Apparatus and method for billing in a wireless communication system

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD [Detailed description of the invention]

Billing devices and methods in wireless communication systems Field of invention The present invention generally relates to wireless communication systems, and more particularly to wires. It relates to charging a call in a less communication system. Background of the invention To provide personal mobility, one number can be used anytime, anywhere A telephone concept known as the "One Number" service that allows you to make calls Is becoming more widespread. One that provides such a one-number telephone service There is a method of classifying calls into residential, commercial or cellular. In traditional wireless networks, one-number services are subscribers Use specialized infrastructure equipment at the site Generally provided by doing or by having the subscriber perform some form of manual intervention Will be done. In general, the special infrastructure equipment method is a personal base station at the subscriber's home. , Wai in the office Install a Yales private branch exchange. However, special infrastructure equipment is an extra part of the system. Add strike and complexity. In addition, to support such services , This system is an air interface used in wireless networks New subscriber mobile unit to subscribers requiring changes to (air interface) Force to buy. Another traditional system is one by requiring manual operation by the subscriber. Provide number service. In this system, is it a mobile environment such as a car? Subscribers who move to their place of residence can use the same method as traditional call forwarding. By performing manual operations such as pressing a specific key on the mobile unit with Notify the system of changes in the position of. At this time, the system sends the call to the subscriber's residence. Relay. However, relying on the manual operation of the subscriber is not suitable for many users. If the flight is a flight and the subscriber forgets to perform the appropriate operation, the wrong charge will be generated. It may cause you to squeeze. Therefore, in order to provide services without the need for manual intervention by the subscriber. Providing one-number services that reduce the amount of special infrastructure equipment used Methods and equipment are required. Outline of the invention In order to satisfy this need and the like, the present invention charges in a wireless communication system. Provide methods and devices for This method is a movement that uniquely identifies the movement unit. Based on the stage of receiving the identification number and the aperiodic signal received from the mobile unit And the stage of performing multilateration location measurement , The stage of extracting the position zone from the memory based on the movement identification number, and the multi-sided survey position Generate a billing record for the mobile unit and the stage where the position measurement is compared with the position zone. Including stages. This device is based on a base station, a position measurement device that communicates with the base station, and memory. Includes local and memory responsive processors. The base station solidifies the mobile unit Receives a mobile identification number that identifies it. Positioning device from mobile unit Multi-sided survey position measurement is performed based on the received aperiodic signal. Memory is mobile Includes location zones associated with different numbers. Processor retrieves multi-sided survey position measurement Generate a billing record for the mobile unit compared to the location zone. A wireless communication system is provided according to another aspect of the present invention. This wai The Yarres communication system includes a base transceiver station and a mobile unit position module. , Base transceiver station and transco responding to mobile unit location modules A position storage module consisting of a data, a position function controller, and a position cache. It is composed of The present invention itself, along with its intended effect, is described in detail below with the accompanying drawings. You can understand it most from the explanation. A brief description of the drawing FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of a wireless communication system. Figure 2 is an example of a suitable message flow between the components of the system in Figure 1. It is a message flow diagram showing Figure 3 shows another suitable message flow between the components of the system in Figure 1. It is a message flow diagram which shows an example. FIG. 4 shows a preferred operation method of the position function controller of the system of FIG. It is a flow chart. Figure 5 shows the location se billing application for the system in Figure 1. It is a flow chart which shows the preferable operation method of nsitive billing application). .. FIG. 6 is a flow showing a preferable operation method of the position cache of the system of FIG. It is a chart. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a zone arrangement as an example of the system of FIG. 1. Detailed description of preferred embodiments To perform location sensitive billing with reference to Figure 1. A preferred embodiment of the wireless communication system 10 including the advanced location search of the above is shown. Rank System 10 is a one-number service, etc. To provide new services. In a preferred embodiment, the system 10 is a position search device. Location (LFE: location finding equipment) 12, Transcoder (XC: trans) coder) 14, home location register (HLR) 16, Operations and maintenance center (OMCR) 18, moved Switching station (MSC: mobile switching center) 20, Base transceiver station (BT) S: base transceiver station) 22 and XYTP / GIS24 opere Includes data workstations. HLR16 is a position function controller (LF) C: location function controller) 26, location cache (LC: location c) ache) 28, location sensitive