Portable device service payments by multiple means

The present invention relates to methods and devices for arranging payments for communications services. Specifically, the present invention relates to methods and devices that automatically select a payment source from a plurality of alternative sources while significantly reducing and / or eliminating additional input from the user in performing a selection operation. ..

The present invention is extremely useful in communication systems consisting of cellular telephones, but can be used with a variety of devices, such as portable computers, PDAs (portable data assistants), and Internet alliances. And / or used with any electronic device that must establish a communication link with another device or service via a link that is not normally used and / or requires payment of the fee for this link. it can.

One of the main applications is the adoption of an RF (radio frequency) link between a device requesting a service and another device providing the service, as described in detail below. Note that the communication link that requires payment does not necessarily have to be a link from the device to any access point.

The application of the present invention resides in the field of processing payments for communication services online and automatically in real time.

One typical communication link is one in which a cellular telephone subscriber employs a link operated by a particular provider to establish communication between the calling and calling users. A variety of different technologies can be adopted to pay the service provider for the communication link.

For example, users of cellular telephones (other devices) can enter into service contracts with service providers. The cost of the link established at the request of the calling user is handled by the service provider providing the service to the calling user. The cost of the communication link requested by the user is directly undertaken by the service provider under the terms of the contract. In a user-based home cell, where the calling subscriber is operating, the service provider may be entitled to charge the entire total cost of the service. Alternatively, if the calling subscriber is roaming in a remote cell and the requested communication link requires the services of both the remote cell and the subscriber's home cell to establish the link. In, the total cost of the communication link can be shared between the home cell and the remote cell. In such cases, the subscriber's service provider may collect the entire fee from the subscriber and share the cost of the communication link with the remote cell.

The service contract may take one of the following forms, that is, a fixed fee for a predetermined amount of service, or a part of this fixed fee may be deducted as consideration for each requested service, or In addition, it is possible to obtain a charge that changes depending on the total amount of services in a predetermined period (that is, monthly), and to charge the subscriber for the service on a regular basis.

Payment of consideration for the communication link can be processed via an electronic wallet in which financial information is held in the electronic device, and one such device is described in Patent Document 1. Simply put, this electronic wallet contains subscriber-related information, such as an account number, a PIN number, an ID of a service provider (eg, a credit card company, a telecommunications service provider, etc.), and for the user to perform a transaction. It contains information for automatically communicating with the service provider and memory for storing. The cost of the requested service can be deducted from the subscriber's debit card or can be charged to the subscriber's credit card. For communication services, you can charge the subscriber's charge or debit card held by the subscriber and via a keypad or magnetic reader connected to an electronic device (eg, a phone). Paying for the communication service by manually entering the user's account information, or verbally providing it to a financial institution that guarantees the debit card service or credit card service to pay for the communication service. Can be done.

In the case of debit cards, the cost of the service will be deducted from the current balance. For credit cards, the cost of the service is charged to the customer after the service is provided offline. The guarantor of the debit card or credit card will be responsible for payment to the service provider providing the communication link, which service provider will provide if both the calling and calling parties are in the same home cell. If it can be a single service provider, or if one or both of the calling and calling parties are in roaming mode and require the use of a service provider in addition to the subscriber's base cell. It can be one or more service providers.

Another payment procedure that is very often used to establish a communication link between two phone users or a cellular phone user is to pay the fee to the recipient (ie, the calling party and the calling party). Further request the service provider to request the communication link and ask the called party to take on the cost of the communication link).

Some service providers, such as telephone companies, can provide services when they contact and exchange 800 phone numbers, thereby charging customers offline for the cost of communication links. be able to.

In yet another service payment technology, the user can agree to receive the advertisement in exchange for the communication service, and the cost of the communication link is borne by the advertiser.

