JP2726572B2 - Charge control method for intelligent network service call - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an intelligent network; about accounting control how the (Intelligent Network hereinafter referred IN) service calls.

In recent years, with the development of the communication business, various additional services have been required. As one of them, there is an IN (IN / 1) service known by, for example, toll-free dialing. In such an IN service, a service obtained by converting an IN service call into a predetermined telephone number registered in a database is an international call. In this case, the charging for the IN service subscriber and the charging performed by the international gateway exchange to the caller as an international call may overlap, and some stations in the telephone network may be charged. It is hoped that this will be addressed only by changes. Where, in general,
Gent networks, or intelligent switching networks, are data
Service control point (Se
rvice Control Point (hereinafter referred to as SCP)
Switching [Service Switching Point (Service Switch
ing Point (hereinafter referred to as SSP) station]
This SSP station performs an exchange operation according to the instruction of the SCP.
It is a net that can do it. And the IN service call
Is a call that performs an exchange operation at the SSP station under the control of the SCP.
Means Also, as an IN service, FRS
(Flexible Routing Service). This FR
As a specific example of S, the toll-free number in Japan
Service (0120) or dial Q2 service (099
0) and the like. For these services,
A different numbering system (xxxxx) is defined for
Data to convert the numbering system to regular telephone numbers.
A database is created and stored in the SCP. General addition
The subscriber enters a predetermined IN service dial number XXXX (for example,
0120,0990), for example, XXXX-xxx
When dialing xx, the SSP station replaces the xxxxx part with the SCP
Send to The SCP determines its turn based on the database.
No. xxxxx is converted to a phone number that can actually be
Instruct the office to receive the converted phone number. SS
The P station performs an exchange operation in accordance with an instruction from the SCP.
Then, a service for performing additional charging like dial Q2
In the case of the SSP, the SCP
The user is instructed to charge.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration of a general communication system having an IN service function and a billing method. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a caller (subscriber A). A telephone (terminal) 2, a local station (LS) 2 to which the telephone 1 belongs, and a telephone number conversion database 3 for an IN service call (in an SCP 4 described later)
Service switching points with what) held (Service SwitchingPoint; hereinafter referred SSP) station, the SSP station 3, the called party telephone number from the calling party
An IN service assigned a predetermined IN service dial number
If the call is a service call (B; for example, XXXX-xxxxxx, where XXXX is an IN service dial number), the call is connected to the telephone 1 of the caller via the local station 2.

[0004] Also, 4 is attached to and connected to the SSP station 3 before
Service Control Point (hereinafter referred to as SCP) having a telephone number conversion database
In that), the SCP4, when SSP station 3 has received called party phone number in the IN service call, the telephone number
Based on the conversion database, the called telephone number is converted into a predetermined telephone number (for example, BBB-bbbb) registered in advance and output to the SSP station 3.

[0005] A local station 5 accommodates a telephone (terminal) 6 having a predetermined telephone number converted by the SCP 4.
When the called party telephone number, which is an IN service call, is converted to a predetermined telephone number, the P station 3 performs the conversion based on the predetermined telephone number.
To perform an exchange operation, and the telephone 6 via the local station 5.
The connection to is made.

In the communication system having the IN service function configured as described above, if the called party telephone number from the caller (telephone 1) is an IN service call, the SSP station having a database for the IN service call In step 3, the called party's telephone number is converted into a predetermined telephone number registered in the database in SCP4, and the telephone number is connected to the telephone 6. After the call connection, the service subscriber of the IN service call is connected. For billing information (Automatic Me
ssage Accounting; hereinafter referred to as AMA).

Here, in the case of an IN service call (a toll-free call having a database access), when the predetermined telephone number converted by the SCP 4 is a local network call, the local station 5 does not output the AMA, but the SSP station. 3 outputs AMA to the service subscriber.

In addition to such an IN service function, an international direct dial (International Direct Dial) has conventionally been provided by a communication system as shown in FIG.
2. Description of the Related Art An international telephone service using a call (hereinafter referred to as IDD) is provided.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration of a general communication system having an IDD service function and a billing method. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 1 denotes a telephone (caller A) of a calling party (subscriber A). Terminal), 2 is a local station (LS) to which the telephone 1 belongs, 7 is a tandem station (MS), 8
Is an international gateway exchange (GE), and 9 is a telephone of a called party outside the country.

