|Publication number||US7146154 B1|
|Application number||US 09/651,771|
|Publication date||Dec 5, 2006|
|Filing date||Aug 30, 2000|
|Priority date||Sep 11, 1999|
|Publication number||09651771, 651771, US 7146154 B1, US 7146154B1, US-B1-7146154, US7146154 B1, US7146154B1|
|Original Assignee||Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (12), Referenced by (7), Classifications (10), Legal Events (3)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
This application makes reference to and claims all the benefit accruing under 35 U.S.C. Section 119 from an application entitled, “Method of Informing Charging Data to Mobile Terminal in Mobile Radio Communication System, filed in the Korean Patent Office on Sep. 11, 1999 and there duly assigned Serial No. 1999-38856.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for informing charging data to a mobile terminal in a code division multiple access (CDMA) type or a time division multiple access (TDMA) type mobile radio communication system which enables a mobile terminal subscriber to immediately confirm, via his/her mobile terminal telephone, charge status that is calculated and managed by a charging center.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mobile communication system technology is widely used by individuals, automobiles, ships, trains, airplanes, etc. Specifically, the mobile communication system includes mobile telephones, such as portable telephones or telephones for vehicles, harbor telephones, telephones for airplanes, and mobile public telephones installed in the excursion ships, the express buses, etc. The mobile communication system also includes radio pagers, radio telephones, satellite mobile communication devices, amateur radios, fishery radios, etc. The advanced mobile phone service (AMPS) system is an analog type mobile communication system. In contrast, the CDMA and TDMA systems are digital type mobile communication systems.
According to the conventional mobile communication system described above, it can not know the call charge just after a mobile terminal subscriber terminates a telephone call. Also, there is no means for the mobile subscriber to instantly find out the current total telephone charge.
In order to solve the above problem, a mobile terminal having a built-in charging device has been developed. This charging device obtains call time information (i.e., call start time and call termination time) using a timer (not illustrated) provided in the mobile terminal. Typically, the timer is used to inform the mobile terminal subscriber of the call time through an output device (for example, a liquid crystal display) of the mobile terminal.
The timer starts its operation at the pointer of time when the mobile terminal detects a ring back tone transmitted to the mobile communication exchange, but there is a discrepancy between this time and an actual telephone call time. Thus, the telephone charge calculated by the charging device has an error in comparison to the telephone charge actually imposed on the mobile terminal subscriber by the vendor. Also, since the discount rate may be different according to the type of service enrolled in by the subscriber, an accurate telephone charge can not be known when such a discount rate is not considered. Furthermore, since the real bill contains a basic charge, a tax charge, and other charges not available till a subscriber receives the bill after, for example, 30 day billing cycle, the prior art mobile phone having the built-in timer does not given an accurate billing charge report.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in an effort to solve the problems occurring in the related art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for informing charging data to a mobile terminal in a mobile radio communication system which enables a mobile terminal subscriber to immediately confirm through his/her mobile terminal a telephone charge for a telephone call or a total telephone charge that is calculated by a charging center just after terminating the call.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of immediately confirming charging information that is managed by a charging center if the mobile terminal subscriber requests the confirmation of the charging information using the mobile terminal in a standby state.
In order to achieve the above objects, according to the embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a first method of informing a telephone charge to a mobile terminal subscriber in a mobile communication system, the method comprising the steps of a mobile communication exchange detecting termination of a telephone call of a mobile terminal, the mobile communication exchange producing charging information for the telephone call, the mobile communication exchange informing the charging information to a charging center, the charging center calculating the telephone charge using the charging information and informing the calculated telephone charge to the mobile communication exchange, and the mobile communication exchange transmitting the telephone charge information to a mobile terminal.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a second method of informing a total telephone charge to a mobile terminal subscriber in a mobile communication system, the method comprising the steps of a mobile terminal requesting confirmation of an accumulated telephone charge up to now or the total telephone charge to a mobile communication exchange in accordance with a command from the mobile terminal subscriber, the mobile communication exchange requesting the confirmation of the telephone charge for the mobile terminal subscriber to a charging center, the charging center informing the telephone charge to the mobile communication exchange, and the mobile communication exchange transmitting the telephone charge information to the mobile terminal.
The above objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:
The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be explained in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same or similar elements are denoted by the same reference numerals even though they are depicted in different drawings. For the purpose of clarity, a detailed description of well known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted as it may make the subject matter of the present invention unclear.
Also, the mobile communication exchange 120 transmits to the mobile terminal 100 the telephone charging information, such as the telephone charge for the latest call, the accumulated telephone charge, and the total telephone charges that are transferred from the charging center 130. The mobile terminal 100 receives the telephone charging information and displays the information on the display section (not illustrated), so that the mobile terminal subscriber can identify it.
The mobile communication exchange 120 may be provided with a short message generating section 140. This short message generating section 140 generates a short message which corresponds to the telephone charging information, such as the telephone charge for the latest call, the accumulated telephone charge, and the total telephone charge that are transferred from the charging center 130 in the form of a short message.
The types of telephone charges transferred from the charging center 130 can be selectively determined according to the request by the mobile terminal subscriber. Thus, different telephone charge information including the latest call, the accumulated telephone charge, and the total telephone charge can be provided to the subscriber. For instance, the mobile terminal subscriber can be provided with the accumulated telephone charge for a duration of a specified time period that he/she desires from the charging center 130 using the mobile terminal 100. The type and the different telephone charge information transferred to the mobile terminal 100 may be predetermined or determined by the selection command from the mobile terminal subscriber. For example, the display unit of the mobile terminal can be pre-selected to display only the telephone charge for the latest call or only the total telephone charge, or both the latest call and the total telephone charge.
With reference to
The charging center 130 informs the mobile communication exchange 120 of the charge information for the latest call as well as the total charge (step 240). The mobile communication exchange 120 receives the charge information for the latest call and the total charge, converts the received information in the form of a short message using the short message generating section 140, and transmits the generated short message to the mobile terminal subscriber 100 (steps 250 and 260). The mobile terminal 100 then receives the short message and displays the charge information of the latest call and the total charge on the LCD of the mobile phone. Preferably, it may display characters such as “Charge for the latest call: 400 won, Total charge: 10,500 won”. Accordingly, the mobile terminal subscriber can immediately confirm the charge for the latest call as well as the total charge calculated to include the latest call
With reference to
As described above, it will be apparent that the present invention provides advantages in that the mobile terminal subscriber can be provided with an accurate telephone charge information by enabling the subscriber to immediately verify the charging information calculated by the charging center through the mobile terminal just after a telephone call. Also, the mobile terminal subscriber can selectively verify at least one type of charging information out of various charging information managed by the charging center as occasion demands using the mobile terminal.
While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments which display both the charge for the latest call and the total charge or only the total charge, it is to be understood that other modifications thereof may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the accumulated telephone charge for a specified time period desired by the mobile terminal subscriber, or another type of charge information other than the latest call and the total charge can be selectively displayed. Thus, the present invention should not be limited to the disclosed embodiment but should be defined by the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
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|U.S. Classification||455/406, 455/417, 455/432.1, 455/408|
|International Classification||H04M11/00, H04M15/28, H04B1/40|
|Cooperative Classification||H04M15/28, H04M2215/32|
|Aug 30, 2000||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., KOREA, REPUBLIC OF
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:PARK, YOUNG-SOO;REEL/FRAME:011081/0560
Effective date: 20000829
|May 7, 2010||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 4
|May 20, 2014||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 8