Method and apparatus for selective real time authorization and billing of calls in a public telepoint system

• US 5,321,735 A
• Filed: 06/29/1992
• Issued: 06/14/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Motorola Mobility, Inc. (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Breeden, Robert L., Shapiro, Steven C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kuntz, Curtis
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bost, Dwayne D.
• Application Number:
  US07/906,110
• Time in Patent Office: 715 Days
• Field of Search: 379/58, 379/59, 379/91, 379/111-115, 379/133, 379/134
• US Class Current: 455/406
• 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 2215/32 Involving wireless systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing

Abstract

A method, in a base station providing communications within a coverage area for authorizing and processing calls initiated by portable communication units (PCUs), whereby the base station is coupled to a network control center, comprises receiving (615) registration information, including a value indicating a type of PCU, from a PCU. Further steps include determining (620), in response to receiving (615) the registration information, the PCU type indicated by the value and requesting (610), in response to determining (625) that the PCU is of a specific type, authorization from a network control center for a call initiated by the PCU. A still further step includes processing (650), if authorization is received from the network control center, the call initiated by the PCU.

Claims

1. A method, in a base station providing communications within a coverage area for authorizing and processing calls initiated by portable communication units (PCUs), whereby the base station is coupled to a network control center, the method comprising:

(a) receiving registration information from a PCU;

(b) determining, in response to step (a), that the PCU is a first type of PCU when the registration information includes a type value and that the PCU is a second type of PCU when the registration information does not include the type value;

(c) requesting, in response to determining that the PCU is of the first type, authorization from the network control center for a call initiated by the PCU;

(d) processing if authorization is received from the network control center, the call initiated by the PCU in response to step (c), wherein call information is automatically forwarded to the network control center in response to termination of the call; and

(d1) processing, without request for authorization, the call initiated by the PCU when the PCU is the second type of PCU, wherein call information is not forwarded to the network control center in response to termination of the call.

2. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein step (c) comprises the steps of:

(e) transmitting the registration information to the network control center; and

(f) receiving an authorization signal from the network control center.

3. The method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(g) receiving a call termination signal at completion of the call; and

(h) providing, in response to step (g), call information to the network control center.

4. A method, in a base station providing communications within a coverage area for authorizing and processing calls initiated by portable communication units (PCUs), whereby the base station is coupled to a network control center, the method comprising:

(a) receiving registration information, including a value indicating a type of PCU, from a PCU;

(b) determining, in response to step (a), the PCU type indicated by the value;

(c) requesting, in response to determining that the PCU is of a first type, authorization from the network control center for a call initiated by the PCU;

(d) coupling, if authorization is received from the network control center, the call to the telephone system;

(e) receiving, subsequent to step (c), a call termination signal from the PCU of the first type at completion of the call;

(f) providing, in response to step (e), call information for the PCU of the first type to the network control center; and

(g) processing, in response to determining that the PCU is of a second type, the call from the PCU in a conventional manner without requesting authorization, wherein call information for the PCU of the second type is not provided to the network control center in response to a call termination signal from the PCU of the second type.

5. The method in accordance with claim 4, wherein step (g) comprises the steps of:

(h) coupling, in response to determining that the PCU is of the second type, the call to the telephone system without requesting authorization from the network control center;

(i) receiving, subsequent to step (h), the call termination signal from the PCU of the second type, wherein the call information for the PCU of the second type is not provided to the network control center in response to receiving the call termination signal from the PCU of the second type.

6. A method for real-time billing of calls initiated by portable communication units (PCUs) in a wireless communication system, the wireless communication system comprising at least one base station, the at least one base station providing communications for a limited coverage area, and the at least one base station coupled to a telephone system, whereby calls from the PCUs may be transferred over the telephone system, the wireless communication system further comprising a network control center for authorizing the calls from the PCUs and processing customer billing, wherein billing information may be further provided to an external electronic device, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) programming a PCU with a value, the value indicating one of at least two PCU types;

(b) the PCU transmitting data, including the value, to a base station during initiation of a call;

(c) the base station determining, in response to step (b), the PCU type;

(c1) the base station coupling the call from the PCU to the telephone system without obtaining authorization from the network control center in response to determining that the PCU is not of a first type, wherein call information is not provided to the network control center in response to termination of the call when the PCU is not of the first type;

(d) the base station obtaining, in response to the base station determining that the PCU is of the first type, authorization from the network control center for the call initiated by the PCU, wherein the authorization is obtained via the telephone system;

(e) the base station coupling, in response to step (d), the call to the telephone system;

(f) the PCU, subsequent to step (e), transmitting a call termination signal to the base station;

(g) the base station providing, in response to step (f), call information to the network control center via the telephone system;

(h) the network control center updating billing information in response to reception of the call information;

(i) the network control center receiving a billing request from the external electronic device; and

(j) the network control enter providing, in response to step (i), the updated billing information to the external electronic device.

