JP2013045193A - Accounting system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique for carrier accounting which is excellent in information security and usability.SOLUTION: After causing on-screen transition of an access to a carrier input screen provided by a carrier server together with case identification information such as use fee information through a link from an input screen for an information provider provided by an information provider server, the carrier server directly acquires terminal identification information from a terminal, performs accounting processing, and transmits a result of the accounting processing to the information provider server. Thus, there is no need to maintain a database for terminal identification information or read terminal identification information from a terminal on an information provider server other than the carrier. Therefore anxiety about privacy and security risk such as information leakage are avoided, and processing load on the information provider server is also reduced. In addition, usability is also improved since burdensome operations for inputting authentication information such as numeric strings to be displayed on a screen again at the time of service utilization is eliminated.

Description

  The present invention relates to charging technology in a communication network.

  Along with the widespread use and high functionality of mobile phones, various paid services such as ringtones have been developed. In particular, a system for storing service usage fees together with mobile phone usage fees via a mobile phone company (also called “carrier”) is called carrier billing. One example is to use a billing facility used by a carrier and a settlement facility used by a settlement operator or an information provider who also serves as a settlement operator (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In this example, in the payment facility of the information provider, a database of terminal identification information (terminal serial number, individual identification information, terminal manufacturing number, contractor unique ID, etc.) is obtained from the carrier and stored in advance, The terminal identification information is acquired from the terminal that is the access source to be used, and the access source terminal is authenticated by checking the database. After that, terminal identification information, billing amount, etc. are transmitted from the payment facility to the billing facility of the carrier, and the total billing amount of the user is counted. The service is displayed by displaying the authentication information on the terminal screen from the facility, and the user inputting the authentication information on the information provider's web page.

Japanese Patent No. 3671375

  However, it is not possible for a settlement operator other than a carrier to acquire terminal identification information such as an individual manufacturing number and a terminal ID from a terminal in addition to information on the usage amount, or to store it as a database covering a large number of users. In addition to information security concerns, there was also a problem that caused equipment load. In addition, it is complicated for the user to write down authentication information such as numbers, or to input it when using the service by copying or pasting processing, and improvement in usability has been potentially desired. Further, in the authentication using the terminal identification information, only one terminal can use the service. In this respect, improvement in usability has been desired.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a carrier billing technique that is excellent in information security and usability.

  Based on the above object, one aspect (1) of the present invention is a billing system having an information provider server and a carrier server, wherein the information provider server is used for access from a mobile terminal. On the other hand, it has a screen transmission means for transmitting an information provider input screen provided by the information provider server, the information provider input screen including a request for a carrier input screen provided by the carrier server and A link for transmitting case identification information for identifying a charging processing case to the carrier server, the carrier server receiving a request and the like for receiving the transmitted request and the case identification information; A terminal that transmits the carrier input screen to the mobile terminal related to the request and acquires terminal identification information from the mobile terminal Charge processing means for performing charge processing on the mobile terminal using the separate information acquisition means, the transferred case identification information, and the acquired terminal identification information of the mobile terminal, and a result of the charge processing And a result notifying means for notifying the information provider server that is the source of the transfer.

  Another aspect (4) of the present invention captures the above aspect in a method category, and is a charging method for executing a combination of an information provider server and a carrier server via a communication network, The server for information providers executes screen transmission processing for transmitting an input screen for information providers provided by the server for information providers for access from a mobile terminal, and the input screen for information providers is Including a link for transmitting a carrier input screen request provided by the carrier server and a case identification information for identifying a charging processing case to the carrier server, wherein the carrier server transmits the request and A request receiving process for receiving the case identification information, and the carrier input screen is sent to the mobile terminal related to the received request. And using the terminal identification information acquisition process for acquiring the terminal identification information from the portable terminal, the transferred case identification information, and the acquired terminal identification information of the portable terminal. A charging process to be applied, and a charging result notification process for notifying the information provider server that is the source of the transfer of the charging process result are executed.

  In this way, the screen is shifted to the carrier input screen provided by the carrier server together with the item identification information such as usage fee information by the link from the information provider input screen provided by the information provider server. In addition, the carrier server acquires the terminal identification information directly from the terminal, performs billing processing, and transmits the result to the information provider server.

  As a result, it is possible to avoid security risks such as privacy concerns and information leaks without preliminarily holding a database about terminal identification information or reading it from the terminal on a server for information providers other than carriers, and the server for information providers Can reduce the processing load. In addition, it is possible to improve usability because the user can save troublesome trouble of inputting authentication information such as a numeric string displayed on the screen again when using the service. As described above, it is possible to provide a carrier billing technology excellent in information security and usability.

