DE4137348A1 - RECORDING SYSTEM FOR CARDINAL FEATURES OF A PHONE - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a recording system for Call details for a telephone or cellular telephone and in particular a recording system for Specials designed to lend when renting phone to be used, the system has a Ge generated for each billing period.

Cellular telephones or mobile phones for use in motor vehicles Witnesses have been widely used in recent years Service. The further development of these devices provided Tele fone, which are smaller and more efficient and now far ver Spreads in the form of a self-sustaining and handholdba be used unit. The phones are not longer necessarily to a single vehicle and its electrical installation tied. As a further result the This development has created a market in which one Rental agency rents a cellphone to a renter, which is used for a predetermined period of time, wherein the Tenant of the rental agency a predetermined rental fee be pays, which is based on a given tariff, which un including the rental period and the cost of phone calls contains, which are made with the single telephone. For the purpose of billing with the tenant, it is necessary to record all the details pertaining to the use of the cellular telephone during the time in the phone was in the tenant's possession. To the phone like that it is desirable to keep it small and compact as possible worth that phone with the smallest possible memory is sufficient, all occurred or zugehö save details and procedures, so that a complete billing message at the end of the billing duration can be generated.  

Calculating the cost of each call or call in accordance with the already established Tari However, that each call on the basis of at least the the following parameters or details: Length of the call, day and time on the day where the call has been made, and for outgoing calls, the distance between the calling station and the ange called station, d. H. the receiving station. The applicable Ta Rif is necessarily very extensive, as the distance between all possible points of origin and destination must be accessible or available in tabular form, before the calculation can be performed. It is because of that impracticable that the tariff tables into a small compact Cellular phone be integrated. Other call and call Details are also required. For example, if the call is on incoming or outgoing call.

Another complicating factor concerns the fact that searching in a large database, as they do for the Calling is required, some sophisticated proto required for data exchange. These protocols can in a practical way, not in a small hand content NEN device such as a cellular phone or compact phone un which focuses on smallness and low power consumption.

A search in the prior art has no satisfactory Solution for the problems described above. Conventional phones stuck with a telephone exchange connected by wire, which have a database, which Are part of the mediation apparatus, have long been knows how Example, from US Patent No. 45 85 904, a sta tionary telephone with an interface and a modem for Ver binding with a database or database.

Conventional phones are not usually in one Rental arrangement used where an invoice after return of the rented facility must be paid, as is the case in the case of Cellular phones is given in the present invention.

The object of the present invention is therefore a practical recording system or a recording ver drive for call details on a cellular telephone to create a bill.

This object is achieved by the recording system according to An Claim 1, claim 7 or claim 13 or by the Verfah ren solved according to claim 19.

Accordingly, the invention relates to a system that the Billing routine for rented radiotelephone equipment simplified. This is achieved by being a paperless System created with the exception of the last billing becomes. To properly provide a user for the Service of a rented radiotelephone or cellular lefons need to be able to bill for parameters every call or call that follows Call details "from the rental agency so that the agency verifies the radiotelephone unit rent, with as few call types as possible become. These different call types include Fernge speak, calls or calls made by a subscriber different from the Heimsy radio, user-supported calls and Credit card calls. A system comprises three main facilities gen: a cellular telephone, a PCU (Protocol Conversion Unit = Protocol conversion device) and a computer terminal or a personal computer (PC).

The recording system includes a small hand-held one Cellular telephone with a limited, built-in or integrated database and interfaces for communicating with a large database for billing purposes.

The cellular telephone section of the system must be able to do this be detailed records of each conversation made to save it while the unit is rented. To this to achieve is the use of EEPROM technology (EEPROM  = electrically eraseable programmable read only memory = electrically erasable programmable read only memory) provided the "call detail records" or CDR (call detail records) for every incoming and outgoing Call or for each incoming and outgoing call to save. To correct the customer against each individual Ge The rental agency in the Able to be this information from the CDR memory of the To receive radiotelephones. This is done using egg ner data transmission between the radiotelephone and the Compu terterminal or the PC accomplished. So that it for the Ter minal and the radiotelephone is possible to communicate with each other a PCU (Protocol Conversion Device) used to transfer the phone output data to the RS232 format implement. The PCU is also used to RS232 data on the terminal side into a format suitable for the Phone is understandable.