It can be seen that different technologies are available to pay for communication services, but the major drawback of today's technologies is that different payment forms and payment types exist in isolation and are independent of each other. is there. As an example, if one payment method or payment form is unavailable for some reason, the user requesting the service must be willing to make an effort to choose an alternative payment form. For example, if a cellular phone network subscriber attempts to make a call and the service request is denied for some reason, the subscriber attempting to request a communication link communicates an alternative payment form. You must personally start an activity to notify the network and work on that activity.

A more detailed example of the shortcomings of the prior art can be well understood by considering FIG. FIG. 1 shows a GSM (global system for mobile communications) type communication network. In this communication network, a cellular telephone 12 capable of receiving a SIM (subscriber identity module) card 14 is provided to a subscriber. The subscriber holds a service contract with the service provider 20. The subscriber to whom the cellular telephone 12 is assigned is the subscriber home PLMN (public land mobile). Roaming at the visited PLMN16 remote from network) 18. The cost of the call is addressed in accordance with the terms of the service contract, and when the subscriber requests communication with the calling subscriber (not shown), the call is initiated and on the SIM card 14 Payment provider information will be sent to the visitor PLMN16. This is shown in step S1. This SIM information will be used to access the home PLMN in step S2. Subscriber home PLMN18 inquires about the account status of the service contract for mobile unit 12 in step S3.

If the service provider 20 finds that the billing is permitted, the permission is communicated in step S4 via the subscriber home PLMN18. This is communicated to the visitor PLMN in step S5. Between the mobile device 12 and the called party (not shown), that is, with another mobile phone assigned to a particular PLMN that is the same as or different from the calling party mobile phone's PLMN. A call is established between the called party who can be the caller or the caller who can be the telephone in the PSTN (public switch telephone network).

At this point, the call has been established, as shown in step S6. Upon successful completion of the call, in step 7, charging information and invoices are transferred via subscriber home PLMN18, which in step S8 electronically transmits the bill to service provider 20. To do.

<patcit num="1"><text>U.S. Patent Application No. 5221838</text></patcit>

<p> The example presented above is an example in which the activity ends normally in the case where the service provider permits the service. However, if, for example, the calling party exceeds the contract details, the service provider refuses to charge the call, or cannot contact the service provider for any reason. In some cases, the primary exclusive payment method is compromised. With existing technology, the ability of the caller to prompt the caller to enter a withdrawal card number if the caller wishes to make a call even though the primary payment method is useless. Have. According to this technique, the call is delayed and similarly requested to manually enter alternative payment information. It also unnecessarily ties up the communication link between the calling mobile phone and the contact member of the communication system.</p><p> The primary payment method depends on the service contract held by the user of the mobile unit with the service provider in the example presented, but the primary payment method is, of course, presented herein above. It may be any of the other payment techniques. Nonetheless, users seeking communications services must use one of the other alternatives, or the other alternative, if the primary payment method fails. If it is not available or does not exist, it may not be possible to terminate the call normally.</p>

<p> According to the present invention, problems of the prior art are solved by automatically selecting one of two or more payment instruments and / or payment providers associated with the user and / or the user device. When the call is made, access is made to the primary or preferred payment method. If the primary payment instrument fails for any reason, the technology according to the invention automatically calls the next available payment alternative. If this technique also fails and there is yet another payment alternative, the system according to the invention will also attempt that alternative. By automatically selecting these payment alternatives in sequence, this undue delay, which was previously overly delayed in the prior art to encourage the user to enter additional information, has been eliminated, thereby eliminating today. Compared to the above technology, the possibility that the call will be terminated normally is greatly increased, and the time that the calling party is using the communication link before the call is established is shortened.</p><p> The present invention also allows a roaming network operator to make arrangements with a plurality of home networks while allowing voluntary connections with third parties. This technology can be used in cases where the customer does not subscribe to any particular service or calling party arrangement.</p><p> The present invention will be better understood by reference to the following detailed description and drawings.</p>