billing application (LSB: location sensitive b) Various software such as illing application) 30 and HLR application 32 Includes wear components. LFE12 is US Pat. No. 5,317,323 It is a conventional mobile unit position search system such as the system described in the issue. LFE12 is shown connected to system 10, but the position search function is a mobile uni It is assumed that it can also be installed in the To. In this case, the BTS22 that communicates with the mobile subscriber unit is the mobile subscriber unit. Request position data from Use multi-sided surveying or other location methods well known to those skilled in the art There are many mobile subscriber units, including location-finding systems to use. XCl4 is preferably a Motorola transcoder and BTS22 is , Preferably BTS manufactured by Motorola. Motorola transcoder and And BTS are available as components within the Motorola SC9600 base station Is. HLR16 is preferably Motorola part number CGDST16SK HLR manufactured by Motorola such as 20041. OMCR18 is preferably Motorola luck offered with standard Motorola CBSC or GSM products Maintenance center. MSC20 is preferably a Motorola EMX2500 cell Motorola MSC in La System. The system 10 shown in Fig. 1 is an emergency 911 incense for wireless, fleet tube. Fleet management and Mobile Yellow Pages ), Etc., providing various location-dependent services other than one-number services Note that it reflects a generic location service architecture that can be. During operation, LFE12 has no information about aperiodic signals representing subscriber access. Monitor the dedicated control channel of the line system. Subscriber access messages, etc. Aperiodic faith Upon detection of the issue, LFE12 features a signaling burst for this access. Attach incoming angle (angle of arrival) and incoming time (time of arrival) data calculate. Subscriber location based on aperiodic signals received from the subscriber unit By measuring the rough position during call setup before the subscriber communicates with the other party Can be effectively determined. This information is then used between BTS22 and XC14. XC14 via a dedicated control link built into the BTS interface Transferred to. Also, instruct LFE12 to grasp the voice signal characteristics. Can be done. In this case, the LFE12 should be measured via a dedicated control link. The desired frequency is notified. Next, the LFE12 has the above-mentioned incoming angle and incoming time. Performs the calculation of and transfers the result data to XC14. In Fig. 1, one LFE1 Although only 2 is shown, there are preferably multiple LFEs in system 10. BTS20 is an air interface used to communicate with subscriber units Performs standard wireless interface management for devices. BTS22 is XC14 Physical communication that supports the LFE12 and BTS22 interfaces to The communication link (T1 / E1) can be shared with LFE12. Alternatively, BTS22 And LFE12 can be integrated into the same hardware platform Wear. There are preferably multiple BTS22s in system 10 However, only one is shown for illustration. The XC14 terminates the T1 line from each base station 22. This end is audio And control. Audio information is transcoded by XC14 It is converted from sub-rate to full-rate audio and sent to MSC20. Also , XC14 generally utilize the LAPD protocol, respectively BTS22 and LF Terminate control links for both E12s. Control links are station and XC14 Used to exchange location, call processing and O & M information between. XC1 4 is generally a conventional SS7 interface for the purpose of sending location data Has a communication interface to HLR16. Multiple LFE12 And BTS station 22 terminates on one XC14, so I / O throughput is improved It is preferable to converge the position data from multiple LFE12s in order to improve. Example For example, instead of returning the individual position data from each LFE12 to the HLR16, XC14 converges a group of position data from multiple LFE12s, and this convergence Transfer the data to the HLR16 to reduce the overall I / O conditions. OMCR18 manages BTS22 and LFE12 stations and reports alarms Provides maintenance functions such as download and device control. The MSC20 plays the traditional role of a cellular switch, call rout ing), billing and handoff adjustment (handoff Coordination). MSC20 is offboard or stand-up Supports Ron's Subscriber Database (HLR) 16 for subscriber and call relay Query this database for data. MSC20 is a high billing rate sir Notify subscribers via tone when making a call in the Bis Zone Can be done. Finally, the MSC20 can support the one-number billing feature, Incorporate zone tariffing information into detailed billing records .. The MSC20 is also available via a nailed connection in a particular installation. The XC14 and HLR16 can be physically interconnected. LFC26 adjusts on-demand position request (generally voice channel position) Controller application for, autonomous using survey position method And process both on-demand LFE12 position data. LFC26 is L Receive data from FE12 and calculate latitude, longitude and reliability data. on LFC26 accounts for at least one of LFE12 for demand location request Guess and instruct to measure mobile subscriber position via XC14. The LC28 acts as a storage location or database for location data. LF The location information calculated by C26 is the location key in LC28 for later use. Stored in the hash. Movement identification, position update time and position data All are managed in the database. In general, the position cache is one number -Applications that request location data for specific services, such as services Inquiries will be made for each subscriber. In addition, location cache is a subscription service It also supports appliqué for automatic notification of location changes detected for specific subscribers. Allow subscriptions. Fleet management (Fleet Manag) Useful for real-time applications such as ement). The LSB application 30 uses position data and is one-nan. Support bar services. LSB application 30 is Wan Nan HLR application 