US6011837A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Marketing control program
Assignee: AT&T Delaware Intellectual Property Inc
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Filing: 1998-06-22
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Granted: 2000-01-04
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Expires: 2018-06-22
Abstract
Abstract A method and system for dynamically managing billing information for telecommunications service application use at the service application level rather than at the billing system level. Each service application, such as a call forwarding service application, is programmed with application level data records in which are stored the parameters of a given promotion, such as number of free uses, the start time and stop time of the promotion or rental period, etc. Each time a service application is subsequently used, the customer's use of the service application is logged in a customer data record. The customer's use is then compared to a corresponding application level data record. Based on this comparison, a billing record is provided to the billing system which instructs the billing system to either bill or not to bill the customer for the particular use of the service application. No adjustment of the billing system is required for particular service application use because the billing system will receive a billing record with instructs it to bill or not to bill. A record for each use of the service may be placed on the customer's bill, but only those uses for which the customer is to be charged will have a corresponding cost entry.
Inventors
- 👤 Dale W. Malik
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 15:56
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04M; H04M15/00; H04Q; H04Q3/00; H04Q3/0016; H04Q3/0029
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
108 words
A method for managing billing information associated with the use of a telecommunications service application, comprising the steps of: creating a first record for containing information representing use parameters of the service application; creating a second record for containing information associated with use of the service application; updating information contained in the second record upon use of the service application; comparing information contained in the second record to information contained in the first record; and in response to the step of comparing information contained in the second record to information contained in the first record, determining whether to generate a charge associated with the use of the application.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
108 words
A method for managing billing information associated with the use of a telecommunications service application, comprising the steps of: creating a first record for containing information representing use parameters of the service application; creating a second record for containing information associated with use of the service application; updating information contained in the second record upon use of the service application; comparing information contained in the second record to information contained in the first record; and in response to the step of comparing information contained in the second record to information contained in the first record, determining whether to generate a charge associated with the use of the application.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
65 words
The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: if a determination is made to generate a charge, generating a billing record containing information which indicates a charge should be generated; if a determination is made not to generate a charge, generating a billing record containing information which indicates a charge should not be generated; and sending the billing record to a billing system.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of: deleting the second record at a stop time, the stop time being a use parameter represented by information contained in the first record.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the step of updating the second record upon use of the service application includes incrementing a count of uses of the service application after each use of the service application.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
50 words
The method of claim 4, wherein the step of comparing the information contained in the second record to the information contained in the first record includes comparing the count of uses of the service application to a maximum number of available uses represented by information contained in the first record.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of: deleting the second record on the next use of the service application after the maximum number of available uses has been reached.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the step of updating the second record upon use of the service application includes incrementing a count of the periods of use of the service application after each use of the service application.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
55 words
The method of claim 7, wherein the step of comparing the information contained in the second record to the information contained in the first record includes comparing the count of the periods of use of the service application to a maximum number of available periods of use represented by information contained in the first record.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of: deleting the second record on the next use of the service application after the maximum number of available periods of use of the service application has been reached.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
133 words
In a telecommunications system, a method for managing billing information associated with the use of a telecommunications service application, comprising the steps of: receiving a communication requiring the service application; determining whether use of the service application is governed by a set of parameters represented by information contained in a billing adjustment record; if the use of the service application is governed by the set of parameters, creating a customer history log for containing information associated with the use of the service application; updating information contained in the customer history log for the use of the service application by the communication requiring the service application; and comparing the information contained in the customer history log with the set of parameters to determine whether to generate a charge for use of the service application.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
133 words
In a telecommunications system, a method for managing billing information associated with the use of a telecommunications service application, comprising the steps of: receiving a communication requiring the service application; determining whether use of the service application is governed by a set of parameters represented by information contained in a billing adjustment record; if the use of the service application is governed by the set of parameters, creating a customer history log for containing information associated with the use of the service application; updating information contained in the customer history log for the use of the service application by the communication requiring the service application; and comparing the information contained in the customer history log with the set of parameters to determine whether to generate a charge for use of the service application.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
69 words
The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of: if a determination is made to generate a charge, generating a billing record containing information which indicates a charge should be generated; if a determination is made not to generate a charge, generating a billing record containing information which indicates a charge should not be generated; and sending the billing record to a billing system of the telecommunications system.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
121 words
In an intelligent switched telecommunications network, a system for managing billing information associated with the use of a telecommunications service application, comprising: a telecommunications network component being operative to create a first record for containing information representing use parameters of the service application; to create a second record for containing information associated with use of the service application; to update information contained in the second record upon use of the service application; to compare information contained in the second record to information contained in the first record; and in response to step of comparing information contained in the second record to information contained in the first record, to determine whether to generate a charge associated with the use of the application.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
121 words
In an intelligent switched telecommunications network, a system for managing billing information associated with the use of a telecommunications service application, comprising: a telecommunications network component being operative to create a first record for containing information representing use parameters of the service application; to create a second record for containing information associated with use of the service application; to update information contained in the second record upon use of the service application; to compare information contained in the second record to information contained in the first record; and in response to step of comparing information contained in the second record to information contained in the first record, to determine whether to generate a charge associated with the use of the application.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
71 words
The system of claim 12, wherein the telecommunications network component is further operative to generate a billing record containing information which indicates a charge should be generated, if a determination is made to generate a charge; to generate a billing record containing information which indicates a charge should not be generated, if a determination is made not to generate a charge; and to send the billing record to a billing system.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
242 words
A system for managing billing information associated with the use of a telecommunications service application, comprising: a telecommunications network component being operative to create a first data structure having a first data field containing data representing a maximum number of available uses of the service application; to create a second data structure having a second data field containing data representing a count of the number of uses of the service application; to write data to the second data field to increment the count of the number of uses upon a use of the service application; to compare the data contained in the second data field of the second data structure to the data contained in the first data field of the first data structure; in response to comparing the data contained in the second data field of the second data structure to the data contained in the first data field of the first data structure, to determine whether to generate a charge associated with the use of the application; if a determination is made to generate a charge, the telecommunications network component being operative to generate a third data structure having a third data field containing data representing an instruction to generate a charge; and if a determination is made not to generate a charge, the telecommunications network component being operative to generate a third data structure having a third data field containing data representing an instruction not to generate a charge.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
242 words
A system for managing billing information associated with the use of a telecommunications service application, comprising: a telecommunications network component being operative to create a first data structure having a first data field containing data representing a maximum number of available uses of the service application; to create a second data structure having a second data field containing data representing a count of the number of uses of the service application; to write data to the second data field to increment the count of the number of uses upon a use of the service application; to compare the data contained in the second data field of the second data structure to the data contained in the first data field of the first data structure; in response to comparing the data contained in the second data field of the second data structure to the data contained in the first data field of the first data structure, to determine whether to generate a charge associated with the use of the application; if a determination is made to generate a charge, the telecommunications network component being operative to generate a third data structure having a third data field containing data representing an instruction to generate a charge; and if a determination is made not to generate a charge, the telecommunications network component being operative to generate a third data structure having a third data field containing data representing an instruction not to generate a charge.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2003-01-03 | 2003-07-05 | 2004-01-04 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2007-01-03 | 2007-07-05 | 2008-01-04 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2011-01-03 | 2011-07-05 | 2012-01-04 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |