KR100706492B1 - System and method for paying in advance a rate on sms value-added service by using intelligent network - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a short message service (SMS) in a second generation / 3 generation mobile communication system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and system for improving a prepaid billing procedure for an additional service of an SMS (Short Message Service) using an intelligent network system.

That is, the present invention records the additional service information and the intelligent network information of the calling subscriber in the calling mobile switching center, and adds the additional service information and the intelligent network information to the short message service center as the calling subscriber sends the SMS. Simplify the charging process according to the application of the service and increase the usefulness of the system.

Billing, Prepaid Service, SMS

Description

Prepaid billing system and method using intelligent network {System and method for paying in advance a rate on SMS value-added service by using intelligent network}

The following drawings attached to this specification are illustrative of preferred embodiments of the present invention, and together with the detailed description of the invention to serve to further understand the technical spirit of the present invention, the present invention is a matter described in such drawings It should not be construed as limited to

1 is a configuration diagram of a code division multiple access (CDMA) network in which the present invention is realized.

2 is a call processing procedure flow diagram for a prepaid short message service in a CDMA network.

Figure 3 shows the definition of parameters for SMS-ServiceProfile according to the IS-41D protocol.

4 is a configuration diagram of a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) network in which the present invention is realized.

5 is a call processing procedure flow diagram for a prepaid short message service in a WCDMA network.

FIG. 6 shows definition of parameters for OriginationServiceIndicator according to IS-637-A protocol.

        <Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

 11, 110: subscriber station (MS) 20, 120: wireless base station

 30: mobile switching center (PCX / MSC) 130: circuit switched (IMX / MSC)

 131: packet switch (SGSN) 35, 135: visitor location register (VLR)

 50, 150: home location register (HLR)

 60, 160: Short Message Service Center (SMSC)

 70, 170: Value Added Service Processing Center (VAS)

 80, 180: INBH

 90, 190: service control unit (SCP)

The present invention relates to a short message service (SMS) in a second generation / 3 generation mobile communication system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and system for improving a prepaid billing procedure for an additional service of an SMS (Short Message Service) using an intelligent network system.

BACKGROUND With the development of mobile communication services, a short message service (SMS) or voice message service capable of quickly delivering simple information to a counterpart is widely used. This SMS service has the advantage of being able to quickly and easily deliver the desired information to a specific counterpart or a plurality of counterparts at a very low cost compared to voice calls, and to store the received text message for later checking or rechecking. Due to these advantages, SMS is not only providing simple content such as stock, weather, news, education information, but also various value-added services such as message coordination service.

Billing for these additional services can be divided into prepaid billing (Prepaid) and postpaid billing (Postpaid) method.

Prepaid billing is a form of depositing a certain amount of money to a mobile service provider before using a mobile communication service, and receiving a mobile communication service within a limit of the amount of the deposit.

Postpaid billing is a method in which subscribers who have subscribed to a mobile communication service use the service for a certain period of time and then charge for the used service.

In particular, efforts have recently been made to simplify the prepaid billing procedure for supplementary services by using an intelligent network and to increase the efficiency of the signaling network.

Republic of Korea Patent No. 509,936 (name of the invention: a system and method for providing a prepaid intelligent network service of multimedia data in a mobile communication network), Republic of Korea Patent No. 476,484 (Name of the invention: an additional type except voice calls and data calls in a mobile communication network Real-time billing system and method for services), Republic of Korea Patent No. 419,148 (name of the invention: prepaid billing service system and method in asynchronous mobile intelligent network), Republic of Korea Patent No. 2001-65410 (name of the invention: mobile communication Incoming billing method for prepaid service subscribers in the system) discloses a prepaid billing procedure using an intelligent network system.

However, the conventional prepaid billing procedure has a disadvantage in that the procedure is very complicated and the efficiency of the signal network is low, requiring a separate network equipment or changing the process of the network system.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method and system for further simplifying the prepaid billing procedure of an additional service for a short message service.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and system for improving a prepaid billing procedure without modification to an operating program or protocol of a mobile switching center or a short service center of a mobile communication network.

In addition, the present invention provides a method for simplifying the prepaid billing procedure using message parameters of higher communication protocols such as IS 41-D / IS-637-A that specify functional control between network entities in a CDMA / WCDMA system. To do it for another purpose.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be described below and will be appreciated by the practice of the invention. Furthermore, the objects and advantages of the present invention can be realized by means and combinations indicated in the appended claims.

In order to achieve the above objects, a first aspect of the present invention provides a code division multiple access (CDMA) system for billing using an intelligent network system for an additional service of a short message (SMS) transmitted between an originating terminal and a terminating terminal. As for

Means for storing a subscriber profile including additional service information and intelligent network information of the subscriber; An originating mobile switching center for transmitting the supplementary service information and the intelligent network information of the calling subscriber read out from the storage means to the short service center in response to receiving the short message from the calling terminal; A short service center which receives the supplementary service information and the intelligent network information of the calling subscriber from the mobile switching center, applies the supplementary service to the short message and transmits it to the called terminal, and requests real-time billing upon successful completion of the short message; Receiving a charging request including intelligent network information from the short service center, routing to a corresponding intelligent network system according to the intelligent network information, and deducting the additional service in real time based on the charging information of the calling subscriber transmitted from the intelligent network system. A billing processing device to perform; And requesting charging information of the calling subscriber from the charging processing device, and when the calling subscriber is an intelligent network subscriber, reads the corresponding charging information and responds to the charging processing device. .