32 when called by a user who subscribes to the bar service Generally called by. HLR application 32 provides caller identification (cal) ler identity) is notified to LSB30. Next, in LSB30, the caller is specified. Determine if it works in or in a macrocellular environment Determine and notify the mobile station of the tariff system based on the subscriber's service zone. next , LSB30 has a billing record that specifies the zone of access for this call It may be generated. HLR application 32 includes a subscriber database for system 10. In general, subscriber entries are HLR applications along with subscribed feature sets. Resident in 30 To do. The HLR32 is a switch 20 every time a call is made with a subscriber to the service. Inquired by. Based on the subscriber's capabilities, the HLR32 is via switch 20 You can change the call flow. For example, the HLR32 can play tones on the switch or Alternatively, you can instruct it to generate a billing record. HLR application 3 2 LS via messaging or triggers related to subscriber feature sets B Connect with application 30. HLR application 32 also calls Connect with MSC20 for control. System 10 provides a location-dependent billing service. System 10 is special Users can "home", "office" without introducing any infrastructure or handset And create virtual zones of operation such as "cellular" Make it possible. You can use the same subscriber unit in each zone , The system charges different billing rates for calls based on the location of the subscriber unit decide. System 10 is cellular to support individual subscriber needs Providing different operating areas with different charges by splitting the network To do. From a network or call transmission perspective, System 10 can be used in a variety of environments. Providing one solution to promote improved one-number service To. When a user subscribes to the service, there are two possible zone allocation methods. In the first static method, the user The physical address where you request the service (ie, the street address) ) To the service provider. The operator then XYTP this information -Enter via GIS element, where the address is the latitude of this particular subscriber zone / Stored in the database as the longitude position. In one example, two zones, that is Then, "Home and Business" is entered. Areas other than these two zones , Considered the "cellular" zone. The second zone allocation method has a more dynamic nature. The user is a service After signing up for One Number Service through the provider, the user Specify the zone via a feature code (for example, * 71). this When the code is dialed, System 10 knows the subscriber's position at that time. Determine and rank this information in the database as the location of this particular subscriber's selection zone. To pay. For example, a subscriber dials * 71 at home to define a home zone. And also dial * 72 at work to define the work zone. When the location of at least one zone is stored in system 10, the billing function will be activated. I can move. Each time the subscriber makes a call, the system 10 preferably presents the subscriber. Current operating zone via tone or digital message based on location Notify the subscriber. System 10 is based on the current zone rate Generate gold information and therefore section The gold system can now differentiate the appropriate charges for each call based on the zone. Join If the person is not in the desired zone, the caller is free for a given period of time. It is preferable to be allowed to disconnect the call. For this additional reason, the subscriber is familiar Subscriber access so that subscribers can be notified of the current zone before the talk fee is charged End message based on message or for wired to mobile calls It is preferable to perform the position measurement based on the page. System 10 requires manual user interaction without special cellular infrastructure equipment Not to be different for subscribers in different locations such as at home, at work or while driving Providing one number service at the billing rate. Call in macrocellular environment Or there is no differentiation from the perspective of System 10 against communicating outside the environment .. In addition, calls are transmitted wherever the mobile station is currently. At least some conventional Time of day routing or as required by the system No alias based number routing is required. The basic information flow between the elements is shown in the attached " Highlighted in the "relocation" data flow. Fig. 2 is for the purpose of making a call Indicates access by the mobile station. Aperiodic such as control channel access 50 LFE12 features this access when it receives a typical signal from the subscriber unit Angle and time information to attach Calculate (TOA / AOA). Alternatively, the incoming time difference (TDOA: time diffe) Other suitable location methods and related information, such as rence of arrival), may be used. .. In another embodiment, the mobile unit determines a rough position and contains this position information. It is assumed that the message to be sent is sent to the base station 22. Such position measurement An example of a system to do is a standard GSP (global positioning system) receiver. Integrate into a subscriber unit. Such integrated GSP receivers and subscriber units G is well known to those skilled in the art. The following description of TOA or AOA looks like this It is equally applicable to other positioning methods. This location information 62 is a transcor Transferred to LFC26 via Da14. The transcoder 14 is overall. Converge multiple LFE location reports to improve system I / O throughput Then, it may be transferred to LFC26. LFC26 accesses system 10 Correlate TOA or AOA reports for a particular mobile station and use this information on multiple sides Generate position (latitude / longitude) data 60 for use in survey calculations. Next, the position The data 60 is transferred to the LC28 where it is stored for subsequent use. From this point on, there are two possible