Prepay accounts for applications, services and content for communication devices

• US 9,143,622 B2
• Filed: 02/17/2006
• Issued: 09/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Sprigg, Stephen A., Minear, Brian, Oliver, Mitchell B., Gardner, Richard Wayne III
• Primary Examiner(s): WASHINGTON, ERIKA ALISE
• Application Number:
  US11/357,284
• Publication Number:
  US 20070197188A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,504 Days
• Field of Search: 455/406, 455/407, 455/405, 455/408, 705 30- 50, 37911401-132, 725 1- 8
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/16 Payments settled via telecommunication systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/326 Payment applications installed on the mobile devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/16 according to connection obtained
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/705 Account settings, e.g. limits or numbers or payment
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/71 Modifying recharging resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/7655 shared by technologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/77 involving multiple accounts per user
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/772 per service, e.g. prepay or post-pay
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/882 for continuing the call beyond the limit using an alternative, e.g. alternative account
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/888 severing connection after predetermined time or data
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 17/20 with provision for recharging the prepaid account or card, or for credit establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0124 Continue alternative, i.e. alternative account to continue use
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0144 Release upon reaching limit
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/2006 Fixed telephone network, e.g. POTS, ISDN
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/2026 Wireless network, e.g. GSM, PCS, TACS
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/204 UMTS; GPRS
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7009 Account settings, e.g. users, terminals, limits, numbers or payment
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7018 Modify recharging resources, e.g. banking, credit, debit or phone account
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/725 : Shared by technologies, e.g. one account for different access technologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7254 : Multiple accounts per user
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7263 : per service, e.g. prepay and post-pay
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 : Accounting or billing

Abstract

A system and method for managing a billing account including a client device, a transceiver, logic configured to establish at least one primary account wherein the at least one primary account represents periodic fees that are charged to the billing account on a periodic basis; and logic configured to establish at least one secondary account wherein the at least one secondary account represents an amount of prepaid service that is available for the billing account.

Claims

1. A client device configured to manage a billing account comprising:

a transceiver;

logic configured to establish at least one primary account associated with a first type of service, wherein periodic fees charged to the billing account on a periodic basis include a first portion allocated to the at least one primary account; and

logic configured to establish at least one secondary account associated with a second type of service, wherein the at least one secondary account represents an amount of prepaid service that is available for charging usage of the second type of service to the billing account, wherein the amount of prepaid service represented by the at least one secondary account is calculated by;

adding a second portion of the periodic fees charged to the billing account on the periodic basis to the at least one secondary account as a prepaid service credit at the start of each of a set of billing periods; and

deducting charges from the at least one secondary account based on the usage of the second type of service during the set of billing periods.

2. The client device of claim 1, further comprising:

logic configured to process the periodic fees charged on a monthly basis.

3. The client device of claim 1, further comprising:

logic configured to process the amount of prepaid service for an application.

4. The client device of claim 1, further comprising:

logic configured to process the amount of prepaid service for a provided data content.

5. The client device of claim 1, further comprising:

logic configured to link the at least one primary account and the at least one secondary account and to manage both a primary account value and a secondary account value in a predetermined way.

6. A method for billing prepay accounts comprising:

establishing at least one primary account associated with a first type of service, wherein periodic fees charged to a billing account on a periodic basis include a first portion allocated to the at least one primary account; and

establishing at least one secondary account associated with a second type of service, wherein the at least one secondary account represents an amount of prepaid service that is available for charging usage of the second type of service to the billing account, and wherein the amount of prepaid service represented by the at least one secondary account is calculated by;

adding a second portion of the periodic fees charged to the billing account on the periodic basis to the at least one secondary account as a prepaid service credit at the start of each of a set of billing periods; and

deducting charges from the at least one secondary account based on the usage of the second type of service during the set of billing periods.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the periodic fees are charged on a monthly basis.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the amount of prepaid service is for an application.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the amount of prepaid service is for a provided content.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the billing account is separate from the at least one primary account and the at least one secondary account.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the establishing of the at least one primary account and the establishing of the at least one secondary account are performed by a client device.

12. The method of claim 6, wherein the establishing of the at least one primary account and the establishing of the at least one secondary account are performed by a server.

13. The method of claim 6,

wherein the billing account is a unified billing account associated with voice and data cellular service for a particular user or group of users,

wherein the first type of service associated with the at least one primary account is a cellular voice service and wherein the at least one primary account represents at least one periodic subscription fee for the cellular voice service, and

wherein the second type of service associated with the at least one secondary account representing the amount of prepaid service is a cellular data service.

14. The method of claim 6,

wherein the billing account is a unified billing account associated with voice and data cellular service for a particular user or group of users,

wherein the first type of service associated with the at least one primary account is a cellular data service, and

wherein the second type of service associated with the at least one secondary account representing the amount of prepaid service is a cellular voice service.

