Billing system, and device constituting same

• US 7,510,113 B2
• Filed: 06/05/2002
• Issued: 03/31/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Kakemizu, Mitsuaki, Wakamoto, Masaaki, Takase, Masaaki, Taniguchi, Hiroyuki, Igarashi, Yoichiro, Hamasaki, Chizu
• Primary Examiner(s): Frech; Karl D.
• Application Number:
  US10/162,806
• Publication Number:
  US 20020188562A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,491 Days
• Field of Search: 235/379, 235/375, 705/5, 705/26, 705/40
• US Class Current: 235/379
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• 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 15/43 Billing software details
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/46 Real-time negotiation between users and providers or operators
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/49 Connection to several service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/51 for resellers, retailers or service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/745 Customizing according to wishes of subscriber, e.g. friends or family
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8033 location-dependent, e.g. business or home
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8038 Roaming or handoff
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/805 Bidding
• 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 2215/0168 On line or real-time flexible customization or negotiation according to wishes of subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/22 Bandwidth or usage-sensitve billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/32 Involving wireless systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/34 Roaming
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/46 Connection to several service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/54 Resellers-retail or service providers billing, e.g. agreements with telephone service operator, activation, charging/recharging of accounts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/56 On line or real-time flexible agreements between service providers and telecoms operators
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7435 Location dependent, e.g. Bussiness or home
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7442 : Roaming
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7457 : Biding

Abstract

A billing system is disclosed which performs processing in order to provide service to user terminals, and which performs billing for the service provided to the user terminals. In this billing system, user billing profiles UBP are stored in a user billing profile registration unit, by service type and in user terminal units; a billing condition generation unit within a service provider server compares the user billing profile UBP corresponding to a specified service type and to a user terminal with a server billing profile SBP to generate billing conditions, and a billing condition setting unit of a foreign agent sets the billing conditions in a billing unit; and based on the billing conditions thus set, the billing unit executes billing processing for each user terminal.

Claims

1. A billing system, which performs processing to provide service via a network to user terminals, and performs billing for the service provided to the user terminals, comprising:

a service providing server having a server billing profile registration unit which stores one or more server billing profiles in which service information associated with fees is recorded, and a billing condition generation unit, which generates billing conditions to the service provided to the user terminals by comparing a user billing profile with the server billing profile;

a router accommodating the user terminals;

an authentication server which includes a user billing profile registration unit that holds the user billing profile for each service type and for each user terminal, and which executes terminal authentication processing based on an authentication request message received from the router at the time of location registration of the user terminal, and which, if service request information is included in the authentication request message, acquires the user billing profile corresponding to the user terminal in question and the service type from said user billing profile registration unit, and transfers the user billing profile to said billing condition generation unit;

a billing unit which executes billing processing for the service provided to the user terminal for each user terminal based on said generated billing conditions; and

a billing condition setting unit, which sets said billing condition in the billing unit,

wherein permissible conditions for user payment are recorded in said user billing profile and said billing condition generation unit determines billing conditions for the service to be provided at the time the user terminal sends a service execution request message, by comparing said user billing profile and said server billing profile.

2. The billing system according to claim 1, wherein said billing condition generation unit performs comparison of conditions stipulated by a user billing profile with conditions stipulated by a server billing profile, determines a server billing profile satisfying each of the conditions contained in the user billing profile, and based on this server billing profile, generates the billing conditions.

3. The billing system according to claim 2, wherein billing condition generated in advance for a request for a prescribed service is stored in said authentication server, and when there is a service request from a user terminal, the authentication server transfers stored billing conditions corresponding to the service request to said billing condition generation unit.

4. The billing system according to claim 1, wherein said user terminal includes means for sending a location registration message containing a service request to a network, causing the network to perform processing to generate billing conditions for each user terminal and for each requested service in parallel with the location processing procedure and to start up the billing unit, thereby generating billing conditions prior to service provision, and completing startup of the billing unit.

5. The billing system according to claim 1, wherein

when said billing conditions are set by said billing condition setting unit, the billing unit monitors the arrival of packets matching the service details requested by the user terminal, and if such a packet arrives, initiates billing according to said billing conditions;

and

after billing condition setting, if said packets are not observed before a fixed length of time has elapsed, said billing condition setting unit cancels the billing condition settings.

6. A billing system, which performs billing for services provided to user terminals via a network, comprising:

a service providing node, which provides services to user terminals;

a billing control node which includes a server billing profile registration unit that stores a server billing profile, in which service provision conditions permitted by the service providing node are recorded, and which compares a user billing profile, in which service provision conditions desired by a user terminal are recorded, with the server billing profile and generates billing conditions for a service to be provided to the user terminal;

an authentication node which performs authentication of the legitimacy of the user terminals and which manages the user billing profiles for the user terminals;

an edge node which allocates an address to a user terminal in reply to an address allocation request from the user terminal and requests the authentication node to perform authentication of the legitimacy of the user terminal, and which on receiving an authentication reply, stores the user billing profile for said user terminal, transferred from the authentication node, and further which detects a message passing through based on a service provision request from the user terminal, attaches the user billing profile for said user terminal to the message, and sends the message to said billing control node, either directly, or via the service providing node; and

a proxy billing unit, which performs billing in place of the service providing node according to said billing conditions for service provided to the user terminals by the service providing node.

7. The billing system according to claim 6, wherein the billing control node includes:

a billing condition generation unit, which, based on a billing condition generation request from the service providing node, compares the user billing profile with said server billing profile, to generate billing conditions for the service to be provided to the user terminal;

means for attaching a billing condition identifier to the generated billing conditions and returning the billing conditions to the service providing node; and

means for attaching identifier information for the service providing node and identifier information for the user terminal to the billing conditions determined through negotiations between the user terminal and the service providing node and registering said billing conditions.

8. The billing system according to claim 6, wherein the service providing node comprises:

means for requesting said billing control node to generate the billing conditions when there is a request for service provision from a user terminal;

a billing condition determination unit, which, on receiving one or more sets of billing conditions generated by the billing control node, conducts negotiations with the user terminal to determine the billing conditions; and

,

means for notifying the proxy billing unit of the billing conditions thus determined, and providing the service to the user terminal according to the billing conditions.