Home

Mobile phone with internal accounting

Contents

1. This data will tell the phone how to bill calls in any country in the world BYTE Maximum International Digits BYTE Minimum International Digits BYTE Maximum Long Distant Digits BYTE Minimum Long Distant Digits BYTE Maximum Local Digits BYTE Minimum Local Digits BYTE 7 International Access Code BYTE 7 Long Distance Access Code BYTE Is long distance access code always required BYTE 7 Third party prefix Operator Calling Card Digits Locator Information INT 5 5 Home SIDs of the phone Provides seamiess roaming etc INT 5 5 Home area codes of the phone Provides computability in congested areas Rate Information DECIMAL Base access per minute charge Applies to all calls DECIMAL Additional long distance per minute charges DECIMAL Additional international per minute charges DECIMAL Additional roaming per day charges DECIMAL Additional roaming per minute charges DECIMAL Additional operator assistance charges calling card or third party billing or call surcharge for call content Other Information BYTE Base billing delay BYTE 3 By YYMMDD date the phone will lock and display DATE LOCKED BYTE 7 Non billed area code Expanded to handle 7 digit long distance for third worlds BYTE 3 YYMMDD is the last date this phone was roaming on A block of 5 non billed phone numbers to call ie 911 and any other user defined INT 20 A block of 20 random numbers 1000 9999 if value for license
2. 62 U S CL eit 455 406 455 418 455 408 clock and circuit means for activating and deactivating the 455 407 phone the accounting program including an updatable rate 58 Field of Search 455 406 407 table and a complex billing algorithm for calculating the 455 409 418 419 405 408 account status on the fly including multiple rate structure factors such as long distance calls international calls with 56 References Cited country independent local charges charges for roaming per U S PATENT DOCUMENTS day and or roaming per minute and call surcharges where the account status of the mobile phone is calculated in real 3 459 882 8 1969 Gabriel et al time for decrementing a debit account or calculating an 3 531 586 9 1970 Bass et al account charge on demand the mobile debit phone having a List continued on next page signal for alerting the user of account status which is preferably a display of real time account status the mobile FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS phone system including a communication system for acti vating and programming a new phone unit over the airways 20 DE ee CH and upgrading the account status and rate table in the phone 3 45031 71989 IP unit over the airways 3280652 3 1990 JP 345031 2 1991 JP 46 Claims 1 Drawing Sheet US 6 198 915 B1 Page 2 U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 5 301 223 4 1994 Amadon et al nj 5 303 285 4 1994 Kerihuel et al 3 725 947 4 1973 Albertini et al
3. Before any HOST and PP interaction can occur the HOST must send this command followed by the password From that point on any command issued should work If this command has not been issued then the PP should not respond to any HOST commands HOST and PP Interaction HOST sends CB DB 16 LRC to PP PP sends DB 16 IRC to HOST Data sent to PP The data password may be a default password selected by the system provider Data sent to HOST The data in then echoed back to the HOST This helps show the relationship between the system provider and a customer such as a telephone vendor WR_CONF_DATA This is the configuration structure that contains all the necessary parameters for providing a debit service This data includes items such dialing information relates and other configuration information including the complex billing algorithm that permits internal accounting within the phone unit Once this data is in place and the DO DEBIT MODE command is given the phone will begin using this infor mation to process call charges RD_CONF_DATA This command will read back the configuration data that was written by WR CONF DATA HOST and PP Interaction HOST Sends a CB to PP PP sends DB X LRC to PP Data From Phone This data DB X is the size of the data structure dis cussed in WR_CONF_ DATA This may vary depend ing on implementation and phone restrictions Follow ing the data there should be an LRC WR_DOLLAR_AMOUNT Thi
4. will be prevented from being made when the debit account has a zero balance 44 The debit telephone system of claim 39 further including a visual display of the debit account balance 5 45 A debit telephone system comprising a plurality of cordless hand held mobile telephone units wherein each of said hand held mobile telephone units includes a processor memory and internal accounting software a plurality of cordless hand held mobile telephone units said internal accounting software including a debit wherein each of said hand held mobile telephone units includes a processor memory and internal accounting software said internal accounting software including a debit account with a representation of prepaid funds a plu rality of charge rates and a billing algorithm which can classify each telephone call into one of a plurality of billing categories select a charge rate corresponding to that billing category calculate an appropriate charge for that telephone call in real time by using said selected charge rate and subtract this appropriate charge from said debit account a system provider having a host processor for coordina tion of mobile phone accounts said host processor stores mobile telephone unit information including mobile telephone unit identification information assignable telephone numbers operating codes needed for mobile telephone unit activation and operating codes needed for replenishing mobile telephone
5. 5 303 297 4 1994 Hillis noone 379 63 3 938 001 2 1976 Atalla et al 5 309 500 5 1994 Koma et al 4 318 824 5 1985 Mondardini 5 325 418 6 1994 McGregor et al 4 585 904 4 1986 Mincone et al 5 335 278 8 1994 Matchett et al 4 635 285 1 1987 Coombes 5 359 182 10 1994 Schilling 4 706 275 11 1987 Kamil 5 361 297 11 1994 Ortiz et al 4 831 647 5 1989 D Avello et al 5 384 776 1 1995 Gulliford et al 4 839 829 6 1989 Freedman 5 386 455 1 1995 Cooper 4 860 341 8 1989 D Avello et al 5 446 759 8 1995 Campana Jr 4 916 621 4 1990 Bean et al 5 625 669 4 1997 McGregor et al 4 951 308 8 1990 Bishop et al 5 631 947 5 1997 Wittstein et al sss 379 59 4 958 368 9 1990 Parker 5 722 067 2 1998 Fougnies et al 4 965 821 10 1990 Bishop et al 5 748 720 5 1998 Loder 5 020 091 5 1991 Krolopp et al 5 761 624 6 1998 Mooney et al sss 455 558 5 023 936 6 1991 Szczutkowski et al 5 915 226 6 1999 Martineau cs 455 558 5 046 188 9 1991 Molnar 5 983 091 11 1999 Rodriguez 5 109 401 4 1992 Hattori et al 5 127 041 6 1992 O Sullivan OTHER PUBLICATIONS 5 134 651 _ 1 1992 Ortiz et alites nd 379 112 1e William Mobile Cellular Telecommunications Sys 5 138 650 8 1992 Stahl et al 5 144 649 9 1992 Zicker et al tems 1989 pp 68 70 5 148 472 9 1992 Freese et al scssseeseseeeeeen 455 408 Sim s Communications Inc INSTAFONE 1993 5 148 474 9 1992 Haralambopoulos et al Nokia
6. accounting protocol further includes an encryption system to permit activation and licensed use of the phone unit and account credit transfers on the fly over the airways These and other features of the mobile phone system with internal accounting in the mobile phone units will become apparent upon consideration of the Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments that follows BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 is a perspective view of the components of the mobile phone accounting system of this invention with part of the system shown schematically FIG 2 is a schematic view of the basic internal compo nents of a mobile phone unit DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG 1 the mobile phone accounting system of this invention is designated generally by the reference numeral 10 and illustrates a stand alone tracking and accounting unit 12 that may be used by a rental agency or by a mobile phone dispensing center such as a retail store or a center associated with a wireless service provider The tracking and accounting unit 12 includes a central processing unit 14 that combines a data entry keyboard 16 coupled to a controller or data processor 18 which in turn is coupled to a monitor 20 having a display screen 22 for tracking data entry and review Also connected to the processor 18 are peripheral components including a printer 24 here with a continuous paper roll 26 for printing stateme
7. billed by the involved providers enabling an instant calculation of charges Naturally any error bias is pro grammed to favor the accounting system provider to mini mize potential under billing By incorporating a rate table in the phone unit 30 dialogue with the system provider which may be a separate entity from the wireless service provider Is thereby avoided Since the rate table used by the complex billing algorithm may change at any time the mobile phone system of this invention provides for over the air updating of the internal rate table in each phone unit at the initiation of the system provider Each phone unit may be polled and updated by the system provider during off hours Preferably the updated rate table is coded when the user applies for an increase in the internal phone account In describing the complex billing algorithm the acronyms in Table III are used TABLE III Acronyms BIT 1 bit of data Used as a flag BYTE 8 bits of unsigned type Like an unsigned char in C language INT 16 bits of unsigned type Like an unsigned short int in C language BYTE Is a of Bytes Like a storage buffer DECIMAL Up to 32 bits Like a float in C Just a decimal number RECORD A collection of the above types US 6 198 915 B1 15 The call record configuration structure that enables the billing data to be established for calculation of charges is set forth in TABLE IV TABLE IV RECORD of configuration data
