JP2002133310A - Account device, account method and storage medium storing account program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a payment of an appropriate fee reflecting a service content and a method for utilizing the service by a user of the service and to realize an appropriate accounting reflecting a load required for a service delivery by a service provider. SOLUTION: A service management part 10 monitors a delivery time, an amount of delivery data and a band of a network regarding a service delivered from a service provider 21 to a user 20 through a network 2 and collects an account standard data becoming a standard at the time of accounting from this monitoring data. An accounting part 13 selects respective account standard data according to a predetermined rule and carries out an accounting based on the selected account standard data. A request fee selection part 16 selects a plurality of processing result data accounted according to a predetermined rule and determines them as a request data to the user.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a charging apparatus, a charging method, and a storage medium storing a charging program for real-time charging for services distributed and provided online.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the spread of the Internet, online goods sales and download services of image contents and moving image contents have been widely recognized. In addition, real-time services such as a service for distributing video contents in real time over the Internet and a real-time voice communication (Internet telephone) service via the Internet have recently been developed with the speeding up of networks and the development of bandwidth allocation technology. It is starting to appear.

[0003] Various methods are conceivable as a charging method for a user of the above-mentioned real-time service.
For example, in a real-time video distribution service, a fixed monthly fee is charged irrespective of the number of programs viewed by a user, such as a charging method performed by a CATV, or a work such as a movie is handled in units of works. When billing (pay pe
r view). In addition, IP
A method of charging according to the amount of data such as the number of packets and a method of charging according to the distribution time of the service are also conceivable.
In fact, such a charging technique according to the data amount and a charging technique according to the distribution time are being realized. Further, in the charging method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 10-249664, a charging method according to the amount of resources secured in the network and a charging method according to the duration of resource reservation have been proposed.

[0004]

By the way, in real-time billing in which the use of services distributed online is charged in real time, for example, the total billing amount and distribution time when the amount of distribution data is used as a charging criterion are determined. The magnitude relationship of the total billing amount when used depends on the contents of the service or how to use the service. However, conventionally, since charging is performed according to one charging criterion, there has been a problem that a user cannot pay an appropriate fee reflecting the contents of a service and a method of using the service.

As a specific example for explaining this problem, a real-time distribution service of video contents will be considered. In the case of such a service, when the video is a static one centered on landscape description, the charge for the data amount (video data amount) is lower than the usage time, and conversely, the video is an action movie. In such a dynamic case, there may be a situation in which the charge for the usage time is lower than the data amount. As another example to illustrate the above problem, consider an Internet telephone service. In the case of such a telephone service, when a user maintains a telephone connection for a long time without talking much, the charge for the data amount (voice data amount) is lower than the usage time. Is completed in a short time, there may be a situation in which the charge for the usage time is lower than the data amount.

On the other hand, when a service provider dynamically reserves network resources for a user, the amount of the reserved network resources and the duration of resource reservation can also be charged. However, conventionally, there has been no billing method in which the amount of delivery data and the delivery time associated with service provision, and the amount of network resources and the duration of resource reservation as described above are comprehensively charged. Therefore, there is another problem that the service provider cannot execute charging that appropriately reflects the load required for service distribution.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a charging method that is reasonable for both service providers and users.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve such a problem, the present invention provides a billing apparatus for billing a service delivered from a service provider to a user via a network. A service management unit that monitors a distribution data amount of a service and a bandwidth of a network, and collects and holds at least two pieces of charging reference data serving as a reference in the charging process from data of the monitoring result; A charge processing unit that selects each charge reference data of the service management unit according to a predetermined rule during distribution and performs a charging process based on the selected charge reference data. In addition, each charging reference data of the service management unit is selected according to a predetermined rule, and a charging processing unit that performs a charging process based on the selected charging reference data, and data of a plurality of processing results processed by the charging processing unit. In accordance with a predetermined rule to determine as billing data to the user.