In the communication system having such a configuration, the called party telephone number (B: for example, AAA-
BBB-bbbb, where AAA is the IDD service dial number )
Is an IDD call, as shown in FIG. 5, the caller's telephone 1 is connected to the international gateway exchange 8 via the local station 2 and the relay station 7, and communicates with the telephone 9 of the foreign called party. The call is connected.

At this time, in a normal IDD call (international call), the international gateway exchange 8 calls the telephone number 123-in FIG.
AMA is output to 4567 callers. And one
Generally, when a subscriber makes an international call,
From the detention center (LS2, MS7) to the international gateway exchange 8
Connected, and this International Gateway Exchange 8
Delayed, but called party (called party telephone 9) answered
At the time, that is, when the call is established and charged, the international gateway
In order to charge only at the exchange 8 , the international gateway exchange 8
A non-charging signal is returned to the LS2 or MS7 on the originating side,
Configured so that the local office does not charge the caller
ing.

[0012]

By the way, with the internationalization of service subscribers, in recent years, there has been a case where an SSP station 3 converts an IN service call and a predetermined telephone number is an international call. As described above, if the translated telephone number of the called party in the SSP station 3 shown in FIG. 4 is an international call, it is connected to the telephone 9 of the foreign called party via the international gateway exchange 8 shown in FIG. Will be.

At this time, from the international gateway exchange 8 to the SSP office
3, no non-charging signal is returned, and as shown in FIG.
AM output from P station 3 to IN service subscriber
A and, as shown in FIG.
And the AMA output to the caller may be duplicated, resulting in double billing.

In order to charge only for an IN service call (to prevent the international gateway exchange 8 from outputting AMA for an international call), a new signal is used between the international gateway exchange 8 and the SSP station 3. This requires a change between the program of the SSP station 3 that sends out the new information and the program of the international exchange gateway station 8 that receives the information and performs non-charging processing.

[0015] The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and double charging is performed only by changing some stations in the telephone network without changing normal signal processing and the program of the international gateway exchange. allowed to be carried out iN service is not performed, and an object thereof is to provide a charging control how the iN service call with improved additional services.

[0016]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the principle of the present invention. In FIG.
Is an SSP station having a database of IN service calls (for converting a called party telephone number to a predetermined telephone number) . When the IN service call number is assigned to the IN service call, the IN service call is connected to the telephone 1 of the caller.

4 is attached to and connected to the SSP station 3 and
When the SSP station 3 receives a called party telephone number which is an IN service call, the SCP 4 stores the called party telephone number in a predetermined telephone number based on the database . And outputs it to the SSP station 3.

When the called party telephone number from the calling party is an IN service call, the SSP station 3 of the present invention converts the called party telephone number into a predetermined telephone number registered in advance by the SCP 4. A connection to a telephone (terminal) 9 having a predetermined telephone number is made, and after the call connection, an AMA (charging information) is output to a service subscriber of an IN service call. If the predetermined telephone number obtained by converting the number is an international call, the telephone number of the caller is converted to a specific dummy telephone number, and the dummy telephone number is used as the telephone number of the caller. It is sent to the gateway exchange 8. That is, the SSP station 3 of the present invention
-Has a function to set the telephone number as the caller's telephone number.
doing.

[0019] In addition, gateway switching station 8 when the country receives an international call
Then, a call connection with the terminal corresponding to the international call is performed, and the call connection is made.
After that, the billing information for the telephone number of the international caller is
When a dummy telephone number is received as the caller's telephone number, the normal processing is performed and an AMA is output to the dummy telephone number.

Further, reference numeral 10 denotes an electronic data processing center (charging center; hereinafter referred to as an EDP center) for counting AMAs from the SSP station 3 and the international gateway exchange 8, and the EDP center 10 of the present invention comprises:
When the AMA from the international gateway exchange 8 is totaled, if the chargeable telephone number is a dummy telephone number, the AMA for this dummy telephone number is ignored.

[0021]

[Action] When the charging control how <br/> IN service call of the present invention described above, the called party telephone number from the calling party is IN service call, the called party telephone number at SSP station 3 Is converted into a predetermined telephone number registered in advance by the SCP 4, the connection to the telephone 9 of the predetermined telephone number is performed, and after the call connection, AMA is output to the service subscriber of the IN service call.

At this time, if the predetermined telephone number obtained by converting the called party's telephone number is an international call, the SSP station 3 converts the calling party's telephone number into a specific dummy telephone number. The dummy telephone number is sent to the international gateway exchange 8 as the telephone number of the caller.