8. for receiving pre paid phone cards or credit cards and a key pad 51 for data entry Verification of the value of phone cards and credit card may be accomplished by a stand alone transac tion station 44 however to prevent fraud it is preferred that a transaction station 44 having a card reader be connected by a communication line 52 as shown to credit verification center here the central processing unit 14 via the modem 38 The phone card is a discardable credit card like device US 6 198 915 B1 5 having a magnetic strip coded with a pre paid amount and can be sold independently of the phone system To prevent reuse of dispensed cards by reprogramming the magnetic strip the card is voided upon use and the card serial number is centrally logged as void Similarly to provide an opportunity for a credit card verification the use of a direct communication line 52 to the modem 38 or alternately to a local credit agency is preferred The transaction station 44 also includes a key pad 54 allowing a user to select the amount to be added to the internal account in the phone In this manner where the mobile phone user desires to increase his phone use account amount without a dialogue with the system provider there is an opportunity to do so The call data in the phone unit is dumped to the transaction station or cleared to permit the accumulation of new data related to the upgrade account Alternately where an account has been established
9. needed for replenishing mobile telephone unit debit accounts whereby upon receipt of mobile tele phone unit identification information from a particular mobile telephone unit or its user and at the time of activation information identifying the user s locale said host processor ascertains the operating codes needed to activate that particular mobile telephone unit or to replenish its debit account and at the time of activation ascertains an assignable telephone number which corresponds to the mobile telephone user s locale whereupon said operating codes and assignable telephone number are then communicated to the par ticular mobile phone unit or its user
10. number decoding BYTE 5 11 The configuration data for the foregoing record fields is explained as follows Maximum International Digits This is the maximum length of a country s country code For instance the U S A has a country code of 1 while Venezuela has a country code of 58 If these were the only two countries in the world then the maximum international digits would be 2 This isn t the case and we typically have this set at either 3 or 5 depending on the billing demand Minimum International Digits This is the minimum length of a country code this will in almost all cases be set to 1 Maximum Long Distance Digits This is the maximum length of a city s area code This varies greatly in third world countries Here in the U S A this will always be set at 3 because all area codes are a length of 3 However some countries area codes range from 1 digit up to 5 or more digits 10 15 20 25 30 45 55 Minimum Long Distance Digits This is just the opposite S of the maximum for long distance Again for the U S A this will always be set to 3 but will vary outside the U S A Maximum Local Digits This is the maximum length of digits it takes to call a local number Here in the U S A it is fixed at 7 However this varies greatly in other countries 65 16 Minimum Local Digits This is the minimum length of digits it takes to place a local call This varies greatly even if
11. phone etc HOST and PP Interaction HOST sends a CB to PP PP sends an ACK to HOST DISABLE AIR ACTIVATION When this command is sent to the phone the phone will no longer accept debit updates via DTMF tones The only way a phone could then receive an update is via the keypad or via a self service transaction station HOST and PP Interaction HOST sends a CB to PP PP sends an ACK to HOST When the foregoing command set has been implemented to establish the interface protocol between the HOST here the central control unit 14 and the PP here the mobile phone unit 30 the phone unit is programmed to respond to the HOST and to limited user commands as noted The com mand set allows for a communication dialogue between the central control unit or its surrogate and the phone unit When the WR CONF DATA command is executed the phone unit is loaded with the necessary data and code including the complex billing algorithm to enable the phone unit to function as a debit phone upon entering and execution of the DO DEBIT MODE command The complex billing algorithm factors the multiple vari ables of a telephone call from a mobile phone into a billing equation that virtually mirrors the factors considered by public switched network providers and involved wireless service providers of which there may be more than one involved in a single call The resultant call charge accu rately approximates the summation of real charges that will be
12. served by a timer chip Airway communication is provided through the antenna 36 which is connected to an RF transceiver connected to the processor 56 and to an analog audio circuit 68 with an ear phone output 70 and a microphone input 72 The audio circuit 68 is also connected to the processor 56 for audio output of touch tones warning signals and the like The phone unit 30 includes DTMF decoder chip 72 and a keypad 76 for data entry such as telephone numbers and DTMF signals for code dialogues with the central processor over the airways Preferably the phone unit 30 includes a LCD display screen 33 as noted and a series of green yellow and red LEDs 34 to visibly warn of a forced termination of a call because of loss of credit of the like with yellow providing a five minute warning light for example Audio warnings are transmitted through the earphone 74 The phone unit 30 is powered by a battery pack 78 Ordinarily by displacing certain features in a manufac turer s stock phone unit such as the storage of frequently called numbers in a cellular phone the RAM is sufficiently large to accept the complex billing algorithm and the com mand set necessary to convert a cellular phone to a real time billing phone Where the existing RAM is inadequate modification by installation of additional RAM or ROM will 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 allow incorporation of the conversion code and data
13. stored or known to the user except in encrypted form The mobile phone system of this invention provides substantial flexibility by the features described Phone retail ers can sell and activate phones on site without special equipment Furthermore phones with internal accounting allow for prepayment of service and call usage charges permitting the retailer to make credit judgment or cash sales independent of the service provider Additionally the task of the system provider can be assumed by the retailer the service provider or an independent entity that assumes the risk or provides for only cash prepayment transactions While in the foregoing embodiments of the present invention have been set forth in considerable detail for the purposes of making a complete disclosure of the invention it may be apparent to those of skill in the art that numerous changes may be made in such detail without departing from the spirit and principles of the invention What is claimed is 1 In a debit phone system with a system provider having a host processor that maintains accounts for use of mobile phone units and stores mobile telephone unit identification information a mobile phone unit with internal accounting for use in a phone network wherein the mobile phone unit is a unitary hand held device that internally calculates call charges and decrements call charges from a debit account the mobile phone unit comprising communication means in the mobil
14. unit debit accounts whereby upon receipt of mobile tele phone unit identification information from a particular mobile telephone unit or its user and at the time of activation information identifying the user s locale said host processor ascertains the operating codes needed to activate that particular mobile telephone unit or to replenish its debit account and at the time of activation ascertains an assignable telephone number which corresponds to the mobile telephone user s locale whereupon said operating codes and assignable telephone number are communicated to the particular mobile phone unit or its user 10 15 20 30 35 account with a representation of prepaid funds a plu rality of charge rates and a billing algorithm which can classify each telephone call into one of a plurality of billing categories including categories for local long distance and roaming telephone calls select a charge rate corresponding to that billing category calculate an appropriate charge for that telephone call in real time by using said selected charge rate and subtract this appropriate charge from said debit account a system provider having a host processor for coordina tion of mobile phone accounts said host processor stores mobile telephone unit information including mobile telephone unit identification information assignable telephone numbers operating codes needed for mobile telephone unit activation and operating codes
