KR20010055664A - A message processing method for billing a service and an apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method and an apparatus for processing telephone call recording message for issuing a bill are provided to remarkably improve the processing speed and reduce the cost for purchasing hardware according to the expansion of receiving capacity. CONSTITUTION: A guiding/rating integration processor reads a standardized telephone call recording message file stored in a storage(501). The guiding/rating integration processor performs a guiding process with referring to a table stored in the storage(502). The guided telephone call recording message file is stored in a buffer included within the guiding/rating integration processor(503). It is examined whether the settled number of the standardized telephone call recording message files are processed(504). The guiding/rating integration processor performs rating process by inputting the telephone call recording message file guided from the buffer(505). The guiding/rating integration processor records or updates a use table or accumulated use tables by using an individual telephone call charge message generated by the rating, and stores an error file, a duplicated file, and an alarm file in the storage(506).

Description

A message processing method for billing a service and an apparatus therefor}

The present invention relates to service charge message processing, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for processing a call record message for issuing a bill for processing a call record message in a mobile communication service system to generate billing data.

As services such as telephony service, mobile communication service, radio calling service, etc. increase, there is a demand for a system capable of efficiently charging and managing charges for such services. Moreover, since recent communication services accommodate various fee schemes and various service plans, a system for estimating charges for communication services requires various information such as customer information, pricing policy, and the like.

As such, a file-based service billing system has been proposed to accommodate complex service plans, pricing policies and to efficiently implement a service billing system. That is, a series of processing required to calculate the service fee is divided into multiple stages to be executed by separate independent processors, and the input and output forms of each processor are implemented as a file having a predetermined structure. In addition, the input and output of each file type is to be stored in storage that each processor can access in common. In addition, information for controlling the flow between the processing that each processor must perform before and after that is stored in a common accessible table. Thus, each processor could determine whether to start, continue, or stop processing by checking a given tag in a predetermined table. In addition, the input and output files are stored in a location according to a predetermined rule, and if necessary, a path in which the input and output files are stored is stored in a predetermined field in a table that each processor can access in common.

However, this file-based service fee system is implemented assuming an estimated subscriber of about 300 million, and the capacity is approaching its limit. Thus, there is a fear that a problem arises in that the invoice that needs to be processed and dispatched within the unit time cannot be processed in time. In other words, even when all the processors of the service charge system are fully operated, there is a concern that the call data may not be generated to generate a billing message. In order to solve this problem, there may be a method of increasing and distributing hardware resources. However, this not only costs huge equipment purchases, but also requires new solutions for system integration.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for processing a call log message for issuing a bill with a small increase in hardware resources required while increasing processing capacity.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a call recording message processing apparatus capable of performing the above processing method.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a part related to charge processing in a call service providing system such as mobile communication service.

2 is a diagram schematically showing a detailed configuration of a general call log message processing system 300.

3 is a diagram illustrating an example of various tables that may be stored in the storage 500 shown in FIG. 2.

5 is a flowchart for explaining the function of the guiding / rating integration processor 340.

<Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings>

100... Exchanger

200... Data collector

300... Call message processing system

400... Billing system

500... storage

In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, in a method for processing a call recording message, the call recording message is obtained in advance from a call recording message source including at least an exchange in a call recording message processing system. Converting to a predetermined standard format to generate a standardized call recording message in a file form; A second step of generating a guided call log message by adding user related information including at least a price policy selected by the user to the standardized call log message in the file form and storing the guided call log message in a buffer; And inputting the guided call log message from the buffer to generate call fee data with reference to at least one fee table associated with the call log message, recording the call fee data in a usage table and using the cumulative usage table. Provided is a method for processing a call log message for issuing a bill comprising a third step of updating a bill.

