Communication terminal device and billing device

• US 7,974,247 B2
• Filed: 11/12/2001
• Issued: 07/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: S Aqua Semiconductor LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Daita Frontier Fund LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Kiyomatsu, Hisanori, Takatori, Sunao
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheikh; Ayaz R
• Assistant Examiner(s): HALIYUR, VENKATESH N
• Application Number:
  US10/054,038
• Publication Number:
  US 20020077981A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,522 Days
• Field of Search: 370/230.1, 370/395.4, 370/395.21, 370228-503, 455/422.1, 455/503, 455/507
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/0855 involving a third party
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1085 involving automatic teller machines [ATMs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3821 Electronic credentials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• 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 15/56 for VoIP communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/68 Payment of value-added services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8044 Least cost routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8083 involving reduced rates or discounts, e.g. time-of-day reductions or volume discounts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0184 involving reduced rates or discounts, e.g. time-of-day reductions, volume discounts, cell discounts, group billing, frequent calling destination(s) or user history list
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0196 Payment of value-added services, mainly when their charges are added on the telephone bill, e.g. payment of non-telecom services, e-commerce, on-line banking
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/202 VoIP; Packet switched telephony
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/2033 WLAN
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/22 Bandwidth or usage-sensitve billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/32 Involving wireless systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/42 Least cost routing, i.e. provision for selecting the lowest cost tariff
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/745 Least cost routing, e.g. Automatic or manual, call by call or by preselection

Abstract

For transmitting transmission data generated by a transmission data generator of a communication terminal device, a packet unit determining unit [17] determines a packet unit for a lowest data communication rate for the transmission of the transmission data, among packet units (packet sizes) that can be recognized by a destination communication terminal device and that can be transmitted from the communication terminal device. A packet generator [18] packetizes the transmission data according to the packet unit determined by the packet unit determining unit [17], and transmits the packetized transmission data to the destination communication terminal device.

Claims

1. A wireless communications device comprising:

a transmitter configured to transmit a query to a destination communication device, the query being about packet sizes that are recognizable by the destination communication device;

a receiver configured to receive a response to the query from the destination communication device, the response indicating the packet sizes that are recognizable by the destination communication device;

a determining device configured to select an appropriate packet size for transmission data to be packetized, the appropriate packet size being selected according to;

data communication rates for packets previously transmitted to the destination communication device;

the response indicating the packet sizes that are recognizable by the destination communication device;

packet sizes among the packet sizes that are recognizable by the destination communication device that can be transmitted by the wireless communication device; and

a retransmission request that occurs in response to detecting a communication error or traffic congestion on a communication link established between the wireless communications device and the destination communication device, the retransmission request occurring while packets are being transmitted, wherein the appropriate packet size is smaller than the packet sizes that are recognizable by the destination communication device and sizes of packets previously transmitted to the destination communication device; and

a packet generator configured to packetize the transmission data based on the appropriate packet size determined by the determining device.

2. The wireless communications device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a storage device configured to store information with respect to the packet sizes that are recognizable by the destination communication device.

13. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the determining device is configured to perform the selecting of the appropriate packet size according to one or more of a status of transmission data received by the wireless communications device or current traffic congestion of a communication link that the transmission data is to be transmitted over.

3. A method for determining packet sizes for transmission data to be packetized and transmitted from a communication terminal device to a destination communication device, the method comprising:

transmitting a query to the destination communication device, the query being about packet sizes that are recognizable by the destination communication device;

receiving a response to the query from the destination communication device, the response indicating the packet sizes that are recognizable by the destination communication device;

selecting an appropriate packet size for transmission data to be packetized, the appropriate packet size being selected according to;

data communication rates for packets previously transmitted to the destination communication device;

the response indicating the packet sizes that are recognizable by the destination communication device;

packet sizes among the packet sizes that are recognizable by the destination communication device that can be transmitted by the wireless communication device; and

a retransmission request that occurs in response to detecting a communication error or traffic congestion on a communication established between the communication terminal device and the destination communication device, the retransmission request occurring while packets are being transmitted, wherein the appropriate packet size is smaller than the packet sizes that are recognizable by the destination communication device and sizes of the packets previously transmitted to the destination communication device; and

packetizing the transmission data according to the appropriate packet size selected.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising transmitting the packetized transmission data from the communication terminal device to the destination communication device.

5. The method according to claim 3, further comprising determining whether information regarding the packet sizes recognizable by the destination communication device is stored in a memory of the communication terminal device.

6. The method according to claim 4, further comprising:

receiving, after the transmitting, a retransmission request requesting a different packet size that reduces the amount of transmission data based upon the data communication rates for packets previously transmitted to the destination communication device;

repacketizing the transmission data into a different packet size according to the retransmission request; and

transmitting the repacketized transmission data to the destination communication device.

14. The method according to claim 3, wherein the selecting the appropriate packet size comprises selecting according to one or more of a status of transmission data received by the communication terminal device or current traffic congestion of a communication link that the transmission data is to be transmitted over.

7. An article of manufacture including a non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with instructions, execution of which by a computing device cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

transmitting a query to a destination communication device, the query directed to packet sizes that are recognizable by the destination communication device;

receiving a response to the query from the destination communication device, the response indicating the packet sizes that are recognizable by the destination communication device;

selecting an appropriate packet size for transmission data to be packetized, the appropriate packet size being selected according to;

data communication rates for packets previously transmitted to the destination communication device;

the response indicating the packet sizes that are recognizable by the destination communication device;

packet sizes among the packet sizes that are recognizable by the destination communication device that can be transmitted by the wireless communication device; and

a retransmission request that occurs in response to detecting a communication error or traffic congestion on a communication link established between the computing device and the destination communication device, the retransmission request occurring while packets are being transmitted, wherein the appropriate packet size is smaller than the packet sizes that are recognizable by the destination communication device and sizes of the packets previously transmitted to the destination communication device; and

packetizing the transmission data according to the appropriate packet size selected.

8. The article of manufacture according to claim 7, the operations further comprising:

transmitting the packetized transmission data to the destination communication device.

9. The article of manufacture according to claim 8, the operations further comprising:

receiving, after the transmitting, a retransmission request requesting a different packet size that reduces the amount of transmission data based upon the data communication rates for packets previously transmitted to the destination communication device;

repacketizing the transmission data into a different packet size according to the retransmission request; and

transmitting the repacketized transmission data to the destination communication device.

10. The article of manufacture according to claim 7, the operations further comprising:

determining whether information regarding the packet sizes recognizable by the destination communication device is stored in a memory.

15. The article of manufacture according to claim 7, wherein the selecting the appropriate packet size comprises selecting according to one or more of a status of transmission data received by the computing device or current traffic congestion of a communication link that the transmission data is to be transmitted over.

11. A communication terminal device configured to determine packet sizes for transmission data to be packetized and transmitted to a destination communication device, the communication terminal device comprising:

a transmitter configured to transmit a query to the destination communication device, the query being about packet sizes that are recognizable by the destination communication device;

means for receiving a response to the query from the destination communication device, the response indicating packet sizes that are recognizable by the destination communication device;

means for selecting an appropriate packet size for transmission data to be packetized, the appropriate packet size being selected according to;

data communication rates for packets previously transmitted to the destination communication device;

the response indicating the packet sizes that are recognizable by the destination communication device;

packet sizes among the packet sizes that are recognizable by the destination communication device that can be transmitted by the wireless communication device; and

a retransmission request that occurs in response to detecting a communication error or traffic congestion on a communication link established between the communication terminal device and the destination communication device occurring while packets are being transmitted, wherein the appropriate packet size is smaller than the packet sizes that are recognizable by the destination communication device and sizes of the packets previously transmitted to the destination communication device; and

means for packetizing the transmission data according to the appropriate packet size selected.

12. The communication terminal device of claim 11, further comprising:

means for storing information with respect to the packet sizes that are recognizable by the destination communication device.

16. The communication terminal device of claim 11, wherein the means for selecting the appropriate packet size selects according to one or more of a status of transmission data received by the computing device or current traffic congestion of a communication link that the transmission data is to be transmitted over.