Telecommunications – Radiotelephone system – Usage measurement
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-17
2001-05-22
Legree, Tracy (Department: 2681)
Telecommunications
Radiotelephone system
Usage measurement
C379S144020
Reexamination Certificate
active
06236851
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a cellular telecommunications system having a security feature which allows only pre-authorized users to complete cellular telephone calls. More particularly, the cellular telecommunications system of the present invention permits cellular telecommunications providers to obtain pre-paid subscribers and eliminate credit-risk problems. In addition, the present invention provides anti-fraud protection for cellular service providers by allowing subscribers to designate protection codes which must be dialed before a telecommunications event will be completed. Further, the present invention provides pre-paid calling cards which allow subscriber's to purchase air-time and pay monthly access fees.
Conventional cellular telecommunications systems require the cellular provider to undertake credit screening and certify credit-worthy subscribers before enabling a user to access the cellular telecommunications system. Customarily, a potential subscriber will apply to the cellular service provider, who then undertakes a verification process to determine whether the potential subscriber is credit-worthy. If the potential subscriber has a positive credit rating, the subscriber is given access to the cellular system and is able to initiate or receive unlimited cellular telecommunications events during a certain period of time or during a certain number of billing cycles. If the subscriber regularly pays invoices for the telecommunications services, the subscriber's access to the telecommunications system continues unfettered. If the subscriber fails to pay invoices as they become due, the cellular service provider has the ability to discontinue the subscriber's access until the invoice is paid. Thus, pre-paid telecommunications access is a desirable feature to prevent fraudulent use of the telecommunications system. Additionally, the present invention provides anti-fraud capabilities by requiring that a pass-code or personal identification number (PIN) be dialed along with the called number before a telecommunications event will be completed.
Up to now, the cellular service provider had no means available to offer cellular telecommunications services on a prepaid basis, monitor the subscriber's cellular telecommunications usage in real time and discontinue access to the cellular telecommunications services immediately upon exhaustion of a prepaid account balance. Additionally, up to now, cellular service providers had no means available to prevent cellular theft by unscrupulous persons retrieving equipment serial numbers from cellular signal transmissions and “cloning” or reprogramming other cellular equipment to replicate a subscriber's telecommunications profile.
Also, to date, cellular service providers do not have a means to allow current pre-paid subscribers to purchase additional air time and pay for additional monthly access fees in real time at a purchase point other than a cellular service center in order to provide continued use of the cellular service to the subscriber.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Land-based telecommunication systems have devised a method for allowing pre-paid telephone usage and limiting telecommunications usage to only a period of time equivalent to the pre-paid value. Perhaps the best example of such a land-based telecommunications system is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,335 issued Oct. 4, 1994 to D'Urso (hereinafter the “D'Urso” patent).
The D'Urso patent discloses a public switched telephone network (PSTN) which operates on a pre-payment system and has multilingual capabilities. A telephone user purchases a predetermined quantum of service, i.e., telecommunications time before access and is provided a card imprinted with a unique account number. The user is also given a series of toll free, commonly known as “1-800” numbers which allows the user to access the prepaid telephone system. Activation of each of the toll free numbers causes the system described in the D'Urso patent to interact with the user in the user's native language or in a language which the user desires to interact with the telecommunications system. Upon dialing an appropriate toll free telephone number at a PSTN node, the user is connected through a switching system with a host computer. The host computer prompts the user, typically by digital voice commands, to enter the user's account number, using the PSTN node keypad, imprinted on the user's account card. The authenticity of the entered account number and the available amount of credit is determined by the host computer. Account authentication and credit balance checking is accomplished by local area network connection with a service management computer which manages a card database containing account information for each outstanding account card. If the account card is valid and an available balance is verified, the host computer prompts the user to enter a speed dialing alias or destination telephone number. The user is given a pre-set number of attempts to enter a valid alias or destination number. The system performs editing checks on the alias or destination number. Improper entry of a speed dialing alias or destination for the pre-set number of attempts will cause the host computer to disconnect the user. Upon proper entry of a speed dialing alias or destination number, the host computer compares the available card balance against the balance required to make a one minute phone call to the desired destination. If the available call balance is greater than or equal to the balance required to make that one minute call, a voice responds unit (VRU) plays an announcement in the user's chosen language informing the user that the call is being processed. The VRU computer uses a stored call rate associated with the caller's destination number and the available credit balance to determine the available call duration. A call duration timer is set in response to the determination of the available call duration.
The VRU computer is then directed to out pulse the digits of the destination number to a network node. When the host computer detects an off-hook condition from the destination, the call duration timer is started and the available call balance is depleted while the call is in progress. When the host computer detects that the available call balance is close to depletion, the VRU computer is bridged onto the call and plays a pending disconnect announcement in the users chosen language. Upon exhaustion of the call balance, the VRU plays a disconnect announcement, the call is disconnected and the host computer sends a message to the service management computer and database that the balance on the card is depleted.
Alternatively, if an on-hook condition at the. destination occurs before the card balance is depleted, the host computer calculates the remaining available balance based upon the condition of the call timer and compares the computed balance to the minimum credit threshold. The host computer then causes a VRU computer to notify the caller, in the chosen language, whether the remaining balance exceeds the minimum credit threshold, and the value of the available balance and then disconnects the calling party. The host computer then sends an update message to the service management computer and the database, notifying them of the calculated remaining balance. The service management computer then overwrites the present balance on the database with the calculated balance sent by the host computer.
While the D'Urso telecommunications system allows for prepaid telecommunications activity, it is wholly dependent upon user first calling a toll free number, inputting account information, waiting for account validation, inputting the called destination, waiting for destination validation and then either being connected or not. The D'Urso system requires a plurality of input events by the user before a call can be passed to the destination. Moreover, the D'Urso system lacks direct interfac
Fougnies Douglas V.
Harned Dan B.
Fish & Richardson P.C.
Freedom Wireless, Inc.
Legree Tracy
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