In accordance with the present invention is a Recording system for conversation details at one Cellular phone featured a variety of cellular phones, a conversation store stored in the cellu phonebook to store conversation details or to a database that is housed Contains call detail processing data which is outside of the cellular telephone, and a connection order with suitable interfaces for connecting the tent Mobile phones with external call details processing having processing device.

According to another feature, a recording system given for call details on a cellular telephone, a protocol conversion device as part of Indicates connection device.

Another feature is a recording system for Call details on a cellular telephone in which the Call custom storage the ability to save to  at least (a) the original call data, (b) the time and the Date of origin of the call and (c) the call duration has.

The recording system for call details at a Cellular telephone includes a cellular telephone with a first one Protocol for transmitting and receiving call data, a Call processing device, which is a separate pro tokoll for transmitting and receiving data, and one Connection device that establishes a protocol conversion to the first call log and the others under different call protocols in line with each other and adapt to each other, and continue to fare which is included in the call processing facility. It also includes a call cost calculation facility in a communicative way with the call tariff memory for calculating call costs according to Call details stored in the call detail store of the Cellular phones are connected.

In accordance with the present invention Furthermore, a cellular phone specified for connection is designed with a call detail processing system, wherein the cellular telephone has a call singularity memory for Save the call details, and a verbin Means for connecting the cellular telephone with it and the cellular telephone still has a clock Time calendar to record the time and dates of each call and a call restriction device, the Calls that can be made to a certain number limited.

Advantageous developments of the present invention are to refer to the dependent claims. Further advantages and applications training possibilities of the present invention are the following description of embodiments in Ver Refer to the attached drawings. It demonstrate:  

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a call detail recording system in a cellular telephone based on a personal computer;

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a call system for calling details of a cellular telephone, on the basis of an off-premises mainframe computer;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a cellular telephone;

Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the main steps of a call processing operation;

Fig. 5 is a block diagram of the cellular telephone; and

Fig. 6 is a block diagram of the protocol conversion unit.

In Fig. 1 there is shown a cellular telephone 1 of the type which is fully self-contained with integrated rechargeable power supply and which can be used at any place where a cellular telephone service is available.

In accordance with the present invention, a rental agency has a stock of such phones available to customers to rent for a given rental period. After the telephone has been returned to the rental agency, it is housed in an adapter unit 2 in which it is held, with records of call details stored in the internal memory of the telephone being sent to a protocol converter (PCU) 12 via a data cable 7 be transferred, which means before geous enough by means of the plug 6 and 8 at the adapter or is connected to the protocol conversion device is.

The plug 6 fits into a Anpaßbuchse 5 in the adapter device 2 , which in turn is connected via an internal Stec ker 4 of the adapter device 2 to the cellular telephone via a socket 3 at the base end of the phone. Records of call details stored in the cellular telephone 1 are downloaded to the protocol converter 12 using a data transmission protocol that is communicated by a microprocessor, e.g. B. of type OKI MSM80L154 of the cellular telephone is determined.

After the call detail records have been dropped into a buffer memory of the protocol converter 12 , they are reformatted according to a protocol suitable for communication with a call processing computer 19 , such as a call processing computer. B. the well-known protocol RS232 or any other suitable protocol. The personal computer 19 includes a herkömmli chen monitor 22 , a keyboard 23 and a Zentralverarbei processing unit 24 with suitable storage devices such as floppy disk drives and hard disk drives (hard disk). A conventional printer 26 is connected via a printer cable 27 to the central processing device 24 for printing off bill of hire bill for the cellular telephone.

The billing program including the tariff tables is advantageously supplied on one or more floppy disks 28 , the contents of which are loaded into the memory of Personalcom computer 19 via at least one disk drive 29 who the.