Further, a method for executing real-time charging for an SMS additional service transmitted between an originating terminal and a called terminal using a code division multiple access (CDMA) system as a second aspect according to the present invention,

A calling subscriber creates a short message through the calling terminal and sends the short message to the calling mobile switching center via the base station; Extracting intelligent network information and SMS supplementary service information by inquiring a subscriber profile of the calling subscriber; Storing the intelligent network information and SMS supplementary service information in an SMS service profile and transmitting the information to the called party's short service center; Applying an additional service corresponding to a short message with reference to the SMS service profile; Transmitting a short message reflecting the additional service to the called terminal; Receiving notification of completion of a short message from the called terminal and requesting a real time charging for the additional service to a charging processing device; (at this time, the additional processing information applied to the charging processing device and the intelligent network information of the calling subscriber are delivered together; Requesting charging information for a corresponding calling subscriber after routing to a corresponding intelligent network system based on the intelligent network information; And performing a real-time deduction for the additional service based on the charging information returned from the intelligent network system.

A third aspect of the present invention relates to a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system for charging an additional service of a short message (SMS) transmitted between an originating terminal and a terminating terminal using an intelligent network system.

Means for storing a subscriber profile comprising the subscriber's intelligent network information and additional service information; An intelligent network system for storing the subscriber's SMS transmission authority information and the subscriber's billing information, determining whether the intelligent network subscriber's SMS can be transmitted according to a request, and executing a real-time deduction in association with the billing processing apparatus; Upon receiving the short message from the originating terminal, requesting the intelligent network system to confirm whether the sending subscriber has the right to send SMS, and receiving the SMS sending authority and the intelligent network service type (ServiceKey) of the calling subscriber received from the intelligent network system, the short message service center. An originating mobile exchange to forward to; A short service center for converting an intelligent network service type received from the mobile exchange into an intelligent network service ID, applying the additional service specified in the short message to the called terminal, and requesting real-time billing upon successful completion of the short message; ; A prepaid billing system including a billing processing device for receiving a billing request including a service ID from the short service center and performing a real-time deduction for the additional service by interworking with the intelligent network system based on the service ID. Charges.

In addition, a method for executing real-time charging for an SMS additional service transmitted between a calling terminal and a called terminal using a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system as a fourth aspect according to the present invention,

An originating subscriber composes a short message (SMS) through the originating terminal and sends the short message to an originating mobile switching center (MSC / SGSN) via a base station; Checking the subscriber profile of the calling subscriber and routing to the corresponding intelligent network system to check whether the calling subscriber can transmit SMS; Responding to the calling mobile switching center by the sending subscriber's SMS transmission authority and intelligent network service type (ServiceKey); Converting the intelligent network service type (ServiceKey) into an intelligent network service ID and transferring the service ID and SMS outgoing service information to a called party short message service center (DS-SMSC); Applying an additional service set to a short message by referring to the SMS originating service information; Transmitting a short message reflecting the additional service to the called terminal; Receiving notification of completion of incoming short message from the called terminal, and requesting a real time billing to a billing processing device together with the service ID; Requesting billing information for a corresponding calling subscriber after routing to a corresponding intelligent network system based on the service ID; And performing a real-time deduction for the additional service based on the charging information received from the intelligent network system.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Example  One

<CDMA system>

First, Fig. 1 shows the configuration of a code division multiple access (CDMA) network in which the present invention is realized.

As shown in the figure, the prepaid billing system 10 according to the present invention includes a plurality of subscriber stations 11 located in a communication area divided by sectors, and a base station communicating with the subscriber station 11 by wireless communication. A base station controller (BTS) 21, a base station controller (BSC) 22 controlling the base station 21; Mobile switching center 30; Visitor Location Register (VLR) 35; NO. 7 network 40; A home location register (HLR) 50; A value added service server (VAS) 70; Short Message Service Center (SMSC) 60; Charging processing unit (INBH) 80; And an intelligent network system 90.

In addition to the basic call processing and location registration functions, the subscriber station 11 is responsible for the attachment and origination function of the short message (SMS). Subscriber terminal 11 according to the present invention includes a cellular phone, PCS (Personal Communication Service) phone, PDA phone, GSM phone, WCDMA phone, CDMA-2000 phone, DMB phone and the like.

The radio access network 20 serves to guarantee the mobility of the subscriber station, and performs hand-off and radio resource management functions. The wireless access network 20 is composed of a base station 21 and a base station controller 22 so that the subscriber station 11 uses a wireless protocol between the subscriber station 11 and the mobile switching center 30 using a wireless protocol. 7 allows access to the network 40. In particular, the base station 21 receives a short message from the calling subscriber station (hereinafter referred to as calling terminal) using a paging channel or a traffic channel among the signal channels, and transmits it to the base station controller 22.

The base station controller 22 controls the base station 21, and assigns and releases radio channels to the subscriber station, transmit power control of the subscriber station and the base station, intercell soft handoff and hard handoff decision, transcoding and Performs vocoding, operation and maintenance of the base station.

The mobile switching center 30 performs basic and additional service processing, incoming and outgoing call processing of subscribers, location registration procedure and handoff procedure processing, interworking with other networks, and the like. In addition, the visitor location register 35 temporarily stores the location information and the subscriber profile information of the subscriber station located in the communication area of the mobile switching center 30.

In the present invention, the calling party mobile switching center 30 receives the location information and subscriber profile information (additional service information, intelligent network information) of the calling terminal from the home location register 50 at the time of registering the location of the calling terminal, and visits the visitor location. It is stored and managed in the register 35. In particular, the location registration request signal (reg-not: Registration Notification Return Result) received from the home location register 50 includes SMS origination service attribute information and intelligent network information (WINServiceType). Therefore, when the SMS is sent from the calling terminal 11, the calling mobile switching center 30 searches the profile of the calling subscriber and stores the intelligent network information along with additional service information in the SMS service profile (SMS_ServiceProfile). Transfer to the service center 60. The definition of specific parameters for this SMS service profile is shown in FIG. That is, the SMS service profile is composed of intelligent network information (WINServiceType) and additional service information (SMS_VAD_Service) of SMS, and the intelligent network information (WINServiceType) is composed of WIN_Type and WIN_ID. Accordingly, the short service center 60 receiving the intelligent network information from the mobile switching center 30 routes to the corresponding intelligent network system based on the WIN_Type, and converts the WIN_ID into a service ID for real-time subtraction.