15. For example in a newly designed phone the new auxiliary firmware in including parts of the complex billing algorithm and much of the command set could advantageously be allocated to ROM with changeable data such as the rate tables and call log allocated to RAM Alternately all wire less auxiliary firmware and changeable data can be allocated to existing RAM or added RAM The phone unit 30 when received from the manufacture includes a fixed ESN electronic serial number unique to each phone To be functional the phone unit is programmed and this may be accomplished individually as described in USS Pat No 5 325 418 or in batch mode as described in the referenced application The existing ESN and GIM group identification mark are read and stored and the NAN number assigned module is run assigning the MIN mobile identification number SID site identification number and other parameters to activate a phone unit for general use The MIN is the assigned telephone number for the unit and should be one of the last numbers assigned if step programming is accomplished to preserve a working inventory of available MINs Step programming may be desired where a batch of phones are programmed and assigned to a service provider identified by SID which then assigns a phone to a customer at the service provider s location Customarily the phones are programmed by installing the phone unit in an interlink receiver 28 in the central process
16. Maximum Local Digits the Maxi mum Long Distance Digits and the call digit length is greater than or equal to the Minimum Local Digits the Minimum Long Distance Digits then If the call does not start with the Long Distance Access Code and the Long Distance Access Code Required flag is set to yes then this call is not a legitimate long distance call This is helpful in third worlds The following special cases are considered Is a Call Roaming If the SID the phone is currently in when the call is placed is not equal to any of the 5 Home SIDs then the call is roaming 15 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 18 Third Party Prefix Operator Assisted Calls If any call begins with the Third Party Prefix then the call is not to be billed at all Billing Delay If a call lasts under the Billing Delay seconds then the call is not to be billed at all Date Locking If the current date is equal or greater than the current Lock Date the phone should lock and display DATE LOCKED The following examples provide an overview on the manner calls are calculated M Number of minutes the call lasted Local Call Per Minute Charge LD Long Distance Per Minute Charge IT International Per Minute Charge RD Roaming Per Day Charge RM Roaming Per Minute Charge Local M L Long Distance M L LD International M L IT Incoming Call M L Local Roaming Call M L RM RD If RD has not been applied
17. Phones Inc Nokia Service Manual 101 1000 1991 5 203 014 4 1993 Wagai et al and 1992 5 220 593 6 1993 Zicker et al s 379 59 Omex Communications advertisement 1993 Pricing List 5 233 642 8 1993 Renton sseeeeee 455 408 1993 and 1994 5 233 656 8 1993 Langrand et al Machado L All In Communications Oct 1993 pp 24 27 5 276 729 1 1994 Higuchi et al Making Cellular Renting Your Business 5 297 191 3 1994 Gerszberg 5 297 192 3 1994 Gerszberg cited by examiner U S Patent Mar 6 2001 US 6 198 915 B1 66 70 36 Y SPEAKER ANTENNA MIC TRANSCEIVER 76 54 clock 74 56 lt CONTROLLER DTMF 78 BATT PACK DISPLAY F 7 60 FIG 2 US 6 198 915 B1 1 MOBILE PHONE WITH INTERNAL ACCOUNTING This application is a divisional of our application Ser No 08 381 704 filed Jan 30 1995 of the same title now US Pat No 5 577 100 issued Nov 19 1996 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a mobile phone system with a mobile telephone accounting protocol for mobile phones and in particular to cellular phones and radio phones that are capable of moving from one transmission station to another in a communication network In particular the mobile telephone accounting protocol is adapted for a mobile debit phone in which the communication traffic with the service provider is minimized to expand traffic handling capacity of the service provider by accomplishi
18. United States Patent US006198915B1 12 10 Patent No US 6 198 915 B1 McGregor et al 45 Date of Patent Mar 6 2001 54 MOBILE PHONE WITH INTERNAL 3 60229 3 991 JP ACCOUNTING 360229 3 1991 JP 380756 4 1991 JP 75 Inventors Donald Scott McGregor Gregory M SA v iss On o MeGregor both of Danville CA US WO 94 28670 12 1994 WO cn HO4M 15 16 73 Assignee CAS Corporation Los Angeles OTHER PUBLICATIONS Wilken Claudia United States District Judge Order Con Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this struing Claims Sep 6 2000 patent is extended or adjusted under 35 List continued on next page U S C 154 b by 0 days page Primary Examiner Edward F Urban This patent is subject to a terminal dis Assistant Examiner Tilahun Gesesse claimer 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Richard Esty Peterson Patent Attorney 22 Filed Nov 15 1996 A mobile phone system with a mobile phone having internal inca accounting capabilities for real time call debiting to account Related U 5 Application Data for the billing parameters of a mobile phone unit that is 62 Division of application No 08 381 704 filed on Jan 30 operated in a multi zone pommuncanon network with a 1995 now Pat No 5 577 100 complex rate structure the mobile phone unit having an internal processor with accessible internal memory for stor 51 Intz Cl ZO AL H04M 11 00 ing the accounting program and call data for each call a
19. being called This added complexity complicates billing proce dures for mobile phones and increases the communication session required for remote debit systems thereby adding to airway traffic In addition to the objective of eliminating an accounting session with a service provider for each call made the mobile phone with internal accounting capabilities greatly expands the potential customer base by enabling persons with inadequate credit to obtain mobile phone service by the use of a pay as you go debit account In this case the credit risk is avoided by prepayment of service and call charges and where credit is extended permits the credit to be provided by an entity other than the service provider for example by the seller of the phone or by a billing service that provides credit or pre paid accounts for mobile phone users The mobile phone unit of this invention can be used with a mobile phone rental system as described in reference U S Pat No 5 325 418 Because the mobile phone unit itself includes the accounting capabilities the rental system can be greatly expanded allowing the return station to have mini mum system hardware and indeed requiring only the ordinary equipment necessary to clear an account collect the charges and store the returned phone for pick up or return to 10 15 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 an initiating station The mobile phone unit itself calculates the charges on
20. btract this appropriate charge from said debit account a system provider having a host processor for coordina tion of mobile phone accounts wherein said host processor stores mobile telephone unit information including mobile telephone unit identification information operating codes needed for mobile tele phone unit activation and operating codes needed for replenishing mobile telephone unit debit accounts whereby upon receipt of mobile telephone unit iden tification information from a particular mobile tele phone unit or its user said host processor ascertains the operating codes needed to activate that particular mobile telephone unit or to replenish its debit account whereupon said operating codes are then communi cated to the particular mobile phone unit or its user 40 The debit telephone system of claim 39 wherein the host processor generated operating codes are communicated to the user by a system provider operator who has access to said host processor 41 The debit telephone system of claim 40 wherein the user enters the operating codes into the mobile phone unit by manually punching keys on the mobile phone unit 42 The debit telephone system of claim 39 wherein the host processor stored operating codes are communicated over the airwaves directly from the host processor to the mobile telephone unit US 6 198 915 B1 23 24 43 The debit telephone system of claim 39 wherein calls 46 A debit telephone system comprising