In a preferred embodiment, the second step and the third step are executed by the same processor. The method may further include dividing the standardized call recording message into a plurality of groups prior to the second step, and recording the standardized call in each of a plurality of processors capable of performing the second and third steps. You can have messages allocated one group at a time. The buffer is preferably comprised of a dynamic random access memory and, prior to the third step, may further include the step of aligning the guided call recording message stored in the buffer with respect to the time of visualization.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, in a method for processing a call recording message of a mobile communication service, at least a call recording message is obtained from a call recording message source including an exchanger and converted into a predetermined standard format in the form of a file. Generating a standardized call log message and storing the same in a file storage; Uploading at least one table containing at least user related information and pricing related information; A third step of reading the standardized call record message into a memory; A fourth step of generating a guided call log message by adding the information necessary for processing a fee to the standardized call log message with reference to the at least one table and storing it in a buffer implemented in the memory; And a fifth step of generating the call rate data by referring to the at least one table by inputting the guided call record message from the buffer, recording the call rate data in the use table, and updating the cumulative use table using the same. And a billing statement is issued using the usage table and the cumulative usage table.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a call message processing apparatus for processing a call recording message, comprising: a table storage unit for storing at least one table including customer-related information and at least one table including price policy information; A message acquiring and formatting processor for acquiring a call recording message from a call recording message source including at least an exchanger and converting the call recording message into a predetermined standard format in a call recording message processing apparatus to generate a standardized call recording message in the form of a file; A file storage unit for storing the standardized call record message in the form of a file; Input a standardized call record message in the form of the file from the file storage, and standardize a call record message in the form of the customer-related information including at least a price policy selected by the customer by referring to at least one table from the table storage; In addition to this, a guided call log message is generated and stored in a buffer implemented in the built-in memory, and from the buffer, the guided call log message is input to generate call charge data regarding the call log message. A call recording message processing apparatus for billing issuance is provided that includes a guiding / rating integration processor that records call charge data in a usage table and uses the same to update a cumulative usage table. In a preferred embodiment, the guiding / rating integration processor further executes a function of aligning the guided call log message stored in the buffer with respect to the time of visualization. The device is also a device for processing a call log message generated by a mobile communication service.

Prior to describing the present invention in detail, a conventional service fee processing system used by the applicant will be described.

First, a system for providing a call service may generally include a customer service management system, a call log message processing system, a billing system, and an accounting system. The customer service management system functions to provide basic information such as customer subscription, termination, change, and general service for customer response. The call log message processing system performs a function of calculating a total cumulative usage amount for a predetermined period (for example, one month) based on the call information of the customer, and the billing system is based on the total cumulative usage amount calculated by the call log message processing system. Calculates billing charges and issues bills. In addition, the accounting system performs an accounting function in conjunction with other systems.

1 is a diagram illustrating a part related to charge processing in a call service providing system such as a mobile communication service. Referring to FIG. 1, a switch 100 includes a data collector 200, a call recording message processing system (MPS) 300, a billing system 400, and a storage 500. have.

For example, if a customer makes a call to a PCS phone and the connection with the other party is successful, the call is recognized as a one call from then on, and then enters the exchange through the base station. The exchange 100 transmits a call log message regarding the call calls to the call log message processing system 300 in accordance with the system and a predetermined format. Typically, such call log messages typically include the customer's phone number, time of use, counterpart phone number, and the like.

The call log message processing system 300 is a system for determining and accumulating charges so that the billing system can send a bill based on the call log message. Specifically, the call records are evaluated according to the necessary customer and service information for billing to update the database for billing. For example, update usage tables and cumulative usage tables. The database for such charging is, in one preferred embodiment, stored in storage 500. The billing system 400 reads a database file containing usage tables and / or cumulative usage tables from the storage 500 and performs billing processing.

2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a detailed configuration of a general call log message processing system 300.

Referring to FIG. 2, the call recording message processing system 300 may include a message acquisition and formatting processor (MAF) 310, a guiding processor 320, and a rating processor. 330 is included.

3 is a diagram illustrating an example of various tables that may be stored in the storage 500 illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4. Referring to FIG. 3, the storage 500 includes an infrastructure table (ACPA table) 510, a customer information table 520, an error table 530, a usage table 540, a cumulative usage table 550, and a file storage. A portion 560 is included. In addition, although not shown in the figure, it may further include a MAF profile table. In the claims appended hereto, each table is collectively named one table storage.

As mentioned above, the overall system is configured to input and output data in the form of a file having a file name and a file path according to a predetermined rule. Thus, each processor included in the overall system can operate independently of other processors as long as the data to be processed is ready. In order to operate such a file based system, it needs to be executed first to control the flow of processing and subsequent processing. Information needed for such control may be stored, for example, in the ACPA table 510. In addition, information about the pricing policy may be written in the customer information table 520. According to another embodiment, the table relating to the pricing policy consists of separate tables.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is also possible to implement the ACPA table by dividing it into a plurality of tables.

Referring back to FIG. 3, the customer information table 520 may include a customer identification number, a customer name, an address, information about a product selected by the customer, and the like. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that such a customer information table 520 can also be divided into a plurality of implementations.

On the other hand, unlike shown in the figure, it may be implemented by integrating the ACPA table and customer information table into one table. However, it is more preferable to configure separately for data processing efficiency.

