Portable telephone system

• US 6,301,472 B1
• Filed: 12/01/1998
• Issued: 10/09/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Onooka, Yasushi, Kodaka, Kunio, Nakasu, Jiro, Mitani, Yuji, Hayashi, Hideki, Yamamoto, Kazuhiro, Yamanaka, Shunji, Tsukada, Tomoaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Lee
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Simon
• Application Number:
  US09/194,677
• Time in Patent Office: 1,043 Days
• Field of Search: 455/405, 455/406, 455/4.2, 455/407, 455/409, 455/410, 455/411, 455/558, 379/111, 379/91.1, 379/114, 379/122, 379/144, 379/446, 379/455, 379/454
• US Class Current: 455/405
• 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 15/30 the meter or calculation of charges not being controlled from an exchange
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/83 Notification aspects
• 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 2215/32 Involving wireless systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/82 Advice-of-Charge [AOC], i.e. notify subscriber of charges/cumulative charge; meter at the substation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/92 Autonomous calculations of charges in terminal, i.e. meter not controlled from exchange
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

A switching system (3) has, in addition to an ordinary accounting function, an origination-only accounting control unit 6 to monitor the number of message units used by an origination-only portable telephone (1B) identified by a terminal identification number and to deny the origination of a call by the origination-only portable telephone (1B) upon the increase of the number of used message units to a predetermined number. The origination-only accounting control unit (6) accepts the origination of a call made by the origination-only portable telephone (1B) when a prescribed input about the origination-only portable telephone (1B) is given thereto by a system operator by operating a predetermined terminal device (7) or the like after the denial of origination of a call by the origination-only portable telephone (1B).

Claims

1. A wireless telephone system including:

a switching system, a base radio station connected to the switching system, and portable telephones in a radio coverage area covered by the base radio station and including origination-only portable telephones capable of only originating a call through the base radio station;

said switching system comprising;

an accounting means for counting the number of message units used by each of the origination-only portable telephones each identified by terminal identifying information; and

an origination-only accounting control means supporting a first access mode, a second access mode, and a third access mode, the first access mode denying the originating operation of the origination-only portable telephone when the number of message units used by the origination-only portable telephone identified by the terminal identifying information reaches a predetermined number of message units, the second access mode permitting the originating operation of the origination-only portable telephone identified by the terminal identifying information when a predetermined input operation is executed, and the third access mode providing an automatic extension of the communication for continuing the operation of the origination-only portable telephone, which starts before the number of message units of the origination-only portable telephone reaches zero.

2. The wireless telephone system according to claim 1, wherein the origination-only portable telephone includes a power switch that changes its state from off to on each time the origination-only portable telephone is used for originating a call to reduce power consumption during a wait state of the portable telephone.

3. The wireless telephone system according to claim 1, wherein the origination-only portable telephone has a control panel and numeric keys for entering telephone number information for a call arranged on the control panel, the numeric keys facilitating connection of the origination-only portable telephone to a power supply.

4. The wireless telephone system according to claim 2, wherein the origination-only portable telephone is provided with a power supply cut-off means which disconnects the origination-only portable telephone from the power supply when any input operation is not made in a predetermined time after the connection of the origination-only portable telephone to the power supply, or when termination of a call is detected.

5. The wireless telephone system according to claim 1, wherein the origination-only accounting control means included in the switching system sends data representing the cumulative number of message units to the origination-only portable telephone every termination of a call, and each origination-only portable telephone is provided on its control panel with a call information display means for displaying data representing the cumulative number of used message units every termination of said call.

6. The wireless telephone system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of portable telephones include, in addition to those origination-only portable telephones, originating-and-receiving portable telephones, the accounting means of the switching system counts the numbers of message units used by the origination-only portable telephones and the originating-and-receiving portable telephones identified by terminal identifying information.

7. A portable telephone system including:

a switching system, a base radio station connected to the switching system and portable telephone in a radio coverage area covered by the base radio station;

said portable telephones including prepaid type portable telephones being allowed to originate calls until a predetermined number of message units are depleted, and

said switching system comprising;

an accounting means for counting the number of message units used by each of the prepaid type portable telephones each identified by terminal identifying information in addition to that of message units used by each of the ordinary portable telephones, and

a prepaid charge control means supporting a first access mode, a second access mode, and a third access mode, the first access mode denying an originating operation and a receiving operation of each prepaid type portable telephone identified by the terminal identifying information when the number of message units used by the prepaid type portable telephone identified by the terminal identifying information reaches a predetermined number of message units, the second access mode permitting the originating operation and the receiving operation of the prepaid type portable telephone identified by the terminal identifying information upon the reception of the terminal identifying information identifying the prepaid type portable telephone, and accounting information, the third access mode providing an automatic extension of the communication for continuing the operation of the origination-only portable telephone, which starts before the number of message units of the origination-only portable telephone reaches zero.