The home location register 50 receives subscriber information from a customer management database system (WISE), and stores and manages the information by dividing it into intelligent network information (WIN_Type, WIN_ID), SMS additional service information, and subscriber location information. In particular, the home location register 50 stores profile information of the calling and called subscribers. This profile information includes the subscriber station's MIN (subscriber phone number), ESN (mobile phone serial number), subscribed telecommunications supplementary service information, and intelligent network information.

Accordingly, the reg-not message for the location registration request (REG-NOT) of the calling terminal includes an SMS service profile (see FIG. 3) including SMS supplementary service information and intelligent network information. To 30).

The short service center 60 processes a basic service for SMS and temporarily stores or transmits data for processing a short message. In addition, it performs a gate function for a short service, performs a short service MAP (Mobile Application Part) processing function for interworking with the mobile switching center 30 and the home location register 50, and for interworking with an external service provider. It also performs protocol matching.

In particular, the short message service center 60 according to the present invention receives an SMDPP message including an SMS service profile (SMS-ServiceProfile) having the structure as shown in FIG. 3 from the originating mobile switching center 30 and based on the SMS service profile. It is determined whether the calling subscriber joins the intelligent network and the SMS additional service. At this time, if the originating subscriber is an intelligent network subscriber, after receiving the SMS, the real-time subtraction procedure is performed, and the SMS message is transmitted to the supplementary service processing system 70 to reflect the supplementary service.

In addition, the short message service center 60 obtains the SMS incoming service attribute information from the location information response (smr) message of the home location register 50 for the location information request (SMR) message of the called party. Based on the SMS terminating service attribute information, the additional service is reflected in the SMS to be sent to the terminating terminal.

The additional service processing system 70 is connected to the short message service center 60 through a short message client interface (SMCI) based on TCP / IP. The additional service processing system 70 processes all additional information services through an access function with a short service center, and performs overall subscriber management and operation management functions for the short service.

The billing processing device 80 (INBH: Intelligent Billing Host) is connected to the short message service center 60 through a public network based on the TCP / IP protocol. The charging processing device 70 is a device for processing all charging data generated by the mobile communication service subscriber using the additional service (especially, the SMS additional service). In particular, the billing processing device 70 according to the present invention receives a real-time billing request from the short message service center 60 after completion of the incoming SMS, and interworking with the intelligent network system 90 (Intelligent Network) according to the request. Perform a real time deduction. In addition, by transmitting the result of the real-time deduction to the short service center 60 to record the billing data (CDR).

The intelligent network system 90 refers to equipment capable of generating and processing a service desired by a service provider. The network elements of the intelligent network include a service switching point (SSP), which is an exchange device, and a service control point, SCP, which is a service control device. ), SMS (Service Management System) as a service management device, Intelligent Peripheral (IP) as an intelligent peripheral device, and SCE (Service Creation Environment) as a service development environment for creating and providing service logic. In this intelligent network system (90), the SMS processes the multiple subscriber information processing of the Wireless Information Service Environment (WISE) in the environment where all the systems are interworked with the network and require real-time job processing, and work on multiple SCPs. Command processing to send the results of a series of job processing back to WISE.

The intelligent network system 90 according to the present invention, in particular, SCP retrieves the intelligent network information for the prepaid subscriber in the intelligent network information database (not shown), and retrieves the intelligent network information (balance information, rate information, etc.) for the retrieved prepaid subscriber. The charging processing device 80 transmits the function. That is, the SCP obtains the balance information of the prepaid subscriber, calculates the fee for the corresponding additional service by referring to the rate table, and responds to the charging processing device 80 with the result. Therefore, the charging processing device 80 performs real-time deduction based on the balance information and the rate information received from the SCP of the intelligent network system 90, and the result is short-term service center 60 and the intelligent network system (ie, SCP) To 90.

 The above-described system of the present invention has been described as a representative embodiment in which the incoming and outgoing subscribers are both CDMA subscribers and the mobile communication network is a CDMA network. However, the system of the present invention is not necessarily limited to such a system.

That is, the system of the present invention is equally applicable to the case where the mobile communication network is a CDMA network, at least one of the incoming and outgoing subscribers is a WCDMA subscriber, and the WCDMA subscriber is roaming in the CDMA network. In this case, the PCX / MSC may be replaced by IMX / SGSN, the HLR by DS-HLR, and the SMSC may be replaced by DS-SMSC. That is, when the incoming and outgoing subscriber is a WCDMA subscriber roaming in the CDMA network, location information and profile information of the incoming and outgoing subscriber are obtained from the DS-HLR.

< Billing  Procedure>

Hereinafter, the real time prepaid accounting procedure according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

SMS supplementary service information and / or intelligent network information (WIN_Type, WIN_ID) of a particular subscriber is stored in a home location register (HLR / DS-HLR) that accepts the subscriber via WISE. In this case, the additional service information and / or intelligent network information is recorded in the HLR when the subscriber is a CDMA subscriber, and is recorded in the DS-HLR when the subscriber is a WCDMA subscriber. For example, the additional service may include a message coordination service for converting a short message into a short message (SMS) including an emoticon or a multimedia message (LMS / MMS) including an image, a video, a sound, and the like.

When the subscriber of the mobile phone service moves to a communication area managed by an arbitrary base station 21 in the state of possessing its own originating terminal 11, the corresponding base station 21 detects through wireless communication with the originating terminal. The terminal transmits the location information of the terminal to the calling mobile switching center 30 connected to the base station 21.