The error table in FIG. 3 is a table in which information about errors generated in each processing can be recorded. According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, error files may be stored in the file storage unit 560 instead of the error table.

The file storage unit 560 is a space in which files input and output by each processor are stored according to a predetermined rule.

In FIG. 3, the storage 500 is shown as one, but it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that this does not mean physically consisting of one hard disk or one CD-ROM. . In other words, it may be possible to implement a plurality of hard disks or a plurality of CD-ROMs. At present, it will be most desirable to implement storage using a hard disk, but it will also be apparent that the storage medium is not limited thereto. That is, as the recording medium evolves, it will be possible to implement storage using various hardware resources.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the message acquisition and format processor 310 receives a call recording message from an exchange 100, a collector 200, another carrier or systems (not shown). The call log message, as mentioned above, includes information such as, for example, clock time, call duration, caller ID, and the like.

The MAF 310 checks the call log message, edits it if necessary, converts it into a standard format required by the guiding processor for subsequent processing, and writes it to the storage 500. Here, the standardized call log message output from the MAF 310 and recorded in the storage 500 is stored in the storage 500 in the form of a file. In addition, the MAF 310 updates certain fields in a predetermined table indicating that the standardized call log message to be processed is stored in the storage 500.

The guiding processor 320 processes the files sent from the MAF 310 to identify the customer for each standardized call log message and establish the billing standard. Ie bill account number identification, price plan determination, bill cycle determination, edits and checks, rate scheme selection, Perform the function.

To perform this function, the guiding processor 320 receives a standardized call record message in the system. Then search for subscribers to charge. When a subscriber is found, all information related to the bill is added to the standardized call log message. For example, a standardized call record message is appended with information such as the customer's unique number used in the system, the product policy chosen by the customer, whether free toll fractions apply, special numbers discounted, and the like. In order to obtain such information, a plurality of tables such as a service-feature table and a subscriber table are referred to. In some cases, information related to the standardized call log message may be missing from the table, or there may be an error in the data in the table. The guiding processor 320 may also perform processing suitable for each call type by referring to different tables depending on whether the call used by the customer is a general call, an international call, or a wireless data communication.

When the processing by the guiding processor 320 is completed, when the guiding process is normally completed, the guided call log message file is generated. In addition, the guiding processor 320 is a file related to a call log message that has an error during the guiding process, a warning file that is not normal during operation, but there is no problem in charging, and the same call log message has already been processed. Duplicate files, etc., generated in the case are generated. These files are written to storage 500.

Such files are generated as many times as the number of call log message files input to the call log message processing system 300 through the exchange 100 or the like. Of the files recorded in the storage 500 thus generated, only the guided call log message file is used by the rating processor 330.

The rating processor 330 inputs the guided call log message to perform toll rating and air rating. That is, the rating processor 330 calculates a fare corresponding to the fare policy selected by the customer with reference to the data included in the guided call log message file and various fare tables stored in the storage 500. Thus, the charge for the individual call, that is, the individual call charge, is calculated. Individual call charges are stored in the usage table. The cumulative usage table is added to the cumulative usage table to update the cumulative usage table.

Once the rating process is completed by the rating processor 330, a file for a call that has an error during the operation, a warning file that is not normal during operation, but there is no problem in charging, a fee has already been determined, the usage table and the cumulative usage table. Despite the data recorded therein, a duplicate file or the like in which the same call is processed again is generated and stored in the storage 500. The data recorded in the usage table and the cumulative usage table will be used by the billing system 400 to issue invoices.

Applicant's conventional call record message processing system has a problem that too many files must be generated and stored in the storage 500. Although not unnecessary files, there are problems in that the load of the system is increased due to file input and output, and the capacity of the storage 500 must be increased in order to store many files. Thus, in some cases, there is a problem in that some files need to be moved to another storage in order to free up space in the storage 500.

Also, since the guiding processor 320 and the rating processor 330 are distinguished from each other, the number of accesses to the tables to be referred to during the guiding and rating process increases, thereby increasing the system load due to the table access operation. There is. Furthermore, there is a problem that table access operations must be performed for tables that must be commonly referred to for guiding and rating processing. The present invention focuses on solving these problems.

4 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a call recording message processing system for issuing a bill according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the call recording message processing system 300 includes a MAF 310 and a guiding / rating integration processor 340. The function of the guiding / rating integration processor 340 performs essentially the same guiding and rating processing as described above, except as described below, and the description of guiding and rating is omitted here. Shall be.