8. The portable telephone system according to claim 7, further comprising an automatic accounting means including a terminal identifying information read means for reading terminal identifying information assigned to each of the prepaid type portable telephones, and money information input means for accepting money information, and capable of sending the accepted money information together with the read terminal identifying information to the prepaid charge control means.

9. The portable telephone system according to claim 8, wherein the automatic accounting means encrypts the terminal identifying information and the money information into corresponding codes by a predetermined encrypting procedure, and sends the codes to the prepaid charge control means.

10. A portable telephone system including:

a base radio station connected through a line connection control unit to a public network;

portable telephones moving in a radio coverage area covered by the base radio station and achieving communication through the base radio station; and

a data base connected to the base radio station and managing data on each of the portable telephones;

said portable telephones include simple portable telephones each being associated with a charging system for counting the cumulative number of used message units for storage in the data base, the charging system converting the cumulative number of used message units at predetermined time intervals into a charge and charging the subscriber for the charge, and prepaid type simple portable telephones each being associated with a prepaid charge system for reading the number of residual prepaid message units from the data base, the prepaid charging system subtracting the number of used message units from the number of residual prepaid message units during a call, and said prepaid type simple portable telephones having access to prepaid communication service until all the prepaid message units corresponding to the prepaid amount of money are depleted, and

said base radio station being capable of identifying the portable telephone which made a call as the simple portable telephone or the prepaid type simple portable telephone, and of executing a charging procedure according to a charging method for the portable telephone which made a call, at least one of the simple portable and the prepaid simple portable having a tamper-resistant housing for disabling circuitry inside the housing upon opening of the housing without entry of a correct password.

11. The portable telephone system according to claim 10, wherein the base radio station checks the number of residual message units during a call, sends alarm information to the calling party when the number of residual message units reaches a predetermined number, and disconnects the line forcibly upon the depletion of all the residual message units.

12. The portable telephone system according to claim 10, wherein the base radio station allows a fixed number of additional message units after depletion of the number of residual message units.

13. The portable telephone system according to claim 10, wherein the base radio station sends information about the time of call, a called party and a residual charge to a base radio station to which the control of the portable telephone is handed over due to the movement of the location of the portable telephone from the radio coverage area covered by the former base radio station to that covered by the latter base radio station.

14. The portable telephone system according to claim 10, wherein the prepaid type simple portable telephone is encased in a simple, folding case formed simply by folding a cardboard.

15. The portable telephone system according to claim 10, wherein the simple, folding case has a flip to prevent an erroneous operation.

16. The portable telephone system according to claim 15, wherein the flip has a folded advertising portion.

17. The portable telephone system according to claim 15, wherein the simple, folding case has a covering portion for protecting the prepaid type simple portable telephone, the prepaid type simple portable telephone is contained in the covering portion, and the prepaid type simple portable telephone is slid relative to the covering portion for an operation to make a call.

18. A wireless communications system comprising:

a switching system, associated with a base station, the base station providing communications service to mobile stations in a radio coverage area,

said switching system including a counter for counting the number of message units used by each of the mobile stations; and

an accounting controller for supporting a first access mode, a second access mode, and a third access mode of the communications service to a particular one of the mobile stations, the first access mode denying an originating operation of the particular mobile station when the number of message units used by the particular mobile station meets or exceeds a predetermined threshold number of message units, the second access mode permitting the originating operation of the particular mobile station when the accounting controller accepts a predetermined input operation, the third access mode providing an automatic extension of the communication for continuing the operation of the origination-only portable telephone, which starts before the number of message units of the origination-only portable telephone reaches zero.

19. The communications system according to claim 18 wherein the particular mobile station is adapted to originate an outgoing call by communicating to the base station and wherein the particular mobile station is arranged to automatically switch power off to its circuitry when not originating or executing the outgoing call.

20. The communications system according to claim 18 wherein the particular mobile station further comprises a keypad and wherein the input operation comprises a code entered into the keypad.

21. The wireless telephone system according to claim 18, wherein the particular mobile station includes a keypad, a power supply and a power supply cut-off device for disconnecting the particular mobile station from the power supply unless a certain code is entered into the keypad.

22. The wireless telephone system according to claim 18, wherein the accounting controller sends data representing the cumulative number of message units to the mobile station after each termination of a call for display on the mobile station.

23. The wireless communications system according to claim 18, wherein the mobile stations include origination-only portable telephones and originating-and-receiving portable telephones, the counter adapted to count the numbers of message units used by the origination-only portable telephones, while ignoring the originating-and-receiving portable telephones identified by mobile identifiers.

24. The wireless communications system according to claim 18 further comprising a terminal device coupled to the accounting controller, the terminal device supporting entry of the input operation and transmitting the input operation to the accounting controller in an encrypted format.

25. The communications system according to claim 18 wherein the particular one of the mobile stations has a tamper-resistant housing for disabling circuitry of the particular one upon opening of the housing without entry of a correct password.