JP3434271B2 - Network connection system, connection charge calculation method in network connection service, and charging system in network connection service - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a network connection system which is operated by an internet connection company different from a telephone company and which provides a user with a network connection service and performs a charging process.
Particularly, it relates to a network connection system using a payee pay line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when an individual connects to the Internet, it is common to use a dial-up connection for making a call to an access point of an Internet connection company.

In the case of normal dial-up connection, payment of telephone charges to the telephone company according to the line connection time,
There are two payments for the connection fee to the Internet service provider. When the owner of the ID for Internet connection and the contractor of the telephone line are different, the Internet connection fee is charged to the owner of the ID for Internet connection, and the telephone charge is billed to the contractor of the telephone line.

On the other hand, there is an internet connection that uses a telephone line (toll-free (registered trademark) or the like) whose telephone charge is payable by the called party. With this type of connection service, the charges are 2 for the line usage fee and the Internet connection fee.
There is an advantage that the claims can be combined into one without being divided into two.

[0005]

By the way, in the conventional Internet connection using the payee telephone line,
The internet connection business operator needs to charge the user for the internet connection charge and pay the telephone charge to the telephone company.

Under the present circumstances, the Internet connection service providers do not calculate the line use charges but apply a fixed rate including the line use charges as the Internet connection charges. With such a billing method, the actual line usage charge and the telephone charge charged by the telephone company to this operator are not linked, so the Internet connection operator sets a considerably high fee as the Internet connection fee. Tend to

That is, when a dial-up connection is made from a place distant from the access point, the called Internet operator needs to pay a high line usage fee to the telephone company as compared with a dial-up connection from a nearby place. There is. To deal with such a situation at the flat rate, it is necessary to set an expensive internet connection fee even for dial-up connection from a nearby location.

It is an object of the present invention, for example, to provide a system which solves the above-mentioned inconvenience and enables more flexible billing in the network connection system which provides the Internet connection service payable by the called party. And

[0009]

To achieve the above object, according to a first main aspect of the present invention, a monitoring means for monitoring a network connection from a user through an access point, and this monitoring means. In a network connection system having a network connection charge calculation means for calculating a network connection charge for the user based on the monitoring of the connection charge calculation means, the connection charge calculation means uses the source information of the user notified from the telephone company. A line usage fee calculating means for calculating a line usage fee to the access point based on the above, and a billing amount calculating means for calculating a billing amount to the user based on the line usage fee calculated by the line usage fee calculating means There is provided a network connection system having:

According to such a network connection system, the line usage fee is calculated based on the sender information of the user, and the amount charged to the user is calculated based on the calculated line usage fee. All charges including the line usage charge required for are charged to Internet users.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the line usage fee calculation unit has a line network type determination unit for determining a used line network type of the originator of the user. The line usage charge corresponding to the line network type is calculated based on the determination result by With such a configuration, it is possible to calculate an appropriate line usage charge according to the line network type.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the line utilization charge from the telephone company in this system is charged to the incoming telephone number of the access point. In this case, the incoming call telephone number of the access point has an identification number for paying the line usage fee recipient, and a different incoming call telephone number may be assigned to each access point. In this case, it is preferable that the line usage fee calculation means calculates the line usage fee according to the inter-station distance between the sender of the user and the access point. With such a configuration, the user does not have to pay the line usage fee to the telephone company.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the contract telephone number of the access point in this system has an identification number borne by the recipient, and the plurality of access points share the incoming telephone number. To do. In this case, the line usage fee calculation means calculates the line usage fee according to the source of the user and the inter-station distance to a predetermined access point determined based on the source. Is desirable. With such a configuration, for example, even with the same incoming telephone number, the line usage fee can be calculated from the distance from the source to the closest access point.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the system further comprises an authenticating means for authenticating the user, and the billing amount calculating means is for the user acquired by the authenticating means. There is a billing amount calculation pattern selecting means for selecting one of a plurality of billing amount calculation patterns based on the contract information, and the billing amount calculation means is the net
The connection fee calculated in Ttowaku connection fee calculation means, before
Serial billing amount calculated pattern selecting means is adapted to calculate the amount billed by applying the charge amount calculation pattern is selected. With such a configuration, all internet connection charges, including line usage charges, can be charged by an internet connection operator that is not a telephone company, so that the internet connection operator can use a flexible fee structure based on multiple calculation patterns. Can be taken.

In this case, the billing amount calculation pattern is
It is preferable to include a pattern in which a billing amount is obtained by adding a network connection fee and a line connection fee according to a connection time for a predetermined user.

Further, it is preferable that the billing amount calculation pattern includes a pattern in which only the line connection fee corresponding to the connection time is set as the billing amount for a predetermined user.

Further, it is preferable that the billing amount calculation pattern includes a pattern of billing a part of the billing amount to a predetermined user and billing the balance to another person.

Further, it is preferable that the billing amount calculation pattern includes a pattern of billing the entire billed amount to another person for a predetermined user.

Further, it is preferable that the billing amount calculation pattern includes a pattern in which a billing amount is a network connection fee and a line connection fee for a predetermined connection time for a predetermined user.

