JPH03245657A - Charging method in telephone exchange network - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To receive the share charge service by providing a registration table for each subscriber to an exchange. CONSTITUTION:A special number representing the reception of the share charge service and a telephone number of a called subscriber 12 under the control of a 2nd exchange 20 are sent from a caller subscriber 11 under the control of a 1st exchange 10 are sent to the 1st and 2nd exchanges 10, 20 to set a relevant call and the talking between the caller subscriber and the called subscriber 21 is implemented. When the talking between the caller and called subscribers is finished, the 1st and 2nd exchanges 10, 20 calculate the charging traffic unit required for the relevant talking and the relevant charging traffic unit is divided according to the share decided by the system (exchange) in advance between both the subscribers 11 and 21 and the charging is shared respectively to both the subscribers 11, 12 according to the divided charging traffic unit.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] When a call between subscribers ends, the billing required for the call is divided between both subscribers according to a predetermined sharing ratio in the system.
This is a billing method in which the charges are shared between each other.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention provides a first exchange that accommodates a plurality of subscribers under its control, and a second exchange that is connected to the first exchange under a common line signaling system and accommodates a plurality of subscribers under its control. The present invention relates to a billing method in a telephone switching network having the following.

[Conventional technology]

The normal billing method generally employed in telephone switching networks is that the originating subscriber pays the entire cost of the call based on the duration of the call between the two subscribers.

On the other hand, a special billing method in practical use is the so-called toll-free service, in which the calling subscriber dials the telephone number of the called subscriber with a special number (0120) added to the beginning of the call. The call charges will be borne in full by the called subscriber. A more special billing method is a credit call method in which a third party pays the entire call charge.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The frequency of phone calls is increasing year by year, and in this situation, people often call the other party and decide that the content of the call is not their requirements (even though it is the other party's requirements). There are often cases where the party who receives the benefit from the call (the other party in the above case) is forced to pay the cost of the call to the party providing the benefit. It's unreasonable.

In the above case, if the call time is delayed, the call may be disconnected midway through and the other party may call again. However, this has the problem of being troublesome in practice.

In addition, when making calls to related business partners, especially when the two parties are far away, there is the problem that both the calling party and the receiving party must always be aware of the additional call charges. be.

[Means to solve the problem]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a typical example of a telephone switching network to which the billing method of the present invention is applied. In this figure, 10 is a first exchange that accommodates a plurality of subscribers 11 under its control, and 20 is a second exchange that accommodates a plurality of subscribers 21 under its control. These first and second exchanges IO and 20 are connected via a transmission line (consisting of a speech line and a common line signaling link) L according to the so-called common line signaling system (CCITTOM, Recommendation 7).

The subscribers 11 and 21 are those who can receive the sharing billing service according to the present invention, and for this purpose the first and second exchanges 10 and 20 are provided with registration tables 12 and 22 for each subscriber.

[Operation] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the charging method of the present invention. In this figure, (i) the originating subscriber 11 under the first exchange 10;
, the special number indicating that the user wishes to receive the shared billing service and the telephone number of the called subscriber 21 under the second exchange 20 are transmitted to the first and second exchanges 10 and 20 (
Step a), after setting up the call (snap b),
A call is made between the calling subscriber 11 and the called subscriber 21 (step C).

(ii) When the call between the calling and called subscribers ends (step d), the first and second exchanges 10 and 20 calculate the billing frequency for the call, respectively; step e; ), and further divides the billing frequency according to the sharing ratio predetermined by the system (exchange) between the two subscribers 11 and 21, and in step f), the billing is divided between the subscribers 11 and 21, respectively, using the divided billing frequency. (step g).

In order to receive the shared billing service, it is necessary to register with the exchanges 10 and 20 in advance, and registration tables 12 and 22 (FIG. 1) are required for this purpose.

(The bill is divided by splitting the bill, so to speak.)
A reasonable burden of call charges will be realized.

〔Example〕

(1) Conditions for shared billing service execution network All shall be Nl17 common line signaling network.

(2) Conditions for eligible subscribers ■ Applies to general subscribers only.

■ Public subscribers are not eligible. This is because the call charges have already been collected at the time of step C in FIG. 2, making steps e, f, and g in the same figure impossible.

(3) How to register for shared billing service ■ Registration of calling subscriber With the understanding of the called subscriber 21, ask for a pin number (for example, 4 digits) exclusive to the called subscriber.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the first registration table 12, in which the shared billing service is registered from the user's (11) telephone. For example, after dialing the special number for registering the called party for shared billing service, the user enters the called party's telephone number and the password notified by the called party.

If the registration is OK, the exchange 10 transmits a display sound to that effect, and the registrant (subscriber 11) confirms this.

The reason why registration is performed with the understanding of the subscriber on the receiving side is to avoid financial troubles later on.