5 is a flowchart illustrating the function of the guiding / rating integration processor 340. In FIG. 5, the guiding / rating integration processor 340 may be implemented as a program consisting of one main thread.

First, in step 501 the guiding / rating integration processor 340 reads the standardized call log message file stored in the storage 500. Then, the guiding process is performed while referring to the table stored in the storage 500 in step 502. The guided call log message file generated as a result of the guiding process is stored in a buffer included in the guiding / rating integration processor 340 (step 503). In addition, an error file, a duplicate file, a warning file, and the like generated as a result of the guiding process are stored in the storage 500. Then, it is checked whether the number of standardized call log message files set in step 504 has been processed. For example, when batching 500 standardized call log message files, N becomes 500 in step 504. Here, the number of standardized call log message files to be batch processed is preferably optimized to operate the system most efficiently.

In addition, the buffer in which the guided call log message file is stored is preferably implemented in memory used by the processor. In a preferred embodiment, the buffer is implemented with dynamic random access memory. However, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that static random access memory, flash memory, and the like may also be used, without being limited thereto.

Step 505 inputs the guided call log message file from the buffer to execute the rating process. As described above, the rating process may be performed by referring to at least one table included in the storage 500.

Step 506 records or updates the usage table and the cumulative usage table using individual call rate messages generated by the rating process, and stores error files, duplicate files, warning files, and the like in storage.

According to a preferred embodiment, the various tables referenced in the guiding process and the rating process are stored in the storage 500, but are read from the storage 500 into the memory at the time when the guiding / rating integration process is started. Thus, the table access operation made in the guiding and rating process is performed on the memory.

Therefore, according to the present invention, there is an advantage that the table up-loading operation from the storage 500 and the table writing operation to the storage 500 are each reduced at least one or more times. Specifically, in the related art, up-loading from the storage 500 to the memory in the guiding processor 320 for the guiding process is stored in the storage 500 again after the guiding process, and the storage is again stored for the ester rating process. It had to be read from memory 500 into memory in rating processor 330 and stored in storage 500 again after the rating process. In contrast, according to the present invention, the table storage operation to the storage after the guiding process and the table up-loading operation for the rating process are eliminated.

In general, the storage 500 may be implemented as a hard disk or a rewritable CD-ROM. Such access to storage 500 typically takes much longer than access to memory. Therefore, reducing access to unnecessary storage 500 as much as possible may be a major variable for improving system performance.

According to another preferred embodiment, the error file, the duplicate file, the warning file, etc. are stored in the buffer memory in step 503 without being stored in the storage 500, and the error file, duplicate file, etc. generated in the rating process in step 506 are stored. Save to 500.

According to this embodiment, the access operation to the storage 500 is further reduced, so that the performance of the guiding / rating integration processor 340 is further improved.

According to another preferred embodiment, error files, duplicate files, and warning files generated in the guiding process and the rating process are respectively integrated. Thus, in the case of the guiding / rating integration process, one error file, one duplicate file, and one warning file are generated for one standardized call log message.

According to this embodiment, the number of files to be written to the storage 500 is reduced from three in the prior art (four files as a result of the guiding process and three files as a result of the rating process), so that the storage ( There is an advantage that can significantly reduce the access operation for 500).

Table 1 and Table 2 show the improvement effect by the guiding / rating integration process.

Comparison of Programs Running on Each Processor Conventional Guiding Work Conventional rating work Guiding / rating integration work Executable file size 41 MB 40 MB 41 MB The number of program lines 4841 5139 5977 Error type number 61 58 58

Performance Comparison Conventional Guiding Work Conventional rating work Guiding / rating integration work 1000 call call processing rates 41 MB 40 MB 41 MB Job result file number 4841 5139 5977 File system capacity 61 58 58

As can be seen from the table above, the same routine is cleaned up due to the guiding / rating integration process, thereby reducing the program size. That is, the time required for program up-loading and the program execution time are reduced.

In addition, since the table is loaded into memory during the guiding / rating integration process, there is an advantage that the table access can be made at high speed.

According to another preferred embodiment, the storage 500 may be configured physically several. For example, a hard disk as storage for storing standardized call log message files and a hard disk as storage for storing files generated as a result of the guiding / rating integration process may be different. It is also possible to implement separate storage for the table.

On the other hand, the location and file name where the standardized call log message files to be passed from the MAF 310 to the guiding / rating integration processor 340 are stored in a predetermined field in a predetermined file or table. Similarly, the names and locations of the files generated by the guiding / rating integration processor 340 are given file names according to a predetermined rule, and the path where the files are stored is determined.