Fig. 2 shows an arrangement where call detail processing is performed in an external host computer or general computer of similar and adequate capacity to perform billing for multiple rental agencies. It has the same elements as shown by the same reference numerals in Fig. 1, but instead of a personal computer has a printer and keyboard device 31 which is adapted to communicate via a connection 32 with the protocol converter 12 , advantageously on a RS232 protocol or any other suitable protocol for short distance data exchange.

The printer and keyboard device 31 may advantageously be a small limited-capacity personal computer or the illustrated printer keypad 39 , 41 that is laid out, via a telephone connection 33 , which may either be averaged or formed as a leased line, to communicate. In this case, the communication is advantageously carried out on the basis of the known ASCII format. A universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter (UART) 36 is provided, which communicates via modems 37 a, 37 b with a main computer 38 , the billing programs, tariffs and all other information required for the processing of the Call detail records are required. The billing information will give back over a telephone connection 33 and are printed as a billing record or bill print on the printer 39 . The keyboard 41 serves as my general interface to the user.

Fig. 3 shows the cellular telephone 1 with greater accuracy. It is a portable and handheld unit with an ear piece 42 , a microphone 44 , a keypad 43 with the usual telephone dialing keys 0,1-9, * and # and with a number of special keys 46 (Snd, Clr, End, Rcl, Sto, Menu) for use in the cellular network. An LCD display 47 is used to inform the user about the call processing and conversation status and other information that may be valuable to the user. An antenna 48 serves as a transmitting and receiving device of the tele fons.

The following is a brief description of the conversation procedure with the disclosed system and details of the protocol between the radiotelephone and the protocol conversion facility. The RS232 protocol is a widely used industry standard for serial transmission. The ASCII protocol described in connection with FIG. 2 is also widely used as a protocol for long range data communication.

The cellular telephone in the system according to the present invention is able to make phone calls from any place in set up within the cellular service system and emp to catch. Whenever a conversation takes place, the te draws phone in a conversation memory of the phone tuned or stored data, d. H. "Details of the call. "The details include:

• a) Incoming or outgoing call - One bit in memory indicates whether the call is an incoming call or an outgoing call the call was.
• b) Call details record address in memory - The Number of a particular call starting with 000 will used when the phone does not have call data records in the Memory has.
• c) Called address - this is for an outgoing call the dialed phone number.
• d) System Identification (SID) - The SID of the system in which the phone was used to set up the call.
• e) Talk time - The time for each call, and that time up I'm looking forward to the next minute.

As an optional feature, a time calendar for the time of day and the date information are provided.

When all the address spaces for call data recording are full The device uses two timers. A timer is for the entire talk time via radio, after the CDR is full, provided and the other timer is only for provided in a walking state or external state (roam state) are made where the phone is not in his Home system or its original system is used.  

The protocol for sending and receiving data on the Phone side of the system containing the OKI semiconductor MSM80C154 Microprocessor used can typically be as follows appearance:

From the telephone to the protocol converter:

- Start bit length: | 1 bit - data length: 16 bits - Stop bit length: 1 bit - signal polarity: negative logic

From the protocol converter to the radiotelephone:

- start bit length: | 1 bit - data length: 11 bits - stop bit length: 1 bit - signal polarity: negative logic

Fig. 4 is a flow chart showing the major steps in processing a call. After "Start" 100 , a called number is entered at step 101 . At step 102 , a determination is made as to whether the call counter is at its allowed maximum. If this is confirmed, no outgoing calls or billable calls are allowed. When the maximum number of calls has been reached, the call restriction value is reset to prohibit telephone tolls. The method continues at step 111 when the radiotelephone is returned to the rental agency.