Accordingly, the mobile switching center 30 transmits a location registration request signal (Reg-Not: Registration Notification) requesting registration of the location information of the calling terminal to the home location registerer 50 managing subscriber information of the calling terminal. (S11) The home location register 50 receiving the location registration request signal transmits the location information of the calling terminal to a mobile switching center and a visitor location register that manage a communication area where the subscriber of the calling terminal was previously located. Send a signal (Reg-Can) to request deletion. The mobile switching center and the visitor location register receiving the location information deletion request signal delete all information of the subscriber, and transmit a location information deletion response signal indicating the deletion to the home location register. The home location register receiving the location information deletion response updates and stores the new location information of the calling terminal in a database, and moves a location registration request signal (reg-not) informing of the update storage to control the communication area of the calling terminal. Transmit to exchange and visitor location register (S12).

In this case, the location registration request signal reg-not includes subscriber profile information of the originating terminal. In particular, an SMS service profile (SMS-ServiceProfile) including additional service information and intelligent network information as shown in FIG. 3 is stored. .

The SMS service profile (SMS-ServiceProfile) shown in FIG. 3 is information transmitted from the home location register 50 to the calling mobile switching center 130 when the location of the calling terminal 11 is registered, and intelligent network information such as "WINServiceType". And additional service information of SMS such as "SMS_VAD_Service".

The intelligent network information such as "WINServiceType" includes "WIN_Type" for specifying a routing path in the intelligent network system and "WIN_ID" for subscriber authentication and identification in the intelligent network system. In addition, the SMS originating service attribute and the SMS incoming service attribute are defined in the "SMS_VAD_Service".

The source mobile switching center 30, which has received an SMS service profile (SMS-ServiceProfile) including SMS supplementary service information and intelligent network information from the home location register 50, stores and manages this information in the visitor location register (VLR). do.

When the subscriber creates a short message using his originating terminal 11 and transmits the short message (SMS) to the base station together with the calling terminal number and the called terminal number, the base station 21 recalls the short message. The short message is stored in bearer data and transmitted to the mobile switching center 30 (S13).

Receiving the short message from the calling terminal, the calling party mobile switching center 30 loads the additional service information and the intelligent network information corresponding to the subscriber from the visitor location register (VLR), and sends the additional service information and the intelligent network information to the SMS service profile. To be included. Further, the corresponding short service center 60 is selected based on the called subscriber number, and the SMS service profile is stored in the SMDPP message and transmitted to the short service center 60 (S14).

Upon receiving the SMDPP message from the mobile switching center 30, the short message service center 60 responds to the mobile switching center 30 in the form of a smdpp (Ack) message with a specific code according to the success or failure of the message transmission. S15)

The short service center 60 checks the additional service field of the SMS service profile contained in the SMDPP message of the mobile switching center, and then applies the designated additional service to the short message.

In addition, the short message service center 60 requests (SMR) the location information of the called subscriber from the home location register 50 based on the subscriber number of the called terminal.

The home location register 50, which has received the subscriber location information from the short message service center 60, searches for the location information of the current destination terminal by searching an internal database, and returns the search result to the short message service center 60. In this case, in addition to the location information, an SMS service profile (additional service information and intelligent network information) of the called subscriber is also provided.

Upon receiving the SMS service profile of the called subscriber, the short message service center 60 reflects the additional service designated based on the SMS service profile in the short message.

In addition, the short message service center confirming the location information of the called terminal includes the short message reflecting the additional service in the SMDPP message and transmits the short message to the mobile switching center 30 where the called terminal is located (S19).

The mobile switching center 30 receiving the short message through the SMDPP message stores the short message in bearer data and transmits the short message to the destination terminal 11 (S20), and the destination terminal transmits the short message (success). Or fail) to the called party's mobile switching center 30 in the form of an ACK message (S21).

Receiving the ACK message from the destination terminal 11, the destination mobile switching center 30 transmits a specific code according to the success result of the message transmission or the transmission failure to the short message service center 60 in the form of smdpp (Ack) message. (S22)

Upon receiving the message that the short message to which the additional service is applied is safely transmitted to the called terminal, the short message service center 60 requests the charging processing device 80 for real-time charging processing according to the application of the additional service (S23). The service center 60 converts the WIN_ID from the intelligent network information of the SMS service profile of the calling subscriber received from the calling mobile switching center into the intelligent network service ID, and transmits it to the charging processing device 80 together with information (WIN_Type) indicating the routing path. send.

The charging processing device 80, which has received a real time charging request from the short service center 60, accesses the SCP of the corresponding intelligent network system 90 based on the routing path information, and checks the balance information of the intelligent network subscriber corresponding to the service ID. Request rate information. Accordingly, the SCP extracts the corresponding balance information and the rate information from the intelligent network information database (not shown) and then responds to the charging processing device 80. The billing processing device 80 that receives the balance information and the rate information from the SCP of the intelligent network system 90 calculates an additional service fee from the rate information, and performs a real-time deduction by subtracting the calculated amount from the balance information. do. The billing data in which the deduction is performed is transmitted to the SCP, and the SCP updates the balance information in the intelligent network information database based on the deduction data (S24).

When the real time deduction procedure is completed by the interworking between the charging processing device 80 and the intelligent network system 90 (SCP), the charging processing device 80 transmits the charging result data (CDR) to the short service center 60. (S25) The short message service center 60 stores this charging data in an internal database. (S26)

As described above, in the present embodiment, since the mobile switching center includes the intelligent network information related to the real-time deduction in the delivery message and transmits the information to the short service center, it is possible to further simplify the prepaid billing procedure for the additional service.

Example  2

<WCDMA system>

4 shows a configuration of a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) network in which the present invention is realized.