21. cal charges and surcharges which may be per call or rate based The complex billing algorithm can be expanded to accom modate special charges of service providers or called sta tions or special discounts or premiums for data transfer calls The complex algorithm is stored within the phone unit together with a rate schedule The rate schedule may be periodically updated by a wireless communication with a host or service provider It is to be understood that the mobile phone unit with internal accounting can be implemented into existing wire less communication networks without substantial modifica US 6 198 915 B1 3 tion to the network and can be implemented into most existing mobile communication devices with minimal modification primarily by internal reprogramming of the device Amobile phone unit such as a cellular telephone currently includes an internal processor and sufficient internal memory to incorporate the programming and data storage necessary to accomplish the real time accounting The complex algorithm providing the multiple factor accounting protocol is sufficiently compact that storage and processing of the call data is enabled in real time with sufficient accuracy to account for multiple charges from multiple service providers even for a roaming phone unit The accounting protocol enables internal tracking of phone usage with activation and deactivation of the phone unit to insure unauthorized usage is prevented The
22. code means for factoring in the roaming charges based on the location of the mobile phone unit in a multi zone communication network 17 The mobile phone unit of claim 1 wherein the multiple factor accounting protocol includes code means for factoring in call the roaming charges based on the location of the mobile phone unit in a multi zone communication network when called 18 The mobile phone unit of claim 1 wherein the multiple factor accounting protocol includes code means for factoring in long distance charges based on a location of a party being called US 6 198 915 B1 21 19 The mobile phone unit of claim 1 wherein the multiple factor accounting protocol includes code means for factoring in call surcharges and deductions based on a data content of a call 20 The mobile phone unit of claim 1 wherein the multiple factor accounting protocol includes code means for classi fying calls for calculating call charges based on a telephone number called from the mobile phone unit 21 The mobile phone unit of claim 1 wherein the clock of the mobile phone unit is a real time clock and the multiple factor accounting protocol includes code means for calcu lating call charges based on the time of day of calls on the mobile phone unit 22 The mobile phone unit of claim 21 wherein the real time clock provides time and date and the phone unit has circuit means for deactivating the phone unit at a predeter mined time and date 23 The
23. curacy of the billing algorithm Third Party Prefix Operator Calling Card this essen tially is the digits that must be dialed to reach the operator In the U S A 0 is the digit necessary to reach the operator It also is the digit necessary to place a collect call or credit card call Billing Delay After X seconds have passed billing will begin Since the phone does not know exactly when the call has been connected we have to approximate this connection If the call lasts under this X seconds then the user is not billed for the call However if the call lasts X seconds then the user is billed from the time they hit SND to END or the call is dropped Home SID This is the cellular system ID this phone is assigned to Home Area Code This is the area code of the cellular phone number or MIN Mobile Identification Number Base Access Per Minute Charge This rate is added to every telephone call made This is the base rate for the telephone call The only way this rate would not be added in is if the Billing Delay had not been reached Additional Per Minute Long Distance Charge This rate is added upon the Base Access rate when the call placed is classified as a long distance call Additional International Per Minute Charge This rate is added upon the Base Access rate when the call placed is classified as an international call Additional Roaming Per Day Charge This rate is added upon the Base Access rate when the call is a
24. e phone unit for wire less communication in the phone network internal processing means in the mobile phone unit including a processor a clock and memory for process ing calls and call charges program means retained in the memory of the mobile phone unit including rate data and a complex billing algorithm with a multiple factor accounting protocol for classifying calls according to the basic categories of local calls long distance calls international calls and roaming calls applying a call rate according to category and calculating call charges as calls are made the program means further including internal account ing means for generating an internal debit account in the phone unit wherein the phone unit has means for communicating with the system provider and adding an authorized amount to the debit account wherein the mobile phone unit internally calculates call charges and decrements the calculated call charges from the amount in the debit account in the mobile phone unit as calls are made and wherein to add amounts to the debit account the mobile phone unit further includes phone unit identification information to be transmitted for verification by the system provider using the host processor which host processor also verifies that a phone use account amount addable to the debit account of the identified phone unit has been prepaid and 10 15 30 40 45 50 55 60 65 20 locking means for preven
25. ecimal The host computer comprises the central processing unit 14 of FIG 1 or a satellite computer that is preferably connected to the central processing unit 14 which acts as a hub for system wide coordination of accounting and tracking information The host computer which may be a typical higher end PC communicates to the phone units via a bus using a standard Asynchroneous RS 232 serial port at 9600 band no parity 1 stop bit 8 data bits or a customized interface tailored to a particular manufacturer s phone unit Where programming the initial activation of a phone unit over the airway the initial dialogue is accomplished using DTMF signals A factory phone has limited calling capability typically 911 for emergency The factory phones are preprogrammed to allow an additional dedicated 800 number the number of the system provider service center Once the connect is made by voice dialogue the phone is switched to page mode and the service operator initiates the STMF code program The ESN is checked by the HOST and if verified as an authorized phone for assignment by the HOST the NAM parameters are programmed to the phone unit PP The programming of the phone as an internal accounting phone is also accomplished using DTMF signals Because of security reasons it is preferred that the phone unit programmed through the bus by direct connection as previously described A suggested data format for the command set listed in Table I is set f
26. has access to said host processor 34 The debit telephone system of claim 36 wherein the user enters the operating codes into the mobile telephone unit by manually punching keys on the mobile telephone unit 35 The debit telephone system of claim 26 wherein the host processor stored operating codes are communicated over the airwaves directly from the host processor to the mobile telephone unit 36 The debit telephone system of claim 26 wherein calls are prevented from being made when the debit account has a zero balance 37 The debit telephone system of claim 26 further including a visual display of the debit account balance 38 The debit telephone system of claim 26 wherein said mobile telephone unit further includes a real time clock chip 39 A debit telephone system comprising a plurality of cordless hand held mobile telephone units wherein each of said hand held mobile telephone units includes a processor memory and internal accounting software said internal accounting software including a debit account with a representation of prepaid funds a plu rality of charge rates and a billing algorithm which can classify each telephone call into one of a plurality of billing categories including categories for local calls long distance calls and roaming calls select a charge rate corresponding to that billing category calculate an appropriate charge for that telephone call in real time by using said selected charge rate and su
27. ic ser vice network to the RF transmission station 40 for remote processing between the central processing unit 14 and the mobile phone unit 30a Alternately a low level transceiver 42 preferably with control circuitry located within the interlink receiver 28 provides for RF communication with the phone unit 30a within local range This feature is useful in retail centers where it is desired that the central processing unit 14 be located in a computer room and sales clerks communicating with a customer communicate to the central processing unit through one or more floor terminals with limited processing capabilities for security reasons Since the mobile phone unit 30 includes the necessary accounting functions to internally maintain a user s call account at least within a rental period or within a period of periodic polling by the central processing unit 14 during off hours the unit 30 and a transaction station 44 need only verify the validity of a money transfer or credit transfer When functioning as a debit phone the phone can continue to operate until the account is exhausted without contact with the system provider The transaction station 44 shown in FIG 1 includes an interlink receiver boot 46 in which is installed a mobile phone unit 30b The transaction station 44 includes a cash receiving slot 48 for receiving cash for increasing the internal pre paid account of the phone The transaction station 44 also includes a card slot 50