  According to another aspect (2) of the present invention, in any one of the aspects described above, the billing processing unit performs the billing process after performing user authentication based on user authentication password information input from the mobile terminal. It is characterized by performing.

  In this way, prior to billing processing, user authentication is performed by requesting PIN information such as an exchange PIN or network PIN from the carrier server, thereby preventing unexpected charges due to operations other than the user and security. Can be strengthened.

  According to another aspect (3) of the present invention, in any one of the above aspects, the information provider server includes user identification means for identifying a user with a user ID and a password, Billing user storage means for storing information indicating that the user who has been charged has been charged, and information indicating that the user has been charged for the user identified by the user identification means are stored in the charging user storage means. Charging determination means for determining whether or not the information indicating that charging has been performed is included, and determination providing means for providing predetermined paid content for access related to the user determined to be stored. And

  In this way, apart from the terminal identification information, the user is identified by the user ID or the like in the information provider server, and information indicating that the user has been charged is stored to provide paid content. Used for. As a result, after the completion of billing by the carrier server, when the same user accesses again within the same monthly fee, etc., communication with the carrier server can be omitted, reducing the load and speeding up the response. Can be planned.

  In addition, even when accessing from another terminal, if the user can be confirmed with the same user ID or the like, it is possible to respond to content provision, and the usability becomes flexible. In addition, by using identification means such as a user ID, it is possible to effectively cooperate with other services such as advertisement distribution based on the content usage history.

  Each of the above aspects can also be understood as other categories (methods, programs, systems, etc.) that are not specified. For the method and program categories, the “means” indicated in the device category is used as the “processing”. "Or" step ". In addition, the execution order of processes and steps is not limited to that specified directly in the present application, and can be changed by changing the process order, executing some processes all at once or partly at any time. Furthermore, in the category of methods and programs, computers such as servers and terminals that execute individual processes and steps may be common, or may differ from process to process or from timing to timing. In addition, the present invention includes more specific aspects described later.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a carrier billing technique excellent in information security and usability.

The functional block diagram which shows a structure about embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the example of data in embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the process sequence in embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the example of a screen display in embodiment of this invention (input screen for information providers). The figure which shows the example of a screen display in embodiment of this invention (input screen for carriers).

  Next, a mode for carrying out the present invention (referred to as “embodiment”) will be illustrated along the drawings. In addition, the assumptions common to the contents already described in the background art and problems are omitted as appropriate.

[1. Constitution〕
In the present embodiment, as shown in the configuration diagram of FIG. 1, the information provider server 1 and the carrier server 2 are connected to a communication network N (for example, a mobile communication network such as a mobile phone, PHS, public wireless LAN, In the accounting system combined via the Internet or the like, each of the servers 1 and 2 has at least an arithmetic control unit 6 such as a CPU and a storage such as a main memory and an auxiliary storage device as a computer configuration (FIG. 1). And a communication means 8 (communication circuit with a mobile communication network, a communication gateway device, a wireless LAN adapter, etc.) with the communication network N.

  Further, the mobile terminal T (hereinafter also referred to as “terminal T” or “terminal”) is a mobile information terminal such as a conventional mobile phone terminal (so-called Galapago mobile phone), a smartphone, a tablet PC, etc., not shown. In addition to the configuration of the computer as described above, it has an input / output unit using a liquid crystal display panel, a touch panel, a push button, and the like, and a function of displaying a web page for a mobile phone or a smartphone. There are actually a large number of terminals T in accordance with the number of users regardless of the schematic FIG. A plurality of servers 1 and 2 may exist depending on the number of operators.

  In each of the servers 1 and 2, a predetermined computer program stored (installed) in the storage device 7 controls the arithmetic control unit 6 so that the elements (10, 20, etc.) shown in FIG. Realize. Among these elements, the information storage means can be realized in any data format such as a file on the storage device 7, or may be remote storage by network computing (cloud). The storage means may include not only a data storage area but also functions such as data input / output and management. In addition, the unit of the storage means shown in this application is for convenience of explanation, and the configuration can be divided or integrated as appropriate, and the processing data and processing results of each means are stored in addition to the explicit storage means. A storage means is used as appropriate.