7. A base station for providing communications for a limited coverage area, comprising:

a transceiver for transmitting radio frequency (RF) signals to an external portable communication unit (PCU) and for receiving RF signals from the PCU, the received RF signals comprising a value indicating a PCU type;

determination circuitry coupled to the transceiver for determining that the PCU is of a first type or of a second type responsive to the received RF signals;

communication means coupled to the determination circuitry and the transceiver for communicating with an external network control center at least once per call, to authorize the call prior to processing the call, in response to the determination circuitry determining that the calling PCU is of the first type; and

providing means coupled to the communication means for providing call information to the external network control center in response to termination of the call when the PCU is of the first type, wherein call information is not provided to the external network control center in response to termination of the call when the PCU is of the second type.

8. The base station in accordance with claim 7, wherein the communication means comprises:

a telephone interface for providing an authorization request to the external network control center through an external telephone system when the PCU is of the first type and for providing the call information to the external network control center through the telephone network when the PCU is of the first type.

9. The base station in accordance with claim 7, wherein the base station is coupled to the external network control center by a non-dedicated communication channel over which the base station authorizes the call and provides the call information when the PCU is of the first type.

10. The base station in accordance with claim 9, wherein the non-dedicated communication channel comprises a telephone network.

11. A wireless communication system for transporting calls across a telephone system and providing billing information to an external electronic device, comprising:

a plurality of portable communication units (PCUs) for transmitting RF signals, the RF signals comprising data which includes a value indicating a PCU type;

a network control center for authorizing, when necessary, calls from the PCUs;

at least one base station for receiving the RF signals transmitted by a PCU and determining a PCU type indicated by the value included in the data, wherein the at least one base station processes a call from the PCU in a conventional manner without providing call information about the call to the network control center in response to termination of the call when the PCU is of a first type, and wherein the at least one base station provides information about the call to the network control center in response to termination of each call from the PCU when the PCU is of a second type; and

a communication channel coupled between the at least one base station and the network control center, wherein the communication channel is activated at least once per call to provide the call information to the network control center when the at least one base station determines that a calling PCU is of the second type.

12. The wireless communication system in accordance with claim 11 wherein the at least one base station comprises:

a transceiver for transmitting RF signals to a PCU and for receiving the RF signals transmitted by the PCU;

a memory coupled to the transceiver for storing information, including the value indicating the PCU type;

determination circuitry coupled to the memory for determining the PCU type indicated by the value; and

a telephone interface coupled to the transceiver for transporting calls to and from the PCU.

13. The wireless communication system in accordance with claim 11, wherein the network control center comprises:

computing means for computing the billing information;

a memory coupled to the computing means for storing the billing information; and

a data interface coupled to the memory and the computing means for receiving the billing request and transmitting the billing information to the external electronic device in response thereto.

14. The wireless communication system in accordance with claim 11, wherein the plurality of PCUs comprises:

a transceiver for transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals, wherein the transmitted RF signals comprise the data which includes values indicating the PCU type;

a processing unit coupled to the transceiver for processing the received RF signals;

programming means coupled to the processing unit for receiving information, wherein the received information comprises at least the value indicating the PCU type; and

a memory coupled to the processing unit and the programming means for storing data included in the received RF signals and for storing the received information, including the values indicating the PCU types.

15. The wireless communication system in accordance with claim 14, wherein the programming means comprises:

a data entry device coupled to the processing unit whereby user-executed commands may be entered; and

an audio interface coupled to the processing unit for receiving audio information from a user and for transmitting audio information to the user.

16. The wireless communication system in accordance with claim 11, wherein the communication channel over which authorization is obtained by the at least one base station and over which the call information is provided comprises a non-dedicated wireline.

17. The wireless communication system in accordance with claim 11, wherein the communication channel comprises a telephone network.

18. A method, in a base station providing communications within a coverage area for processing calls initiated by portable communication units (PCUs), whereby the base station is coupled to a network control center, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving information from PCUs of first and second types;

(b) determining whether any of the information includes a type value indicative of the first type of PCU;

(c) processing calls from the PCUs by coupling the calls to a telephone system, wherein, in response to determining that calling PCUs are of the first type, call information about each call is provided to the network control center over the telephone system in response to termination of each call, and wherein, in response to determining that calling PCUs are of the second type, call information about each call is not provided to the network control center in response to termination of each call.