The charge reference data held in the service management unit includes a distribution data amount d accompanying the provision of the service, a service distribution time t1, a network resource reservation amount v,
It includes at least two of the network resource securing duration time t2, the physical distance r1 between the service provider and the user, and the logical distance r2 of the network. Further, the billing processing unit performs a function C = F (d, t1, v, t2, r1,
The calculation of r2) is performed and the data of the calculation result is output as billing data to the user. A sixth step of requesting the service provider from the user to provide the service; providing the service from the service provider to the user in response to the service provision request; and charging the service provider to the billing agent. A seventh step of requesting a service charge collection agent request from the charging agent to the user in response to the charging request, and a seventh step of requesting the service charge collection request to the user in response to the charging request. A ninth step of paying the service charge to the charging agent, and paying the service charge paid by the user to the charging agent from the charging agent to the service provider, and charging the service agent for the charging agent. And a tenth step of paying a billing agency fee to a trader.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a charging apparatus according to the present invention. The billing apparatus 1 charges a real-time service such as stream distribution provided to a user, and includes a service management unit 10, a billing processing unit 13, and a billing fee selection unit 16.

The service management unit 10 constituting the charging apparatus 1 monitors a distribution time of a service, a distribution data amount such as the number of IP packets, and a network bandwidth, and dynamically allocates a network bandwidth. It is. Further, the service management unit 10 collects information (referred to as a charging standard) required for charging such as a distribution time of a service, a distribution data amount such as the number of IP packets, and a reserved amount of a network bandwidth. It is composed of a data collection unit 11 that collects each piece of information (each charge reference data), and a storage unit such as a RAM 12 that stores the collected charge reference data.

The billing unit 13 of the billing apparatus 1 performs a billing process based on a plurality of billing criteria collected in advance by the data collection unit 11 of the service management unit 10 and stored in the RAM 12. And has a charge calculation unit 14 and a charge table management unit 15. The charge calculation unit 14 performs various charge calculations, for example, by performing a charge calculation based on the amount of distribution data until a predetermined time, and thereafter calculating charges based on the distribution time based on the charge. For this reason, the charge calculation unit 14 is configured as shown in FIG.
A storage unit 14b such as a ROM or a RAM that stores an algorithm for executing a charge calculation, as shown in FIG.
And an arithmetic execution unit 14a such as a CPU for executing the algorithm.

Charge table management unit 1 constituting charging processing unit 13
5 is, for example, a charge for delivery time per unit time,
It stores the charge for the amount of distribution data per unit time, the charge for 1 byte of distribution data, and the like.
It consists of a storage unit such as AM or ROM.

The billing fee selecting section 16 constituting the billing apparatus 1 is adapted to output a plurality of billing results based on different billing standards and rules by the billing processing section 13 based on predetermined rules. This is for selecting the fee actually charged to the user. The predetermined rule may select, for example, the one with the lowest fee. For this reason, the billing fee selecting unit 16 includes a storage unit 18 such as a ROM or a RAM storing an algorithm for selecting a fee,
And an arithmetic execution unit 17 such as a CPU for executing this algorithm.

FIG. 2 shows an example in which charging is performed by the charging apparatus 1 of FIG. Here, reference numeral 20 denotes a user who uses services such as stream distribution and Internet telephone, and reference numeral 21 denotes a service provider that provides the above-described service to the user 20 via the network 2. The service provider 21 has a service provider 21
a and the billing device 1. Service providing unit 21a
Has a function of storing image and video contents and grouping them for each user in order to provide the above service to the user 20. In addition,
As an embodiment of the service, the billing process by the billing apparatus 1 may be undertaken by a billing agent as described later.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing the service execution time and the charge per unit time when the user 20 uses a certain real-time service. In FIG.
The horizontal axis represents the time t for performing the service, and the vertical axis represents the symbol a.
Represents a fee of, for example, 10 yen per minute. The function f (t) shown in FIG. 3 is a time derivative f of the data amount v (t) that fluctuates with time when charging according to the distribution data amount.
(T) = dv (t) / dt. That is, the function f
(T) is a fee for the amount of data distributed per unit time. The function h (t) shown in FIG. 3 is a charge h per unit time when charging according to the distribution time.
(T) represents a function of the service execution time t. In the case of charging according to the distribution time, the charge per unit time is always a.

When charging according to the amount of data, the amount of data flowing per unit time varies depending on the state of the network. Here, in FIG. 3, for example, it is assumed that the network bandwidth is sufficiently secured from the time 0 (service start time) to the time A, and that a large amount of data flows per unit time. Conversely, it is assumed that the network bandwidth is not sufficiently ensured between the time A and the time B, and the data amount per unit time is small. If the delivery time is between time 0 and time A, the user will want to pay for the delivery time.
From time to time B, you will want to charge for the amount of data.