Before the radiotelephone is returned, the time that has accumulated in unrestricted calls that have been performed or received is recorded in two time accumulators, one provided for all call durations after the memory is full, and the other is provided for call durations that have been made in the outermost district, ie, where the phone has not been used in his home system, as shown in steps 104 and 105 . If the result at step 102 is negative, the call counter is incremented at step 106 and the called number is stored in the call detail memory of the telephone at step 107 . The called number is sent to the cellular network and a determination is made at step 103 to see if the call is answered or not. If the call is not answered, the call may be reentered at step 100 later. If the call is answered, the call timer is started at step 108 before response monitoring is received, as shown in the flow chart of FIG . At the end of the call, the elapsed time or elapsed time value is stored at step 109 . After the end of the rental period, the phone is returned to the rental agency at step 111 and the phone is inserted into the adapter device 2 , which is used in the rental office as a convenient interface of the phone with the billing system. In the adapter device, the telephone is connected to the protocol conversion device via a connector 3 , and the call detail data is transmitted to the protocol conversion device at step 112 , in which the data protocol of the telephone is set. In the protocol converter 12 , the call detail data is converted into a standard protocol such as a protocol. For example, the RS232 is converted at step 113 and the call detail data is transmitted to the call processing computer at step 114 . The call processing computer determines, for each call, the associated and appropriate call tariff stored in its memory at step 116 , and calculates the charge for each call based on the call charging time in step 117 . In the event that the call processing computer is remotely located, the call charges to the local printer are returned at step 118 as shown in Figure 2 and printed out as a complete billing list or bill at step 119 . In the case that the call processing computer is located at the same location, step 118 is not executed. After the billing has been printed, the call detail data in the radio telephone is cleared at step 121 , the radio telephone is deactivated to prevent invalid use, and the display shows "disabled" at step 122 . Thereafter, the radiotelephone is returned to the inventory at step 123 and the process is completed at step 124 .

The cellular telephone according to the invention may be more advantageous many of the call properties have characteristics that known from conventional cellular telephones: a List memory with frequently used call numbers or numbers a dial repeater for repeated dialing of assigned or unanswered numbers, a number allocation module for each radiotelephone in the inventory of Rental agency, a user programmable resale starif in the call processing computer, a call restriction means for restricting the calling of certain Classes of numbers, e.g. Eg numbers for third countries.

Fig. 5 shows in block diagram form the structure of a cellular telephone according to the invention, the apparatus in the dashed framed block 51 showing the structure of a cellular telephone 1 having a radio transmitter 52 and a radio receiver 53 both with an antenna 48 are coupled. A microphone 44 and an ear piece 42 are each connected to the transmitter or the receiver a related party. A control unit 54 includes a microprocessor 58.1 having an internal bus 57 which is connected to a memory 58 with control programs for controlling the operation of the telephone a related party. An interface 59 , which is also connected to the bus 57 , generates an interface to a key field 43 , 46 , a display 47 a protocol bus 61 , which is connected to an I / O connector 3 of the phone, a bus 62 , the controls the allocation module 69 which contains the EEPROM for storing a number which is assigned alone to the telephone in the inventory of the cellular telephone rental agency. A call counter 63 is connected to the interface 59 via a bus 64 and serves to count the number of calls allowed to the telephone before it is returned to the rental agency. A call timer 66 serves to time the time, that is, the elapsed time of each call, which is supplied to the call unit data memory 67 along with other item data for calls made as described above.

From the moment the call counter is full, the radiotelephone responds by resetting the Call Restriction value and with the Hold or Set a timer for the entire talk time or time, while being called over-the-air, and with persisting a timer for a radio talk time outside the Home system.

Fig. 6 shows circuit details of the protocol conversion device 12 connected to the cellular phone adapter device 2 via a data cable 14 as described above. The call detail data is input to an incoming call memory 71 under the control of a memory control circuit 72 with a controller which may take various forms, e.g. B. may be a programmable logic array (PLA) 73 , which is driven by a clock 74 . The memory control circuit 72 controls two address generators 76 and 77 which generate receive addresses for the input memory 71 and the output memory 78 for outgoing calls in accordance with the protocol of the telephone or the protocol of the call processing computer 19 or 38 , respectively. A data control bus 79 between the PLA 73 , the memories 71 and 78 and the address generators 76 and 77 serves to supply data between the adapter 2 , the memories 71 and 78 and the data output on the RS-232 bus 79 a via the internal data bus 81 transfer.