According to a second main aspect of the present invention, monitoring means for monitoring the network connection from the user through the access point, and the network connection fee for the user based on the monitoring of the monitoring means. In a network connection system having a network connection charge calculation means for calculating, the line charge from the telephone company is charged to the incoming telephone number of the access point, and the connection charge calculation means is If the line usage fee charged by the telephone company to the incoming telephone number from the user's originator to the access point is a fixed amount regardless of the distance between them, the internet connection time multiplied by a predetermined flat rate There is provided a network connection system for calculating as a charge to a user.

According to such a configuration, when the telephone company calculates the line usage fee at a constant rate regardless of the distance to the access point, the Internet connection provider charges all the Internet connection fees including the charge. You can charge the user.

[0022]

[0023]

According to a third main aspect of the present invention, a line use charge calculating step for calculating a line use charge to an access point based on the source information of the user notified from the telephone company, and this line And a charge amount calculation step of calculating a charge amount to the user based on the line use charge calculated by the use charge calculating means.

According to such a configuration, the line usage fee is calculated based on the source information of the user, and the amount charged to the user is calculated based on the line usage fee. Therefore, it is necessary to connect to the Internet. All charges including line usage charges are charged to Internet users.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, wherein the line usage fee from the telephone company, which is made to call the telephone number of the access point, wherein
The billing amount calculation step is performed at a predetermined internet connection time when the line usage fee from the sender of the user charged by the telephone company to the incoming telephone number to the access point is a fixed amount regardless of the distance between them. There is provided a connection charge calculation method for a network connection service, which is characterized in that an amount multiplied by a flat rate is calculated as an amount charged to a user.

According to such a configuration, when the telephone company calculates the line usage fee at a constant rate regardless of the distance to the access point, the Internet connection operator charges all the Internet connection fees including the charge. You can charge the user.

[0028] According to a fourth main aspect of the present invention, billing in a network connection service using a payee line provided with a terminal server, an authentication server, an authentication database, a user information database and a billing server. In the system, the terminal server
And a plurality of modem that is connected to the phone line of the called party pay phone,
Means for receiving a caller number from a telephone line carrier, means for connecting a plurality of clients to the Internet, and storage means for storing member information including login names and passwords of all members in the authentication database, A search means for searching the member information in response to a search request from the authentication server and returning the search result to the authentication server is provided, and the authentication server stores the member information in the authentication server according to an instruction from the terminal server. A means for searching from, a means for checking whether or not an internet connection is possible according to the search result and replying to the terminal server, and a member information, a connection / disconnection time and a caller number are recorded every time the client connects / disconnects. Communication recording means for calculating the line charge of the telephone line provider in the user information database. A storage means for storing a connection charge table and a storage means for storing telephone line usage charge billing destination information are provided, and the charge server accesses the communication recording means and the user information database. And a means for calculating the usage charge of the telephone line required for the Internet connection based on the communication record, and a means for charging the charge to the user or the obligee. Obtainable.

With this configuration, the telephone charge can be charged to the Internet user regardless of which telephone is used to connect to the Internet.

Other features and remarkable effects of the present invention can be more clearly understood from the following description of the embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

[0031]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment) First, an outline of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

The embodiment of the present invention calculates the telephone charge based on the telephone number used by the Internet user,
It is a system that can charge all Internet connection charges including telephone charges to Internet users, not telephone subscribers.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a charging system according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a personal computer 1 is a connection terminal for Internet users. The modem 2 is a modem or a terminal adapter for connecting the personal computer 1 to a telephone line. The telephone line 3 is a public telephone line. The modem 4 is a modem for connecting to the toll-free dial receiving line at the access point of the Internet provider. The terminal server 5 is a server for connecting the Internet users to the Internet. A router or the like for connecting to the Internet is connected to the terminal server 5, but this is well known and is not shown in order to avoid complication of the drawing.

The authentication database 6 is a member information storage unit that stores IDs and the like for checking the usage qualifications of Internet users. The authentication server 7 is a server that authenticates a member with a member ID. The log file 8 is a record regarding authentication and communication (connection) time. Billing server 9
Is a processing device for performing charging processing. The customer information database 10 is a database that stores member information of Internet users.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the charging system in the embodiment of the present invention. The numbers in parentheses in the flow chart correspond to the numbers in parentheses in FIG.

The operation of the charging system according to the embodiment of the present invention configured as described above will be described. An internet connection provider installs a terminal server 5 at each of a plurality of access points in order to provide an internet connection service via a telephone line. The terminal server 5 is provided with a plurality of ports. A modem 4 is connected to each port. Modem 4
Is connected to the receiving line of the payee telephone.

In order to receive the Internet connection service, the member first connects the modem 2 of the personal computer 1 to the modem terminal of the telephone. Of course, it may be directly connected to the telephone line or may be connected to the ISDN via a terminal adapter. This telephone (line) may be one's own telephone, another person's telephone, or a public telephone,
You can use a mobile phone.