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of one preferred embodiment of the present invention showing a communication system similar to FIG. 1, with similar elements having similar reference numbers. In the example of FIG. 2, in step S1, the mobile unit 12 attempting to initiate a call passes information from the SIM card to the network. Since the mobile unit 12 is roaming within the visit destination PLMN16, the SIM information received by the PLMN16 is used to access the subscriber home PLMN18. In the illustrated example, the first payment instrument has failed, which can be attributed to, for example, either being rejected and timed out, or the home PLMN being inaccessible. .. This failure condition is relayed to PLMN16 in step S3.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, as an optional feature, the visitor PLMN has the following, i.e., SIM information includes a plurality of alternative payment instruments. Recognizes that a request for permission must be given by the subscriber in addition to the consent of the payment provider, except for alternative payment methods pre-arranged by the subscriber-owned mobile unit 12. This permission request can be a simple "yes" or "no", the response "yes" can be entered by pressing the "1" key on the keypad 12a, and the response "no" , You can enter by pressing the "2" key. This request is made in step 4, and the mobile unit 12 responds with or without approval of the authorization. Acceptance does not require the subscriber to initiate the call again.

Assuming that the permission was granted in step S5, the visiting PLMN transmits the debit request to the payment provider, here debit card provider 22, in step S6. The debit card provider 22 transmits the debit permission to the visit destination PLMN16 in step S7. The visit destination PLMN16 establishes a call between the calling mobile unit 12 and the called unit (not shown) in step S8.

Upon successful termination of the call, the visitor PLMN16 determines the debit amount and in step S9A transmits the debit invoice to the debit card provider 22. The reconciliation between the visit destination PLMN6 and the debit card provider 22 is performed in step S9B.

As mentioned above, if the contractual agreement between the debit card provider 22 and the owner of the mobile unit 12 does not require the caller to grant permission to use the caller's debit card. As an alternative to the technology, steps S4 and S5 may not be present, the visitor PLMN16 can make the debit request directly in step S6, and steps S7 to S9 are performed in the same manner as described above. ..

In the example presented in FIG. 2, the provider 22 can be a credit card provider, a subscriber's Internet service provider, or an electronic wallet, as well as the other examples described above.

In yet another configuration of the configuration shown in FIG. 2, the SIM card 14 may also have data that identifies one preferred payment provider from a plurality of alternative payment providers. In such cases, the automated technology used to select one of the payment methods is shown in Figure 3 as a flow chart.

To initiate the execution of the method shown in FIG. 3, when the system subscriber initiates a call, for example, the receiver in the network, such as the visit destination PLMN16 in FIG. 2, has the SIM information passed to PLMN16 in step S10. To receive. In step S11, the SIM information is inspected to determine if SIM access is allowed. If SIM access is granted, the program branches to step S12 and the system makes the call. This will be explained in sufficient detail in relation to FIG.

Assuming access is not granted, the program branches to step S13, where step S13 retrieves data representing the next preferred payment provider. In the example presented, the debit card information is retrieved and passed to the network. In step S14, the network determines whether the debit card authorization request is accepted. If accepted, the program branches to step S12. If not accepted, the program branches to step S15, retrieves the credit card data stored in the mobile unit 12, and passes it to the network. If the permission from the credit card provider is accepted in step S16, the program branches to step S12. If the credit card provider does not accept responsibility for the cost of the communication link, the program branches to step S17, in which case the data representing the next preferred payment provider, which is the calling card provider, is , Transferred to the network.

If the telephone card provider is accessed and the provider agrees to take on the cost of the communication link, the program branches to step S12. Alternatively, if the telephone card provider does not take the cost, the program branches to step S19, notifying the subscriber that none of the options are accepted and access to the communication link is denied. Alternatively, at that point, the subscriber may be given the last opportunity to manually enter input information that identifies another payment source, such as an alternative credit card.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, the preferred provider, or the provider listed at the top, can automatically revert to up to three alternative provider options if it does not accept payment liability. However, more or fewer alternative payment sources may be utilized without departing from any scope or purpose of the invention. In addition, any of the payment providers shown in the example in Figure 3 can be replaced with or added to other payment providers.

