900 number billing and collection system and method for on-line computer services

• US 5,737,414 A
• Filed: 05/20/1997
• Issued: 04/07/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Walker Asset Management Limited Partnership
• Inventors: Schneier, Bruce, Walker, Jay
• Primary Examiner(s): Barron, Jr., Gilberto
• Application Number:
  US08/859,162
• Time in Patent Office: 322 Days
• Field of Search: 380/4, 380/25
• US Class Current: 705/40
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/00 Payment architectures, schemes or protocols apparatus for performing or posting payment transactions G07F7/08, G07F19/00; electronic cash registers G07G1/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/085 involving remote charge determination or related payment systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/0855 involving a third party
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/14 specially adapted for billing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/16 Payments settled via telecommunication systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0623 Item investigation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1439 time-based
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1482 involving use of telephony infrastructure for billing for the transport of data, e.g. call detail record [CDR] or intelligent network infrastructure
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0807 using tickets, e.g. Kerberos cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using tickets or tokens H04L9/3213
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• 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 15/68 Payment of value-added services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0176 : Billing arrangements using internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0196 : Payment of value-added services, mainly when their charges are added on the telephone bill, e.g. payment of non-telecom services, e-commerce, on-line banking
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/22 : Bandwidth or usage-sensitve billing

Abstract

A billing and collection system for enabling payment for a service provided over a data network by billing a customer for a telephone connection to a shared revenue billing network where the telephone connection to the billing network regulates access to the service provided over the data network, comprising: a data network including at least one user on-line service provider presenting at least one service for on-line access by a user with a user computer through the data network, a billing network and an access management computer for controlling access to the on-line service provider and billing the user for access to the on-line service provider, the access management computer communicating with the data network for enabling and terminating access to the on-line service provider through the user computer whereby the billing network shares revenues for the telephone connection with the on-line service provider.

Claims

1. A method for utilizing an access management computer to control a user'"'"'s access to digital data provided by an on-line server over a data network wherein a billing system separate from said on-line server charges said user for access to said digital data, comprising the steps of:

said access management computer receiving, from said billing system, a message indicating that said user has requested access to digital data;

said access management computer interfacing with said on-line server;

said access management computer sending an access message to said on-line server to signal said on-line server to provide said digital data to said user over said data network; and

said access management computer providing, to said billing system, said access message corresponding to said user'"'"'s request for access.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said access message is provided to said user for transmission to said on-line server over a first communications channel separate from a second communications channel over which said user is connected to said billing system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said access message contains billing information for use by said billing system.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said billing information is associated with a quantity of information which said user has requested from said on-line server.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein said billing information is associated with a period of time during which said user is connected to said on-line server.

6. A method for utilizing an access management computer to control a user'"'"'s access to digital data provided by an on-line server over a data network wherein a billing system separate from said on-line server charges said user for access to said digital data, comprising the steps of:

said access management computer receiving, from said billing system, a message indicating that said user has requested access to said digital data;

said access management computer interfacing with said on-line server;

said access management computer generating an access message; and

said access management computer sending said access message to said on-line server to signal said on-line server to provide said digital data to said user over said data network.

7. A method for utilizing an access management computer to control a user'"'"'s access to digital data provided by an on-line server over a data network wherein a billing system separate from said on-line server charges said user for access to said digital data, comprising the steps of:

said access management computer receiving, from said billing system, a message indicating that said user has requested access to said digital data;

said access management computer interfacing with said on-line server;

said access management computer reading an access message from a database; and

said access management computer sending said access message to said on-line server to signal said on-line server to provide said digital data to said user over said data network.

8. A method for utilizing an access management computer to control a user'"'"'s access to digital data provided by an on-line server over a data network wherein a billing system separate from said on-line server charges said user for access to said digital data, comprising the steps of:

said access management computer receiving, from said billing system, a message indicating that said user has requested access to said digital data;

said access management computer interfacing with said on-line server;

said access management computer receiving an access message from said user via said billing system; and

said access management computer sending said access message to said on-line server to signal said on-line server to provide said digital data to said user over said data network.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of said access management computer decrypting said received access message prior to the step of said access management computer sending said access message to said on-line server.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein said access message includes a user-specified access limitation.

11. A method for utilizing an access management computer to control a user'"'"'s access to digital data provided by an on-line server over a data network wherein a billing system separate from said on-line server charges said user for access to said digital data, comprising the steps of:

said access management computer receiving, from said billing system, a message indicating that said user has requested access to said digital data;

said access management computer interfacing with said on-line server;

said access management computer sending an access message to said on-line server to signal said on-line server to provide said digital data to said user over said data network; and

said access management computer disconnecting from said on-line server upon occurrence of a predetermined event.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said predetermined event includes passage of a specified time interval.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein said predetermined event includes accrual of a predetermined billing amount.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein said predetermined event includes receiving a user disconnect signal from said billing system.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein said predetermined event includes obtaining a session completion indication from said on-line server.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein said obtaining said session completion indication comprises monitoring said on-line server.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of providing an auxiliary billing signal to said billing system based on said predetermined event.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein said auxiliary billing signal is associated with a quantity of information which said user has requested from said on-line server.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein said auxiliary billing signal is associated with a period of time during which said user is connected to said on-line server.