The member dials the payee telephone number of the nearest access point of the Internet connection company from the personal computer 1 to connect (1) with the terminal server 5.
At this time, the caller's telephone number is set to be notified. As will be described later, dedicated connection software that automatically switches to the caller notification mode may be used. When the telephone line is connected, enter the member ID. Terminal server 5
Acquires the caller telephone number and member ID. If the caller number is not notified from the telephone company (line carrier), the line itself is not connected or the terminal server 5 automatically determines and disconnects the line. Alternatively, when the authentication server 7 makes a connection request without a caller ID,
It is recommended to set it so that authentication is not performed. The terminal server 5 gives the caller telephone number and the member ID to the authentication server 7 and instructs (2) to authenticate the member ID.

The authentication server 7 retrieves (3) the authentication data corresponding to the member ID from the authentication database 6 in order to check the admissibility of the member ID. When the search result (4) is obtained from the authentication database 6 and it is confirmed that the member ID is legitimate, the result is reported (5) to the terminal server 5.

The terminal server 5 starts the connection service to the Internet in response to the result of successful authentication.
If the search result is negative, the service is denied.

When the line with the client terminal (personal computer 1) is disconnected, the terminal server 5 reports (6) the line disconnection time to the authentication server 7. The authentication server 7
Upon receiving the line disconnection notification, the member ID, caller ID, access point telephone number, connection start time,
The line disconnection time is written in the log file 8 (7).

The billing server 9 reads the log file 8 of the authentication server 7 in order to perform billing processing at a fixed billing cycle (8). Information regarding the mutual distance between MAs (between stations) is read from the connection charge information storage unit 11 (9), and the telephone charge for each connection is calculated. In the case of access from a mobile phone, for example, the charge is fixed at 20 yen / minute regardless of the distance, and thus the distance information is not necessary for access from the mobile phone. The same applies when there are a sufficient number of access points and the connection charges to the access points are uniform rates without exception or when there is no significant difference in rates.

Next, from the customer information database 10,
Read billing information and billing conditions corresponding to the member ID,
(10) The charge is billed to the billing destination (11). The billing destination is usually the member who used it, but it can also be a company that bears the fee.

As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention,
Since the billing system is configured to calculate the telephone charge based on the telephone number used by the Internet user and charge the telephone charge to the Internet user instead of the telephone subscriber, which telephone is used by the Internet user Even so, it is possible to charge the telephone fee to the Internet user instead of the telephone subscriber.

Further, it is possible to eliminate the troublesomeness of paying the telephone charges when connecting to the Internet using the telephone of another person, and to use the telephone of another person anytime and anywhere without hesitation. Even if you are using the same line (telephone number) in a shared office, you can charge according to the usage base of each person, you can provide detailed services such as discounts and free for each user, and you can use the charging account The effect of being able to provide pay information and to make a unified settlement of mail order is obtained.

Further, since the Internet connection operator collects the telephone line usage fee, the charging costs charged by the Internet connection operator and the telephone line operator are unified, and the total charging cost can be reduced.
The effect of being able to centrally bill for the costs incurred in connection with the Internet is obtained.

Further, since the holder of the incoming line has the right to decide the charge price, a free discount rate can be presented in the total of the telephone charge + Internet connection charge. It is possible to obtain an effect that the internet connection charge is made free and only the telephone charge is charged, free or discount for a fixed period, volume discount according to the usage charge, or discount for only a specific user.

Also, a company or the like bears a certain amount of money,
If the amount exceeds the limit, it is possible to charge the user, so companies can issue IDs that promise a certain amount of burden for campaigns and gifts, and can provide free services with a cap. After being notified that gifts have been completed, the user can continue to use the service for a fee if desired. The company (sponsor) can also bear the charge by exempting the user from charging only during the time when a certain site is used by referring to the communication log. It is possible to obtain the effect of being able to perform extremely flexible billing linked with such services.

(Detailed Configuration of System) Next, the configuration of the system will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS.

The same components as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

First, as shown in FIG. 3, this system has terminal servers 5a to 5c installed at the access points AP1 to AP3. As shown in the access point information of FIG. 7, the terminal servers 5a to 5c respectively have access points AP1 (Tokyo),
Access point AP2 (Yokohama), access point A
It is installed at P3 (Kobe). This access point information is stored in the access point information storage unit 29 connected to the billing server 9.

If the user tries to dial-up connect to any of the access points, the terminal servers 5a to 5c judge whether or not some source information is included in the received signal from the telephone company. , If not included, reject the line connection. As a result, it is possible to prevent wasteful payment of the line usage fee.

On the other hand, when the sender information is included, after connecting the line, the sender information and the user ID (member ID) and password required for user authentication are provided to the authentication server 7. Send to.

The authentication server 7 is the terminal server 5
Based on the instructions from a to 5c, the sender information acquisition unit 20 acquires the sender information of the user and authenticates the user who requests the Internet connection. That is, the sender information acquisition unit 20 is a sender phone number when the sender phone number can be acquired as sender information, and a network type (public phone, mobile phone, etc.) when the sender phone number cannot be acquired. If neither of them can be acquired, negative authentication is returned to the terminal servers 5a to 5c.

When the sender information acquisition unit 20 can acquire the sender information, the authentication server 7 performs authentication based on the member authentication information stored in the member authentication information storage unit 6. FIG. 4 shows an example of this member authentication information. The authentication server 7 searches the member information for the ID and password input by the user, and if the user can be specified, returns a positive authentication result to the terminal servers 5a to 5c. Based on this, the terminal servers 5a to 5c allocate a predetermined IP address to the user and connect to the desired website via the Internet network 21.