Assuming that at least one of the payment providers shown in FIG. 3 accepts the payment request, the program branches to step S12, which initiates the call. The detailed program steps to initiate the call are shown in Figure 4. Initially, in step S20, the costs associated with the service costs are downloaded. This information can be limited to a single PLMN, or can be limited to multiple PLMNs if the calling party is in roaming mode. In step S21, payment information is retrieved and the available balance is examined. For example, if your provider offers a pre-paid calling card, or otherwise imposes certain limits on individual calls (or other types of connections). The information is retrieved and in step S22 the balance is compared to the service cost identified in step S20 to determine if the balance is sufficient. If the balance is not sufficient, the program branches to step S23, where the program jumps to the next payment type. This jump can, in one example, branch to the next preferred payment provider, for example step S13 in FIG.

Assuming the balance is sufficient, the program branches to step S24 to determine if it is necessary to prompt the caller. This is similar to step S4 shown in FIG. 2, where the program shown in FIG. 4 branches to step S25 to determine the available balance and the available call time allowed based on that balance. Prompt to. Assuming you need to be prompted in step S24 and the prompt in step S25 was provided to the caller, you can inspect the caller's response in step S26. Assuming the caller does not allow payments by the selected payment provider, the program branches to step S27 to determine if the user wants to allow different payment providers. This has been described in explaining the embodiment of FIG. 2, but can be answered simply with "yes" or "no" by pressing the appropriate key on the keypad 12a.

If the calling party does not want to contact another payment provider to request that the call be accepted, the program branches to step S23 and the program step is initiated as described above. Program. Assuming the user does not want to request another payment provider to accept the payment request for the communication link, the program branches to step S28, which ends the call effort.

In step S24, if the caller does not need to be prompted, the program branches to step S29 and the network determines if the caller has a preset limit on the call. .. If there is no preset limit, the program branches to step S30 and payment information, including the allowed amount, is transmitted from the payment provider to the network.

In step S31, the network calculates the allowed call duration based on the amount allowed by the payment provider and provides that duration as a prompt to the caller. At step S32, the network monitors the call, and if at step S33, its duration is reached, the program branches to step S34 to determine if the user allows an additional amount. If the user does not allow the additional amount, the program branches to step S28 to end the call.

If the caller allows an additional amount, the program branches to step S35, amends the allowed amount to the new allowed amount, and returns to step S30.

If the time limit is not exceeded when inspected in step S33, the program loops back to step S32 and repeats this loop until the call ends normally or the time limit is exceeded.

The present invention selects the most cost-efficient payment provider from a group of preferred and alternative providers and networks the lowest (ie, most cost-effective) payment provider to the subscriber. Has the additional ability to guarantee the subscriber to choose. The technique is shown in FIG. 5, where when the call is initiated as shown in step S1 of FIG. Download the plan. In step S38, payment information associated with a single payment provider or multiple payment providers is retrieved. This information can be retrieved from sources known to the subscriber or network. For example, the subscriber's home database, or the local database of the current network. Alternatively, service detection can be initiated. These two schemes are SAP (Service Advertising Protocol) and NetBios (Network Basic Input / Output). System). The Salutation Consortium (www.salutation.org) is an organization that provides such services exclusively in today's evolving networks. Information related to the requested service (such as data, audio-video high-speed links, and / or required data transfer rates) is then retrieved in step S39. In step S40, other factors affecting cost (TOD (time of time of) day), day of the week, location within the home network, or location outside the home network) is acquired. In step S41, the most cost-effective service is calculated based on the information retrieved through steps S37-S40. The expected cost of the different options is earned by an algorithm, eg, multiplying the duration / expected duration by the unit charge, or by multiplying the data length / expected data length by the unit charge. Or acquired via a look-up table. An alternative alternative to identifying the most cost-effective provider is to identify the payment provider that offers the best reward in exchange for the provider's use of services. Rewards include points, prizes, bonuses, etc., and frequent flyer points. The same thing as point) can be given. To identify the most cost-effective payment providers, both the provider's cost and reward calculations can be taken into account in such calculations. In step S42, payment providers are prioritized based on the relative cost efficiency of the payment provider, and in step S43, the most cost-effective payment provider is contacted first, and the subscriber's payment cost. Is required to be consumed.

