JP2001245071A - Charges processing system and charges processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a charges processing system and a charges processing method which effectively increase the frequency in use and the use time of a telephone line to realize promotion of use of the telephone line. SOLUTION: The charges processing system provided with a line usage management means 7 which counts line usage at the time of originating a call, a charges calculation means 8 which calculates the charges in accordance with the counted line usage at the time of originating, and a charges database 9 where the calculated charges is registered as usage charges is provided with a line usage management means 11 which counts the line usage at the time of terminating a call and a discount application means 12 which determines a discount rate based on the counted line usage at the time of terminating the call applies a discount to the usage charge registered in the usage charge database 9.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a billing system and a billing method for billing a telephone usage fee according to the usage status of a telephone line of a customer. The present invention relates to a billing system and a billing method for realizing a telephone service charge discount service.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional billing system of this type will be described below with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conventional billing system.

In FIG. 8, 1A and 1B indicate outgoing telephone calls,
The mobile phone terminal 2A, 2B that performs reception is the mobile phone terminal 1
A, 1B wirelessly connected to each other, and modulates / demodulates to / from a required high-frequency signal, and 3 is a radio base station 2
A, 2B via a transmission line, and the mobile phone terminal 1A,
This is a charging exchange (telephone company) that performs exchange connection of the telephone line with 1B and calculates and registers charging for the mobile telephone terminals 1A and 1B.

[0004] In the above configuration, the charging exchange 3 has a caller telephone number detector 4 for detecting the caller telephone number of the portable telephone terminal 1A that has made the call, and a receiver telephone for detecting the receiver telephone number of the call. It comprises a number detection unit 5 and a connection unit (exchange) 6 for performing line switching between the mobile phone terminal 1A of the caller and the mobile phone terminal 1B of the receiver.

Further, when a communication line between the mobile phone terminal 1A on the calling side and the mobile phone terminal 1B on the called side is connected by the connection unit 6, the line usage (use time, use distance,
A line usage management unit 7 for counting the number of times of use, and a call charge calculation unit 8 for calculating a call charge based on the line usage.
And a charge database 9 for adding and registering the call charge to charging information (charge) for the mobile phone terminal 1A on the calling side.

Here, the call charge calculation unit 8 calculates the call charge by multiplying the line usage time by a predetermined fixed charging rate, for example, and also calculates the call charge according to various services (conditions). There is known an apparatus in which a charging rate multiplied by a use time is variable.

In the charging system configured as described above, for example, when a call is made from the portable telephone terminal 1A to the portable telephone terminal 1B, the caller's telephone number detector 4 first detects the originating portable telephone. While detecting the telephone number of the terminal 1A, the receiver's telephone number detector 5 detects the telephone number of the mobile phone terminal 1B of the destination.

[0008] Then, based on the detection results by the caller telephone number detector 4 and the receiver telephone number detector 5, a communication line between the portable telephone terminal 1A and the portable telephone terminal 1B is connected by the connecting unit 6, and both are connected. The telephone terminals 1A and 1B enter a call start state. At this time, the line usage managing unit 7 counts the line usage of the mobile phone terminal 1A on the calling side, and counts the usage time until the end of the call, the usage distance, and the like.

In accordance with the usage time and usage distance obtained by the line usage management unit 7, the communication charge calculation unit 8 calculates the communication charge by multiplying the usage time by a predetermined charging rate. The calculated call charge is added to the charge for the calling side mobile phone terminal 1A in the charge database 9 and registered.

In the conventional example, the mobile phone 1
A has been described in which, when a call is made from A to the mobile phone terminal 1B, a call charge for the mobile phone terminal 1A is charged as a usage fee.
When a call is made from B to the mobile phone terminal 1A, a call fee for the mobile phone terminal 1B is charged as a usage fee.

[0011]

By the way, conventionally,
In addition to services that improve the quality and reliability of telephone lines,
There is known a service that discounts the caller's telephone charge according to the caller's telephone line usage (the number of times of use and the time of use). This is a customer service in which a larger discount rate is applied to the caller's call charge as the caller's line usage increases.