Based on this, the access monitoring unit 22 (FIG. 3) of the authentication server 7 shows the member ID shown in FIG. 5, the incoming number of the access point, the sender information and the connection start time in FIG. User connection source-incoming number information storage unit 2
3 is recorded as an access log (corresponding to 8 shown in FIG. 1). Then, based on the user disconnecting from the terminal servers 5a to 5c, the access monitoring unit 22
Records the disconnection time in the access log in the user connection source-incoming number information storage unit 23 (FIG. 5).

The billing server 9 accesses the user connection source-incoming number information storage unit 23 at a predetermined billing cycle (for example, once a month) and calculates the billing amount for each member. For this calculation, as shown in FIG. 3, the billing server 9 uses the line usage fee calculation unit 25 for calculating the line usage fee, and the line usage fee calculated by the line usage fee calculation unit 25. And a billing amount calculation unit 26 for calculating a final billing amount for the person.

The billing server 9 also includes a line usage charge information storage unit 28 and an access point information storage unit 29.
, Billing pattern storage unit 30, and billing destination information storage unit 10
And the Internet connection charge information storage unit 31 are connected to each other.

As shown in FIG. 6, the line usage charge information storage unit 28 stores the line network type and the billing rate when the line network is used in association with each other. For example, when the line network type is a mobile phone, the line usage fee is calculated at 20 yen per minute as described above, regardless of the distance to the access point.
Also, if there are a sufficient number of access points and the connection charges to the access points are a uniform rate without exception, or if there is no significant difference in rates, the same charging rate is calculated.

On the other hand, if the sender's telephone number is unknown at present, such as a public telephone, the line usage fee will be calculated at 30 yen per minute, for example, considering the risk of billing the telephone fee. There is.

Then, in the case of an ordinary telephone, the charge table based on the distance between MAs is applied as described above. However, depending on the telephone company, the billing rate from a regular subscriber telephone may be guaranteed to be constant regardless of the distance to the access point. In this case, the fixed rate of this telephone company (rate that does not depend on distance) To apply.

As shown in FIG. 7, the access point information storage section 29 stores an access point name, an access point contract telephone number, and an access point location code. In this example, the access point AP2
Although the incoming telephone number is shared by the access point AP3 and the access point AP3, the locations of the access points are different and are Yokohama and Kobe, respectively. That is, in the telephone company, the incoming telephone number from the user is 0012-2222-22.
When there is a connection request for 2, the access point to be connected is selected according to a predetermined condition, for example, which access point the source is closer to, and the line is connected.

Further, the billing pattern storage unit 30 stores the data in FIG.
The billing pattern identification table shown in FIG. 9 and the billing pattern content table shown in FIG. 9 are stored. The billing pattern identification table stores user IDs, billing patterns, other billing destinations, and other information in association with each other. For example, pattern 1 shown in FIG. 9 is applied to the person having the user ID “11111”. Next, the function of the billing server 9 will be described by taking the pattern 1 as an example.

First, the line usage fee calculation unit 25 acquires the access log stored in the user connection source-incoming number information storage unit 23, and extracts the access log record of the user who charges. Next, this line usage fee calculation unit 2
The line network type discriminating unit 35 provided in FIG. 5 discriminates the used line network type based on the access log record, and retrieves the charge information to be applied from the line use charge information storage unit 28. In the case of this user, as shown in FIG. 5, a public telephone, a general subscriber telephone, and a mobile telephone are used.

Next, the line usage fee calculation unit 25 is also provided.
The access point discriminating unit 36 provided in FIG.
The access point is identified by matching the incoming call number in the access log shown in (4) with the telephone number of the access point information shown in FIG. 7, and the area code is acquired. In the example of FIG. 5, it is found that the access destinations of the mobile phone and public phone are the access point AP1 (area code 03) in Tokyo.

On the other hand, in FIG. 5, the called number from the ordinary telephone (0120-222-2222) is the number shared by the access points AP2 and AP3 as shown in FIG. In this case, the access point determination unit 36 uses the same standard as that of the telephone company described above.
Which access point was used is determined from the sender information (045-1111-111) and the access point location station number (045 or 078). In this example, it is determined that the access point AP2 of Yokohama having the same station number is used.

Next, the line usage fee calculation unit 25
The line usage fee is calculated from the source information / access point location information specified above, the line usage fee information (FIG. 6), and the connection time from the start to the end of the connection (FIG. 5). That is, in the case of a normal telephone, the charging rate based on the mutual distance between MAs from the source to the access point is multiplied by the connection time. In the case of mobile phones and payphones, it is only necessary to multiply the connection time by the flat rate.

Next, the billing amount calculation unit 26 calls the pre-registered billing pattern (FIGS. 8 and 9) of the user from the billing pattern storage unit 30, and based on this, calculates the line usage fee. The final charge is calculated by processing the line usage charge calculated by the unit 25 and the Internet connection charge calculated by the Internet connection charge calculation unit 38 provided in the charge amount calculation unit 26.