ways of working with Data 60, which Each will be described below. The specific mode selected is the interaction within MSC20 Interactive call control based on the presence or absence of capability) Continue. In the first mode shown in Fig. 2, "Intelligent Network (IN)" A call model is used. In the IN call model, preferably the control protocol With the Motorola DMX (Distributed Mobile Exchange) protocol that works , Interactive call control becomes possible. When mobile access 50 occurs, BTS22 will be " Generates a service request message 52 and Send this to MSC20. Service request message 52 is the identified move Know the mobile unit restored from control channel access 50 from the unit Includes a separate mobile identification number. Service request message 52 reaches MSC20 Then, a call trigger or query is sent to HLR platform 16. HLR16 makes this access via "LSB Call" message 58 Notify SB30 and wait for further processing instructions. LSB30 is "Req.Loc. LC28 for location information by sending "data" message 54 Inquire to. The position data 60 is returned to the LSB30, which is the subscriber uni Determine which billing zone you are in. LSB30 calls HLR16 HLR16 then "Val. Rsp." Message 6 Notify MSC20 via 6 to continue processing. Interactive within MSC20 Position control function before completing a call You can insert a tone or voice message to the caller. Thus, the caller Is voice-notified with the service zone rate associated with the billing zone. Figure 3 shows the second operation mode without interactive call control. In this model, LS B30 provides location update information for all subscribers to the LSB function Join LC28. When the position data 60 is received by the LC28, the subscriber user Position data 60 for "Subscribed Loc." Message 6 Utilize 8 for billing record generation and any subscriber rate message notification Therefore, it is automatically transferred to LSB30. FIG. 4 shows a flow showing a preferable operation method of the position function controller (LFC) 26. -It is a chart. The process starts from idle state 100. LFE12 Raw (ie, incoming angle from one station, incoming time) position data is received Then, the message is decrypted at 102. At this point, go to determination step 104 By the way, this is the first part of the position data received in the multi-sided survey sequence. It is determined whether or not there is. If this is the first part of the data, the flow will be Proceed to step 106 and temporarily rank the data until another station reports and surveys are performed. Dynamic memory is allocated for delivery. From here, control is stepped Proceed to step 108, where the overall timer such as the 3-second timer is set, and the process is Return to idle state 100. Thailand Ma is set based on the amount of time allowed to collect location data points Will be done. In determination step 104, the data for this particular position calculation If it is determined that it is not one part, the flow proceeds to step 110, where a new one Data points are stored with the collected points. Step 126 See at least three location data points in the TDOA system , At least two location data points in the TOA / AOA system However, when a sufficient number of position data points are received, the process proceeds to step 114. move on. Otherwise, control returns to the idle state of step 100. When the timer expires, the flow proceeds to step 112. Collected up to this point All the data was retrieved in step 114 and the multi-sided survey calculation started. To do. The results of these calculations are latitude, longitude and as shown in step 116. Position information such as reliability. Where there is no valid data in step 122 If so, the default position corresponding to the service cell position (latitude and longitude) is Assigned at Tep 124. Valid data in step 122 If so, control proceeds to step 118. Location information is formatted as a message And transferred to LC28 in step 118. Step 120 smell Dynamic resources are released and the flow is idle in step 100. Return. FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a preferable operation method of the LSB30. processing Starts at 200 and the call is made by the subscriber who activated the LSB function Or, a trigger indicating that it has been received is received from the call processing function. Next, LSB30 In step 204, location information from the location cache, ie LC28. To get. Next, the LSB30 determines the position data in the determination step 206. Determine if the received data is valid based on the reliability time stamp To do. If no valid location data is available in step 206, the system Tem divides the default rating zone in step 208 Guess and proceed to step 212. Obtaining valid position data in step 206 If so, in step 210, preferably the subscriber position is assigned to this subscriber. Straight-line calculation to compare with a squeezed rating zone Distance calculation), the subscriber rating zone for this data Is judged. Sort routine (sort routine) depends on latitude and longitude Determine in which zone the defined point is located. Zone judges And if the subscriber is outside the lowest rate zone, preferably the notification will be sent to the subscriber Given to. This can be done either by voice or by visual means , Shown in step 212. Finally, in step 214, less Tomo movement identification, access A billing record containing the zone, time and date of is generated. At this point, up The application returns to the idle state in step 200. In a preferred embodiment, the subscriber zone is latitude, longitude and composition rating zo. It is defined as the configured rating zone radius. This composition rate The ing zone radius is generally associated with the uncertainty of the measuring instrument and is in the system. The behavior of the location infrastructure can be set by the given operator. Figure 7 shows the structure An example of a specific location zone including the growth rating zone radius is shown. Information is added to each Each zone of the entrant is stored