for controlling said means for sending and said means for switching and responsive to said number and authorization from said data base for making a record charging said number for said call.

5. An arrangement for charging a customer-entered identification number for a call from a calling line to a called line via a digitial communications line and a telecommunications network, said digital line for communicating a first digital signal having a first plurality of time slots and including said call from said calling line to said arrangement in a predetermined one of said first time slots and a second digital signal having a second plurality of time slots and including said call from said arrangement to said network in a designated one of said second time slots, said call including supervisory and traffic information, comprising:

means for separating said supervisory information of said ca11 form said first digit signal;

supervisory receiver means for receiving said supervisory information from said separating means;

switching means for switching said call from said predetermined time slot to a selected one of a third plurality of time slots;

traffic receiver means for receiving said traffic information including said customer-entered identification number of said call in said selected time slot; and

processor means for controlling said switching means and responsive to predetermined of said supervisory information from said supervisory receiver means and said customer-entered identification number from said traffic receiver means for making a record charging said customer-entered identification number for said call.

6. The invention of claim 5 wherein said traffic information includes a directory number of said called line and wherein said arrangement further comprises traffic transmitter means for sending a prompt to said calling customer line to send said customer-entered identification number to said arrangement.

7. The invention of claim 6 wherein said traffic transmitter means comprises signal processor means under the control of said processor means and responsive to a first set of program instructions for generating said prompt.

8. The invention of claim 7 wherein said signal processor means is responsive to a second set of program instructions for sending dial tone to said calling line and wherein said traffic transmitter means further comprises memory means for storing said first and second sets of program instructions.

9. The invention of claim 6 wherein said prompt from said traffic transmitter means to said calling customer is included in a particular one of a fourth plurality of time slots and wherein said switching means further comprises a time slot interchanger for inserting said prompt in said particular time slot into a certain one of a fifth plurality of time slots of a third digital signal from said arrangement to said calling customer line.

10. The invention of claim 5, further comprising means for receiving from a data base line authorization to charge said customer-entered identification number for said call in response to sending said customer-entered identification number from said processor means to said data base line.

11. The invention of claim 10 wherein said traffic information includes a directory number of said called line and wherein said arrangement further comprises traffic transmitter means for sending said called line directory number from said arrangement to said network when said processor means receives said authorization.

12. The invention of claim 11 where said traffic transmitter means comprises signal processor means under the control of said processor means and responsive to program instructions for sending said called line directory number from said arrangement to said network and memory means, for storing said program instructions.

13. The invention of claim 11 further comprising means for selecting said predetermined time slot for said traffic transmitter to send said called line directory number to said switching means and wherein said switching means further comprises a time slot interchanger for inserting said called line directory number in said predetermined time slot of said first digit signal into said designated time slot of said second digital signal from said arrangement to said network.

14. The invention of claim 5 wherein said traffic information includes a directory number of said called line and wherein said traffic receiver means comprises signal processor means under the control of said processor means and responsive to a first set of program instructions for receiving said called line directory number and responsive to a second set of program instructions for receiving said customer-entered identification number.

15. The invention of claim 14 wherein said traffic receiver means further comprises memory means for storing said first and second sets of program instructions.

16. The invention of claim 5 further comprising means for sending to a system line said billing record charging said customer-entered identification number for said call.

17. The invention of claim 5 wherein said switching means further comprises a first time slot interchanger under the control of said processor means for inserting said call in said predetermined time slot of said first digital signal from said calling line into said designated time slot of said second digital signal to said network.

18. The invention of claim 17 wherein switching means further comprises a second time slot interchanger for inserting said call in a particular one of a fourth plurality of time slots of a digital signal from said network to said arrangement into a certain one of a fifth plurality of time slots of a digital signal from said arrangement to said calling line.

19. The invention of claim 5 wherein said supervisory receiver means comprises memory means for storing said supervisory information from said separating means.

20. The invention of claim 19 wherein said supervisory receiver means further comprising second processor means for reporting said supervisory information in said memory means to said processor means.

21. The invention of claim 5 further comprising supervisory transmitter means under the control of said processor means for sending said supervisory information to said network.

22. The invention of claim 21 further comprising means for including said supervisory information from said supervisory transmitter means in said second digital signal to said network.

23. The invention of claim 5 further comprising supervisory receiver means for reporting said supervisory information from said network to said processor means.

24. The invention of claim 23 further comprising supervisory transmitter means under the control of said processor means for sending said supervisory information from said network to said calling line.