That is, as shown in FIG. 9, for example, in the pattern 1, the total of the line use charge and the Internet connection charge is used as the user's bill. Therefore, the Internet connection charge calculation unit 38 accesses the Internet connection charge information (FIG. 10) stored in the Internet connection charge information storage unit 31, and the charge course of the user A is stored in the access log. Calculate the internet connection fee by applying the total connection time.

FIG. 10 shows an example of the Internet connection fee stored in the Internet connection fee information storage unit 31. The Internet connection fee is composed of a flat-rate part and a pay-as-you-go part, and is defined according to a charging pattern preselected by the user. In this example, user A has a fixed amount (3
000 yen), and more is 15 yen per minute. The billing amount calculation unit 26 derives a final billing amount by adding the Internet connection fee calculated based on this and the line usage fee.

The calculated billing amount is based on this billing server 9
The file is output to the billing destination-billing amount file 40 connected to and is used later for billing processing. This billing file is a user ID, as shown in FIG.
In addition, the sender information, the access point, and the connection time are associated with each other. When the charge varies depending on the mutual distance between MAs, such as a dial-up connection from a general subscriber telephone, the details of each connection are output.

Note that such details may not be displayed on the bill sent to the user. In this case, it is preferable that the user can browse the details of his / her invoice on the Internet website.

On the other hand, in the example of FIG. 8, the user ID is "22.
The billing pattern 5 is applied to the user of “2222”.
Pattern 5, as shown in FIG. 9, is a pattern in which a fixed amount of the line usage charge + Internet connection charge is charged to a person other than the user (another billing destination) and the remaining amount is charged to the user. In this case, the final billing amount is determined by referring to "other billing destinations" and "other information" stored in the billing pattern identification table shown in FIG. If this example is applied to pattern 5, the line usage charge calculated by the line usage charge calculation unit 25 and the Internet connection charge calculated by the Internet connection charge calculation unit 38 are added, and 1000 yen of the added amount is added. The user B is billed (as the billing amount of the user B), and the rest is billed for the user ID “22222”.

Further, in the case of the user ID "33333", since it is pattern 4, in this example, the line usage charge calculated by the line usage charge calculation unit 25 and the Internet connection charge calculation unit 38 are calculated. The internet connection fee is added, and 30% of the added amount is set as the billing amount of the user ID “33333”, and the rest is set as the billing amount of the user B.

In the case of the user ID "44444", since the pattern 3 is used, in this example, the line usage fee calculated by the line usage fee calculation unit 25 and the Internet connection fee calculation unit 38 are calculated. The Internet connection fee is added, and all of them are charged by the user B who is another person.

According to such patterns 3 to 5, when the user has a sponsor, that user can bear the connection fee. As such examples, various examples are conceivable, such as an example in which the company in which the user works is borne, and an example in which a bank, a store or the like that provides a service to the user bears as an advertisement fee. In particular, according to the pattern 3, the internet connection business in which the line usage fee and the internet connection fee are substantially free to the user is established.

On the other hand, the user ID "5555" shown in FIG.
In the case of “5”, since it is pattern 2, in this example,
Only the line use charge calculated by the line use charge calculating unit 25 is charged to the user ID "55555" and no other charges are charged.

Further, in the case of the user ID "66666", since the pattern is 6, in this example, the Internet connection charge calculation unit 38 is irrespective of the line use charge calculated by the line use charge calculation unit 25. Only the Internet connection charge obtained in step 3 is charged to the user ID "66666", and the other charges are not charged to anyone.

Furthermore, user IDs "77777" and "8"
8888 ", pattern 7 or pattern 8
Therefore, a certain percentage of the line usage charge (8 in the example of FIG. 8)
0%) or a fixed amount is charged only to the user or a person other than the user (user B). For example, if you can use a billing rate that is lower than the ordinary line rate by installing special line equipment or using large-scale discounts, you can only charge a part of the line charge to the user or another person. It becomes possible to do. The above-mentioned fixed rate is 100%
It may be (full amount).

The various information (FIGS. 4 to 10) for obtaining the billing amount is not limited to the above example, and can be variously modified without changing the gist of the invention.

(Connecting Software) In the above embodiment, the sender information must be obtained at the time of dial-up connection of the user. In the current system, in the case of a general subscriber telephone, it is necessary to add a predetermined code to the connected telephone number when dialing up.

Therefore, in this embodiment, it is preferable that the connection software is distributed to the user and installed in the computer system.

FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram of a computer system in which this program is installed.

In this system, the CPU 42 and the RAM 4
3, a program storage unit 46 and a data storage unit 47 are connected to a bus 48 to which a modem 44, an input / output device 45 such as a display and a keyboard are connected. The program storage unit 46 and the data storage unit 47 may actually be composed of the same storage medium or different storage media.

In the program storage unit 46, only those related to this embodiment will be explained. In addition to the main program (not shown), the line network type discriminating unit 50 for discriminating the line network type to be used and the line network type are predetermined. If the line network type is, the source information providing code adding section 51 for adding the source information providing code to the connection destination telephone number, and the modem 44.
Connection instruction unit 52 for connecting to the destination telephone number via
Have.

