Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G06Q30/00—Commerce
  • G06Q30/04—Billing or invoicing

Definitions

• This invention relates to the problem of small transactions and mini payments made by generic users on computerised communication networks, such as, for example the telephone network.
• the invention was developed with particular focus on the need of the user to access the data made available by "added value" telephonic services via computer.
• Another problem relates to the fact that the aforesaid media of payment presuppose the need to access and/or have access to specific payment tools, which may vary from country to country.
• Another problem relates to the fact that access to the Internet is subjected to the intermediation of a Provider or computerised network manager.
• the service is charged to the user's telephone bill.
• references 1, 2, ..., n indicate in the general any number of users who can connect to a system for the distribution of data indicated globally with 10.
• the connection between the users 1, 2, ..., n and the system 10 is made according to the normal connection criteria in use in computer communication networks, whereas this is used in its most general meaning.
• the respective lines LI, L2, ..., Ln used for the connection can be the normal lines of a telephone network, which can be either traditional or advanced (for example, ISDN).
• a user equipped with a personal computer 11 and respective modem 12 or similar device such as, for example, a "Minitel" terminal communicating with system 10, can connect to the system 10 via a data line. It is, consequently, clear that the type and quantity of data which each user can receive from system 10 is correlated to the capacity of communication of the user's system.
• a network interface 13 (the type of which is known and consequently shall not be described in detail herein) which can handle the calls from various users 1, 2, ..., n according to the typical modalities of "added value" fixed network voice telephone services charging the service to the user's telephone bill. It may consists of, for example, an interface used to manage the professional "Audiotel" services in the telephone networks.
• the network interface 13 is used to put the user in contact with a data transmission system 14 in which the users choose the medium of payment and/or type of service which the they intend to purchase beforehand and display on suitable downloading progress bar of the status of the payment download or downloads predefined by the connection time associated to a timing module 15 (which can be implemented with the respective software or managing systems) which cuts off the call when the predefined timeout is reached.
• a timing module 15 which can be implemented with the respective software or managing systems
• the database 14 can contain different types of non-vocal data, such as, for example: - text;
• - graphic data which can be animated, sound data, multimedia data or other which can be contained and supported in a file in relation to the computer technologies and the download time or data retrieval time defined by the user.
• the operation of the database 14 and, in a co-ordinated fashion, of the network interface 13 and/or timing function(s) 15 can be easily controlled with respect to the calls by a processing unit of not high complexity such as, for example, a personal computer 16 of the type currently on the market.
• a processing unit of not high complexity such as, for example, a personal computer 16 of the type currently on the market.
• the possibility on behalf of the user to explore the database 14 and also the type and quality of the data which results are conditioned by the transmission capacity of which the user can avail.
• the system usage modality according to the invention is carried out as follows:
• User 1 equipped with a personal computer 11 and a modem 12, connects to the system 10 via the telephone line LI according to the modalities defined by the "added value" fixed voice network telephone services of the "Audiotel" type managed by the network interface 13.
• An information screen will appear to inform that the service will be charged.
• the tariffs are classified and previously defined and made available to the user who by clicking on the given references will start a timed transaction by downloading the file containing the data access codes or other.
• the user can display the status of the download or downloads for payment and/or data retrieval on specific download progress bars.
• the user 1 will automatically be disconnected from the service unless the user has selected various downloads.
• Said payment system can be applied or indirectly connected to the forms of electronic marketing commonly implemented on the Internet.

Landscapes

• Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• Development Economics (AREA)
• Accounting & Taxation (AREA)
• Economics (AREA)
• Finance (AREA)
• Marketing (AREA)
• Strategic Management (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• Telephonic Communication Services (AREA)
• Management, Administration, Business Operations System, And Electronic Commerce (AREA)
• Two-Way Televisions, Distribution Of Moving Picture Or The Like (AREA)
• Meter Arrangements (AREA)
• Data Exchanges In Wide-Area Networks (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=11417757

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

Cited By (1)

• 1999
  • 1999-04-27 IT IT1999TO000337A patent/IT1314668B1/it active
• 2000
  • 2000-04-21 CA CA002335750A patent/CA2335750A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2000-04-21 EP EP00938616A patent/EP1145168A2/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2000-04-21 AU AU53928/00A patent/AU5392800A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2000-04-21 WO PCT/EP2000/003751 patent/WO2000065498A2/en not_active Application Discontinuation

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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