Method and system for account balance restriction on application of cellular-PBX integration service

• US 8,254,989 B2
• Filed: 05/24/2005
• Issued: 08/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sprint Spectrum LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Spectrum LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Bales, Mark R., Weaver, Farni B., Woodson, Charles E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Corsaro, Nick
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sarwar, Babar
• Application Number:
  US11/135,946
• Publication Number:
  US 20060025139A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,653 Days
• Field of Search: 455/406, 455/417, 455/418, 455/414.1, 455/445, 455/554.1, 455/554.2, 455/555, 455/550.1, 455/552.1, 455/560, 370/329, 370/335, 370/340, 370/465, 370/493, 379/88.22, 379/88.23, 379/88.25, 379/88.27, 379/114.01, 379/114.02, 379/114.03, 379/114.17, 379/93.03, 379/111, 379/113
• US Class Current: 455/555
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/02 Access restriction performed under specific conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/16 WPBX [Wireless Private Branch Exchange]

Abstract

A method for using an account balance to limit application of cellular-PBX integration service. A cellular wireless communication device (WCD) will be allotted a quantity of cellular-PBX integration service, such as a number of minutes of use per month for instance. The quantity will be decremented a the WCD uses the service, and the WCD may be precluded from benefiting from the cellular-PBX integration service upon exhaustion of the balance. In one embodiment, for instance, when a radio access network (RAN) that serves the WCD receives a call request for the WCD, the account balance can be used as a basis to decide whether to pass the call to an IP PBX server that serves the WCD or whether to have the RAN handle the call.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining that a cellular wireless communication device (WCD) subscribes to a cellular-PBX integration service;

allotting a quantity of cellular-PBX integration service to the WCD;

detecting the WCD using the cellular-PBX integration service, wherein the using is via a cellular radio access network;

decrementing the quantity as the WCD uses the cellular-PBX integration service; and

detecting exhaustion of the quantity of cellular-PBX integration service allotted to the WCD, the exhaustion resulting from the decrementing; and

responsive to the detecting, precluding the WCD from using further cellular-PBX integration service, but still allowing a cellular wireless call between the WCD and another party to proceed without cellular-PBX integration service.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the quantity is a number of minutes of use in a given billing period.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

carrying out the decrementing and detecting functions at an entity that sits within a call path between the WCD and an IP PBX server that serves the WCD.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

carrying out the decrementing and detecting functions at a service control point (SCP).