Meter-rate billing system on a LAN system

• US 6,226,272 B1
• Filed: 05/21/1998
• Issued: 05/01/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Okano, Eiji, Yamamoto, Takaya
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Wellington
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Maikhanh
• Application Number:
  US09/082,832
• Time in Patent Office: 1,076 Days
• Field of Search: 370/259, 370/389-401, 379/91, 379/95, 379/107, 379/141, 707/1, 707/10, 707/102, 705/404
• US Class Current: 370/259
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2801 Broadband local area networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

A meter-rate billing system is disclosed in which billing is performed according to an interval while a subscriber uses a network actually, without any exclusive device. The meter-rate billing system on a LAN system for controlling connections to other networks includes a table in which a subscriber information is registered, a LAN controller for retrieving the table according to said subscriber information when a subscriber accesses joining to said LAN system accesses the LAN system, registering the subscriber information in said table if the information has not been registered, updating the registration information if the subscriber information is registered, and deleting the registration information if the registration information is not updated within a predetermined interval, and a billing device for receiving the registration information stored in the table in every predetermined informing interval and judging an interval time during which the registration information is registered in the table.

Claims

1. A meter-rate billing system on a LAN system for controlling connections to other networks, comprising:

a table in which a subscriber information is registered;

a LAN controller for retrieving the table according to a subscriber information when a subscriber joining to said LAN system accesses to the LAN system, registering the subscriber information in the table if said subscriber information has not been registered, updating a registration information if the registration information is registered, and deleting the registration information if the registration information is not updated in a predetermined interval; and

a billing device for receiving the registration information stored in the table in every predetermined informing interval and judging an interval time during which said registration information is kept in said table.

2. The meter-rate billing system according to claim 1,

wherein said predetermined interval is set as to be shorter than said predetermined informing interval.

3. The meter-rate billing system according to claim 1,

wherein said subscriber information includes an IP address assigned to said subscriber, said LAN controller includes a counter for counting times of registering the data in the table per the IP address, and the billing device receives registration times to the table per the IP address counted in the counter.

4. The meter-rate billing system according to claim 1,

wherein said LAN controller includes a counter for counting times of registering the data in the table, the counter is a cyclic counter, and the billing device obtains times of registering the subscriber data to the table in the predetermined informing interval according to a difference between the counted values of the counter received per said predetermined informing interval.

5. The meter-rate billing system according to claim 3,

wherein an interval while said counter is overflowed or the counter cycle is completed is set as to be shorter than said predetermined interval for informing the counted value of the counter to said billing system.

6. The meter-rate billing system according to claim 1,

wherein the subscriber information registered and up-dated on the table is a sender subscriber information.

7. The meter-rate billing system according to claim 1,

wherein the subscriber information registered and up-dated on the table is a destination subscriber information.

8. The meter-rate billing system according to claim 4,

wherein an interval while said counter is overflowed or the counter cycle is completed is set as to be shorter than said predetermined interval for informing the counted value of the counter to said billing system.

9. The meter-rate billing system according to claim 5,

wherein the subscriber information registered and up-dated on the table is a sender subscriber information.

10. The meter-rate billing system according to claim 5,

wherein the subscriber information registered and up-dated on the table is a destination subscriber information.