28. igned phone as described in detail in co pending application entitled MOBILE PHONE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM Ser No 08 265 373 filed Jun 23 1994 The mobile phone unit 30 is preferably a contemporary unit with an LCD display screen 32 for display of phone numbers account data and other numeric or alphanumeric data Additionally the phone unit 30 includes one or more light emitting diodes 34 to signal a user with color coded lights during a call that an impending deactivation of the phone unit 30 is near The phone unit 30 includes conven tional circuitry and firmware to perform the customary communication transmission and reception function as shown in FIG 2 The phone unit 30 has a transceiver antenna 36 for wireless communication and as described hereafter can be activated and programmed over the air ways In the embodiment of FIG 1 the central processing unit 14 includes a modem 38 that is linked to a transmission station 40 for establishing a wireless communication link to a phone unit 30a shown with its antenna extended for reception The transmission station 40 may be part of the mobile phone system common to the central processing unit 14 and owned by the system provider or may be owned by an external service provider and part of the external com munications network that includes the public switching network In this mode of operation the central processing unit 14 communicates via hardwire possibly through a publ
29. mobile phone unit of claim 22 wherein the transaction station is a stand alone unit electronically coupled to the phone unit 24 The mobile unit of claim 1 in combination with the host processor wherein the host processor has means for remote activation of the mobile phone unit 25 The mobile phone unit of claim 24 wherein the host processor has means for remote programming of the mobile phone unit 26 A debit telephone system comprising a plurality of cordless hand held mobile telephone units wherein each of said hand held mobile telephone units includes a processor memory and internal accounting software said internal accounting software including a debit account with a representation of prepaid funds a plu rality of charge rates and a billing algorithm which classifies each telephone call into one of a plurality of billing categories selects a charge rate corresponding to that billing category calculates an appropriate charge for that telephone call in real time by using said selected charge rate and subtracts this appropriate charge from said debit account a system provider having a host processor for coordina tion of mobile phone accounts wherein said host processor stores mobile telephone unit information including mobile telephone unit identification information operating codes needed for mobile tele phone unit activation and operating codes needed for replenishing mobile telephone unit debit accounts whereby upo
30. n receipt of mobile telephone unit iden tification information from a particular mobile tele phone unit or its user said host processor ascertains the operating codes needed to activate that particular mobile telephone unit or to replenish its debit account whereupon said operating codes are communicated to the particular mobile phone unit or its user 27 The debit telephone system of claim 26 wherein said billing categories include billing categories for local calls and long distance calls 28 The debit telephone system of claim 26 wherein said billing categories include billing categories for roaming calls 29 The debit telephone system of claim 26 wherein said billing categories include billing categories for local calls long distance calls roaming calls and international calls 30 The debit telephone system of claim 26 wherein said billing categories include billing categories for calls placed within the United States and calls made internationally 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 22 31 The debit telephone system of claim 26 wherein the charge rates corresponding to each billing category are different 32 The debit telephone system of claim 26 wherein the charge rates corresponding to different billing categories may be the same 33 The debit telephone system of claim 26 wherein the host processor stored operating codes are communicated to the user by a system provider operator who
31. ng the accounting pro cedures within each mobile phone unit The mobile tele phone accounting protocol is similar to that described in U S Pat No 5 325 418 which is incorporated herein by reference In the referenced patent an accounting system is described which has particular application to a rental phone system or a controlled phone system such as an intra corporate system where periodic calculation of phone charges are made prior to receipt of billings from public or switched service providers In such systems phone call data is stored in the mobile phone unit and charges are calculated by a host processor after a dialogue is established between the host processor and the phone unit This system requires that a communication link be established between the host processor and the mobile phone unit and may require that the phone unit be physically connected to the host processor Although debit systems with internal debit and credit memory for cordless phones have been previously proposed such systems do not account for the particular complexities of mobile phone systems wherein multiple service providers may be involved in a communication network and the mobile phone is allowed to move or roam across defined zones or cells within a particular service area or across multiple service area In such situations the location of the mobile phone making the call is as important for billing calculations as the location of the phone or stations
32. nt by the transaction station increasing the amount of the debit account in the mobile phone unit 9 The mobile phone unit of claim 8 wherein a transaction station has means for communicating with a system user and with the mobile phone unit of the system user and verifying the authenticity of a transaction setting an account amount added to the debit account of the mobile phone unit 10 The mobile phone unit of claim 9 wherein the mobile phone unit includes means for direct electronic coupling of the mobile phone unit with the transaction station 11 The mobile phone unit of claim 10 in combination with a transaction station 12 The mobile phone unit of claim 1 wherein the mobile phone unit has security means for securely receiving an account amount to be added to the debit account in the mobile phone unit 13 The mobile phone unit of claim 9 wherein the security means includes code means for receiving encrypted account communications and decrypting the account communica tions 14 The mobile phone unit of claim 1 wherein the mobile phone unit includes a visual display and the program means generates a visual display of the current amount of the debit account in the visual display 15 The mobile phone unit of claim 1 wherein the rate data comprises a rate table under control of the system provider and secure from a mobile phone unit user 16 The mobile phone unit of claim 1 wherein the multiple factor accounting protocol includes
33. nts receipts customer and service provider contracts and the like and a credit card reader 27 for credit verification Included in one embodiment of the tracking unit 18 of the mobile phone accounting system is direct couple interlink receiver 28 shown with an installed hand held mobile phone unit 30 The interlink receiver 28 structurally forms a boot 32 into which the cellular phone unit 30 is inserted for direct electronic coupling of the phone unit 30 and the data processor 18 of the central processing unit 14 As many of the accounting functions of the accounting system are pre ferred internally in the phone unit 30 satellite processors for activating and programming phone units require only a personal computer with a modem and a bus connect to the connection port of the phone unit In the arrangement of FIG 1 the interlink receiver functions as a terminal interconnect allowing for direct hard wire communication between the data processor 18 and the mobile phone unit 30 through the connection port of 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 the phone unit 30 Programming and activation of the phone unit 30 can be accomplished by the processing unit 14 through the interlink receiver with minimal security proce dures The processing unit 14 is particularly useful in opening new customer accounts and includes the necessary data base format for assigning a phone to a user and tracking the ass
