Processing of telecommunications call billing data
First Claim
1. In a telecommunications switching system, a method of recording billing data for a telecommunications call, said billing data comprising special billing data obtained from at least one data base shared by a plurality of switching systems, the method comprising the steps of:
- receiving said special billing data and storing said special billing data in a call control processor means for controlling establishment of calls of said switching system; and
following the lapse of a predetermined interval after an answer signal has been received for said call, transmitting said stored special billing data to a means for controlling preparation of billing records.
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Accused Products
Abstract
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for preparing a billing record for a special service telecommunications call such as a call over a software defined network or a direct service dialing capability call. These calls are characterized by the fact that in order to properly route and bill such calls, remote shared data bases must be consulted to obtain the necessary information, much of which is recorded in the billing record in order to properly charge the customer and to give that customer information about its calls. Special billing information for these special service calls is accumulated in an enhanced billing register capable of storing the special billing information for these special service calls. After timing for two seconds following the receipt of an answer for the call, all the accumulated billing information is transmitted to a separate processor, one of whose functions is the preparation and formatting of billing records. This processor retains the received billing information for the call until a disconnect is received for the call. After the second processor has received the disconnect indication, it prepares a billing record for the call and transfers this billing record either to secondary storage or transmits this information to a remote billing center. Advantageously, by reducing the number of transfers of data between the call control processor and the second processor, a large amount of real time can be saved for the call control processor, thus, substantially increasing the total call handling capacity of the call control processor in a system which handles a large fraction of special service calls.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. In a telecommunications switching system, a method of recording billing data for a telecommunications call, said billing data comprising special billing data obtained from at least one data base shared by a plurality of switching systems, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving said special billing data and storing said special billing data in a call control processor means for controlling establishment of calls of said switching system; and following the lapse of a predetermined interval after an answer signal has been received for said call, transmitting said stored special billing data to a means for controlling preparation of billing records. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. In a telecommunications switching system comprising call processor means operative under the control of a program for controlling establishment of calls and control means operative under the control of a program for controlling preparation of billing records, means for recording billing data for a telecommunications call, said billing data comprising special billing data obtained from at least one data base shared by a plurality of switching systems, comprising:
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processor means operative under control of a program for controlling reception of said special billing data and storing said special billing data in memory of said call control processor means; and processor means operative under the control of a program for controlling transmission of said stored special billing data to said control means following the elapse of a predetermined interval after an answer signal has been received for said call. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. In a telecommunications switching system comprising call processor means for controlling establishment of calls and means for controlling preparation of billing records, a method of recording billing data for a telecommunications call, said billing data comprising billing data obtained from a plurality of data bases each data base shared by a plurality of switching systems, the method comprising:
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receiving said special billing data and storing said special billing data in said call control processor means; following elapse of a predetermined interval after an answer signal has been received for said call, transmitting said stored special billing data to said means for controlling preparation of billing records; following elapse of said predetermined interval, releasing said memory for storing said special billing data; receiving a disconnect indication for said call in said call control processor means; transmitting an indication of a disconnect for said call from said call control processor means to said control means; responsive to receiving said indication of the disconnect in said control means, preparing a billing record for said call; recording said billing record in secondary storage for said means for controlling; wherein said special billing data is stored in a billing register of said call control processor means and wherein said billing register is an enhanced billing register larger than a POTS billing register for a POTS call.
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27. In a telecommunications switching system, a method of recording billing data for a telecommunications call, said billing data comprising special billing data obtained from at least one data base shared by a plurality of switching systems, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving said special billing data and storing said special billing data in a call control processor means for controlling establishment of calls of said switching system; and following the lapse of a predetermined interval after an answer signal has been received for said call, transmitting said stored special billing data to a means for recording said stored special billing data.
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28. In a telecommunications switching system, a method of recording billing data for a telecommunications call, said billing data comprising special billing data obtained from at least one data base shared by a plurality of switching systems, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving said special billing data and storing said special billing data in a call control processor means for controlling establishment of calls of said switching system; and following the lapse of a predetermined interval after an answer signal has been received for said call, transmitting said stored special billing data to a billing center.
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Specification