As an example of such charging, the following (a)
There are six types of billing methods shown in (1) to (3). That is, (a) the first charging method is a method of always charging according to the data amount from the start to the end of the service, such as the usage fee α calculated based on the equation (1).

[0019]

(Equation 1)

(B) The second charging method is a method of always charging according to the distribution time from the start to the end of the service, such as the usage fee β calculated based on equation (2).

[0021]

(Equation 2)

(C) A third charging method is a charging method in which the charge per unit time is always lower from the start to the end of the service, such as the usage charge γ calculated based on equation (3). This is a method of selecting a reference and charging.

[0023]

(Equation 3)

(D) The fourth charging method is a charging method in which the charge per unit time is always higher from the start to the end of the service, such as the usage charge δ calculated based on equation (4). This is a method of selecting a reference and charging.

[0025]

(Equation 4)

(E) The fifth charging method is a method of charging the average of the above-mentioned usage fee α and the usage fee β, such as the usage fee η calculated based on the equation (5). η = average (α, β) (5) (f) The sixth charging method calculates the average value of the above-mentioned usage fee γ and usage fee δ like the usage fee ζ calculated based on the equation (6). It is a method of charging. ζ = average (γ, δ) (6) The billing processing unit 13 calculates each of the above expressions (1) to (6) to calculate each usage fee, and the billing fee selection unit 16 calculates the billing fee. Which of the usage fees calculated by the processing unit 13 is to be charged to the user 20 is determined by a predetermined rule. Thus, the user 2 who uses the real-time service distributed online
A value of 0 makes it possible to pay an appropriate fee reflecting the contents of the service and how to use the service. Further, the service provider 21 can perform appropriate charging reflecting the load required for service distribution.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between the service execution time when the user 20 uses a certain real-time service and the fee according to the amount of network resources secured per unit time. In FIG. 4, the horizontal axis represents the time t during which the service is performed, and the vertical axis represents the fee per unit time. The service provider 21 is, for example, at time 0 in FIG.
(Service start time) to time E (network resource securing duration), time F to time G (network resource securing duration), and time G to time H (network resource securing duration) The fee can be determined according to the amount of the resource that has been used. In this case, the billing processing unit 13 calculates the function g (t) indicating the billing amount according to the network resource securing amount per unit time based on the equation (7), and this calculated fee λ to the user. It can also be determined as a billing fee. That is,

[0028]

(Equation 5)

The charge processing unit 13 can superimpose a charge based on the physical distance r1 between the service provider 21 and the user 20 and the logical distance r2 of the network 2 on the charge λ. Further, the billing processing unit 13 calculates formulas (8) and (8) when the function g (t) incorporates the delivery data amount f (t) of the service per unit time and the delivery time h (t) as a billing criterion. The charges λ1, λ2, λ3 based on the operations 9) and (10) can also be determined as charges to the user 20. That is,

[0030]

(Equation 6)

[0031]

(Equation 7)

[0032]

(Equation 8)

Here, the function F in the equations (8) to (10)
(X, y, z) is a function for selecting the minimum or maximum one of x, y, and z.

As described above, the service management unit 10 determines the distribution data amount d, the service distribution time t1, the network 2 resource reservation amount v, the network 2
The resource securing duration t2, the physical distance r1 between the service provider 21 and the user 20, and the logical distance r2 of the network 2 are collected and held as charging standards, respectively, and the charging processing unit 13 The calculation of the function C = F (d, t1, v, t2, r1, r2) having the billing criterion as an element is performed to calculate the billing fee to the user. As a result, the user 20 who uses the real-time service distributed online can pay an appropriate fee reflecting the contents of the service and how to use the service. Further, the service provider 21 can perform appropriate charging reflecting the load required for service distribution.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining a situation in which a charging agent undertakes charging for the service provided to the user 20. When using the service provided by the service provider 21, the user 20 instructs the charging agent 22 that performs charging for the use of the service on behalf of the service provider 21 via the network 2 in advance with its own ID, Register the personal authentication information including its own password and fingerprint, and pay the registration fee (step S
1). Further, the user 20 registers his / her ID and the above-mentioned personal authentication information with respect to the service provider 21, thereby performing procedures such as joining (joining) the service provided by the service provider 21 and withdrawing from the service provider 21. (Step S2).