  Among the storage means, the charge user storage means 65 of the information provider server 1 is charged for each unique user ID used in the information provider server 1 as illustrated in FIG. Is a means for storing information (provisionally called “billing user information”). A user ID and a password (user registration information used for so-called login) are registered in advance in the information provider server 1 by a user such as the terminal T. As illustrated in FIG. 2C, the user information storage unit 35 of the carrier server 2 stores registration information such as a line number and terminal identification information (tentatively “carrier” The user information ”). The carrier billing storage unit 45 of the carrier server 2, as illustrated in FIG. 2 (2), represents information representing the history of billing processing performed by the carrier server 2 for each terminal T (temporarily called “carrier billing information”). ) A means for storing.

  Among these data examples, charging user information (FIG. 2 (1)) and carrier charging information (FIG. 2 (2)), carrier charging information (FIG. 2 (2)) and carrier user information (FIG. 2 (3)) Corresponds to the items indicated by arrows.

  The arrows in the figure (for example, FIG. 1) supplementarily indicate the main direction of the flow of data, control, etc., and do not deny other flows or imply direction limitations. For example, when data is acquired in a certain direction, a prior data request and a subsequent acknowledge (ACK) are transmitted in the reverse direction. In addition, each means other than the storage means is a processing means for realizing and executing the functions and operations of information processing as described below, but these are functional units arranged for explanation, and actual hardware It doesn't matter if it matches elements or software modules.

[2. Action and effect)
In the present embodiment configured as described above, the operation when the user of the terminal T is charged using the carrier server 2 when using the paid content provided by the information provider server 1 is illustrated in FIG. 3 is a flowchart.

[2-1. Overview〕
First, an outline of the action is extracted and described.
[2-1-1. Processing at the information provider server]
That is, in the information provider server 1, when the user of the terminal T that is the access source who intends to use the paid content or service is not charged (step S13: “NO”), the screen transmitting means 10 The information provider input screen G1 provided by the information provider server 1 (hereinafter also referred to as “site screen G1” or “site screen”) is transmitted (step S15).

  This site screen G1 is displayed on the display screen D of the terminal T, confirms the purchase of paid content (for example, news, ringtone melody, game, fortune-telling, investment information, etc.) that the user wants to use and proceeds to the next. Content (for example, FIG. 4). The site screen G1 displays the request for the carrier input screen G2 (hereinafter also referred to as “carrier screen G2” or “carrier screen”) provided by the carrier server 2 and the case identification information for identifying the billing processing case. 2 including the link to be transmitted.

  Here, the case identification information is specifically free, but typically, the usage fee information (for example, the session ID (case ID) assigned by the information provider server 1 to the billing processing case) is used. Amount of money, a character string in a summary column used for displaying details for the user, etc.). In the example of the billing user information (FIG. 2 (1)) and the carrier billing information (FIG. 2 (2)) shown in FIG. 2, the character string that is the case identification information is billed at the end as shown by the dashed ellipse. Since (¥ 294, for example) is included as a character string such as “294”, the information item of the charge amount can be omitted as in the charge user information (FIG. 2 (1)), and the storage capacity and the processing efficiency can be improved.

  The “link” for transmitting information to the carrier server 2 is, for example, the carrier server 2 as the transition destination (jump destination) URL when the “proceed to billing” button B4 shown in FIG. 4 is operated. Can be added to the URL (domain name, sub-domain name, directory, etc.) of the carrier screen G2 provided by, as an argument with a character string such as alphanumeric characters representing the item identification information as described above. Such a link may be included in a markup description by HTML representing the carrier screen G2 or a subset thereof.

  The “link” is information that changes the access destination to another web page or screen page, and is typified by a hyperlink, but other types and formats may be arbitrarily adopted. When the user of the terminal T confirms the purchase of the paid content on the site screen G1 and performs an operation to proceed further (for example, FIG. 4) by the function of such a link, the terminal T is a carrier provided by the carrier server 2 The request on the screen G2 and the item identification information (such as the item ID and usage fee information) for identifying the charge processing item are transmitted to the carrier server 2.

[2-1-2. Processing on carrier server)
In the carrier server 2, when the request receiving unit 20 receives the request and the case identification information transmitted from the information provider server 1 as described above (step S <b> 21), for the terminal T related to the received request, The terminal identification information acquisition unit 30 transmits a carrier screen G2 (for example, FIG. 5) (step S22) and acquires terminal identification information from the terminal T (step S23). Either the transmission of the carrier screen G2 or the acquisition of the terminal identification information may be first, and it may be acquired as a parameter of a page request such as a user agent simultaneously with the reception of the request (step S21).