However, in order for the caller to receive such a service, it is difficult for the caller to be conscious of increasing the number of times and use time of the telephone line.
There was a problem that the effect of promoting the use of telephone lines could not be expected.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a billing system and a billing method for effectively increasing the number of times and use time of a telephone line and promoting the use of the telephone line. Things.

[0014]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first line use amount managing means for counting the line use amount at the time of transmission, and a transmission line counted by the first line use amount management means. A charge processing system comprising: a call charge calculation unit that calculates a call charge according to the line usage at the time; and a charge database that registers the call charge calculated by the call charge calculation unit as a charge. A second line usage managing means for counting the line usage at the time of the incoming call;
Discount application means for determining a discount rate based on the line usage at the time of incoming call counted by the line usage management means, and applying a discount to the usage fee registered in the usage fee database. Is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first line usage management means for counting the line usage at the time of transmission, and a line usage at the time of transmission counted by the first line usage management means. In response, in a charging processing system comprising a call charge calculating means for calculating a call charge and a charge database for registering the call charge calculated by the call charge calculation means as a charge, Based on the line usage at the time of incoming call counted by the second line usage management unit,
A discount application means for determining a discount rate and applying a discount to the call charge calculated by the call charge calculation means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, as the discount applying means, in addition to the line usage at the time of the call counted by the second line usage management means, the first line usage management means counts. The discount rate is determined based on the line usage at the time of calling.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, as the discount applying means, the discount rate is determined with reference to a discount rate table in which a predetermined discount rate is registered for the line usage. It is composed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, as the discount applying means, if the calling company and the receiving company are the same,
The discount rate is set higher than in the case where they differ.

In a sixth aspect of the present invention, the number of times of use of the telephone line is used as the line usage for determining the discount rate.

In a seventh aspect of the present invention, the use time of a telephone line is used as the line use amount for determining the discount rate.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication system comprising: a step of counting a line use amount at the time of incoming call; a step of holding the counted value of the counted line use amount at the time of incoming call; A step of determining a discount rate based on the accumulated value of the usage amount, and a step of calculating a discount for a usage fee registered in a usage fee database using the determined discount rate. It is.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a step of counting the line usage at the time of incoming call, a step of holding the counted cumulative value of the line usage at the time of incoming call, and a step of counting the line usage at the time of outgoing call. Determining a discount rate based on the held cumulative value of the line usage at the time of the incoming call, and using the determined discount rate according to the counted line usage at the time of the outgoing call. The method includes a step of calculating a discount with respect to the generated call charge, and a step of registering the calculated call charge as a charge in a charge database.

In a tenth aspect of the present invention, a step of counting the line usage during outgoing and incoming calls, a step of holding the accumulated value of the counted line usage during outgoing and incoming calls, and Determining a discount rate based on the cumulative value of the line usage at the time of calling and receiving, and discounting the usage fee registered in the usage fee database using the determined discount rate. Performing the calculation of

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a step of counting the line usage at the time of outgoing and incoming calls, holding the counted line usage at the time of outgoing and incoming calls, and Determining the discount rate based on the accumulated values of the line usage at the time of calling and receiving, and counting the line usage by using the determined discount rate. And calculating a discount for the call charge according to the line usage at the time of calling, and registering the calculated call charge as a charge in a charge database. .

[0025]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

Here, FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration in the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a discount applying unit in the present embodiment, and FIG. 3 is an operation procedure of the accounting exchange in the present embodiment. A flowchart showing
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a usage fee calculation processing procedure in the present embodiment.

In FIG. 1, the charging exchange 1 of the present embodiment
3 is the same as that of the conventional accounting exchange 3 described above with reference to FIG.
A discount calculation is performed on the call charge of the user registered in the charge database 9 by applying the line usage management unit 11 for counting the number of times of use and a discount rate determined according to the line usage. And a discount application unit 12 for performing the above.

