Call charging method in radio telephone system and radio telephone system employing the same method

• US 5,425,083 A
• Filed: 03/05/1993
• Issued: 06/13/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Ogawa, Yohichi, Furuya, Tsuneo
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHANKAR, VIJAY
• Application Number:
  US08/026,762
• Time in Patent Office: 830 Days
• Field of Search: 379/58, 379/59, 379/111, 379/112, 379/113, 379/114, 379/115, 379/133, 379/134
• US Class Current: 455/405
• 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 15/34 Charging, billing or metering arrangements for private branch exchanges
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/32 Involving wireless systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing

Abstract

In a radio telephone system and a call charging method used in the radio telephone system, when a user of a radio telephone issues a telephone call to a public telephone network by utilizing a radio controller installed in a PBX employed on the premises of a company to which the telephone user does not belong, the PBX reports both terminal number information of the radio telephone and call account information for charging the call account to the terminal to the public telephone network. When the information is received, the public telephone network charges the call account to the radio telephone. If the information is not transmitted from the PBX to the public telephone network, the call account is charged to the call originating line of the PBX.

Claims

1. A call charging method in a radio telephone system for allowing telephone calls issued from radio telephones via a radio controller installed within a communication network of a first company to a communication network of a second company, said communication network of said second company performs call charging processing, said call charging method comprising the steps of:

upon receipt of a call originating from a radio telephone, identifying, by said communication network of said first company, whether a call account should be charged to said radio telephone or said communication network of said first company;

when said communication network of said first company identifies that said call account should be charged to said radio telephone, transmitting, by said communication network of said first company, call account information to said communication network of said second company;

when said call account information has been received in said communication network of said second company, charging, by said communication network of said second company, said call account to said radio telephone; and

when said call account information has not been received in said communication network of said second company, charging, by said communication network of said second company, said call account to said communication network of said first company.

2. A call charging method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said call account information contains a terminal number of said radio telephone, or a group number when said terminal corresponds to one of a group of radio telephones to which the same group number has been assigned.

3. A call charging method in a radio telephone system for allowing telephone calls issued from radio telephones via a radio controller installed within a communication network belonging to a first company to a communication network belonging to a second company, said communication network of said second company performs call charging processing, said call charging method comprising the steps of:

upon receipt of a call originating from a radio telephone, identifying, by said communication network of said first company, whether a call account should be charged to said radio telephone or said communication network of said first company; and

transmitting, by said communication network of said first company, to said communication network of said second company identifying information for identifying said radio telephone and call account information for indicating whether said call account for said call is to be charged to said radio telephone or said communication network of said first company;

wherein when said call account information indicates that the call account is to be charged to said radio telephone, said communication network of the second company charges said call account to said radio telephone, and when said call account information indicates that said call account is to be charged to said communication network of said first company, said communication network of said second company charges said call account to said communication network of said first company.

4. A call charging method as claimed in claim 3, wherein said identifying information of said radio telephone contains a terminal number of said radio telephone, or a group number when said terminal corresponds to one of a group of radio telephones to which the same group number has been assigned.

5. In a radio telephone system comprising at least one radio telephone, a plurality of radio controllers for radio-communicating with said radio telephone, a private branch exchange for accommodating a certain number of said plural radio controllers which have been installed on the premises of a company and connected to a public telephone network, and a public telephone exchange for accommodating another certain number of said plural radio controllers which have been installed outside the company and connected to said public telephone network, wherein a user of said radio telephone is connected via a radio controller near a place where said user operates the radio telephone to said public telephone network, a call charge method when the user of said radio telephone issues a telephone call via said private branch exchange to said public telephone network, comprising the steps of:

identifying, by said private branch exchange, whether said radio telephone belongs to said private branch exchange;

reporting, by said private branch exchange, an attribute of said radio telephone to said public telephone network when said radio telephone belongs to said private branch exchange;

charging, by said public telephone network, a call account to said radio telephone when said attribute is reported;

not reporting, by said private branch exchange, the attribute of said radio telephone to said public telephone network when said radio telephone does not belong to said private branch exchange; and

charging, by said public telephone network, said call account to said private branch exchange when said attribute is not reported.

6. In a radio telephone system comprising at least one radio telephone, a plurality of radio controllers for radio-communicating with said radio telephone, a private branch exchange for accommodating a certain number of said plural radio controllers which have been installed on the premises of a company and connected to a public telephone network, and a public telephone branch exchange for accommodating another certain number of said plural radio controllers which have been installed outside the company and connected to said public telephone network, wherein a user of said radio telephone is connected via a radio controller near a place where said user operates said radio telephone to said public telephone network, a call charge method when the user of said radio telephone issues a telephone call via said private branch exchange to said public telephone network, comprising the steps of:

identifying, by said private branch exchange, whether said radio telephone belongs to said private branch exchange; and

reporting, by said private branch exchange, identifying information for identifying said radio telephone and call account information for designating whether a call account of a telephone call is to be charged to said radio telephone to said public telephone network, wherein said public telephone network charges said call account to said radio telephone when said call account information designates that said call account is to be charged to said radio telephone, and charges said call account to said private branch exchange when said call account information does not designate that said call account is to be charged to said radio telephone.

7. A radio telephone system comprising:

a public telephone network;

a plurality of radio controllers each capable of radio-communicating with an arbitrary radio telephone;

a private branch exchange for accommodating a certain number of said plural radio controllers which have been installed on the premises of a company and connected to said public telephone network; and

a public telephone exchange for accommodating another certain number of said plural radio controllers which have been installed outside the company and connected to said public telephone network;

wherein said private branch exchange includes means for identifying whether a radio telephone belongs to said private branch exchange when an arbitrary radio controller accommodated in said private branch exchange receives a telephone call issued from said radio telephone, for producing call account information indicative that a call account is to be charged to said radio telephone when said radio telephone does not belong to said private branch exchange and for sending said call account information to said public telephone network; and

wherein said public telephone network charges said call account to said radio telephone when said call account information has been received, and charges said call account to said private branch exchange when said call account information has not been received.

8. A radio telephone system comprising:

a public telephone network;

a plurality of radio controllers each being capable of radio-communicating with an arbitrary radio telephone;

a private branch exchange for accommodating a certain number of said plural radio controllers which have been installed on the premises of a company and connected to said public telephone network; and

a public telephone exchange for accommodating another certain number of said plural radio controllers which have been installed outside the company and connected to said public telephone network;

wherein said private branch exchange includes means for identifying whether said radio telephone belongs to said private branch exchange when an arbitrary radio controller of said private branch exchange receives a telephone call issued from a radio telephone, for producing identifying information for identifying said radio telephone and call account information indicative of whether a call account is to be charged to said radio telephone, and for sending both of said information to said public telephone network; and

wherein said public telephone network charges said call account to either said radio telephone or said private branch exchange, depending upon said call account information.

9. A radio telephone system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said call account information contains information for charging said call account to said radio telephone,

wherein when said call account information indicates to charge said call account to said radio telephone, said public telephone network charges said call account to said radio telephone, and

wherein when said call account information does not indicate to charge said call account to said radio telephone, said public telephone network charges said call account to said private branch exchange.