  Then, the billing processing means 40 of the carrier server 2 performs billing processing for the terminal T using the transferred case identification information and the acquired terminal identification information of the terminal T (step S27). As the billing process, for example, the terminal identification information of the mobile phone user stored in the user information storage means 35 of the carrier server 2 is matched with the terminal identification information acquired from the terminal T, and Confirmation of the establishment of a predetermined condition such as the user service storage means 35 not registering the charging service stoppage or other negative information by the guardian, and the necessary information items such as the charging amount based on the case identification information are charged by the carrier. Information (for example, FIG. 2 (2)) is stored in the carrier billing storage means 45 (step S27).

  Then, after the normal completion of the accounting process as described above, the result notifying means 50 gives a positive result of the accounting process (step S28), and the information provider server from which the request is transferred 1 is notified. If the accounting process ends in a negative result such as an error (step S27 and a dashed arrow), or the result of user authentication (step S25) described later is negative (step S26: “NO”), the result The notification means 50 notifies these negative results (step S29).

[2-1-3. Information provision and effect on server for information providers)
In the information provider server 1, the billing information updating unit 51 receives the billing processing result notified as described above (step S 16), and if the result is affirmative (step S 17: “YES”), billing is performed. The billing user information (FIG. 2 (1)) stored in the user storage means 65 is updated by associating the case identification information and the billed flag with the user ID (step S18). For example, in the example of FIG. 2A, the item ID information and “XX trial course” are registered as the charged service corresponding to the user ID “a123”. Then, in response to a positive result, a predetermined acknowledgment is displayed (step S19), and paid content or service corresponding to charging is provided (step S14).

  On the other hand, when a negative result is notified from the carrier server 2 due to a failure in authentication or billing processing (step S16), since the billing is not OK (step S17: “NO”), the negative result is supported. The reason or predetermined rejection word is displayed (step S20).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the carrier screen provided by the carrier server 2 together with the item identification information such as usage fee information by the link from the site screen G1 provided by the information provider server 1 (step S15). After the access is changed to G2 (step S21), the carrier server 2 directly acquires the terminal identification information from the terminal T (step S23), performs the accounting process (step S27), and the result is used for the information provider. It transmits to the server 1 (steps S28 and S29).

  As a result, the terminal identification information is not held in advance in the server 1 for information providers other than the carrier or read from the terminal T, and security risks such as privacy concerns and information leakage can be avoided. The processing load on the server 1 can be reduced. In addition, it is possible to improve usability because the user can save troublesome trouble of inputting authentication information such as a numeric string displayed on the screen again when using the service. As described above, it is possible to provide a carrier billing technology excellent in information security and usability.

[2-2. (User authentication based on password information)
The carrier input screen to be displayed on the terminal T from the carrier server 2 during the billing process as described above may be a confirmation screen (not shown) such as “processing in progress” or “accepted”. It is desirable to use a carrier screen G2 (for example, FIG. 5) that requests input of personal identification information for user authentication.

  In this case, the billing processing means 40 of the carrier server 2 uses the password information for user authentication (step S24) input from the terminal T, for example, the password information in the user information storage means (for example, FIG. 2 (3)). ) And the like (step S25, S26), and charging processing is performed (step S27). For example, in the screen example of FIG. 5, when the user inputs the personal identification number that is registered and stored in the input field R as personal identification information and operates the “charge confirmation” button B 5, the personal identification number is entered. Proceed to user authentication.

  The password information for user authentication is specifically free, but a so-called switch password or network password used in mobile network services can be considered. Other than that, other types of password information such as a secret question and answer, or an image selected by the person in advance for authentication from a plurality of candidate images can be used. The input password information may be information for biometric authentication (biometric authentication) such as a fingerprint pattern or a retinal blood vessel pattern detected by a sensor of the terminal.

  In this way, prior to the billing process, user authentication is performed by requesting input of password information such as an exchange password or network password from the carrier server 2 (steps S24 to S26). Security can be strengthened by preventing unnecessary charges.

[2-3. (Confirmation of subsequent billing users)
In the information provider server 1, if the user is identified by a user identification unit different from the carrier server 2 such as a unique user ID assigned to each user in the server 1, the carrier server will be used for the charged user after the next time. 2 is not required. In this case, in the server 1 for information provider, the user identification means 60 identifies a user with the above user ID and password (step S12).

  As for the user who has completed the predetermined billing process (step S27) by the carrier server 2, as described above, the received billing process result (step S16) is received positive (step S17). : "YES"), billing user information (FIG. 2 (1)) is stored in the billing user storage means 65 as information indicating that the billing has been completed (step S18).

  The charging determination unit 70 stores information indicating that the user has been charged in the charging user storage unit 65 for the user related to the access and identified by the user identification unit 60 (steps S11 and S12). It is determined whether or not the user is a charged user (step S13). Then, for access related to a user who has been determined to be a charged user in which information indicating that the charge has been made is stored (step S13: “YES”), the content providing means 80 provides predetermined pay content (service Or any other object may be provided) (step S14).