In the above configuration, the discount applying unit 12
As shown in FIG. 2, the line usage accumulation holding unit 21 accumulates and holds the telephone line usage (time of use, number of times of use) at the time of an incoming call for each predetermined settlement period (for example, on a monthly basis).
And a discount rate table 22 which holds a discount rate predetermined according to the cumulative value of the line usage.

A discount rate for reading out and determining a corresponding discount rate from the discount rate table 22 based on the cumulative value of the line usage (usage time, number of times of use) held by the line usage accumulation holding unit 21. Using the deciding unit 22 and the discount rate determined by the discount rate deciding unit 22, a discount calculation is performed for the call charge of the user registered in the usage fee database 9, and the calculated usage fee is calculated. And a discount calculation unit 24 for notifying the usage fee database 9.

Next, the charging exchange 13 in the present embodiment
Is performed, for example, from the mobile phone terminal 1A to the mobile phone terminal 1
The case where a call is made to B will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, when a call from the portable telephone terminal 1A is accepted (step 1), the caller telephone number detecting unit 4 detects the telephone number of the portable telephone terminal 1A as the caller (step 2). The receiver's telephone number detector 5 detects the telephone number of the mobile phone terminal 1B at the destination (step 3), and calls the mobile phone terminal 1B (step 4).

When the communication connection is established by the connection unit 6 in response to the call of the portable telephone terminal 1B (step 5), the line usage management unit 7 and the line usage management unit 11
As a result, the line usage of the mobile phone terminals 1A and 1B is counted (step 6), and the usage time until the disconnection of the line is determined (step 7) is detected.

The call in step 4 is repeated until the caller disconnects the line (step 8). Further, based on the counting result in the line usage management unit 7, the call charge calculation unit 8 calculates the call charge of the caller, and adds the call charge to the call charge for the mobile phone terminal 1A registered in the charge database 9. Register (step 9).

Further, the counting result in the line usage managing unit 11 is notified to the line usage accumulating and holding unit 21 of the discount applying unit 12, and the cumulative value of the line usage (the number of uses, the use time, etc.) of the called party is notified. Is updated (step 10).

The cumulative value of the line usage in the usage storage section 21 is reset every predetermined period (for example, on a monthly basis), and the mobile phone terminal uses the cumulative value held immediately before the reset. The discount service is applied to the call charge for 1B, and the telephone charge is calculated.

The usage fee calculation process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, when a predetermined date on which the usage fee is settled is reached and the cumulative value of the line usage in the usage storage unit 21 is reset (step 1),
The immediately preceding cumulative value is notified to the discount rate determining unit 23, and the discount rate determining unit 23 refers to the discount rate table 22 and determines a discount rate corresponding to the cumulative value of the line usage (step 2).

Next, the discount calculator 24 determines the discount rate
Using the discount rate determined in step 3, the charge database 9
A discount calculation is performed on the call fee of the mobile phone terminal 1B registered in the mobile phone terminal 1 (step 3). Then, the usage fee after applying the discount is determined, and the usage fee database 9 is used.
Register for update.

As described above, by discounting the call charge of the called party according to the line usage at the time of the incoming call, the user is encouraged to call another person to himself, thereby promoting the effective use of the telephone line. be able to.

It should be noted that the discount rate for each use situation held in the discount rate table 22 does not need to be a predetermined fixed rate, but may be variable according to various conditions.
For example, if the caller and the receiver have the same telephone company, it is possible to effectively promote participation in the same telephone company by setting a higher discount rate than when the telephone companies are different.

In this case, if the counting result in the line usage managing unit 11 is weighted in accordance with the identity of both telephone companies, the line usage accumulating unit 21 accumulates and holds the result. good.

Further, in order to allow the user to know the discount rate based on the current line use amount at the time of incoming call at any time, the discount rate determining unit 23 determines the discount rate at the time when the user requests. A service may be provided in which the discount rate is obtained and the user is notified of the discount rate.

Further, the parameter for determining the discount rate need not be limited to either the cumulative value of the telephone line use time or the cumulative value of the telephone line use count. A value added at a predetermined ratio may be used.