Claims (20)

A cellular phone call recording system comprising at least a cellular telephone ( 1 ), a call singularity memory device ( 67 ) in the cellular telephone for storing call details, a detail processing device ( 19 ) disposed outside the cellular telephone for processing the call details , and connection means ( 2 , 7 , 12 , 21 ) for connecting the cellular telephone to the call detail processing means. 2. Recording system according to claim 1, characterized in that the cellulartelefon ( 1 ) and the call processing device ( 19 ) have different data protocols, where in a protocol conversion device ( 12 ) in the connec tion device for adapting the different proto col is provided. 3. Recording system according to claim 1, characterized in that the call detail storage means ( 67 ) comprises means for storing at least original call data, a time for generating the calls and a call duration. 4. Recording system according to claim 1, characterized in that the cellular telephone ( 1 ) has a protocol for sending and receiving call data that the Anrufverarbeitungsein direction ( 19 ) has a second protocol for transmitting and receiving data and that the connection means a proto kollumwandlungseinrichtung ( 12 ) for adjusting the first and second call logs. A recording system according to claim 1, characterized by call tariff storage means ( 28 , 29 ) in the call processing means ( 19 ) and a call cost calculator communicatively connected to the call tariff storage means for calculating the cost of the calls according to the call detail. 6. A recording system according to claim 3, characterized by a clock calendar in the cellular telephone ( 1 ) and by a protection against loss of power to protect the call singular storage device and the clock time against a failure in the event of memory loss. 7. Recording system according to claim 3, characterized by a plurality of cellular telephones, each of these cells lolartelefone has a single identification number, the stored in the call singular storage device. 8. A recording system according to claim 1, characterized by a main computer ( 38 ) in the call detail processing device. 9. Recording system according to claim 1, characterized by a personal computer in call detail processing Facility. A recording system according to claim 1, characterized by call charge calculating means for calculating the call charge data connected to the call processing means ( 19 ) and a printer ( 26 , 39 ) connected to the call charge calculating means for calculating the call charge data. 11. Recording system according to claim 4, characterized gekennzeich net, that the second protocol is an RS232 protocol. 12. Recording system according to claim 6, characterized by at least one electrically erasable programmable nurse memory (EEPROM) in the protective device against supply supply voltage loss.   A cellular telephone for connecting to a call unit processing system ( 19 ; 31 , 36 , 37 a, 33 , 37 b, 38 ), comprising call detail storing means ( 67 ) for storing call details and a connection means ( 2 , 7 , 12 , 32 ) for connecting the call singular storage device to the call detail processing system. 14. Cellular telephone according to claim 13, characterized by a time calendar communicating with the on call unit is connected. 15. Cellular telephone according to claim 13, characterized by a call restriction facility associated with the call detail device for limiting call termination to a given number of billable calls ver is bound. 16. Cellular telephone according to claim 13, characterized by a number assignment module ( 69 ) in each cellular telephone ( 1 ). 17. Cellular telephone according to claim 13, characterized by a call limiting device in the cellular telephone for Limit a given class of calls. 18. The call detail recording system of a cellular telephone ( 1 ) according to claim 1, characterized by a user programmable resale rate in the call processing device ( 19 ). 19. A method for recording call detail data in a recording system for receiving details of a Zellu lartelefons (1) having a call detail memory (67) in each cellular telephone (1), an arrangement for process them, of call detail data in a Anrufverar beitungscomputer (19; 38 ) and a protocol conversion device ( 12 ) for converting the call detail data from the cellular telephone protocol into the protocol of the call processing computer, the method comprising the steps of:

• a) entering a called number into the cellular telephone ( 1 );
• b) storing the call detail data in the call singularity memory ( 67 );
• c) converting in the protocol conversion means ( 12 ) the call detail data from the telephone protocol into the protocol of the call processing computer;
• d) printing a statement.

20. Method according to claim 19, characterized by the further steps:

• a) incrementing a call counter ( 63 ) for each entered call number;
• b) determining if the call counter ( 63 ) is full;
• e) Rejecting billable calls when the call counter ( 63 ) is full.