in the database for each subscriber. One number -In the service function, each subscriber has two zones (home, work). As mentioned above Latitude and longitude data should be entered at the time of subscription to the service, such as May give address information, or via a function code (ie * 71) And dynamically input, the system knows the subscriber's position when receiving the function code Determine and then store the data in the database to understand the characteristics of the subscriber zone You may. In the former case where the user gives street address information, XYTP- GIS24 translates this information into latitude and longitude for zone definition. Then, when the subscriber makes or receives a call, a position action is performed at this point. The latitude and longitude calculated in are the "circle or circl" stored in the database. es) " Will be done. If the data is within this circle, the user is within the coverage area of this particular zone It is considered to work. Currently not located in any of the zones where the user is stored If so, the user is expected to work in a macrocellular environment. The LSB operation described above (Fig. 5) generates a billing record that characterizes the location zone. Have an application to do. Preferably the information contained in this record is as follows: Street: Movement identification number ·date ·time Access cell · Access sector Access zone -Record Correlator Record correlation is the detailed billing information commonly generated in MSC and the appliqué. Used to simplify matching with zone records generated by the session Be done. This stage is commonly performed as post-processing or offline operation. "A The Zone of Access field is the zone determined as above and is the rate Used in calculations. The rest of the information is also the record phase between MSC20 and HLR16. Used for Seki. Zone information is generated by the exchange 20 based on the function of the exchange 20. Reco by LSB application 30 integrated into the detailed billing record Note that the need for card generation can be eliminated. Figure 6 shows the preferred LC28 for storing location data points in system 10. It is a flow chart which shows the operation method. Flow shown as step 300 Start idle. When location information 42 is received from LFC26, it is processed. Starts from step 302. In step 304, the location information is Times It is tamped and then stored in the database based on the mobile subscriber number. One of the functions provided by LC28 is the subscription function, which identifies location information. You can notify the application every time it is updated about your subscribers. from now on, Proceed to decision step 306 and the application is located for this particular subscriber Determine if you have subscribed to the update notification. If you have not subscribed, the flow will be Return to idle state of Tep 300. If subscribed, the flow is step 30 Proceed to 8 where the location information is sent to the subscribing application and the subscriber Notify the application of the current location of. Then control is the eye of step 300 Return to dollar state. The second processing path related to this feature is related to the join process. .. From the application in step 310 at idle 300 Request to join may be received. At that time, control proceeds to step 312, where the subscription database is updated. .. This database contains a list of subscribed applications and location data. With other data about the needs of subscription services such as maximum aging To accommodate. After updating the database, control returns to idle in step 300 To. The third processing path is when a specific subscriber location is "when" by the registration application. Occurs when considered "out-of-date". Idle state 300 smell Then, in step 316, a timeout message is received for the subscriber. To. In step 318, the HLR32 is queried and the subscriber is currently in the voice channel. Determine if you are using The voice channel is not in use by the subscriber If not, control proceeds to step 320, where the HLR32 is the subscriber unit 3. Instructed to have BTS22 near 4 generate an "Audit" message , This audit message was received by the subscriber unit and in step 322 Will generate a "register" message, which will generate updated location information .. The control then returns to the idle state in step 300. Voice channel is a subscriber If in use by, control proceeds to step 324, where the subscriber voice is selected. Chanel information is sent to LFC26 and thus the appropriate LF near the subscriber unit It is also sent to E. The LFE then "tunes" to the indicated audio channel and subscribes. Find someone and update Generate location information. The control then returns to the idle state in step 300. Further advantages and modifications of the above devices and methods will be readily recalled to those skilled in the art. For example, verify the mobile identification number by querying the mobile unit for the personal identification number. It may be desirable to reduce fraud by doing so. Received personal identification If the number does not match the stored number, the subscriber will not be serviced. This The verification operation of the subscriber is a predetermined individual such as the above home zone. It may only be executed if you are outside the location zone. As another example, the subscriber is prescribed It is possible to provide a service that does not allow calls when you are outside the zone of. like this Restricted use services can be a flexible alternative to traditional wired services .. Therefore, the present invention, in a broad sense, the specific details illustrated above, the representative device. And not limited to descriptive examples. The above, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention Various modifications and modifications can be made to the specification of the present invention. All such amendments, provided they are in the claims and equivalent. And transformations shall be covered.