As shown in the figure, the prepaid billing system 100 according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of subscriber stations 110 located in a communication area allocated in sector units, and a base station for wireless communication with the subscriber stations 110. A Radio Transceiver Subsystem (RTS) 121 and a Radio Network Controller (RNC) 122 that controls the base station 121; Circuit switch 130; Visitor Location Register (VLR) 135; Packet switch 131; IP network (or IP backbone network) 140; A DS-Home Location Register (DS-HLR) 150; A value added service server (VAS) 170; A Short Message Service Center (DS-SMSC) 160; An intelligent billing host (INBH) 180 and an intelligent network system 190 are included.

The subscriber station 110 is a terminal that uses a short message service (SMS) through a circuit switched network (CSN) and a packet switched network (PSN) and transmits a short message (SMS) and / or a multimedia message (MMS). Software that supports SMS or MMS should be installed to enable incoming and outgoing calls. Subscriber terminal 110 according to the present invention includes a cellular phone, a PCS (Personal Communication Service) phone, PDA phone, GSM phone, CDMA-2000 phone, WCDMA phone, DMB phone, etc., in particular, preferably WCDMA phone.

The radio access network 120 serves to guarantee the mobility of the subscriber station 110, and performs hand-off and radio resource management functions. The radio access network 120 includes a base station 121 and a radio control station 122 to configure an access network for connecting the subscriber station 110 to a core network or a packet connection. .

The base station (RTS) 121 performs a radio access termination function with a subscriber station conforming to the 3GPP radio access standard. In particular, the base station (RTS) 121 transmits and receives voice, video, and data traffic in a WCDMA manner. The radio station 122 (RNC) 122 is wired and wireless channel management, protocol matching with subscriber stations, protocol matching between base stations, soft handoff processing, core network protocol processing, GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) access, failure management , Functions such as system loading. Here, GPRS is an asynchronous communication system that supports a data transmission speed of 115kbps, provides a multimedia mail, and maximizes the efficiency of a transmission line by packet data transmission.

The circuit switch 130 has a soft switching structure for speeding up call processing in addition to the basic functions for voice call in the existing IS-95B network. Here, soft switching is a technology capable of processing voice, data, and video signals with a high speed packet switch by upgrading a circuit switch of a conventional exchange to a software switch.

The visitor location register (VLR) 135 registers and manages location information of the subscriber station 110 that enters the jurisdiction of the circuit switch 130 and stores the newly acquired location information of the subscriber station in the home location register 150. To notify). In addition, while receiving and managing a copy of the profile information of the subscriber station 110 received from the home location register 150, the function of utilizing the position control, call processing, additional service processing of the subscriber station 110, etc. To perform. Here, the profile information refers to a mobile identification number (MIN), an electrical serial number (ESN), additional service information, and intelligent network information of the subscriber station.

The packet switch (SGSN) 131 has a hardware structure for providing an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) -based switch and routing connection for a GPRS service, and supports an operating system (OS) according to various data service processing. do. The operating system functions consist of GPRS mobility management, GPRS session management, GPRS authentication and billing functions.

In the present invention, the calling circuit switch 130 (or packet switch) is the subscriber profile information (calling SMS Indicator, incoming SMS Indicator and intelligent network information) of the calling terminal from the home location register 150 at the time of location registration of the calling terminal. ) Is received and stored in the visitor location register 135 and managed. Therefore, when the SMS is sent from the calling terminal 110, the calling circuit switch 130 is based on the intelligent network information (service key) of the subscriber profile stored in the visitor location register (VLR) 135. It routes to the intelligent network system (especially SCP) 190 and checks the sending authority of the calling subscriber (for example, balance information and whether SMS transmission is prohibited).

The home location register (DS-HLR) 150 receives and stores subscriber profiles such as intelligent network information (ServiceKey), SMS origination supplementary service information, and SMS incoming supplementary service information for subscribers from a customer management database system (WISE). Manage. Accordingly, the SMS message and the intelligent network information (ServiceKey) of FIG. 6 are included in the response message for the location registration request (ISD) of the originating terminal and transmitted to the originating circuit switch (or packet switch) 130.

The short service center (DS-SMSC) 160 processes a basic service for SMS and temporarily stores or delivers data for processing a short message. In addition, it performs a gate function for a short service, performs a short service mobile application part (MAP) processing function for interworking with the circuit switch 130, the packet switch 131, and the home location register 150, and an external service. It also performs protocol matching for interworking with the provider.

In particular, the short message service center 160 according to the present invention applies the additional service specified in the short message based on the SMS indicator received from the calling line switch 130 or the packet switch 131, and the intelligent network information (ServiceKey). Based on the real-time deduction procedure. In addition, the short message service center 160 obtains an incoming SMS indicator from the location information response (sri) message of the home location register 150 for the location information request (SRI) message of the called party. Based on the incoming SMS indicator, the additional service for the incoming call is reflected in the SMS to be sent to the called terminal.

The additional service processing system 170 is connected to the short message service center 160 through a short message client interface (SMCI) based on TCP / IP. The additional service processing system 170 processes all additional information services through a connection function with the short service center 160, and performs overall subscriber management, billing management, and operation management functions for the short service.

The billing processing unit 180 (INBH: Intelligent Billing Host) is connected to the short message service center 160 through a public network based on the TCP / IP protocol. The charging processing device 180 is a device that processes all charging data generated by the mobile communication service subscriber using the additional service (especially, the SMS additional service). In particular, the billing processing device 180 according to the present invention receives a real-time billing request from the short message service center 160 after completion of the incoming SMS, and in conjunction with the service control device 190 of the intelligent network system according to the request Perform a real time deduction. In addition, by passing the result of the real-time deduction to the short message service center 160 to record the billing data (CDR).