Here, after the user 20 has performed a procedure for subscribing to the provided service to the service provider 21 via the network 2, inputs his / her own ID and authentication information and makes a service use request ( Step S2),
If the ID and authentication information from the user 20 match the registered information, the service provider 21 provides the image and video contents stored in the service providing unit 21a to the user 20 via the network 2 online. User 2
0 (step S3). At this time, the service provider 21 notifies the billing agent 22 via the network 2 of a billing agent request for the use of the user of the provided service together with the ID and authentication information of the user 20 (step S4).

When the ID and the authentication information of the user 20 registered in advance match the ID and the authentication information notified from the service provider 21, the accounting agent 22 side uses the accounting device 1 to execute the above-described operation. The charging process is performed, and the service usage fee of the processing result is changed by the user
A request is made to notify the fee collection agent (step S5).
Thereby, the user 20 pays the fee to the accounting agent 22 (step S6).

The accounting agent 22 pays the service usage fee paid by the user 20 to the service provider 21 (step S7). In this way, the user 20 pays the usage fee of the provided service to the service provider 21 via the charging agent 22 (step S8). In this case, the service provider 21 pays a billing agency fee to the billing agency 22 (step S9).

As described above, charging for the service provided to the user 20 is performed by the charging agent 22 in place of the service provider 21, and at this time, the service provider 2
Reference numeral 1 denotes a billing agency 22 that pays a billing agency fee. As a result, it is not necessary for the service provider 21 to perform a complicated billing process, so that the load associated with the complicated billing process is reduced. In addition, when the user 20 uses services provided by different service providers, the user 20 does not pay the service usage fee to each service provider, but collects only one billing agent 22 as a payee. Then you can pay. As a result, the complexity of paying the service fee of the user 20 can be eliminated. In addition, the billing agent can receive a billing agent fee.

[0040]

As described above, according to the present invention, the service delivery time, the service delivery data amount, and the network bandwidth are monitored, and the monitoring result data is used as a reference in billing processing. Since at least two sets of charging reference data are collected, each collected charging reference data is selected according to a predetermined rule, and charging is performed based on the selected charging reference data, a real-time service distributed online is provided. Users will be able to pay appropriate fees that reflect the content of the service and how to use the service, and the service provider will be able to make appropriate charges that reflect the load required for service delivery. it can. When the user requests the service provider to provide the service, the service provider provides the service to the user, and also requests the charging agent to perform the charging, and the charging agent uses the service. Service request to the service provider to collect the service charge from the user and pay the collected fee to the service provider, and the service provider pays the billing agency to the billing agency. In addition, the load on the service provider is reduced, and the user can pay the usage fee to one payee when each service provided by each service provider is used, and the user is charged. The agency can receive a billing agency fee.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a charging apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a billing system.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing a relationship between a service execution time and a fee per unit time when a user uses a service.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing a relationship between a service execution time when a user uses a service and a fee according to a network resource securing amount per unit time.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of fee collection by a charging agent;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Billing device, 2 ... Network, 10 ... Service management part, 11 ... Data collection part, 12 ... RAM, 13 ... Billing processing part, 14 ... Charge calculation part, 14a, 17 ... Calculation execution part,
14b, 18: storage unit, 15: charge table management unit, 16: billing charge selection unit, 20: user, 21: service provider,
21a: Service providing unit, 22: Billing agent.

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Tomoyasu Sato 2-3-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (72) Inventor Kenji Otomo 2-3-1, Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Date F-term (Reference) in Honden Telephone Co., Ltd. 5B049 AA02 CC21 CC31 DD01 EE03 FF03 FF09 GG02 GG04 GG07 5K030 HA08 HB08 HC01 LD18 MB09

