Pre-paid cellular telephone system

• US 6,101,378 A
• Filed: 08/15/1996
• Issued: 08/08/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Japan Radio Company Limited (Nisshinbo Holdings Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Japan Radio Company Limited (Nisshinbo Holdings Incorporated)
• Inventors: Barabash, Darrell, Morris, Russell
• Primary Examiner(s): Bost, Dwayne D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MAUNG, NAY AUNG
• Application Number:
  US08/698,508
• Time in Patent Office: 1,454 Days
• Field of Search: 455/405, 455/406, 455/407, 455/408, 455/558, 455/522, 455/410, 455/411, 379/111, 379/114, 379/144, 379/357, 379/93.01, 375/222
• US Class Current: 455/406
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/765 Linked or grouped accounts, e.g. of users or devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/77 involving multiple accounts per user
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/854 Available credit
• 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 17/10 Account details or usage
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/32 Involving wireless systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/724 Linked accounts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7254 Multiple accounts per user
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/8166 Available credit
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

A cellular telephone system maintains a database of prepaid cellular telephone service accounts, including an amount of money remaining in each account. The system uses modems in a blank-and-burst mode to send data and commands over a voice channel. When a call is attempted over a mobile unit, the system sends identification information stored in the mobile unit to a debit processing unit, which then permits the call and debits the associated account if a sufficient amount of money remains in the account, otherwise it terminates the call.

Claims

1. A radiotelephone system for providing prepaid mobile telephone service to subscribers, comprising:

(a) a plurality of mobile telephone units, each;

(i) being associated with one of the subscribers;

(ii) storing an identification of the associated subscriber; and

(iii) including a first modem being capable of sending the identification of the associated subscriber whenever a call is attempted over the mobile telephone unit;

(b) a plurality of base stations, each of said base stations having means for establishing a voice channel between it and one of said mobile telephone units for each call initiated or received at said mobile telephone unit and said base station also having means for controlling calls and providing control information and power level information between said base station and one of said mobile telephone units for mobile telephone service being provided to said mobile telephone unit; and

(c) a debit processing unit having a link to at least one of said base stations and also having;

(i) means for storing a database, for each subscriber the database contains a balance of money remaining in an account corresponding to the subscriber;

(ii) a second modem connected to a point along the voice channel, said second modem being in data communication with said first modem, said second modem including means for receiving information over said voice channel established by said base station in bursts in a blank-and-burst format, the first and second modems sending signals to and receiving signals from each other in bursts, each said burst comprising a synchronization word having a variable error threshold and said synchronization word for enabling one of said modems that is receiving said burst to differentiate the burst from the voice signals carried over the voice channel, the voice signals being muted during each burst, whereby the first and second modems provide a data channel between the mobile telephone unit and the debit processing unit seemingly concurrently, and with minimal interference with the voice signals that are being carried over the voice channel, and without requiring modifications to the base station, and wherein said information being sent over the voice channel includes the identification of the associated subscriber sent by one of the plurality of mobile telephone units when a call is attempted over the mobile telephone unit; and

(iii) means for selectively permitting, over said link, the call to be connected if the balance of money remaining in the account corresponding to the associated subscriber exceeds a first specified amount, and if the call is permitted, reducing the balance of money remaining in the account corresponding to the associated subscriber; and

(iv) means for denying, over said link, said call by sending a command to said mobile unit associated with the subscriber to terminate the call if said balance is below said first specified amount.

2. The radiotelephone system defined in claim 1, wherein said synchronization word:

is a 16-bit code word.

3. The radiotelephone system of claim 1, wherein said link between said base station and said debit processing unit is one of permanent, switched, wire or wireless.

4. The radiotelephone system defined in claim 1, wherein the first and second modems use audio frequency-shift keying (AFSK) to respectively send and receive the identification of the associated subscriber.

5. The radiotelephone system defined in claim 4, wherein:

(a) the first and second modems respectively send and receive the identification of the associated subscriber in at least one burst of data;

(b) the first modem sends a synchronization word at the beginning of each burst of data;

(c) the second modem detects the beginning of each burst of data by the presence of the synchronization word; and

(d) the associated mobile telephone unit mutes the voice signals during each burst of data.

6. The radiotelephone system defined in claim 1, wherein during a call, the debit processing unit:

(a) periodically reduces the balance of money remaining in the account corresponding to the associated subscriber; and

(b) if the balance of money remaining in the account corresponding to the associated subscriber becomes less than a second specified amount, terminates the call.

7. The radiotelephone system defined in claim 6, wherein:

(a) at least one of the plurality of mobile telephone units further comprises means for displaying the balance of money remaining in the account corresponding to the subscriber associated with the mobile telephone unit; and

(b) the debit processing unit periodically causes the at least one mobile telephone unit to display the balance of money remaining in the account.

8. The radiotelephone system of claim 7, wherein each said burst of said blank-and-burst communication further comprises an acquisition header for enabling one of said first and second modems that is receiving a signal in said burst to clock-synchronize with the remainder of the burst.

9. The radiotelephone system of claim 8, wherein said acquisition header is a code of between 12 and 20 bits.

10. The radiotelephone system of claim 8, wherein each burst further comprises a subframe for transporting data, the data comprising groups of data bits, the sub-frame comprising code words, wherein each group of data bits is encoded to form one of the code words.

11. The radiotelephone system of claim 10, wherein a forward error correction code is used to encode each group of data bits to form one of the code words.

12. The radiotelephone system of claim 11, wherein the forward error correction code is a (15,11) Hamming code.

13. A method of providing prepaid mobile telephone service to subscribers, in a mobile telephone system having a plurality of mobile telephone units each including a first modem and each being associated with one of the subscribers, and a plurality of base stations which establish a voice channel between the base station and a mobile unit for each call initiated or received at said mobile unit and said base station, and a second modem connected to a point along the voice channel, said second modem being in data communication with said first modem, the method including the steps of:

(a) storing an identification of one of the subscribers in each said mobile telephone unit;

(b) storing a data base in an associated data storage device containing the subscriber'"'"'s identification and a balance of money remaining in an account corresponding to that subscriber;

(c) when a call is initiated by one of said subscribers, establishing a voice channel between said mobile telephone unit of said subscriber and said base station;

(d) transmitting the subscriber'"'"'s identification and corresponding balance of money remaining in an account over said voice channel in a burst of data over said voice channel, including;

1. sending at the start of said burst a synchronization word having a variable error threshold, and said synchronization word for enabling one of said first and second modems that is receiving said burst to differentiate the burst from the voice signals carried over the voice channel;

2. muting said voice signals during each said burst;

3. selectively permitting the call to be connected if the balance of money remaining in the account corresponding to the associated subscriber exceeds a predetermined amount, and denying the call if said balance is below a predetermined amount;

4. upon permitting the call, reducing the balance of money remaining in the account corresponding to the associated subscriber.

14. The method of claim 13 including said synchronization word being a 16-bit code.

15. The method of claim 13 including the step of:

sending as a component of said burst an acquisition header for enabling one of said first and second modems that is receiving a signal in said burst to clock-synchronize with the remainder of the burst.

16. The method of claim 15 including the step of:

sending said acquisition header as a code of between 12 and 20 bits.

17. The method of claim 16 including the step of:

sending as a component of said burst a subframe for transporting data, the data comprising groups of data bits, the subframe comprising code words wherein each group of data bits is encoded to form one of the code words.

18. The method of claim 17 including the step of:

encoding each group of data bits of said burst using forward error correction.

19. The method of claim 18 including the further step of:

employing a forward error correction code that is a (15,11) Hamming code.