Pre-paid cellular telephone system

• US 5,778,313 A
• Filed: 12/08/1995
• Issued: 07/07/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cellexis International Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Cellexis International Incorporated
• Inventors: Fougnies, Douglas V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bost, Dwayne D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEGREE, TRACY MICHELLE
• Application Number:
  US08/569,961
• Time in Patent Office: 942 Days
• Field of Search: 455/408, 455/406, 455/410, 455/418, 455/419, 455/564, 455/409, 379/144, 379/114, 379/130, 379/113, 379/112, 379/127, 379/355, 379/356
• US Class Current: 455/406
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/00 Prepayment of wireline communication systems, wireless communication systems or telephone systems using a coded card to authorise calls from a telephone set H04M1/675
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/2026 Wireless network, e.g. GSM, PCS, TACS
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/32 Involving wireless systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing

Abstract

A pre-pay service unit uses pseudo-numbers to identify subscribers and substitutes actual numbers to complete a call after verification of authenticity and verification of a positive balance in a subscriber'"'"'s account. The service unit and the cellular telephone exchange data in the process of authentication. For outgoing calls, a cellular telephone first transmits an "800" number and an ANI. The "800" number is the telephone number of the pre-pay service unit, which then requests number actually dialed. The cellular telephone responds with dialed digits, a security code, and status data. If the information is correct, the dialed digits are then passed to a local exchange carrier to complete the call. For incoming calls, a pseudo-number directs the call to the pre-pay service unit, which converts the pseudo-number to the actual telephone number of a subscriber'"'"'s cellular telephone.

Claims

1. A pre-paid, cellular telephone system comprising:

a plurality of subscriber cellular telephones, each telephone capable of auto-answer and silent ring and including internal memory, a microprocessor, and means for transmitting data from said memory;

wherein each of said cellular telephones is programmed to transmit a predetermined first telephone number instead of dialed digits, followed by a unique ANI code, on outgoing calls and is programmed to transmit the dialed digits upon request and to include a unique security code with the dialed digits;

a pre-pay service unit including a plurality of telephone communication channels;

wherein said pre-pay service unit is identified by said first telephone number and wherein said pre-pay service unit is programmed to request said dialed digits for completing an outgoing call after recognizing a subscriber cellular telephone by said ANI code and said security code.

2. The pre-paid, cellular telephone system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for transmitting data includes a DTMF encoder/decoder.

3. The pre-paid, cellular telephone system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for transmitting data includes a modem.

4. The pre-paid, cellular telephone system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said subscriber cellular telephone scrambles the dialed digits with said security code.

5. The pre-paid, cellular telephone system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said subscriber cellular telephone transmits said dialed digits and said security code seriatim.

6. The pre-paid, cellular telephone system as set forth in claim 1 wherein the subscriber cellular telephones are each identified by a unique pseudo-DID number for incoming calls and wherein said pre-pay service unit stores the actual MIN numbers of the subscriber cellular telephones and converts the pseudo-DID digits into the actual MIN of a subscriber cellular telephone to complete an incoming call to the subscriber cellular telephone using the MIN.