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A billing apparatus for billing a service delivered from a service provider to a user via a network, comprising: monitoring a delivery time of the service, a delivery data amount of the service, and a bandwidth of the network; A service management unit that collects and holds at least two pieces of charging reference data serving as a reference in the charging process from the data of the monitoring result; and each charging reference data of the service management unit during distribution of the service. According to the prescribed rules,
A charging unit for performing a charging process based on the selected charging reference data. 2. A charging apparatus for charging a service distributed from a service provider to a user via a network, wherein the monitoring unit monitors a distribution time of the service, a distribution data amount, and a bandwidth of the network. A service management unit that collects and holds at least two pieces of charging reference data serving as a reference in the charging process from among the data of the above, and selects each charging reference data of the service management unit according to a predetermined rule. A charging processing unit for performing charging processing based on the selected charging reference data; and a plurality of processing result data processed by the charging processing unit selected according to a predetermined rule and determined as billing data to the user. A billing device comprising a billing fee selecting unit. 3. The service management unit according to claim 1, wherein the charging reference data stored in the service management unit includes a delivery data amount d associated with the provision of the service, a delivery time t1 of the service, and resource securing of the network. A billing apparatus comprising at least two of a quantity v, a resource securing duration time t2 of the network, a physical distance r1 between the service provider and the user, and a logical distance r2 of the network. 4. The service management unit according to claim 1, wherein the service management unit includes: a delivery data amount d for providing the service; a delivery time t1 for the service; a resource securing amount v for the network; and a resource securing continuation time t2 for the network. And collecting and holding a physical distance r1 between the service provider and the user and a logical distance r2 of the network as the charging reference data, wherein the charging processing unit includes each charging reference data of the service management unit as an element. Function C = F (d, t1, v, t2, r
1, r2), and outputs data of the calculation result as billing data to the user. 5. A charging apparatus for charging a service delivered from a service provider to a user via a network, comprising: monitoring a delivery time of the service, a delivery data amount of the service, and a bandwidth of the network; A first step of collecting and holding at least two pieces of charging reference data serving as a reference at the time of the charging process from the data of the monitoring result, and performing the first step during the delivery of the service. A second step of selecting each of the charging reference data based on predetermined rules and performing a charging process based on the selected charging reference data. 6. A charging apparatus for charging a service distributed from a service provider to a user via a network, wherein the distribution time of the service, the distribution data amount and the bandwidth of the network are monitored. A third step of collecting and holding at least two pieces of charging reference data serving as a reference in the charging processing from the data of the above, and charging each charging reference data based on the processing of the third step with a predetermined rule A fourth step of performing a charging process based on the selected charging reference data, and selecting a plurality of processing result data based on the processing of the fourth step in accordance with a predetermined rule, and And a fifth step of determining as billing data to the client. 7. The charging reference data according to claim 5, wherein the charging reference data held based on the processing in the first step or the processing in the third step includes a distribution data amount d accompanying provision of the service. At least two of the service delivery time t1, the network resource securing amount v, the network resource securing duration t2, the physical distance r1 between the service provider and the user, and the logical distance r2 of the network. A billing method comprising: 8. The charging reference data according to claim 5, wherein the charging reference data held based on the processing of the first step includes a distribution data amount d accompanying provision of the service.
The service delivery time t1, the network resource securing amount v, the network resource securing duration t2,
The second step includes a physical distance r1 between the service provider and the user and a logical distance r2 of the network, and the second step includes a function C = F (d , T1, v, t
(2, r1, r2) and a fifth step of outputting data of the operation result as billing data to the user. 9. A charging system for charging a service delivered from a service provider to a user via a network, comprising: a sixth step of requesting the service provider to provide the service from the user; A seventh step of providing a service from the service provider to the user in response to the provision request, and requesting a proxy service from the service provider to a billing agent; An eighth step of requesting the user to collect the usage fee of the service, and a ninth step of paying the usage fee of the service from the user to a charging agent in response to the request to collect the fee; Pays the usage fee of the service paid by the billing agent to the service provider from the billing agent to the service provider. Charging method and having a tenth step of performing a payment billing proxy fee to the billing agency from person. 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the eighth step monitors a distribution time of the service, a distribution data amount, and a bandwidth of the network, and performs processing of the accounting from data of the monitoring result. An eleventh step of collecting and retaining at least two pieces of charging reference data serving as references, and selecting each charging reference data based on the processing of the eleventh step according to a predetermined rule, and selecting the selected charging reference data. A twelfth step of performing a billing process based on the following: a thirteenth step of selecting data of a plurality of processing results based on the processing of the twelfth step according to a predetermined rule and determining the selected data as billing data to the user And a billing method comprising: 11. The processing program of the first and second steps of claim 5, the processing program of the third to fifth steps of claim 6, and the eleventh to first steps of claim 10.
A storage medium storing a processing program of step 3.