The reason for introducing a PIN code was to prevent misuse by a third party. Therefore, it is preferable to prepare a different password for each calling subscriber 11.

■ Registration of the called subscriber The PIN number (
As mentioned above, the personal identification number may be changed for each subscriber on the calling side) and register the shared billing service from your own telephone (21) in the format (-example) shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the second registration table. For example, an incoming call is notified to the calling party by dialing a special number for calling party registration of shared billing service and then notified to the calling party. Enter your local PIN number.

If the registration is OK, the exchange 20 transmits a display sound to that effect, and the registrant (subscriber 21) confirms this.

Note that the sharing ratio between the two subscribers to be used at the end of the sharing billing call after the above registration is fixedly determined in advance in the system (exchange). For example, the ratio is 5:5 (50:50), 7:3, etc.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams showing the communication processing sequence of the sharing billing service. However, the basic system of this communication processing sequence is the well-known No. 7 common line signaling system. In this diagram, the upper left and right LS are Local 5w1tch
(corresponds to exchanges 10 and 20), and TS is To
ll5w1tch. Particularly, the parts that should be changed when implementing the present invention are the IAI signal and UBM signal in the figure. In addition, IAI (recipient's phone number, etc.) and UBM
(not allowed) is a well-known signal defined under common channel signaling.

Under the present invention, the IAI signal becomes an IAI signal for shared billing service, and within this IAI signal, a new service called shared billing service is additionally registered, and a PIN number field for the called subscriber is also added. I'll keep it.

If the called party has registered this service and the called party is free, the ACM (Address
After returning the Complete Message) signal to the originating side, the sequence shown in FIG. 5B is entered along arrow Q in FIG. 5A.

If this service is not registered on the receiving side and the service is therefore not permitted, information indicating that the sharing billing service is not permitted is included in the existing UBM signal. This needs to be defined in advance.0 A disallowed tone is sent to the originating subscriber 11 to notify that this service is not applicable.

Figure 5B shows a general communication sequence, RBT (
After exchanging ringback tone (ringback tone) signals and ANC (answer) signals, the call begins.

For example, when the calling subscriber 11 disconnects the call,
Exchanges CLF (cut mackerel) signals and RLG (recovery completion) signals.

6A and 6B are state transition diagrams showing processing related to the shared charging service on the calling side, and FIGS. 7A and 7B are state transition diagrams showing processing related to the shared charging service on the receiving side. In addition, in FIGS. 6A, 6B, 7A and 7B, A represents the originating subscriber (11),
B represents the subscriber on the called side (21), and ■ represents the subscriber 21
is on-hook. The operation of the shared billing service process will be described in detail below with reference to these figures. The telephone switching network in question is the NTT network.

In the calling side processing, first, the telephone number dialed by the subscriber 11 is analyzed (c) in Figure 6A, and if it is determined that the call is a shared billing service call, then it is determined whether the service call is allowed or not. , searches the service call allowed subscriber registration table 12 using the received telephone number. As a result, if there is no registration in the registration table 12 (mismatch),
Activate the disallowance process and send a disallowance tone to the calling subscriber 11 (d in Figure 6A).On the other hand, if registered (match), the call is allowed and call information (IAI) is created. Therefore, the pin number of the called party is retrieved from the registration table 12, an outgoing route is hunted from the received telephone number, and a common line signal link is calculated from the outgoing route.

Next, address signal (IAI signal) for sharing billing service
is edited and created using the above-mentioned PIN information, etc., and sent to the receiving side exchange 20.

In the receiving side processing, when the IAI signal is received, the content is analyzed (b) in Figure 7A, and if it is determined that the call is a shared billing service call, the next step is to analyze the content of the IAI signal (b) in Figure 7A. The incoming call allowed subscriber registration table 22 is searched using two pieces of information: the received telephone number of the calling party and the similarly received pin number of the called party. As a result, if there is no registration in the registration table 22 (mismatch), a non-permission process is activated and the service non-permission signal (UBM signal) is returned to the originating side. At this time, B remains empty (C in FIG. 7A).

On the other hand, if both are registered in the registration table 22 (caller's telephone number and receiver's password), the call is accepted (bidirectional), and the subscriber status of the receiver is further analyzed. If subscriber B is free ('''F!;) and the call is OK, it sends an incoming call OK signal (to〇M signal = address completion signal) to the calling party.Furthermore, it sends a ringing tone to subscriber B on the receiving side. , and initiates processing for transmitting a paging signal to subscriber A on the originating side.

If you want to make the service a little more sophisticated, you could consider making the ringtone a special tone for the phone. In addition,
In the process of transitioning to the calling state, a shared billing service call display and the telephone number of the calling party are set in the call control memory for the call in order to distinguish it from a general call.