34. o grammed via this command therefore this deters an individual from simply stealing a rental phone and getting service somewhere else 3 Safely and effectively moving hones from place to place and 4 No training is required at the rental debit site to activate the telephone The following are a general list of parameters that would need to be programmed in an analog cellular phone MIN Mobile Identification Number SID System ID A side is a while the B side is an even number GIM Group Identification Mark ID Typically 0 15 LUM Local Usage Mark 0 or 1 EX Min Class 0 or 1 ACCOLC Access Overload Class 0 last digit of the MIN LOCK The User s Lock Code SS The System Select A Only B Only or Standard A B B A mode ICPH Initial Paging Channel 334 B 333 A HOST and Interaction HOST sends CB DB X LRC to PP PP sends ACK to HOST Data Sent To PP The NAM data is somewhat standardized however each phone manufacturer usually has a built in protocol for doing just this RD_NAM The RD_NAM or read NAM function just the opposite of WR NAM or write NAM Again this is typically already setup in a manufacturers phone HOST and PP Interaction HOST sends CB to PP PP sends DB X LRC to HOST WR SCRATCH PAD This scratch pad memory is a segment of memory that the system provider can use to store important information in the phone This information can be credit information rental information o
35. or unit 14 or at a remote terminal connected to the central processor unit The phone unit 30 can alternately be acti vated and programmed on the fly by use of the paging capabilities of the phone unit via the DTMF signals as described hereafter This feature allows remote program ming of the phone over the airways via the transmission station without the necessity of the direct connection of the phone port connector to the central processor unit 14 In the mobile phone system of this invention where the mobile phone unit has internal accounting capabilities the phone unit is programmed with the code responsive to the command set the complex billing algorithm the license code and other parameters allowing the phone unit to be a periodically polled unit for example in a rental environment or a debit unit where account status can be determined and upgraded on the fly The following table Table I lists the command set The command set is suitable for most modern cellular type phones and it is understood that modifications may be required for phone units of different types or different manufacturers As noted certain commands may not be operational where the hardware includes a clock chip that does not provide real time and date and suitable modification is required TABLE I DESCRIPTION BASE COMMANDS RD PHONE NUMBER Read the telephone s phone number RD PHONE CAILS Read the telephone s call data activity storage Read the curren
36. orth in the following paragraphs RD PHONE NUMBER HOST and PP Interaction HOST sends CB to PP PP sends DBS LRC Longitudinal Redundancy Check Data From Phone DBs is an ASCII string representation of the MIN eg 5108382400 LRC Calculation The LRC Longitudinal Redundance Check is calculated by the following algorithm b 0x00 LOOP I 0 to length of data b b XOR data LRC b The LRC is used when any data bytes DB are sent to the PP or form the PP RD_PHONE_CALLS HOST an PP Interaction HOST sends RD_CALLS_COUNTER to PP PP sends back DB for the call counter to HOST HOST sends CB to PP PP sends back all call data to HOST followed by an LRC byte Longitudinal Redundancy Check The bytes coming back would be number of calls 17 1 for the LRC US 6 198 915 B1 9 WR_PHONE_ TIME HOST and PP Interaction HOST sends CB DB 4 LRC to PP The LRC would include the CB PP sends back an ACK to HOST Data sent to phone The CB RD PHONE TIME is sent followed by 4 bytes containing the MMDDHHMM in BCD The month day hour and minute are each in the form of a BCD byte Example eg for Jan 1 1980 at 1 pm the DB would look like 01011300 where 01 01 13 and 00 are all bytes RD_PHONE_ TIME HOST and PP Interaction HOST sends a CB to PP PP sends back a DB 4 LRC to HOST Data sent form phone The data sent from the phone is identical to the data sent to the phone in WR_PHONE_ TIME Example eg For Feb 2 1999 a
37. out of money in debit mode the user can use that very phone to call a Non Billed Number such as customer support to increase their credit on the phone Random Number Block This is a block of numbers ranging from 1000 9999 that are used in decoding license numbers The basic complex billing algorithm calculates the call charges for the basic categories of local calls longs distance calls international calls and roaming calls As the algorithm allows compounding of categories the call types are a complex of factors for example incoming roaming long distance call The algorithm is easily expanded to handle other categories for example data transfer calls for which deductions or surcharges may apply In classifying a call the following factors are considered which covers virtually all situations Local Call TIf the call digit length is less than or equal to the Maximum Local Digits and the call digit length is greater than or equal to the Minimum Local digits then this is a local call Long Distance Call First long distance calls are the most cumbersome to classify because there are so many possibilities However this can be boiled down to a few tests If the number starts with the Long Distance Access Code then subtract the length of the Long Distance Access Code from the length of the call digits ie If I dial 1 510 838 2400 the length is 11 1 10 If the NEWLY calculated call digit length is less than or equal to the
38. phone System provider registers itself for use with the phone Password is ransmitted Write debit configuration data to the phone Read the configuration data from the phone Write the maximum dollar amount the phone can be used Read the maximum dollar amount from the phone Turn on call tracking Turn off call tracking Turn on debit mode billing Turn off debit mode billing Turn on over the air debit activation of funds Turn off over the air debit activation of funds Acknowledgement Could not understand HOST PP or Invalid LRC Update over the air the current additional dollar amount and date of expiration referencing the Telephone License Number View the current dollar amount left for debit If for some reasons the over the air updating of the debit data cannot be successfully completed the user can be given a license number to manually type in using the keypad via this function the acronyms in the following table TABLE II Acronyms Description HOST A systems operator s Personal Computer will be considered the host PP The phone unit will be considered the Phone Peripheral DB A Data Byte 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 55 60 8 TABLE II continued Acronyms Description CB A Command Byte CTI A Cellular Telephone Interference ACK An Acknowledgement from the phone unit NAK The PP or HOST did not understand the last set of data retrieved BCD Binary Coded D
39. r multi site drop off information By having the ability to store a small amount of data in the phone the system provider can open the doors to many new features This also provides the system provider with the ability to allow for future updates in the software that can take advantage of this memory Any size up to 1K 1024 bytes is adeguate HOST and PP Interaction HOST sends CB DB X LRC to PP PP sends an ACK to HOST RD SCRATCH PAD This is just the opposite of WR SCRATCH PAD With this command the phone would send the scratch pad memory to the HOST HOST and PP Interaction HOST sends CB to PP 20 35 40 55 60 12 PP sends DB X LRC to HOST WR_LOCK DATE Creates the ability to tell the phone to shut off at some date HOST and PP Interaction HOST sends CB DB 3 LRC to PP PP sends an ACK to HOST Data Sent To PP The data date format is slightly different in that it contains no time information and does contain year information The BCD format YYMMDD Example Jul 21 1968 would be 680721 RD LOCK DATE This is just the opposite of WR LOCK DATE This is used to verify or find out what the current lock date is in the phone HOST and PP Interaction HOST sends CB to PP PP sends DB 3 LRC to HOST Data Sent To Host The data DB 3 is a date in the format described in WR LOCK DATE REGISTRATION This REGISTRATION command acts as a security fea ture for the phone manufacturer and the system provider
40. roaming call and this charge has not been already been applied today Additional Roaming Per Minute Charge This rate is added upon the Base Access rate and possible the Additional Roaming Per Day Charge when the call is a roaming call US 6 198 915 B1 17 Additional Operator Assistance Charge This rate is added upon the Base Access rate when the call starts with the Third Party Prefix Operator digit s or is a surcharge for call connects identified as data transfer calls or the like Lock Date This is the date the phone will no longer function on The phone will display DATE LOCKED and will not be able to be used until it is reprogrammed via the HOST or a license number Non Billed Area code This is an area code or number that is to be billed This would be set to 800 for the U S A NOTE Only the long distance part of the charge is not billed Last Date Phone Was Roaming This is used to store the last date the customer was charged Roaming Per Day If a call is roaming and today isn t equal to the Last Date Phone Was Roaming then the Roaming Per Day Charge would apply Non Billed Numbers This is a block of at least 5 num bers of 11 digits in length that provides the flexibility not to bill for certain phone numbers called Numbers like 911 or other special numbers such as 18 for roaming Any Non Billed Number can also be dialed even if the phone is out of money or locked This way if the user s phone runs
