Information service billing system using radio communications

• US 5,729,740 A
• Filed: 12/08/1993
• Issued: 03/17/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Tsumura, Mihoji
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mizrahi, Diane D.
• Application Number:
  US08/163,933
• Time in Patent Office: 1,560 Days
• Field of Search: 340/870.02, 340/870.03, 340/870.05, 340/870.07, 358/86, 358/84, 358/142, 379/105-107, 364/483
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

An efficient billing system for value-added information. The present invention provides an efficient billing system in which an information provider, can bill an information service fee in an efficient manner when the receiving device of a user receives toll information via radio communications, typically satellite communications. The present invention essentially comprises a main unit at a transmitter side having a host computer with a database for storing data of various types and a transmitter for radio communications, and a plurality of terminal units for receiving said various types of data. Each data frame of various data types transmitted from the main unit has a data identification code identifying the corresponding data type. The terminal unit stores utilization status data which are processed, and executed. The utilization status data singly or in combination with public utilities rate data are fed back to the main unit. Alternatively, information service fee is added onto the public utilities rate before they are billed.

Claims

1. A billing system in radio communications comprising:

a main unit having a host computer with a database for storing data of various types and a transceiver for transmitting and receiving said data of various types via radio communications, and

a plurality of terminal units for receiving said data of various types, each of said terminal units having a unique terminal identification code,

said main unit being configured to add to data to be transmitted a data identification code unique to said data type of said data to be transmitted, and said main unit being configured to transmit said data with said data identification code,

said main unit being further configured to transmit at regular intervals a control signal to request transfer of utilization information, and

each of said plurality of terminal units including a processor for sequentially storing the data identification codes of said data transmitted from said main unit and received by said terminal unit, and, upon receiving said control signal, for forming a data stream comprising said stored data identification codes and said terminal identification code corresponding to said terminal unit.

2. The billing system in radio communications according to claim 1 wherein said terminal unit is further provided with a transmitter for transmission to the main unit.

3. The billing system in radio communications according to claim 1, wherein said radio communications are terrestrial communications.

4. The billing system in radio communications according to claim 1, wherein an example of said data of various types is data containing a program required for executing a computer video game.

5. The billing system in radio communications according to claim 1, wherein transmitted signal from said main unit is scrambled, and said terminal unit is provided with a descrambler.

6. The billing system in radio communications according to claim 1, wherein said main unit is configured to store pricing data on a per data type basis in a data table, and is configured to calculate an information service fee per each terminal unit by referring said data streams transmitted from said terminal unit to said data table.

7. The billing system in radio communications according to claim 1, wherein said terminal unit is configured to store pricing data on a per data type basis in a data table, is configured to calculate an information service fee by referring those of said stored data identification codes which were stored prior to the reception of said control signal to said data table, and is configured to send said information service fee as data to said main unit.

8. The billing system in radio communications according to claim 1, wherein a mode of propagation for the transmission is FM modulation, and said terminal unit comprises a digital signal processing block which converts received signal into a digital signal.

9. The billing system in radio communications according to claim 1, wherein said data identification code comprises two kinds of pricing information, namely, pricing information on a per unit data basis and pricing information on a per unit time basis, and billing is selectively made by unit data or by unit time in accordance with the data executed by said terminal unit.

10. A billing system in radio communications comprising:

a main unit having a host computer with a database for storing data of various types and a transceiver for transmitting and receiving said data of various types via radio communications;

a plurality of terminal units for receiving said data of various types, each of said terminal units having a unique terminal identification code;

said main unit being configured to add to data to be transmitted a data identification code unique to said data type of said data to be transmitted, and said main unit being configured to transmit said data with said data identification code;

said main unit being further configured to transmit at regular intervals a control signal to request transfer of utilization information; and

each of said plurality of terminal units including a processor for sequentially storing the data identification codes of said data transmitted from said main unit and received by said terminal unit, and, upon receiving said control signal, for forming a data stream comprising said stored data identification codes and said terminal identification code corresponding to said terminal unit, wherein said radio communications are satellite communications.