Next, in the first embodiment of the present invention described above, the discount service corresponding to the cumulative value of the incoming call line usage is applied to the cumulative call charge for each predetermined period. When calculating the call charge at the time of outgoing call, it is also possible to apply a discount service according to the cumulative value of the line usage at the time of the incoming call at that time.

This will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 as a second embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. Here, FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration in this embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a call charge calculation process in this embodiment.

In FIG. 5, the charging exchange 2 of the present embodiment
Numeral 3 is provided with a discount application unit 22 that accumulates and holds the line usage at the time of incoming call, and applies a discount service each time when calculating a call charge at the time of outgoing.

That is, the discount application unit 22 in the present embodiment does not require the discount calculation unit 24 in the discount application unit 12 of the first embodiment described above with reference to FIG. The unit 23 determines the discount rate at that time, and notifies the call rate calculation unit 8 of it.

The call charge calculation unit 8 having received the notice of the discount rate applies the discount rate to the charging rate to be added to the use time at the time of calling, calculates the call charge to which the discount has been applied, and uses the charge database. 9 is registered.

The charging exchange 23 configured as described above
The operation itself is the same as that of the first embodiment described above with reference to the flowchart of FIG. However, only the call charge calculation process in step 9 in FIG. 3 is different, and this will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

First, when a call is made (step 1),
The discount rate determination unit 23 determines the discount rate table 22
, The discount rate is determined (step 2), and the call rate calculation unit 8 is notified.

The call charge calculating unit 8 changes the charging rate by integrating the notified discount rate (step 3), and integrates the discount rate into the line use time counted by the line usage managing unit 7, thereby applying the discount. A later call charge is calculated (step 4).
The call charge determined here is registered in the charge database 9.

As described above, the user is encouraged to make another call to himself by discounting the telephone charge each time in accordance with the incoming call line usage at the time of calling, thereby promoting the effective use of the telephone line. Can be done.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 7. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. Here, FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration in the present embodiment.

In FIG. 7, the charging switching center 3 of this embodiment
Numeral 3 is provided with a discount application unit 32 that applies a discount service to telephone usage charges based on the line usage at the time of outgoing, in addition to the line usage at the time of reception.

The discount application unit 32 in the present embodiment
In the discount application unit 12 of the first embodiment described above with reference to FIG. 2, the counting results of the line usage management unit 7 and the line usage management unit 11 are accumulated and held in the line usage accumulation holding unit 21. Make up.

That is, in the present embodiment, the line usage at the time of transmission and the line usage at the time of reception are added and held as a cumulative value of the line usage, and the line usage during a predetermined period is maintained. By using the discount rate according to the cumulative value and performing a discount operation on the call charges during the period,
Determine the usage fee.

In the present embodiment, a description has been given of a case where the discount service according to the accumulated line usage at the time of outgoing and incoming calls is applied to the accumulated call charge for each predetermined period. As in the embodiment, when calculating the call charge at the time of calling, it is also possible to apply a discount service according to the accumulated value of the line usage at the time of calling and at the time of receiving.

As described above, in addition to the line usage at the time of receiving a call, the user can not only prompt the calling of another person to himself / herself by discounting the call charge according to the line usage at the time of calling but also at the time of calling. In addition, since the user himself or herself will make an active call, the effective use of the telephone line can be further promoted.

In each of the above embodiments, the description has been given of the portable telephone system. However, it is apparent that the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to various communication systems.

[0059]

According to the present invention, the call rate is discounted according to the line usage at the time of receiving a call, so that the user is encouraged to call another person to himself / herself. Can be promoted.

