Apparatus and methods for managing billing information in digital portable cordless telephone

• US 6,741,850 B1
• Filed: 09/21/1998
• Issued: 05/25/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Park, Hyoung-Nae
• Primary Examiner(s): Trinh, Sonny
• Application Number:
  US09/158,122
• Time in Patent Office: 2,073 Days
• Field of Search: 455/405, 455/406, 455/407, 455/408, 455/557, 455/558, 455/410, 455/411, 455/550, 455/550.1, 455/403, 379/354, 379/114.01
• US Class Current: 455/407
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/28 with meter at substation or with calculation of charges at terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/745 Customizing according to wishes of subscriber, e.g. friends or family
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0108 Customization according to wishes of subscriber, e.g. customer preferences, friends and family, selecting services or billing options, Personal Communication Systems [PCS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/32 Involving wireless systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

Apparatus and methods for managing billing information in a digital portable cordless telephone are provided. An illustrative embodiment of a method for managing billing information of call services in a digital portable cordless telephone having a non-volatile memory comprises the steps of: calculating a service charge for a call service when a completion of the call service is sensed; and storing the calculated service charge in a memory location of the non-volatile memory corresponding to a specified address. The method may further comprise the steps of: searching for an address of the non-volatile memory linked to the specified address at which the calculated service charge is stored; and storing a telephone number associated with the call service in a memory location of the non-volatile memory corresponding to the searched address.

Claims

1. An apparatus for managing billing information within a digital portable cordless telephone, the digital portable cordless telephone comprising:

a non-volatile memory for storing the billing information, the billing information including a service charge for a specific call service and other billing information details for the specific call service;

a completion sensing unit for sensing whether the specific call service is completed;

a calculating unit for calculating the service charge for the specific call service;

an address generating unit for generating an address at which the service charge is stored, and address at which the other billing information details are stored, the address of the service charge for the specific call service being linked to the addresses of the other billing information details for the specific call service; and

a display unit for displaying the billing information stored in the non-volatile memory in response to a billing information display request by a user.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the other billing information details comprise at least one of a telephone number of a calling party and a called party.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the other billing information details comprise at least a service time.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the calculating unit calculated an accumulated service charge for a plurality of call services, the accumulated service charge being stored in the non-volatile memory, and the accumulated service charge being displayed on the display unit in response to an accumulated billing information display request by the user.

5. A method for managing billing information of call services in a digital portable cordless telephone, the telephone having a non-volatile memory, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) calculating a service charge for a call service when a completion of the call service is sensed;

(b) storing the calculated service charge in a memory location of the non-volatile memory corresponding to a specified address;

(c) providing a message to a user requesting whether the user desires a telephone number associated with the call service to be stored in the non-volatile memory; and

(d) searching for an address of the non-volatile memory linked to the specified address at which the calculated service charge is stored and storing the telephone number in a memory location of the non-volatile memory corresponding to the searched address, when an affirmative response is received corresponding to the message.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the steps of:

(e) searching for an address of the non-volatile memory linked to the specified address at which the calculated service charge is stored; and

(f) storing a telephone number associated with the call service in a memory location of the non-volatile memory corresponding to the searched address.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the telephone number corresponds to one of a calling party and a called party, the telephone number corresponding to the calling party being provided by a mobile communication network.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the message is provided to the user through a display unit.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein an affirmative response is received though a user interface.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein the telephone number corresponds to one of a calling party and a called party, the telephone number corresponding to the calling party being provided by a mobile communication network.

11. The method of claim 5, further comprising the steps of:

(e) inputting desired memory data by a user; and

(f) storing the memory data so that the address at which the memory data is stored is linked to the address at which the service charge is stored.

12. The method according to claim 5, further comprising the steps of:

(e) sending information indicative of the linked storage of the telephone number to the display unit.

13. A method for displaying billing information in a digital portable cordless telephone, the telephone managing the billing information and having a non-volatile memory for storing the billing information, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) determining whether a billing information display key is input, after the billing information for a specific call service is stored in response to a completion of the specific call service;

(b) displaying a message on a display unit requesting a user secret number be inputted, when the billing information display key is input;

(c) determining whether the user secret number is identical to a previously registered secret number, when the user secret number is inputted in response to the message; and

(d) displaying one of the billing information and an error message on the display unit, based on a result of said determining step (c).

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the billing information comprises at least one of a service charge, a service time, and a telephone number associated with the call service.