In addition, in order to simplify the description, reference to auditing and control has been avoided, but appropriate auditing and control operations may be performed using error files, warning files, and duplicate files generated as a result of the guiding / rating integration process. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.

According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes the step of aligning the guided call log message based on the visual time before executing step 505 of FIG. 5.

According to this embodiment, in the case of applying free or discounted rates until the cumulative talk time becomes a certain time, there is an advantage of eliminating or reducing the need for rework.

Also, in preferred embodiments of the present invention, step 505 of FIG. 5 may be implemented as a subroutine program called by the main thread.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and many variations are possible by those skilled in the art within the spirit of the present invention.

As described above, according to the method and apparatus for processing call recording messages according to the present invention, not only the processing speed is significantly improved, but also the hardware purchase cost due to the expansion of capacity can be significantly reduced.

Specifically, PCS subscribers have a significant advantage that they can increase subscriber capacity without installing additional hardware at a time that is increasing day by day, and the call volume and frequency of use of individual subscribers.

Claims (12)

In the method of processing a call log message, A first step of obtaining a call recording message from a call recording message source including at least an exchanger and converting the call recording message into a predetermined standard format in a call recording message processing system to generate a standardized call recording message in the form of a file; A second step of generating a guided call log message by adding user related information including at least a price policy selected by the user to the standardized call log message in the file form and storing the guided call log message in a buffer; And Input the guided call record message from the buffer to generate call rate data with reference to at least one rate table associated with the call record message, record the call rate data in the use table and use it to generate a cumulative use table. Third step to update Containing How to handle call log messages for billing. The method of claim 1, Wherein the second step and the third step are executed by the same processor. How to handle call log messages for billing. The method of claim 2, Dividing the standardized call record message into a plurality of groups prior to the second step; The standardized call recording message is allocated to each of a plurality of processors capable of performing the second and third steps. How to handle call log messages for billing. The method of claim 1, The buffer is characterized by consisting of a dynamic random access memory How to handle call log messages for billing. The method of claim 1, Prior to the third step, the method further comprises the step of aligning the guided call recording message stored in the buffer by the time of the time How to handle call log messages for billing. A method of processing a call log message of a mobile communication service, A first step of obtaining a call recording message from a call recording message source including at least an exchanger, converting the call recording message into a predetermined standard format, generating a standardized call recording message in a file form, and storing the call recording message in a file storage; Uploading at least one table containing at least user related information and pricing related information; A third step of reading the standardized call record message into a memory; A fourth step of generating a guided call log message by adding the information necessary for processing a fee to the standardized call log message with reference to the at least one table and storing it in a buffer implemented in the memory; And A fifth step of generating call rate data by referring to the at least one table by inputting the guided call record message from the buffer, recording call rate data in a usage table, and updating the cumulative usage table using the same; Including; Characterized in that the bill is issued using the usage table and the cumulative usage table. How to handle call log messages for billing. The method of claim 6, The third to fifth steps may be executed by one processor. How to handle call log messages for billing. The method of claim 7, wherein Dividing the standardized call record message into a plurality of groups prior to the third step; The standardized call recording message is allocated to each of a plurality of processors capable of performing the third and fifth steps. How to handle call log messages for billing. The method of claim 6, Prior to the fourth step, the method further comprises the step of aligning the guided call recording message stored in the buffer based on the time of the clock How to handle call log messages for billing. A call message processing apparatus for processing a call log message, A table storage unit for storing at least one table including customer related information and at least one table including price policy information; A message acquiring and formatting processor for acquiring a call recording message from a call recording message source including at least an exchanger and converting the call recording message into a predetermined standard format in a call recording message processing apparatus to generate a standardized call recording message in the form of a file; A file storage unit for storing the standardized call record message in the form of a file; Input a standardized call record message in the form of the file from the file storage, and standardize a call record message in the form of the customer-related information including at least a price policy selected by the customer by referring to at least one table from the table storage; In addition to this, a guided call log message is generated and stored in a buffer implemented in the built-in memory, and from the buffer, the guided call log message is input to generate call charge data regarding the call log message. Guiding / rating integration processor that records call rate data in the usage table and uses it to update the cumulative usage table Containing Apparatus for processing call log messages for issuing bills. The method of claim 10, The guiding / rating integration processor further executes a function of aligning the guiding call log message stored in the buffer with respect to the time of visualization. Apparatus for processing call log messages for issuing bills. The method of claim 10, The device is a device for processing a call log message generated by a mobile communication service Apparatus for processing call log messages for issuing bills.