  In this way, apart from the terminal identification information, the information provider server 1 identifies the user by a user ID or the like (step S12), and stores information indicating that the user identified as such has been charged. (Step S18) is used to provide paid content (steps S13 and S14). Thereby, after the completion of billing by the carrier server 2, when the same user accesses again within the range of the same monthly fee, etc., the exchange such as access with the carrier server 2 is omitted (step S13: ("YES") Since paid content or the like can be provided (step S14), it is possible to reduce the load and speed up the response.

  In addition, even when accessing from another terminal, if the user can be confirmed with the same user ID or the like, it is possible to respond to content provision, and the usability becomes flexible. In addition, by using identification means such as a user ID, it is possible to effectively cooperate with other services such as advertisement distribution based on the content usage history.

[3. Other embodiments]
In addition, the said embodiment is only an illustration and this invention includes what is illustrated below and other embodiment other than that. For example, the configuration diagrams, data diagrams, flowcharts, and the like in the present application are merely examples, and the presence / absence of each element, the order of the arrangement and processing execution, and the specific contents can be changed as appropriate. As an example, a configuration in which each unit configuring each server 1 and 2 shown in FIG. 1 is realized by an independent device is also common. For example, an appropriate intermediary operator or system may be interposed between the servers 1 and 2, or such a system may be grasped as the carrier server 2.

  In addition, the configuration of the present invention can be flexibly changed by, for example, realizing each means shown in the above embodiment by calling an external platform or the like with an API (application program interface) or network computing (so-called cloud). it can. Furthermore, each element such as means relating to the present invention may be realized by other information processing mechanisms such as a physical electronic circuit as well as a computer control unit.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Server for information providers 2 Server 6 for carriers Operation control part 7 Storage device 8 Communication means 10 Screen transmission means 20 Request reception means 30 Terminal identification information acquisition means 35 User information storage means 40 Charging processing means 45 Carrier charging storage means 50 Result notification means 51 Charge information update means 60 User identification means 65 Charge user storage means 70 Charge determination means 80 Content providing means B4, B5 Button G1 Information provider input screen (site screen)
G2 Carrier input screen (carrier screen)
N Communication network R Input field T Mobile terminal (terminal)

Claims (4)

A billing system having an information provider server and a carrier server,
The information provider server has a screen transmission means for transmitting an information provider input screen provided by the information provider server for access from a mobile terminal,
The information provider input screen includes a link for transmitting a request for a carrier input screen provided by the carrier server and a case identification information for identifying a billing processing case to the carrier server,
The carrier server is
Receiving means such as a request for receiving the transmitted request and the case identification information;
A terminal identification information acquisition means for transmitting the carrier input screen to the mobile terminal according to the received request and acquiring terminal identification information from the mobile terminal;
Billing processing means for performing billing processing for the portable terminal using the transferred case identification information and the acquired terminal identification information of the portable terminal;
A result notifying means for notifying the result of the accounting processing to the server for the information provider that is the source of the transfer;
A billing system comprising: The billing system according to claim 1, wherein the billing processing unit performs the billing process after performing user authentication based on password information for user authentication input from the portable terminal. The information provider server is:
Having user identification means for identifying a user by a user ID and a password;
Charging user storage means for storing information indicating that charging has been completed for a user for which the predetermined charging processing has been completed by the carrier server;
Charging determination means for determining whether or not information indicating that the user has been charged is stored in the charging user storage means for the user identified by the user identification means;
A determination providing means for providing predetermined paid content for access related to a user determined to store information indicating that the charge has been made;
The billing system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by comprising: A billing method for executing a combination of an information provider server and a carrier server via a communication network,
The server for information providers executes screen transmission processing for transmitting an input screen for information providers provided by the server for information providers for access from a mobile terminal,
The information provider input screen includes a link for transmitting a request for a carrier input screen provided by the carrier server and a case identification information for identifying a billing processing case to the carrier server,
The carrier server is
A receiving process such as a request for receiving the transmitted request and the case identification information;
A terminal identification information acquisition process for transmitting the carrier input screen to the mobile terminal related to the received request and acquiring terminal identification information from the mobile terminal;
Billing processing applied to the mobile terminal using the transferred case identification information and the acquired terminal identification information of the mobile terminal;
A charging result notification process for notifying a result of the charging process to the server for the information provider that is the source of the transfer;
A billing method characterized by executing:

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