The intelligent network system 190 refers to equipment capable of generating and processing a service desired by a service provider. The network elements of the intelligent network include an SSP (Service Switching Point), which is a switching device, and a SCP (Service Control Point), which is a service control device. ), A Service Management System (SMS) as a service management device, Intelligent Peripheral (IP) as an intelligent peripheral device, and a Service Creation Environment (SCE) as a service development environment for creating and providing service logic. In the intelligent network system 190, all systems are linked to a network, and SMS processes multiple subscriber information of a customer management database system (WISE: Wireless Information Service Environment) in an environment requiring real-time work processing. Instructs SCP to process the job, sending the results of the series of job processes back to the customer care database system.

In accordance with the present invention, the intelligent network system 190, in particular, the SCP responds with information regarding the SMS usage rights and the intelligent network service type (ServiceKey) in response to the request for inquiry of the SMS usage rights of the calling subscriber from the calling circuit switch (or packet switch). do. In addition, SCP retrieves the charging information for the prepaid subscriber from the intelligent network information database (not shown), and transmits the charging information (balance information, rate information, etc.) for the retrieved prepaid subscriber to the charging processing device 180 Perform the function. That is, the SCP responds to the billing processing device 180 with the balance information of the prepaid subscriber and the rate information on the corresponding additional service. Therefore, the charging processing device 180 performs a real-time deduction based on the balance information and the rate information received from the SCP of the intelligent network system 190, and transmits the result to the short service center 160 and the SCP of the intelligent network system. .

In the above-described system of the present invention, the case where the incoming and outgoing subscribers are all WCDMA subscribers and the mobile communication network is a CDMA network is described as a representative embodiment. However, the system of the present invention is not necessarily limited to such a system.

That is, the system of the present invention is the same even if the mobile communication network is a WCDMA network and at least one of the incoming and outgoing subscribers is another protocol subscriber roaming to the WCDMA network (eg, CDMA-2000, CDMA, GSM, etc.). Can be applied.

< Billing  Procedure>

Hereinafter, the real time prepaid accounting procedure according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

The specific subscriber's SMS supplementary service information (incoming / outgoing SMS indicator) and / or service key (ServiceKey) is stored in the home location register (HLR / DS-HLR) that accepts the subscriber via WISE. At this time, the SMS supplementary service information and / or service key is recorded in the HLR when the subscriber is a CDMA subscriber and in the DS-HLR when the subscriber is a WCDMA subscriber. For example, the additional service may include a message coordination service for converting a short message into a short message (SMS) including an emoticon or a multimedia message (LMS / MMS) including an image, a video, a sound, and the like.

When the subscriber of the mobile phone service moves to a communication area managed by an arbitrary base station 121 in the state of possessing the originating terminal 110 of the mobile phone service subscriber, the corresponding base station 121 detects through wireless communication with the originating terminal. The terminal transmits the location information of the terminal to the calling circuit switch 130 connected to the base station 121.

Accordingly, the circuit switch 130 transmits a location registration request signal (ISD) requesting registration of location information of the calling terminal to the home location register 150 that manages subscriber information of the calling terminal 110. The home location register 150 receiving the location registration request signal ISD is a circuit switch (IMX / MSC) and a visitor location register (VLR) that manage the communication area where the subscriber of the calling terminal was previously located. Transmits a signal requesting to delete the location information of the calling terminal. The circuit switchboard and the visitor location register which have received the location information deletion request signal delete all the information of the subscriber, and transmit a location information deletion response signal indicating the deletion to the home location register. The home location register receiving the location information deletion response updates and stores the new location information of the calling terminal in a database, and then sends a location registration response signal (isd) informing of the update storage to the circuit switch that manages the communication area of the calling terminal. Transmit. (S111)

In this case, the extension field of the location registration response message (isd) includes subscriber profile information (subscriber information, SMS supplementary service information and ServiceKey) of the calling terminal, and in particular, includes an "Origination Service Indicator" as shown in FIG. .

"Origination Service Indicator" shown in FIG. 6 is information transmitted from the home location register 150 to the calling circuit switch 130 at the time of location registration of the calling terminal 110, and includes an SMS indicator regarding SMS additional service information. It is. In addition, the SMS indicator includes SMS outgoing service attributes as well as SMS outgoing service attributes.

Here, the SMS outgoing service attribute indicates an attribute of an additional service applied to the short message when the subscriber sends an SMS, and the SMS incoming service attribute indicates an attribute of an additional service to be applied to an SMS for which the subscriber is a called party. Indicates.

The calling party circuit exchanger 130 receiving the subscriber profile including the originating SMS indicator and the ServiceKey from the home location register 150 stores and manages this information in the visitor location register (VLR).

Thereafter, when the subscriber creates a short message using his originating terminal 110 and transmits the short message (SMS) to the base station together with the calling terminal number and the called terminal number, the base station 121 transmits the short message. In step S112, the short message is stored in bearer data and transmitted to the circuit switch 130.

Receiving the short message from the calling terminal, the calling circuit switch 130 routes to the corresponding intelligent network system (especially SCP) 190 based on the ServiceKey, and determines the SMS subscriber's authority (balance information and prohibition setting). And sends a message (InitialDPSMS) requesting inquiry (S113).

Accordingly, the intelligent network service controller (SCP) checks the intelligent network information database to check the SMS subscriber's authority to use the SMS, and stores the result in the message "ConnectSMS" along with the intelligent network service type (ServiceKey) information of the calling subscriber. Answer the calling circuit switch 130 (S114).

In response to the intelligent network service controller (SCP), the calling circuit switch 130 receives the intelligent network service type (ServiceKey) and additional service information (outgoing SMS indicator) of the calling subscriber in the message "Forward_SM". It transmits to the short service center (DS-SMSC) 160 that accommodates the subscriber (S115).