In the next process on the calling side, when a non-permissible signal (UBM signal) is received, a non-permissible process (same as above) is activated, and a non-permissible tone is sent to the calling subscriber (d in FIG. 6A); On the other hand, when receiving a permission signal (ACM signal), a process for transitioning to a calling state is activated. Next, in the process of transitioning to the calling state, in addition to the normally set information, a shared billing service call display is set in the call control memory for the call in order to distinguish it from a general call. After that, A is called (e in Figure 6A).e The next called party process is to call the called subscriber B (d in Figure 7A), and when it responds, when the response is detected, After sending a billing request response signal (NC signal) to the calling party, it is determined whether the main call is a general call or another call (shared billing call).
If the call is determined to be a shared billing service call, the response time is set in the call control memory for billing processing at the end of the call. Thereafter, the communication state is entered (f in Fig. 7B).

In the process on the calling side when subscriber B on the called side responds, the normal billing process (setting the response time in the call control memory) is executed at the time the response signal is received.

For example, when a subscriber on the calling side disconnects ("disconnection" in Figure 6B), the process on the calling side at that time sends a disconnection signal (CLF signal) to the called party when disconnection is detected. and perform normal billing processing (billing frequency calculation processing).
Next, we analyze whether the actual call is a general call or another call (shared charging call) (g in Figure 6B). If the call is determined to be a shared charging service call, we calculate the charging frequency that has already been calculated. For example, as an example of the sharing ratio, a process of dividing by half (dividing by 2) is executed. If you get a fraction, round it up.

Thereafter, as in normal billing processing, the calculated frequency is added to the frequency up to the time of the main call, and the frequency information is set in the caller's applicable billing area. After that, A becomes vacant (
Figure 6B h).

When the calling subscriber A disconnects, the called party activates the calling party's disconnection process when it receives a disconnection signal, and determines whether the main call is a general call or another call (shared billing call). ) (h in Figure 7B). As a result, if it is determined that the call is a shared billing service call, the billing rate for the call is calculated from the caller's telephone number that has already been set in the call control memory, the response time, and the current time when the disconnection signal is received. . Note that the billing frequency calculation process is the same as the normal calculation process when subscriber B performs the calculation as the caller.

Next, a process of dividing the calculated billing frequency in half (dividing by 2) as an example of the sharing ratio is executed. If you get a fraction, round it down. Thereafter, the calculated frequency is added to the frequency up to the time of the main telephone call, and the frequency information is set in the corresponding charging area of the called subscriber B, similar to the charging process performed when making a normal call. Thereafter, B becomes vacant (j in Figure 7B).

The above-mentioned processing does not require the addition of special hardware, except for some processing (sending out tones when registering and disapproving), and can be fully handled with existing hardware equipment, and requires almost no software additions or modifications. This can be achieved through processing alone.

In addition, the sharing billing service of the present invention requires two exchanges (10
, 20) (it is also applicable to calls between two subscribers accommodated under the same exchange). A remarkable effect can be seen when applied to situations where call charges are high.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, call charges can be shared between both subscribers in a reasonable manner (fixed by the system), and even for long distance or long calls, Both parties can concentrate on making calls without worrying about charges. Furthermore, it is expected that the revenue of the toll collectors will increase as well.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a typical example of a telephone switching network to which the charging method of the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a flowchart representing the charging method of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the first registration table. , FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the second registration table, and FIGS. 5A and 5B
6A and 6B are state transition diagrams showing processing related to the shared charging service on the calling side, and FIGS. 7A and 7B are state transition diagrams showing the processing related to the shared charging service on the receiving side. It is a state transition diagram shown. In the figure, 10...first exchange, 11...subscriber, 12...registration table, 20...second exchange, 21...subscriber, 22...registration table.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A first exchange (10) accommodating a plurality of subscribers (11) under its control, and connected to the first exchange (10) under a common line signaling system, In a telephone switching network having a second exchange (20) accommodating a plurality of subscribers (21) thereunder, a calling subscriber (20) under the first exchange (10);
11), a special number indicating that you would like to receive the sharing billing service,
The called subscriber (
21) telephone number to the first and second exchanges (10
, 20) to the calling and called subscribers (11).
, 21), and when the call between the calling and called subscribers (11, 21) ends, the first and second exchanges (10, 20) respectively The normal charging frequency required for the above is calculated, and the charging frequency is divided according to the sharing ratio predetermined by the exchange (10, 20) for both subscribers, and the divided charging frequency is charged to each of the two subscribers. A billing method in a telephone exchange network characterized by sharing billing. 2. The first and second exchanges (10, 20) are each provided with a registration table (12, 22) for each subscriber for applying the shared billing service, and the first exchange (10) side Register at least the called party's telephone number and the called party's PIN number notified from the called party's subscriber (21) in the registration table (12) at the second exchange (20) side.
2. The billing method according to claim 1, wherein in step 2), at least the calling party's telephone number and the called party's personal identification number notified from the called party's subscriber (21) are registered.