Separable Billing for Personal Data Services

• US 20130052988A1
• Filed: 02/17/2012
• Published: 02/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Doyle, Thomas F.
• Granted Patent: US 9,167,102 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/407
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• 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 15/44 Augmented, consolidated or itemized billing statement or bill presentation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0104 Augmented, consolidated or itemised billing statement, e.g. additional billing information, bill presentation, layout, format, e-mail, fax, printout, itemised bill per service or per account, cumulative billing, consolidated billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/2013 Fixed data network, e.g. PDN, ATM, B-ISDN

Abstract

A billing system and method for providing both business and personal data access to a user of a wireless communications device is provided. A user enters an access request, and it is determined if the access request is a personal type access request or a business type access request. Personal type access requests are processed in order to provide billing for the personal requests to the user of the wireless communications device, and business type access requests are processed to provide billing to the business. Such systems and methods provide enhanced convenience to mobile workers while avoiding additional costs associated with such services being incurred by the business.

Claims

1. A method for providing business and personal data access service to a wireless communications device in communication with a server that has access to a network, comprising the steps of:

receiving a request from a wireless communication device to access data located at a network site;

determining whether said received request comprises a business type request or a personal type request;

processing said received request in a first manner if said received request comprises said business type request; and

processing said received request in a second manner if said received request comprises said personal type request.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said received request comprises a request type field that identifies whether said received request comprises a business type request or a personal type request.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said request type field comprises a request identifier, wherein the step of determining whether said request comprises said business type request or said personal type request comprises the steps of:

designating at least one identifier as corresponding to said personal type request;

comparing said request identifier associated with said received request to said at least one designated request identifier; and

determining that said received request comprises a personal type request if said request identifier associated with said received request matches said at least one designated request identifier.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein said request type field comprises a request identifier, wherein the step of determining whether said request comprises said business type request or said personal type request comprises the steps of:

designating at least one identifier as corresponding to said business type request;

comparing said request identifier associated with said received request to said at least one designated request identifier; and

determining that said received request comprises a business type request if said request identifier associated with said received request matches said at least one designated request identifier.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of processing said business type request in a first manner comprises the step of billing a business entity associated with the wireless communications device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of processing said personal type request in a second manner comprises the step of billing a user associated with the wireless communications device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the step billing a user comprises the steps of:

storing an identification associated with a first user ID;

determining a requesting user ID associated with said personal type request; and

matching said requesting user ID to said first user ID; and

logging said personal type request in an account associated with said first user ID.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said received request comprises a first uniform resource locator (URL).

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of determining whether said received request comprises a business type request or a personal type request comprises the steps of:

determining said first URL of said received request;

comparing said first URL with a set of business-related URLs;

determining said received request comprises a business type request when said first URL matches a URL in said set of business-related URLs; and

determining said received request comprises a personal type request when said first URL does not match a URL in said set of business-related URLs.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether said received request comprises a business type request or a personal type request comprises the steps of:

determining a routing characteristic of said received request;

determining said received request comprises a business type request when said routing characteristic matches a business-related routing characteristic; and

determining said received request comprises a personal type request when said routing characteristic does not match a business-related routing characteristic.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether said received request comprises a business type request or a personal type request comprises the steps of:

accessing said data located at said network site;

analyzing said data to determine if said data corresponds to business type data;

determining said received request comprises a business type request when said data corresponds to business type data; and

determining said received request comprises a personal type request when said data does not correspond to business type data.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the step of analyzing said data comprises the steps of:

searching said data for keywords related to business type data; and

determining that said data corresponds to business type data when a predetermined number of keywords related to business type data are present in said data.

