Identification card and billing process with an identification card

• US 6,543,686 B1
• Filed: 08/14/2000
• Issued: 04/08/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Swisscom AG (Government of Switzerland)
• Original Assignee: Swisscom AG (Government of Switzerland)
• Inventors: Ritter, Rudolf
• Primary Examiner(s): Frech, Karl D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lee, Seung Ho
• Application Number:
  US09/622,183
• Time in Patent Office: 967 Days
• Field of Search: 235/380, 235/382, 235/474, 235/487, 902/2, 902/4, 902/5, 902/26
• US Class Current: 235/380
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/127 Shopping or accessing services according to a time-limitation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/342 Cards defining paid or billed services or quantities
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0014 for vending, access and use of specific services not covered anywhere else in G07F17/00 meter-controlled dispensing of liquid, gas or electricity G07F15/00
• 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 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: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

A method and apparatus for billing connections of a subscriber identified by a SIM card in a telecommunications network to the subscriber user, including determining the duration and time of the connection using a time-measuring device integrated into the SIM card, which is synchronized with an external clock signal, and determining the amount to be charged based upon connection duration and time and at least one remotely loadable tariff table stored in the SIM card. The time-measuring device can be checked by a time server in the infrastructure, and, if necessary, can be adjusted. The method and apparatus can be used for prepaid as well as for post-paid cards. All data for determining the amount to be charged are available on the SIM card, allowing billing to take place at the source, at the user. No other billing system is required in the infrastructure.

Claims

1. Identification card for users of a communication terminal in a telecommunications network, which card can be inserted into the communication terminal in a removable way, comprising:

data processing means which make possible the storage of data including at least identification data of the user;

an integrated time-measuring device, with which a duration and a time of the connections in the telecommunications network carried out with said identification card are measured; and

rating means, with which the connection fees are determined based upon the duration of use and time established with the integrated time-measuring device;

wherein said time measuring device further comprises

at least one adjustment register integrated in the identification card with which the time-measuring device integrated in the identification card can be adjusted, and

an interface for an external clock signal with which the time-measuring device integrated in the identification card is synchronized.

2. Identification card according to claim 1, wherein said adjustment register can be adapted with special messages transmitted through said telecommunications network.

3. Identification card according to claim 1, wherein said adjustment register is stored in a protected area of the identification card not accessible to the user.

4. Identification card according to claim 3, wherein said adjustment register can only be changed with signed adjustment records from a time server in the telecommunications network.

5. Identification card according to claim 1, further comprising at least one stored tariff table, and in that a rating system determines the connection fees based upon said tariff table.

6. Identification card according to claim 5, wherein said identification card is further configured to recognize and copy the tariff tables received in special short messages through the communications network.

7. Identification card according to claim 5, further comprising decryption means to decrypt received encrypted tariff table components.

8. Identification card according to claim 6, further comprising signature checking means to check whether the received tariff tables have been transmitted by an authorized tariff server.

9. Identification card according to claim 1, further comprising a prepaid account against which the charged connection fees are directly debited.

10. Identification card according to claim 1, further comprising means to charge to the user operations other than connections using said rating system and said time-measuring device.

11. Identification card according to claim 1, further comprising an independent energy storage device, which feeds at least the time-measuring device.

12. Identification card according to claim 1, further comprising a rating table in which connection details on at least one already carried-out connection or operation are stored.

13. Identification card according to claim 12, further comprising means to pack said connection details in billing records and to transmit them to a billing collector in said telecommunications network.

14. Identification card according to claim 13, further comprising signing means to sign said billing records before they are transmitted to the billing collector.

15. Identification card according to claim 13, wherein said identification card can transmit said billing records in batch mode to the billing collector.

16. Identification card according to claim 13, wherein said identification card can transmit said billing records to the billing collector immediately after each connection.

17. Identification card according to claim 13, wherein said identification card can transmit said billing records to the billing collector when logging in.

18. Identification card for users of a communication terminal in a telecommunications network, which card can be inserted into the communication terminal in a removable way, comprising:

data processing means which make possible the storage of data including at least identification data of the user;

an integrated time-measuring device, with which a duration and a time of the connections in the telecommunications network carried out with said identification card are measured; and

rating means, with which the connection fees are determined based upon the duration of use and time established with the integrated time-measuring device;

wherein said time measuring device further comprises

at least one integrated adjustment register with which the time-measuring device can be adjusted, and

an interface for an external clock signal with which the integrated time-measuring device can be synchronized,

wherein the frequency of said external clock signal can be determined with the integrated time-measuring device, and

said time-measuring device further including a division factor, wherein said division factor can be adjusted based on said determined frequency.

19. Identification card according to claim 18, wherein said identification card is further configured to store an indication of the determined information on the frequency of said clock signal in a memory area of said identification card.

20. Billing method for billing to a user the use of at least one operation with an identification card inserted in removable way in a communication terminal in a telecommunications network, which identification card comprises an integrated time-measuring device and on which identification card data are stored including at least identification data of the user, comprising:

adjusting the time-measuring device by means of an adjustment register integrated in the identification card the identification card;

synchronizing the time-measuring device integrated in the identification card with an external clock signal generated outside the identification card via an interface of the identification card;

measuring a duration and time of connections in the telecommunications network carried out with said identification card; and

determining the connection fees by rating means of the identification card based on a duration and time measured with the integrated time-measuring device.

21. Billing method according to claim 20, wherein the connection fees are determined based upon tariff tables stored in the identification card.

22. Billing method according to claim 21, wherein said tariff tables are stored in a tariff server and can be copied into the identification card through a said telecommunications network.

23. Billing method according to claim 20, wherein after logging in of an identification card in a telecommunications network the tariff server checks the version of the tariff tables stored in said identification card, and, if necessary, transmits the most recent version onto said identification card.

24. Billing method according to claim 20, further comprising a time controller transmitting time check records to the identification card to check the time set, and, if the time is not set correctly, transmitting a time setting record to this identification card.

25. Billing method according to claim 24, further comprising electronically signing the transmitted time setting records by the time server.

26. Billing method according to claim 20, further comprising debiting the determined connection fees directly against a prepaid account in the identification card.

27. Billing method according to claim 20, further comprising packing the connection details necessary to determine the connection fees in billing records and transmitting the connection details to a billing collector.

28. Billing method according to claim 27, further comprising electronically signing the billing records by the identification card.

29. Billing method according to claim 28, further comprising sorting the billing records transmitted to the billing collector and transmitting the sorted billing records to a corresponding financial services provider.

30. Billing method according to claim 20, further comprising billing the use of resources in the identification card not responsible for carrying out communication using said time measuring device.