In the examples described above, the communication link has been described as a wireless link, but it goes without saying that there may be situations where the link that requires payment is not a link from the device to some access point. .. For example, the link can also include, for example, a land line connection and / or an intermediate RF connection, such as a satellite. The link can be partly a terrestrial line link and partly a wireless link. Nevertheless, the invention is adaptable to any such communication link. According to the present invention, the operator of the roaming network can make arrangements with a plurality of home networks while allowing voluntary connection with a third party. This technology can be used in application examples where the customer does not subscribe to any particular service or calling party payment arrangement (here further information is needed).

In the embodiment of the present invention described above, the data identifying the alternative payment provider can be stored in the SIM card. Not surprisingly, any other type of memory or storage means to provide data with data, such as universal cards, credit card type cards that carry information on magnetic strips, and smart cards. Can be used. These devices are removable to the mobile unit and can be inserted to transfer the data to the system, or suitable storage devices built into the mobile unit for later transfer to the system. It can be inserted to transfer the data to (not shown). Alternatively, the mobile unit may have a separate storage device that identifies each alternative provider and contains data that is transferred to the mobile unit by any suitable means.

In addition to the above techniques, the data identifying the alternative payment provider can also be transferred to a device that is not built into the device that requires the connection (ie, not contained within the mobile unit 12). Figure 6 shows an example, where information identifying an alternative payment provider can be included within a proxy in the infrastructure network. The proxy can be part of the subscriber home PLMN18, as shown in FIG. 6, and similar elements in FIGS. 2 and 6 are numbered similarly. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the caller ID is passed to the network in step S1. In step S2, the caller information is used to access the subscriber home PLMN18. The subscriber home PLMN18 accesses a proxy that can be the proxy server 24 in the home PLMN and uses the caller ID to access alternative payment information about that caller, thereby making a preferred payment. Get information about providers and alternative payment providers. The caller's ID is manually keyed into the mobile unit from the keypad, and the system accesses the remote database from the caller's mobile unit to obtain the payment provider's ID for that user. Can also be used for.

If the permission is not accepted, the calling party is required to grant the credit, as in steps S3 and S4. If the permission is received in step S5, the service provider 20 is requested for permission in step S6. If permission is received in step S7, the link will be provided in step S8. Upon successful completion of the call, a debit invoice will be sent in step S9 and adjustments will be made in step S10.

A device that seeks a communication link and establishes a payment provider can communicate with the device via a personal network such as Bluetooth or IEEE 802.11 (which requires more information).

As another alternative, the caller-related data can be connected to the Internet or otherwise stored on an Internet-related server, and the home PLMN accesses the server on the Internet. You can also retrieve alternative payment information.

<figref num="1">It is a figure which shows the prior art used to pay a service provider for a communication link.</figref><figref num="2">It is a flow chart which shows the communication system which uses the technique of this invention.</figref><figref num="3">It is a flow chart showing in more detail the situation where one of multiple alternative payment methods is accessed.</figref><figref num="4">It is a flow chart which shows the processing method by the communication system of communication (that is, call).</figref><figref num="5">It is a flow chart which shows the selection method of the payment method in order to obtain the most economical payment method from the viewpoint of a subscriber.</figref><figref num="6">It is a flow chart which shows the embodiment of this invention, and is the flow chart which shows the example which the subscriber requests from the communication system and obtains the permission of the subscriber payment provider for normal termination of a communication link.</figref>