15. The method of claim 6, wherein an unused portion of the prepaid service credit added to the at least one secondary account in a current billing period is carried over to a next billing period at the end of the current billing period whereby the amount of prepaid service represented by the at least one secondary account for the next billing period is calculated by adding the unused portion of the prepaid service credit from the current billing period to the second portion of the periodic fees that are added to the at least one secondary account as the prepaid service credit at the start of the next billing period.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the at least one primary account includes the periodic fees and also one or more fees based on usage of the first type of service.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the amount of prepaid service represented by the at least one secondary account is further calculated by adding an unused portion of the one or more fees based on the usage of the first type of service to the amount of prepaid service represented by the at least one secondary account at the end of each of the set of billing periods.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

replenishing the at least one secondary account to increase the amount of prepaid service represented by the at least one secondary account to a threshold value level in response to determining that the charges deducted from the at least one secondary account based on the usage of the second type of service has exhausted the amount of prepaid service available for charging the usage of the second type of service to the billing account.

19. A client device, comprising:

a transceiver;

a user interface; and

a billing manager, configured to perform operations within the client device, for managing at least one primary account and at least one secondary account, the at least one primary account associated with a first type of service, wherein periodic fees charged to a billing account on a periodic basis include a first portion allocated to the at least one primary account, and the at least one secondary account representing an amount of prepaid service that is available for charging usage of a second type of service to the billing account, wherein the amount of prepaid service represented by the at least one secondary account is calculated by;

adding a second portion of the periodic fees charged to the billing account on the periodic basis to the at least one secondary account as a prepaid service credit at the start of each of a set of billing periods; and

deducting charges from the at least one secondary account based on the usage of the second type of service during the set of billing periods.

20. The client device of claim 19, wherein the client device is at least one of a wireless computing device, a wireless telephone, a laptop, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a paging device.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions encoded thereon, which, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations related to management of a billing account, the operations including:

establishing at least one primary account associated with a first type of service, wherein periodic fees charged to the billing account on a periodic basis include a first portion allocated to the at least one primary account; and

establishing at least one secondary account associated with a second type of service, wherein the at least one secondary account represents an amount of prepaid service that is available for charging usage of the second type of service to the billing account, wherein the amount of prepaid service represented by the at least one secondary account is calculated by;

adding a second portion of the periodic fees charged to the billing account on the periodic basis to the at least one secondary account as a prepaid service credit at the start of each of a set of billing periods; and

deducting charges from the at least one secondary account based on the usage of the second type of service during the set of billing periods.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, further comprising processing the periodic fees that are charged on a monthly basis.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, further comprising processing the amount of prepaid service for an application.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, further comprising linking the at least one primary account and the at least one secondary account and managing both a primary account value and a secondary account value in a predetermined way.

25. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein the computing device corresponds to a client device.

26. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein the computing device corresponds to a server.

27. A server for enabling a billing account comprising:

means for establishing at least one primary account associated with a first type of service, wherein periodic fees charged to the billing account on a periodic basis include a first portion allocated to the at least one primary account; and

means for establishing at least one secondary account associated with a second type of service, wherein the at least one secondary account represents an amount of prepaid service that is available for charging usage of the second type of service to the billing account, wherein the amount of prepaid service represented by the at least one secondary account is calculated by;

adding a second portion of the periodic fees charged to the billing account on the periodic basis to the at least one secondary account as a prepaid service credit at the start of each of a set of billing periods; and

deducting charges from the at least one secondary account based on the usage of the second type of service during the set of billing periods.

28. The server of claim 27, further comprising means for processing the periodic fees that are charged on a monthly basis.

29. The server of claim 27, further comprising means for processing the amount of prepaid service for an application.

30. The server of claim 27, further comprising means for linking the at least one primary account and the at least one secondary account and means for managing both a primary account value and a secondary account value in a predetermined way.

31. A client device configured to manage a billing account comprising:

means for establishing at least one primary account associated with a first type of service, wherein periodic fees charged to the billing account on a periodic basis include a first portion allocated to the at least one primary account; and

means for establishing at least one secondary account associated with a second type of service, wherein the at least one secondary account represents an amount of prepaid service that is available for charging usage of the second type of service to the billing account, wherein the amount of prepaid service represented by the at least one secondary account is calculated by;

adding a second portion of the periodic fees charged to the billing account on the periodic basis to the at least one secondary account as a prepaid service credit at the start of each of a set of billing periods; and

deducting charges from the at least one secondary account based on the usage of the second type of service during the set of billing periods.

32. A server for enabling a billing account comprising:

logic configured to establish at least one primary account associated with a first type of service, wherein periodic fees charged to the billing account on a periodic basis include a first portion allocated to the at least one primary account; and

logic configured to establish at least one secondary account associated with a second type of service, wherein the at least one secondary account represents an amount of prepaid service that is available for charging usage of the second type of service to the billing account, wherein the amount of prepaid service represented by the at least one secondary account is calculated by;

adding a second portion of the periodic fees charged to the billing account on the periodic basis to the at least one secondary account as a prepaid service credit at the start of each of a set of billing periods; and

deducting charges from the at least one secondary account based on the usage of the second type of service during the set of billing periods.