When the international gateway exchange 8 receives the dummy telephone number as the telephone number of the caller, an AMA is output for the dummy telephone number, and the EDP center 10 outputs the international gateway exchange. AMA from 8
When tallying is performed, if the chargeable telephone number is a dummy telephone number, the AMA for the dummy telephone number is ignored. In other words, the caller's phone number is
Number and convert the dummy phone number to the caller's phone number.
To set the EDP center 10
Caller who made a normal international call and the converted phone number
Originating an IN service call whose number is an international call
International barrier exchange as usual
While the AMA charges from station 8, the latter
Ignores AMA from International Gateway Exchange 8
Only charge by AMA from SSP station 3 is performed
As a result, double billing can be prevented.

Thus, the SS in the telephone network can be changed without changing the normal signal processing and the program of the international gateway exchange 8.
Only by changing the P station 3 and simple measures at the EDP center 10, the IN service without double charging is implemented.

[0025]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the called party called by the telephone 1 of the calling party (subscriber A; telephone number 123-4567). Phone number is I
N service call (B; for example, XXXX-xxxxxx, where XXXX is
If the telephone number is a predetermined IN service dial number , the telephone 1 transmits, via the local station (LS) 2, a database (a called party telephone number to the predetermined
(For converting to a telephone number) .

Reference numeral 4 designates a state before being attached to and connected to the SSP station 3.
This SCP has a database , and this SCP 4
When the SP station 3 receives the called party telephone number which is an IN service call, the called party telephone number is stored in a predetermined telephone number (for example, AAA-BBB-bbbb, where AAA is an IDD service dial number). ) And output to the SSP station 3.

When the called party telephone number from the calling party is an IN service call, the SSP station 3 of this embodiment stores the called party telephone number XXXX-xxxxxx in a predetermined telephone registered in advance by the SCP 4. The number is converted to AAA-BBB-bbbb, the telephone number is connected to the telephone (terminal) 9, and after the call connection, AMA is output to the service subscriber of the IN service call. If the predetermined telephone number obtained by converting the caller telephone number is an international call (that is, a telephone number with an IDD service dial AAA in this embodiment), the telephone number of the calling party 123-4567 is converted into a specific dummy telephone number DDD-dddd, and this dummy telephone number DDD-dddd is sent to the International Gateway Exchange 8 as the telephone number of the caller. That is, the SSP station 3 of the present embodiment
Set a specific dummy phone number as the caller's phone number.
It has a function to set.

Here, the dummy telephone number DDD-dddd is always constant regardless of the telephone number of the caller.

[0030] In addition, international gateway switching station 8 of the present embodiment, the slave
When you receive an international call as you come, call with the terminal corresponding to the international call
Makes a connection, and after the call is connected, the caller's telephone for the international call
It outputs billing information for the number , even if the dummy phone number DDD-dddd is received as the caller's phone number ,
Proceed as usual to get the dummy phone number DDD-dddd
AMA is output to the

Further, reference numeral 10 denotes an EDP center for counting the AMAs from the SSP station 3 and the international gateway exchange 8. The EDP center 10 of the present embodiment, when counting the AMAs from the international gateway exchange 8, When the payable telephone number is the dummy telephone number DDD-dddd, this dummy telephone number DDD-dd
AMA for dd is ignored.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a tandem station (MS).
In the present embodiment, the case where the tandem station 11 has the SSP function, that is, the case where the tandem station 11 has the SSP station 3 and the SCP 4 will be described.

The operation of the communication system configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. 3. First, in the local station 2, the called party telephone number XXXX-xxx from the calling party (telephone 1).
xxx is translated (step S1), it is determined whether or not the call is an IN service call (step S2). If the call is an IN service call, the connection to the SSP station 3 is made.

At the SSP station 3, the called party telephone number XXXX-xxx
xxx is a predetermined telephone number AA registered in advance by SCP4
It is converted to A-BBB-bbbb (step S3), and it is determined whether or not the predetermined telephone number AAA-BBB-bbbb is an international call (IDD call) (step S4). In this embodiment, this determination is made based on whether the IDD service dial AAA is attached.

If it is determined that an international call has been received, the telephone number 123-4567 of the caller is converted to a specific dummy telephone number DDD-dddd, and the dummy telephone number is
DDD-dddd is sent to the international gateway exchange 8 as the telephone number of the caller (step S5).

After the end of the call, the SSP station 3 outputs the AMA to the service subscriber of the IN service call, collects the billing data, and sends it to the EDP center 10 (step S6).