Upon receiving the "Forward_SM" message from the circuit switch 130, the short service center 160 returns a specific code according to the success result of the message transmission or the transmission failure to the circuit switch 130 in the form of a forward_sm (Ack) message ( return) (S116)

The short service center 160 converts the intelligent network service type (ServiceKey) contained in the "Forward_SM" message into a ServiceID, checks the originating SMS indicator, and reflects the corresponding additional service in the SMS.

After the application of the supplementary service to the SMS is completed, the short message service center 160 requests the subscriber location information from the home location register 150 accommodating the called terminal based on the network node number of the called terminal. (SRI) (S118)

The home location register 150, which has requested subscriber location information from the short message service center 160, searches the internal database to search for the location information of the current destination terminal, and returns the search result to the short message service center 160. In response to the location information, the SMS subscriber service attribute information of the called subscriber is also provided. That is, the home location register 150 records the incoming SMS indicator of the called subscriber in the ExtensionSet of the MAP-Extension and provides the received SMS indicator to the short message service center 160.

The short message service center 160, which has grasped the location information of the called terminal and the SMS incoming service attribute, reflects the additional service of the called subscriber in the short message based on the SMS incoming service attribute. In this case, when both the calling subscriber and the called subscriber are subscribed to the same additional service, the calling subscriber has priority over the called subscriber.

The short message service center 150 that grasps the location information of the called party includes the short message reflecting the supplementary service in the "Forward_SM" message and transmits the short message to the circuit switch 130 that accommodates the called terminal (S120).

The receiving party circuit exchanger 130 receiving the "Forward_SM" message from the short service center 160 stores the short message included in the "Forward_SM" message in bearer data and transmits it to the called terminal 110. In operation S121, the called terminal returns a result (success or failure) of the short message to the called party circuit switch 130 in the form of an ACK message.

The receiving side circuit switch 130, which has received the ACK message from the terminating terminal 110, transmits a specific code according to the success result of the message transmission or the transmission failure to the short service center 160 in the form of a "forward_sm (ack)" message. Transmit. (S123)

Upon receiving the message that the short message to which the additional service is applied is safely transmitted to the called terminal, the short service center 160 requests the charging processing device 180 for real-time charging processing according to the application of the additional service (S124). The service center 160 transmits the service ID converted in the step S115 and the applied additional service information to the billing processing device 180.

The charging processing device 180 that receives the real time charging request from the short service center 160 routes the SCP to the corresponding intelligent network system 190 based on the service ID, and balances the balance information of the intelligent network subscriber corresponding to the service ID. Inquire and request rate information. Accordingly, the SCP extracts the corresponding balance information and the rate information from the intelligent network information database (not shown), and then responds to the charging processing device 180. The billing processing unit 180, which receives the balance information and the rate information from the SCP of the intelligent network system 190, calculates an additional service fee from the rate information, and performs real time charging by subtracting the calculated amount from the balance information. . The billing data in which the deduction has been performed is transmitted to the SCP, and the SCP updates the balance information in the intelligent network information database based on the billing data (S125).

As such, when the real-time deduction procedure is completed by the interworking between the billing processing device 180 and the SCP of the intelligent network system 190, the billing processing device 180 transmits the billing result data to the short message service center 160. (S126) The short message service center 160 stores this charging result data (CDR) in an internal database. (S127)

In the present embodiment, only the short message sent from the calling terminal is transmitted to the circuit switch 130. However, as shown in FIG. 4, the short message sent from the calling terminal may also be transmitted through the packet switch 131. Can be. This is accomplished by determining whether a short message is to be transmitted to the wireless control station 124 by determining whether the line network service is used or the packet network service when the SMS is received from the originating terminal.

The present invention can improve the real-time prepaid billing procedure only by utilizing the transmission message according to the protocol without changing or modifying the core network entities of the mobile telephone network.

Claims (28)