Further, the data storage unit 47 stores a line network type information storage unit 53 for storing the line network type used for connection from the user's terminal to the access point together with line additional number information, and the connection for each access point. The connection destination telephone number storage unit 54 that stores the destination telephone number is connected.

When this program is started, the main program is first displayed on the display (input / output device 45).
For example, the screen shown in FIG. 13 is displayed on the top. This screen shows the used network selection section 56 and the connected telephone number selection section 5.
It consists of 7. When the user selects the appropriate parameter and then presses the line connection button 58, the line connection command unit 52 is configured to perform connection in the source information notification mode.

(Other Embodiments) In the above-described embodiment, the line usage fee to be paid to the telephone company is calculated by the line usage fee calculation unit. However, the line usage fee paid by the telephone company is If the line usage fee from the sender to the access point is a flat rate regardless of the distance between them, this line usage fee calculation unit may be unnecessary.

For example, in the above case, if the Internet connection fee does not have a fixed amount and is entirely pay-as-you-go, the Internet connection fee per unit time is added to the pay-as-you-go Internet connection fee. The amount charged to the user can be calculated simply by setting a flat rate and multiplying this by the connection time.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the system of the present invention has the person (primary provider) who actually has the terminal server and the like and has the contract with the customer. It may be installed in an outsourcer that provides only network connection without making a contract or an outsourcer that only performs billing processing.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, in order to prevent useless line connection that cannot be billed to the customer, line connection is rejected for an incoming call whose caller number has not been notified. You may do as follows.

That is, even if an incoming call with a caller's number notification is not a registered user, the Internet connection must be rejected at the authentication stage after the line is connected. Fees may be incurred. In order to prevent this, as shown in FIG. 14A, the calling number 60 of the user is registered in advance in the information stored in the user authentication information storage unit 6, and the telephone without registration is registered. Regarding the connection request from the number, the authentication server 7 may judge before the line connection so as not to connect the line and disconnect (busy out) the connection.

Even if the access is made from the telephone number registered in the user authentication information storage unit 6, the authentication fails (I
If there is a mistake in inputting D or password), the risk remains. In order to deal with this, when the user registers the calling number, the payment manager 61 is registered at the same time. That is, for access from a specific calling number, if authentication fails, issue an account after consenting to automatically add the line fee incurred to the billing amount of the person in charge of payment. Preferably. This eliminates the need for Internet connection operators to bear useless line usage charges due to mischievous phone calls and setting mistakes made by users. In this case, the line usage charge calculation unit 25 or the billing charge calculation unit 26 charges all line usage charges incurred for the calling number to a predetermined payment manager (usually the user) who has registered the calling number. Include it in your forehead.

Further, in this case, it may be considered that the new user tries to register with the same number as the calling number registered by the existing user. In this case, it is preferable to process as follows. FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing this processing. The numbers in parentheses in the figure are numbers that refer to the steps.

For example, as shown in FIG. 14 (a), when the user A tries to newly register with the telephone number 03-1111-1111, in this system, the calling telephone number in the user authentication information is set. After scanning and confirming that this telephone number has not been registered yet (12), as shown in FIG. 6, this calling number is stored together with the user ID and password with the payment manager as user A ( 13).

On the other hand, another user B has the same telephone number 03-
When trying to register at 1111-1111, this system finds the registration number in the user authentication information (1
2). In this case, this system
It is confirmed whether the user B bears the risk of the authentication error of the telephone number (14). At this time, it may or may not be notified that the registrant already exists.

If user B replies that he / she will bear it, FIG.
As shown in (b), the person in charge of payment in the case of an authentication error of the telephone number is designated as user B (15). User B
If no answer is given, the user A will not be informed of the name of the user B, but that the new registrant will be using the telephone number as an access line. Based on the possibility that the charge for the connection error caused by the person (= user B) may occur to the user A, confirmation is requested whether the new registrant (= user B) can be registered (16).

If user A accepts this,
Allow user B to register with the originating telephone number (1
7). On the other hand, if user A declines, it is okay to confirm (18) whether or not to convey the name and contact information of user A to new applicants (abstain from being user B). If so, the user B is notified that the registration cannot be made and the negotiation destination (name and contact information of the user A) (19). User A
If the user also refuses to disclose the contact information and name, he / she informs the user B that he / she cannot register with the calling number, and urges the user to register with another telephone number (20).

As described above, since the person in charge of payment is clarified, it is possible to reduce the risk of the connection operator.

Further, as a method of reducing the cost due to an authentication error or the like that occurs without using such a complicated mechanism, as shown in FIG.
It is judged whether the call is from within the same charge area (MA) as (2)
1), connection may be made within the same area (22), and connection may be made outside the same area (23). By doing so, damages such as mischief that maliciously tries to burden the service provider with the incoming payment line with a high cost can be minimized. By adopting this method, complicated billing calculation (billing for outgoing calls from outside the MA) can be omitted,
It is also possible to calculate the billed amount by the calculation of a uniform rate time multiplied by a fee.