41. rranted or is flagged as a credit risk The upgrade amount is encrypted and keyed to the encrypted license number and transferred to the user together with any update of the rate schedule When the user exhausts the amount in the internal account in the phone unit 30 the phone unit is locked and the display 33 shows EMPTY LOCKED The phone unit 30 is placed in paging mode enabling customer service to be paged for an account upgrade Similarly when the use period expires the phone unit 30 becomes locked and the display 33 shows DATE LOCKED and is placed in paging mode Where the user has a low account balance he voluntarily enters page mode and contacts customer service for an account increase US 6 198 915 B1 19 If desired the phone unit when in involuntary paging mode can have restricted paging function allowing only contact to the service center and receipt of a license number This disables the phone even as a pager and deters theft in the rental environment Alternately the phone unit when locked can retain full paging capabilities It is to be understood that all of the data security issues are not here addressed and the security measures to be imple mented depends on the environment of use and the position of the system provider in the service network Upgrades are phone specific and are verified internally in the phone using parameters unique to the phone unit The license numbers after verification are not
42. s command is used to update the current dollar limit in the phone Since this is a single command there stands great risk for fraud So there is a bit of extra data that helps deter fraud built in US 6 198 915 B1 13 HOST and PP Interaction HOST sends CB LICENSE NUMBER LRC to PP PP sends an ACK to HOST Data sent to phone The HOST will send a CB then a valid license number followed by an LRC This license number is the same license number that is transmitted over the air to the phone or manually imputed via the key pad RD_DOLLAR_AMOUNT This command returns the current dollar amount in the phone HOST and PP Interaction HOST sends a CB to PP PP sends DB 2 LRC to HOST Data sent to host The DB 2 data in the two bytes of dollar data with the Most Significant bit first and Least Significant bit last Example DB 2 00 02 which would translate to the value 2 DO_CALL_TRACKING This command turns on the call tracking feature If the phone is in call tracking mode the phone will save see the RD PHONE CALLS command all calls made so that they may be used to bill the user at a later time HOST and PP Interaction HOST sends a CB to PP PP sends an ACK to HOST NO_CALL_ TRACKING This command turns on the call tracking feature This command is useful when the supplier of phones wishes to leave a phone out in the field for long or indefinite periods of time This command might be used in setting up debit phones a
43. t 2 12 pm the DB bytes would look like 02021412 etc RD PHONE RTB HOST and PP Interaction HOST sends a CB to PP PP sends back its firmware revision number in some format relevant to the phone LRC Data sent from phone TBD Specific to the manufacturers phone LOCK PHONE When the phone is in locked mode the phone should display the word LOCKED on the main viewing screen The phone is completely deactivated while in this mode until the HOST issues the UNLOCK PHONE command The purpose of this mode is to secure the phone in between rentals or debit rentals While in this mode it prevents users or employees from stealing air time Also if the phone is stolen while in this mode the phone is worthless This worthlessness provides a sense of security for the supplier of the phones HOST and PP Interaction HOST sends a CB to PP PP send back an ACK to HOST UNLOCK PHONE This mode is just opposite the LOCK PHONE or LOCKED mode In this mode the phone is completely usable HOST and PP Interaction HOST sends CB to PP PP sends an ACK to HOST RD CALL COUNTER This comment allows the HOST to read the current number of calls that have been made on this phone during this rental From there the HOST can use this as data to present to the user and use this data to determine the number of bytes the phone will send when issued the RD PHONE CALLS command Host and PP Interaction HOST sends CB to PP PP sends DB 2 LRC to HOST The
44. t the factory or distribution center so that they would be ready for the retail market HOST and PP Interaction HOST sends a CB to PP PP sends an ACK to HOST DO_DEBIT_MODE This command tells the phone to begin the processing and using the WR CONF DATA and WR DOLLAR AMOUNT s data When this mode is active the phone begins to watch each phone call during debiting money s as the phone is in use Based on the configuration data supplied by WR CONF DATA the phone would decrement the WR DOLLAR AMOUNT each minute as the phone is in use HOST and PP Interaction HOST sends a CB to PP PP sends an ACK to HOST NO DEBIT MODE This command tells the phone not to do debit processing This will most likely be used whenever a customer wants to track calls of a user on a periodic basis as in a rental situation Again if call tracking is on and this command is issued calls are only tracked and the phone should lock when the memory is full HOST and PP Interaction HOST sends a CB to PP PP sends an ACK to HOST ENABLE AIR ACTIVATION The reasons the commands ENABLE AIR ACTIVATION and DISABLE AIR ACTIVATION is for a customer that doesn t want over the air debit activation for its client users By turning off the air activation the customer 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 14 has less room for fraud This feature old also be used in creating a value added telephone or different models of the same
45. t time from the phone Set the current time of the phone Read the phone s software revision number Lock the phone from use Unlock phone for use Read the number of calls made RD_PHONE_ TIME WR_PHONE_ TIME RD_PHONE_RTB LOCK PHONE UNLOCK PHONE RD CALL COUNTER US 6 198 915 B1 7 TABLE I continued RD_COMMAND_ STATUS RESET CALLS MEMORY RESET CALLS COUNTER RESTRICT ILLEGAL CALLS ENABLE ALL CALLS RD TELEPHONE ESN WR NAM RD NAM WR SCRATCH PAD RD SCRATCH PAD WR LOCK DATE RD LOCK DATE REGISTRATION DEBIT COMMANDS WR CONF DATA RD CONF DATA WR DOLLAR AMOUNT RD DOLLAR AMOUNT DO CALL TRACKING NO CALL TRACKING DO DEBIT MODE NO DEBIT MODE ENABLE AIR ACTIVATION DISABLE AIR ACTIVATION OTHER RESPONSES ACK NAK OTHER INTERACTIVE COMMANDS USING THE PHONE KEY BOARD UPDATE DEBIT DATA1 VIEW CURRENT AMOUNT UPDATE DEBIT DATA2 A suggested protocol for the command set in Table I uses DESCRIPTION during the period Read status of last command issued Reset erase the call activity storage data Reset the call counter to 0 Restrict all illegal calls Deactivate the call restriction Read the phone s electronic serial number Write NAM parameters to the phone Read the current NAM parameters rom the phone Store a small amount of data in the phone Read the small amount of data from he phone The date at which the phone will no onger function Read the lock data from the
46. the fly and provides a cumulative account record for review at the return station The mobile phone system of this invention is adapted for analog or digital cellular telephones radiophones in personal communication service networks PCS s and other wireless communication systems where it is desirable that call accounting be done on the fly SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The mobile phone system with mobile phones having internal accounting of this invention relates to wireless communication systems having mobile communication devices particularly mobile telephones that are part of a wireless communication network In particular the inven tion relates to a mobile communication device such as a mobile telephone unit that includes an internal accounting protocol for internal calculation of communication charges on the fly Such mobile telephone units or mobile phone units are typically cellular telephones in a cellular phone network radio telephones in a personal communication service network or other communication system where the communication device is moveable from place to place and requires a complex accounting system for calculating calling charges in real time or on the fly Although the primary intended use of the mobile phone system of this invention is intended for mobile debit phone units where real time calculation of phone charges is necessary to limit phone use or to immediately bill for phone use where the billings of public s
47. ting calls from the phone unit when the amount in the debit account is exhausted 2 The mobile phone unit of claim 1 wherein the program means further includes means for storing call charges as record data in the memory 3 The mobile phone unit of claim 2 wherein the mobile phone unit has means for a communication session being initiated by the host processor at a time controlled by the system provider and communicating the record data of stored call charges from the mobile phone unit to the host processor of the system provider 4 The mobile phone unit of claim 1 wherein the mobile phone unit has means for receiving an increase in the amount of the debit account in the mobile phone unit during a communication session with the host processor 5 The mobile phone unit of claim 4 wherein the mobile phone unit has an RF transceiver and the communication session is established over the airways by RF signals 6 The mobile phone system of claim 1 wherein the mobile phone unit has control means for deactivating the mobile phone unit when the debit account is exhausted 7 The mobile phone system of claim 6 wherein the mobile phone unit has paging means for establishing a communication session with the host processor when the phone unit is deactivated 8 The mobile phone unit of claim 1 wherein the mobile phone unit has means for establishing a communication session with a transaction station and upon verification of a set payment account amou