In a code division multiple access (CDMA) system, a prepaid billing system for charging an additional service of a short message (SMS) transmitted between an originating terminal and a called terminal using an intelligent network system, Means for storing a subscriber profile including additional service information and intelligent network information of the subscriber; An originating mobile switching center for transmitting the supplementary service information and the intelligent network information of the calling subscriber read out from the storage means to the short service center in response to receiving the short message from the calling terminal; A short service center which receives the additional service information and the intelligent network information of the calling subscriber from the mobile switching center, applies the additional service to the short message and transmits it to the called terminal, and requests charging according to successful completion of the short message; Receiving a charging request including intelligent network information from the short service center, routing to the corresponding intelligent network system according to the intelligent network information, and deducting the additional service based on the charging information of the calling subscriber transmitted from the intelligent network system. A charging processing device to perform; And A prepaid billing system comprising an intelligent network system that receives the billing information of the calling subscriber from the billing processing device and reads out the corresponding billing information and responds to the billing processing device when the calling subscriber is an intelligent network subscriber; . The method of claim 1, The mobile communication system is a CDMA based communication network, and at least one of the calling subscriber and the called subscriber is a WCDMA subscriber roaming a CDMA communication network. The method of claim 1, And when the originating subscriber is a prepaid subscriber, the billing information includes balance information and rate information. The method of claim 1, wherein the intelligent network information A prepaid billing system comprising a routing path of a corresponding intelligent network node and identification information of an intelligent network subscriber. The method according to claim 3 or 4, Prepaid billing system, characterized in that the storage means is a visitor location register or a home location register of the calling terminal. The method of claim 5, wherein the short service center is Prepaid billing system characterized in that receiving the charge data (CDR) according to the application of the additional service from the billing processing device and records it. The method of claim 6, And the mobile switching center transmits additional service information and intelligent network information of the calling subscriber in a SMDPP message and transmits the same to a short message service center that accepts the called terminal. Claims [1] A method for performing billing for an SMS supplementary service transmitted between a calling terminal and a called terminal using a code division multiple access (CDMA) system. (1) at the calling mobile switching center, extracting the intelligent network information and the SMS supplementary service information by receiving a short message from the calling terminal and querying a subscriber profile of the calling subscriber; (2) storing the intelligent network information and the SMS supplementary service information in an SMS service profile and transmitting the information to the called party's short service center; (3) applying the additional service corresponding to the short message with reference to the SMS service profile; (4) transmitting a short message reflecting the additional service to the called terminal; (5) receiving notification of completion of incoming short message from the called terminal and requesting a billing processing device for the additional service; At this time, the additional processing information and the intelligent network information of the calling subscriber is transmitted to the charging processing device. (6) requesting billing information for a corresponding calling subscriber after routing to a corresponding intelligent network system based on the intelligent network information; And (7) performing a deduction for the additional service based on the charging information returned from the intelligent network system. The method of claim 8, The subscriber profile information is received from the home location register at the time of registration of the subscriber terminal is stored in the visitor location register method for executing billing for the SMS additional service. The method of claim 8, wherein in step (3) The SMS service profile is a method for executing billing for the SMS supplementary service, characterized in that delivered in the SMDPP message. The method of claim 9, And the SMS supplementary service information includes an SMS originating service attribute and an SMS terminating service attribute. The method of claim 8, The intelligent network information of step (6) includes the intelligent network service ID converted by referring to the SMS service profile, the method for executing billing for the SMS additional service. The method of claim 8, And when the originating subscriber is a prepaid subscriber, the billing information includes the balance information of the originating subscriber and the rate information on the supplementary service. The method of claim 8, And receiving, by the short service center, the billing data according to the deduction from the billing processing device, and recording the billing data. In a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, a prepaid billing system for charging an additional service of a short message (SMS) transmitted between an originating terminal and a terminating terminal using an intelligent network system, Means for storing a subscriber profile comprising the subscriber's intelligent network information and additional service information; An intelligent network system for storing the subscriber's SMS transmission authority, the subscriber's billing information, determining whether the intelligent network subscriber's SMS can be transmitted according to a request, and performing a deduction in association with a billing processing apparatus; Upon receiving the short message from the originating terminal, requesting the intelligent network system to confirm whether the sending subscriber is authorized to send the SMS, and checking the sending authority of the sending subscriber and the intelligent network service type (ServiceKey) received from the intelligent network system. An originating mobile exchange to forward to; A short service center for converting an intelligent network service type received from the mobile switching center into an intelligent network service ID, applying the additional service specified in the short message to a destination terminal, and requesting billing upon successful completion of the short message; Receiving a billing request including a service ID from the short service center, and based on the service ID pre-paid characterized in that it performs a deduction for the additional service by interworking with the intelligent network system Mold charging system. The method of claim 15, And when the originating subscriber is a prepaid subscriber, the billing information includes balance information and rate information. The method of claim 16, wherein the short service center is Prepaid billing system characterized in that receiving the charge data (CDR) according to the application of the additional service from the billing processing device and records it. The method of claim 15, And said mobile switch is a circuit switch (MSC) or a packet switch (SGSN). The method of claim 15, The intelligent network system determines whether or not SMS can be transmitted by the calling subscriber according to the confirmation request from the mobile switching center, and transmits the result and the intelligent network service type (ServiceKey) to the mobile switching center in a ConnectSMS message. Billing system. The method of claim 19, The mobile switch receiving the intelligent network service type from the intelligent network system includes the intelligent network service type in a Forward_SM message and delivers the intelligent network service type to the short service center. A method for billing an additional service of SMS transmitted between a calling terminal and a called terminal using a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, (1) A calling party mobile switching center (MSC / SGSN) receives a short message (SMS) from the calling terminal, inquires the subscriber profile of the calling subscriber, and then routes to the corresponding intelligent network system to Checking and requesting whether an SMS can be transmitted; (2) responding the originating subscriber's SMS transmission authority and intelligent network service type (ServiceKey) to the calling mobile switching center; (3) converting the intelligent network service type (ServiceKey) into an intelligent network service ID and transferring the service ID and SMS originating service information to a called party short message service center (DS-SMSC); (4) applying an additional service to the short message by referring to the SMS originating service information; (5) transmitting a short message reflecting the additional service to the called terminal; (6) receiving notification of completion of incoming short message from the called terminal, and requesting a billing to the billing apparatus together with the service ID; (7) routing the corresponding intelligent network system based on the service ID and requesting billing information for the calling subscriber; And (8) performing the subtraction of the supplementary service based on the charging information received from the intelligent network system. The method of claim 21, The subscriber profile information is received from the home location register at the time of registering the location of the subscriber terminal and stored in the visitor location register method for executing billing for the SMS additional service. The method of claim 21, And the subscriber profile includes the subscriber's SMS indicator (SMS supplementary service) and intelligent network information. The method of claim 21, And when the originating subscriber is a prepaid subscriber, the billing information includes the balance information of the originating subscriber and the rate information on the supplementary service. The method of claim 21, And receiving, by the short service center, the billing data according to the deduction from the billing processing device, and recording the billing data. The method of claim 25, The SMS transmission authority is determined by whether the calling subscriber has a remaining balance for sending an SMS and whether the SMS transmission is prohibited or not. The method of claim 26, wherein in step (3) The intelligent network system performs charging for the SMS supplementary service, which includes transmitting the SMS transmission authority of the calling subscriber and the intelligent service type (ServiceKey) in the ConnectSMS message and transmitting the same to the calling mobile switching center. The method of claim 27, wherein in step (4) And the calling mobile switching center transmits the service ID of the calling subscriber and the SMS calling service information in the extension field of the Forward_SM message to the short message service center and transmits it to the short message service center.

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