Then, the international gateway exchange 8 makes a call connection to the telephone 9 with the converted predetermined telephone number AAA-BBB-bbbb (step S7), and after releasing the call, releases the call (step S7). S8) When the dummy telephone number DDD-dddd is received as the telephone number of the caller, AMA for the dummy telephone number DDD-dddd is output, the billing data is collected and sent to the EDP center 10 (S8). Step S9).

On the other hand, the EDP center 10 outputs billing data to the service subscriber (step S10) and billing data to the dummy telephone number (step S11). The AMA from the international gateway exchange 8 is counted. If the to-be-charged telephone number is the dummy telephone number DDD-dddd, the AMA for the dummy telephone number DDD-dddd
Is ignored.

As described above, according to this embodiment, when the telephone number obtained by the conversion process of the SSP station 3 becomes an international call, the SSP station 3 converts the telephone number of the caller into a dummy telephone number. The international gateway exchange 8
Does not recognize the call as an IN service call and outputs an AMA to the dummy telephone number in the same manner as a general call.

In the EDP center 10 for collecting AMAs, for one IN service call, the AMA for the service subscriber output by the SSP station 3 and the international gateway exchange 8
However, by ignoring the AMA for the dummy telephone number, the billing for the IN service call is limited to the AMA output from the SSP station 3 only. , IN service call can be implemented without double charging.

That is, the telephone number of the caller is stored in a specific dummy
Convert to phone number DDD-dddd and its dummy phone number DDD-dd
By setting dd as the caller's phone number, the ED
A call originating a normal international call at the P center 10
And an IN service whose converted phone number is an international call
The caller who made the service call can be distinguished from the caller,
AMA billing from International Gateway Exchange 8 is performed as usual.
On the other hand, for the latter, the International Gateway Exchange 8
By ignoring these AMAs, ASP from SSP station 3
Only double-billing is performed to ensure that double-billing is prevented.
Can be. At this time, the change of the program
Only a few stations such as P station 3 and EDP center 10 are required.

[0042]

As described above in detail, according to the charging control how IN services call present invention, when a predetermined telephone number obtained by converting the called party telephone number is an international call Is
The SSP office converts the caller's telephone number to a specific dummy telephone number and sends the dummy telephone number as the caller's telephone number to the International Gateway Exchange. No billing is performed, only the billing for the service subscriber is performed, the IN service call can be performed without double billing, and an additional service can be improved.

Further, when the international gateway exchange receives a dummy telephone number as the telephone number of the caller, the charge information is output to the dummy telephone number, thereby completely changing the program at the international gateway exchange. In addition, when the billing center tallies the billing information from the international gateway exchange, if the billed telephone number is a dummy telephone number, it ignores the billing information for the dummy telephone number, so that a normal signal can be obtained. An IN service call without double billing can be implemented by only changing some stations in the telephone network and simple handling by the billing center without changing the processing or the program of the international gateway exchange.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a principle block diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication system having a general IN service function and a billing method thereof.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication system having a general IDD service function and a billing method thereof.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 1 telephone (terminal) 2 local station 3 service switching point (SSP) station 4 service control point (SCP; database) 8 international gateway exchange 9 telephone (terminal) 10 electronic data processing center (EDP center; charging center) 11 tandem station

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] (1) converting a called party telephone number into a predetermined telephone number;
Has order database, the called party telephone number from the caller is given the intelligent network service da
Dial If the number is an intelligent network service call has been granted, the called party telephone number is converted into pre-registered predetermined telephone number in the database, perform the connection against the end edge of the predetermined telephone number Service switch for outputting billing information to a service subscriber of the intelligent network service call after call connection
When receiving an international call, the mobile station establishes a call connection with the terminal corresponding to the international call.
No, after the call is connected to the telephone number of the caller of the international call
An international gateway exchange that outputs charging information, the service switching point office and the international gateway exchange.
Includes a billing center that aggregates billing information from switching stations
In consisting Te communication system, the predetermined telephone number obtained by converting the said called party telephone number when an international call, the caller to Te in the service switching point station telephone number specific into a dummy telephone number, Ri sending the dummy telephone number as the telephone number of the caller to the said international gateway switching station, caller to the dummy telephone number in the international gateway switching station
If received as a phone number,
The charging center outputs the charging information in the normal processing , and the charging center outputs the charging information from the international gateway exchange.
When totaling information, the payable telephone number is the dummy telephone number.
No billing information for the dummy telephone number
Characterized Rukoto to be seen, the charging control how the intelligent network service call.