48. today M L RM LD RD If RD has not been applied today International Roaming M L RM IT RD If RD has not been applied today Long Distance Roaming Once a call has been classified as close to pressing SND as possible the charges described above need to be tracked on a minute by minute basis One reason might be that if a user gets a dropped call or some unexpected end of a call the system provider wants to be able to bill the call as close to it can to the number of minutes the user actually talked The phone updates the debit amount every minute on the minute during a call So for a local call the minute by minute calculation might be as follows Total Charge Total Charge L The user should be notified by a tone or set of tones in the earpiece and on the phone s screen or by the warning lights if there is less than 5 minutes of air time left at the current rate of use The mobile phone system of this invention allows over the air activation and dialogue with the phone unit 30 using DTMF signals and the paging capability of a mobile phone with a receiver decoder The current allowable dollar amount in the internal account of the phone unit can then be upgraded over the air During the DTMF dialogue between the central processing unit of the system provider and the user s phone the encrypted license number of the user s phone is transferred and verified The user s account is checked to determine if upgrade is wa
49. two data bytes are 16 bits from most significant bit to least significant bit These two bytes represent the number of calls that have been made on the telephone 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 10 The last or third byte is and LRC RD COMMAND STATUS At any point during the PP interrogation by the HOST the HOST can issue this command byte CB to determine the state of the last command sent Even though ACK s and LRC s are used this provides a general status check on the PP HOST and PP Interaction HOST sends CB to PP LRC PP sends back DB 2 LRC to HOST Data Sent From PP The DB byte sent from the phone can be used to diagnose internal problems that have occurred in the phone If the last command and the current state of the phone is good the DB should be 0x01 The rest of the bytes values can be left up to the manufacturer to decide what phone specific information can be returned via this byte RESET_CALL_MEMORY If the DO_CALL_TRACKING has been turned on during a rental period the phone will have been storing call data in memory blocks of 17 bytes per call This commence is used to either clear the memory or simply reset a pointer in memory to the call data HOST and PP Interaction HOST sends a CB to PP LRC PP sends an ACK to HOST RESET ILLEGAL CALLS The service provider has created a small algorithm that lets a phone perform call restriction This feature allows the service pro
50. vider to disable segments of the numbers or whole numbers right at the source the phone HOST and PP Interaction HOST sends a CB DB 63 LRC to PP PP sends an ACK to HOST Data Sent From Host KL Key length digit count to use for the search 1 byte KEY The actual digits for the search 7 bytes ODS Offset from the end of the digit string to 1 byte search Total 9 bytes The total number of numbers to block is 7 which gives us 7 9 63 bytes of configuration data ENABLE ALL CALLS This command disables the call restriction feature If this command has been issued to the phone then step 2 0 and 2 1 are executed in the call restriction algorithm On the other hand if the RESTRICT_ILLEGAL_ CALLS is issued to the phone with the configuration data the phone would be placed in call restriction mode HOST and PP Interaction HOST sends CB to PP LRC PP sends ACK to HOST RD_TELEPHONE_ESN The HOST requests the ESN and the phone transmits the ESN to the HOST THe ESN is the only non changeable part in the NAM that phones can be tracked by HOST and PP Interaction HOST sends CB to PP PP sends DB x LRC to HOST Data Sent to HOST US 6 198 915 B1 11 The data that is sent to the HOST is dependent on the format the manufacturer is using WR_NAN Writing the NAM via the HOST provides some benefits which are 1 Miss programming by employees which leads to bad service 2 Fraud prevention in that the phone can only be pr
51. witched service providers and involved wireless service providers are not yet available A real time accounting system carried internally in the mobile phone unit greatly expands the potential customer base for such units and coupled with certain activation and deactivation features allows a new segment of business to become involved in the mobile communications industry Because credit responsibility can be shifted from the service provider retailers billing services and a host of intermedi ate entities can be integrated between the phone user and the service provider Additionally the service provider can expand its customer base by providing mobile debit phones to its customers with a pre paid phone credit or with a preapproved credit limit that will deactivate the phone unit if credit is exceeded or credit is not extended by the airway activation and credit transfer procedures that form a part of this mobile phone system In this manner the credit risk is limited to an acceptable predefined level The accounting system that provides these features is carried internally in the mobile communication device for convenience hereafter called the mobile phone unit The accounting system includes a complex billing algorithm with a multiple factor accounting protocol to account for local charges roaming charges when the mobile phone unit moves from one zone to another long distance charges international charges including country independent lo
52. with the system provider which may be an entity different from the wireless service provider with whom the system may contract the mobile phone user may request an increase in the internal debit account by contacting the system provider through the airways as shown by the phone unit 304 in FIG 1 Referring to FIG 2 a generalized electronic schematic is shown of the typical mobile phone unit 30 used in the system here described The phone unit 30 includes a processor 56 that acts as a controller to coordinate the functions of the unit 30 The processor 56 has an associated memory comprising an EPROM chip 58 which stores the firmware that forms the core operating code of the unit and one or more RAM chips 60 that provide programmable memory and may include command codes as well as data storage for example for logging the call data Also closely associated with the controller is a clock chip 64 which provides a timer for calls In the preferred mobile phone unit 30 the clock chip is a real time chip that provides time and date for improved call logging and for greater flexibility in phone use plans Use of a real time clock chip is not required for the described mobile phone accounting system but allows for full use of the logging and tracking features Additionally certain fea tures such as deactivation of the phone on a set date is accomplished using a real time clock chip Call counters and cumulative time limits for deactivation may be
53. you are in the U S A This can be used to create different effects in billing However because of the scope of the debit phone this will most likely always be set to 0 or the U S A only 0 would account for an incoming call International Access Code This is the required prefix that must be dialed to place a directly dialed interna tional call From the U S A a customer would dial 011 country code city area code local digits in order to place an international call This varies greatly from country to country A length of 7 in the description above provides the system provider with the capability of serving places like the Caribbean They require a standard 7 digit number as a prefix to This is just an example of place in the Caribbean Long Distance Access Code This is the digit or digits that are required for a user to dial in order to place a long distance call From the U S A the user would dial a 1 sometimes called one plus dialing In other countries this varies from a simple 0 to some lengthy digits eg 108 for the Philippines Is Long Distance Access Code Required In some cel lular systems it is not required that you dial the long distance access code in order to place a long distance call In San Francisco for example if one were to call Utah information all one would have to do is dial 801 555 1212 1 801 555 1212 would also get to the same place If the long distance access code is required it will help the ac

Download Pdf Manuals

Related Search

Related Contents

解約手続きのご案内 解 約 通 知 書  Canon DR-5060F User's Manual  NT Kiray200  Melinera® - Lidl Service Website  Simpson Strong-Tie LUC210Z Installation Guide  Manual  Emerson RLS Activators Brochures and Data Sheets  PVsell User Manual  alicate amperímetro digital manual de instruções et-3860/et  GGE Live Editor  

Copyright © All rights reserved. Failed to retrieve file