When the number of APs (access points) is sufficient, most MAs have APs or APs in adjacent areas. As a result, rather than notify each user by assigning a number to each MA and managing each change or extension, a representative number that is uniform throughout the country is set, and the telephone charges from the place of origin are the easiest for the MA of the telephone company service. It is also possible to set the AP to automatically hang up and then charge at a single price. In this case, it is only necessary to multiply the connection time by the charge price (for example, local phone charge of 10 yen / 3 minutes), so there is no need to check the caller number and callee number, and do not perform complicated calculations. I'm sorry. In addition, considering the risk of incoming calls from people other than the AP installation MA, such as the population coverage ratio,
The flat price rate may be set slightly higher. Such a method is particularly effective when the connection charges are calculated at a uniform rate without much difference (compared to calculating from huge logs one by one) in terms of cost.

When one or a plurality of risk avoiding means as described above are adopted in accordance with the service policy, each incoming payment line number is matched to its convenience and risk stance. It is even better to apply operational policies (application rules) separately.

By the way, in the future, in the world of networks, direct exchange of data (voice / moving image, etc.) with peer-to-peer will occur, but when connecting to the Internet by dial-up, etc. Since the provider side bears the cost (Internet connection fee and telephone fee) associated with the data transfer required for the provision, the burden is large and as a result, it is a factor that hinders the development of data distribution by such a method. Could be.

On the other hand, if the mechanism of the present invention is used, the cost required for the information provider to transfer the data to the transfer destination can be calculated exactly including the telephone charge, and the cost can be provided. It becomes possible to charge other parties including the recipient without burdening the party. That is, this charging destination may be charged directly to the data receiving side, or a service entity such as an intermediary company that collects the data and promotes the exchange may bear the charge.

Further, the amount charged to the data receiving side or the intermediary company can be charged including the margin for the transmitting side and the data charge, and the total amount becomes the transfer amount to the provider. By doing so, it becomes possible to perform the content distribution mediation / approval work on a peer-to-peer basis, which was difficult in the past.

Needless to say, the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0108]

According to the configuration described above, in the network connection system which provides the Internet connection service paying the line connection fee to the called party, a system which can solve the conventional inconvenience and perform more flexible billing is provided. can do.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a processing procedure of the same.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram for similarly explaining the system in detail.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of member authentication information.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of user caller-callee number information.

FIG. 6 is a diagram similarly showing an example of line usage charge information.

FIG. 7 is a diagram similarly showing an example of access point information.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a billing pattern identification table.

FIG. 9 is a diagram similarly showing an example of the content of a billing pattern.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of Internet connection charge information in the same manner.

FIG. 11 is a diagram similarly showing an example of a user bill amount specification.

FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a configuration of a user terminal in which a line connection program is installed in the same manner.

FIG. 13 is a diagram similarly showing an example of an interface of a line connection program.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing user authentication information according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an authentication process according to another embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an authentication process according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... PC 2 ... Modem 3 ... Telephone line 4 ... Modem 5 ... Terminal server 5a-5c ... Terminal server 6 ... Member authentication information storage (authentication database) 7 ... Authentication server 8 ... log file 9 ... Billing server 10 ... Billing information storage unit (customer information database) 11 ... Connection charge information storage section 20 ... Source information acquisition unit 21 ... Internet network 22 ... Access monitoring unit 23 ... Incoming number information storage 25 ... Line usage fee calculation unit 26 ... Billing amount calculation unit 28 ... Line charge information storage section 29 ... Access point information storage unit 30 ... Billing pattern storage unit 31 ... Internet connection charge information storage 35 ... Circuit network type discrimination unit 36 ... Access point determination unit 38. Internet connection charge calculation unit 40 ... Billing amount file 42 ... CPU 43 ... RAM 44 ... Modem 45 ... I / O device 46 ... Program storage section 47 ... Data storage unit 48 ... bus 50 ... Circuit network type determination unit 51 ... Source information providing code adding section 52 ... Connection command section 53 ... Circuit network type information storage unit 54 ... destination telephone number storage 56 ... Used network selection unit 57 ... Connection destination telephone number selection section 58 ... Line connection button

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI H04M 15/16 H04M 15/16 15/18 15/18 (72) Inventor Takashi Shimizu 10-10 Shinsencho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Stocks Company Freebit.com (56) Reference JP-A-9-153964 (JP, A) JP-A-58-215164 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 13/00 G06F 15/00 G06F 17/00 G06F 17/60-19/00 H04L 12/00-12/26 H04L 12/50-12/66 H04M 1/26-1/57 H04M 11/00-11 / 10 H04M 15/00-15/38

Claims (20)