In addition to the line usage at the time of the incoming call and the line usage at the time of the outgoing call, the call rate is discounted, so that the user not only prompts another user to call the user but also calls his / her own. Since the transmission is also actively performed, the effective use of the telephone line can be further promoted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a billing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a discount application unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the accounting exchange in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a usage fee calculation processing procedure in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a billing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a call charge calculation processing procedure according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a billing system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conventional billing system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1A, 1B Mobile phone terminal 2A, 2B Radio base station 4 Caller phone number detector 5 Callee phone number detector 6 Connection unit 7 Line usage management unit 8 Call charge calculation unit 9 Usage charge database 11 Line usage management unit 12, 22, 32 Discount application unit 13, 23, 33 Charging exchange

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5K025 AA08 BB03 BB06 BB07 CC01 DD06 EE01 EE08 EE09 FF17 FF25 FF40 GG01 GG04 GG12 5K030 HB08 HC02 KA01 KA07 MB09 MC08 5K051 CC07 DD01 DD15 EE01 EE02 H01 EE02 FF02A GG11 HH05 HH22 HH23 9A001 CC07 DD10 JJ12 JJ65 KK56

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A first line usage managing means for counting the line usage at the time of calling, and a call charge according to the line usage at the time of calling counted by the first line usage managing means. A charge processing system comprising: a call charge calculating means for calculating; and a charge database for registering the call charge calculated by the call charge calculation means as a charge. A line usage management unit, and a discount rate is determined based on the line usage at the time of the call counted by the second line usage management unit, and a discount rate is determined for the usage fee registered in the usage fee database. And a discount application means for applying a discount. 2. A first line usage managing means for counting the line usage at the time of calling, and a call charge according to the line usage at the time of calling counted by said first line usage managing means. A charge processing system comprising: a call charge calculating means for calculating; and a charge database for registering the call charge calculated by the call charge calculation means as a charge. A line usage management means, and a discount rate is determined based on the line usage at the time of the call counted by the second line usage management means, and a call rate calculated by the call rate calculation means is determined. And a discount application means for applying a discount. 3. The billing system according to claim 1, wherein said discount applying unit adds the first line usage to the incoming line usage counted by the second line usage management unit. A discount rate is determined based on the line usage at the time of transmission counted by the line usage management means. 4. The billing system according to claim 1, wherein the discount applying unit refers to a discount rate table in which a predetermined discount rate is registered for the line usage. A billing system for determining a discount rate. 5. The billing system according to claim 1, wherein the discount applying means sets a discount rate when the telephone company of the caller and the telephone company of the receiver are the same, as compared with the case where the telephone companies are different. An accounting system characterized by being set high. 6. The accounting system according to claim 1, wherein the line usage for determining the discount rate is the number of times a telephone line has been used. 7. The accounting system according to claim 1, wherein the line usage for determining the discount rate is a telephone line usage time. 8. A step of counting a line use amount at the time of incoming call, a step of holding the counted cumulative value of the line use amount at the time of the incoming call, and a step of storing the accumulated value of the line use amount at the time of the incoming call. Determining a discount rate based on the discount rate; and calculating a discount for the usage fee registered in the usage fee database using the determined discount rate. Method. 9. A step of counting a line use amount at the time of incoming call, a step of holding the counted value of the counted line use amount at the time of incoming call, and a step of counting the line use amount at the time of outgoing call. A step of determining a discount rate based on the cumulative value of the line usage at the time of the incoming call, and using the determined discount rate, for a call charge according to the counted line usage at the time of outgoing, A billing method comprising: calculating a discount; and registering the call charge for which the discount has been calculated as a usage fee in a usage fee database. 10. A step of counting the line usage at the time of outgoing and incoming calls, a step of holding the accumulated value of the counted line usage at the time of outgoing and incoming calls, and a step of holding the held outgoing and incoming calls. A step of determining a discount rate based on the accumulated value of the line usage at the time, and a step of calculating a discount for the usage fee registered in the usage fee database using the determined discount rate. A billing method comprising: 11. A step of counting the line usage during outgoing and incoming calls, a step of holding the counted values of the line usage during outgoing and incoming calls, and counting the line usage during outgoing calls. And, based on the accumulated value of the line usage at the time of the outgoing and incoming calls held,
Determining a discount rate; using the determined discount rate, calculating a discount for a call charge corresponding to the counted line usage at the time of calling; and calculating the discount. Registering the call fee as a usage fee in a usage fee database.