13. An apparatus for providing business and personal data access to wireless communications devices provided by a business entity, comprising:

a computer for receiving a data access request transmitted by a wireless communications device, said computer further for determining whether said request comprises a business type request or a personal type request.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said computer is further for processing said business type request in a first manner and for processing said personal type request in a second manner.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said processing said business type request in said first manner comprises billing an account associated with said business entity.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein processing said personal type request in said second manner comprises billing an account associated with a user of said wireless communications device.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said request comprises a request type field that identifies whether said request comprises said business type request or said personal type request.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said request type field comprises a request identification field.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said computer is further for:

comparing a first request identification contained in said request identification field to at least one designated request identification, said at least one designated request identification indicative of said personal type request; and

determining that said received request comprises said personal type request when said first request identification matches said at least one designated request identification.

20. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said computer is further for determining a uniform resource locator (URL) associated with said request and for determining that said request comprises said business type request when said URL matches a URL of a set of predefined business type URLs.

21. A tangible data storage medium comprising executable data capable of causing a programmable device to perform the steps of:

receiving a request from a wireless communication device to access data located at a network site;

determining whether said received request comprises a business type request or a personal type request;

processing said received request in a first manner if said received request comprises said business type request; and

processing said received request in a second manner if said received request comprises said personal type request.

22. The tangible data storage medium of claim 21, wherein said received request comprises a request type field that identifies whether said received request comprises a business type request or a personal type request.

23. The tangible data storage medium of claim 22, wherein said request type field comprises a request identifier, wherein the step of determining whether said request comprises said business type request or said personal type request comprises the steps of:

designating at least one identifier as corresponding to said personal type request;

comparing said request identifier associated with said received request to said at least one designated request identifier; and

determining that said received request comprises a personal type request if said request identifier associated with said received request matches said at least one designated request identifier.

24. The tangible data storage medium of claim 22, wherein said request type field comprises a request identifier, wherein the step of determining whether said request comprises said business type request or said personal type request comprises the steps of:

designating at least one identifier as corresponding to said business type request;

comparing said request identifier associated with said received request to said at least one designated request identifier; and

determining that said received request comprises a business type request if said request identifier associated with said received request matches said at least one designated request identifier.

25. The tangible data storage medium of claim 21, wherein the step of processing said business type request in a first manner comprises the step of billing a business entity associated with the wireless communications device.

26. The tangible data storage medium of claim 21, wherein the step of processing said personal type request in a second manner comprises the step of billing a user associated with the wireless communications device.

27. The tangible data storage medium of claim 26, wherein the step billing a user comprises the steps of:

storing an identification associated with a first user ID;

determining a requesting user ID associated with said personal type request; and

matching said requesting user ID to said first user ID; and

logging said personal type request in an account associated with said first user ID.

28. The tangible data storage medium of claim 21, wherein said received request comprises a first uniform resource locator (URL).

29. The tangible data storage medium of claim 28, wherein the step of determining whether said received request comprises a business type request or a personal type request comprises the steps of:

determining said first URL of said received request;

comparing said first URL with a set of business-related URLs;

determining said received request comprises a business type request when said first URL matches a URL in said set of business-related URLs; and

determining said received request comprises a personal type request when said first URL does not match a URL in said set of business-related URLs.

30. The tangible data storage medium of claim 21, wherein the step of determining whether said received request comprises a business type request or a personal type request comprises the steps of:

determining a routing characteristic of said received request;

determining said received request comprises a business type request when said routing characteristic matches a business-related routing characteristic; and

determining said received request comprises a personal type request when said routing characteristic does not match a business-related routing characteristic.

31. The tangible data storage medium of claim 21, wherein the step of determining whether said received request comprises a business type request or a personal type request comprises the steps of:

accessing said data located at said network site;

analyzing said data to determine if said data corresponds to business type data;

determining said received request comprises a business type request when said data corresponds to business type data; and

determining said received request comprises a personal type request when said data does not correspond to business type data.

32. The tangible data storage medium of claim 31, wherein the step of analyzing said data comprises the steps of:

searching said data for keywords related to business type data; and

determining that said data corresponds to business type data when a predetermined number of keywords related to business type data are present in said data.