(57) [Claims] 1. A monitoring means for monitoring a network connection from a user through an access point, and a network connection fee calculating means for calculating a network connection fee for the user based on the monitoring of the monitoring means. In the network connection system, the connection charge calculation means calculates a line use charge to the access point based on the user's source information notified from the telephone company, and a line use charge calculating means. A network connection system comprising: a billing amount calculation unit that calculates a billing amount to the user based on the line usage fee calculated by the calculation unit. 2. The network connection system according to claim 1, wherein the line usage fee calculation unit has a line network type determination unit that determines a used line network type of the source of the user. A network connection system, characterized in that a line usage charge according to a line network type is calculated based on a result of the determination by the determining means. 3. The network connection system according to claim 1, wherein the line usage fee from the telephone company is charged to the incoming telephone number of the access point. . 4. The network connection system according to claim 3, wherein the incoming telephone number of the access point has an identification number for paying a line usage fee and the incoming telephone number is different for each access point. A network connection system characterized by being provided. 5. The network connection system according to claim 4, wherein the line usage fee calculation means calculates a line usage fee according to an inter-office distance between the user's originator and an access point. A network connection system characterized by. 6. The network connection system according to claim 3, wherein the contract telephone number of the access point has an identification number for the recipient to pay, and the plurality of access points share the incoming telephone number. A network connection system characterized by being present. 7. The network connection system according to claim 6, wherein the line usage fee calculation unit determines an inter-station distance between a source of the user and a predetermined access point determined based on the source. A network connection system characterized in that a line usage charge is calculated in accordance therewith. 8. The network connection system according to claim 1, further comprising an authentication means for authenticating the user, wherein the billing amount calculation means uses the contract information of the user acquired by the authentication means. On the basis of the billing amount calculation pattern, there is a billing amount calculation pattern selecting means for selecting one of the billing amount calculating patterns, and the billing amount calculating means calculates the connection fee calculated by the network connection fee calculating means. A network connection system for calculating a billing amount by applying the billing amount calculation pattern selected by the calculation pattern selecting means. 9. The network connection system according to claim 8, wherein the billing amount calculation pattern is for a predetermined user.
A network connection system including a pattern in which a billing amount is obtained by adding a network connection fee and a line connection fee according to a connection time. 10. The network connection system according to claim 8, wherein the billing amount calculation pattern is for a predetermined user.
A network connection system including a pattern in which only a line connection charge corresponding to a connection time is used as a billing amount. 11. The network connection system according to claim 8, wherein the billing amount calculation pattern is for a predetermined user.
A network connection system including a pattern of charging a part of the billed amount to the user and billing the remaining amount to another person. 12. The network connection system according to claim 8, wherein the billing amount calculation pattern is for a predetermined user.
A network connection system including a pattern of charging the entire billed amount to another person. 13. The network connection system according to claim 8, wherein the billing amount calculation pattern is for a predetermined user.
A network connection system including a pattern in which a network connection charge and a line connection charge for a predetermined connection time are charged. 14. A monitoring means for monitoring a network connection from a user through an access point, and a network connection fee calculating means for calculating a network connection fee for the user based on the monitoring of the monitoring means. In the network connection system, the line usage fee from the telephone company is charged to the incoming telephone number of the access point, and the connection fee calculation means is charged from the telephone company to the incoming telephone number. If the line usage charge from the user's source to the access point is a fixed amount regardless of the distance between them, the amount charged to the user is calculated by multiplying the Internet connection time by a predetermined flat rate A network connection system characterized in that. 15. A line usage charge calculation step of calculating a line usage charge to an access point based on the sender information of the user notified from the telephone company, and a line usage charge calculated by this line usage charge calculation step. And a billing amount calculation step of calculating a billing amount to the user based on the above. 16. A connection fee calculation method according to claim 1 5, wherein, wherein the line usage fee from the telephone company, which is made to call the telephone number of the access point, the amount billed calculating step If the line usage charge from the user's source to the access point billed by the telephone company to the incoming telephone number is a fixed amount regardless of the distance between them, the Internet connection time is multiplied by a predetermined flat rate. A connection charge calculation method for a network connection service, wherein the calculated amount is calculated as a charge to the user. 17. A billing system in a network connection service using a payee pay line, comprising a terminal server, an authentication server, an authentication database, a user information database and a billing server, wherein the terminal server A plurality of modems connected to a telephone line, means for receiving a caller number from a telephone line carrier, and means for connecting a plurality of clients to the Internet are provided, and the authentication database contains login names and passwords for all members. And a search means for searching the member information in response to a search request from the authentication server and returning a search result to the authentication server, wherein the authentication server includes the terminal Means for retrieving member information from the authentication database according to instructions from the server And a means for confirming whether or not the Internet connection is possible according to the search result and replying to the terminal server, and a communication recording means for recording the member information, the connection / disconnection time and the caller number each time the client connects / disconnects The user information database is provided with a storage unit that stores a connection charge table for calculating the line charge of a telephone line provider, and a storage unit that stores the charge destination billing information of the telephone line. A means for accessing the communication recording means, a means for accessing the user information database, a means for calculating a usage charge of a telephone line required to connect to the Internet based on the communication record, the user, A charging system comprising means for charging a fee to a payer. 18. The user information database is provided with storage means for storing a distance between MAs (unit charge areas) for calculating a line charge of a telephone line carrier and a connection charge table, and the charging server, 18. The charging system according to claim 17, further comprising means for calculating a distance from an access point to a caller ID MA based on a communication record and calculating a usage charge of a telephone line required for Internet connection. . 19. The user information database is provided with storage means for storing a connection charge table with a plurality of line carriers.
The charging system according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the charging server is provided with means for calculating a usage charge of a telephone line extending over a plurality of line carriers based on communication records. 20. The user information database is provided with storage means for storing a connection fee table from a mobile phone, and the billing server uses a telephone line required for internet connection from the mobile phone based on communication records. 20. The charging system according to claim 17, further comprising means for calculating a charge.