WO1998010581A1 - Share charging method - Google Patents

Abstract

A share charging method by which a called subscriber is made to share only the telephone charges for the calls from calling subscribers in the charge areas permitted by the called subscriber according to the condition designated by the called subscriber. In this method, charge sharing information of calling subscribers and/or called subscribers is registered in advance in a control station, etc., and the calling and called subscribers share the charges based on the information. Specifically, there are some methods including a base sharing charging method in which when the destination is changed and the charge for the call to the original destination is higher than the call to the changed destination, the caller shares the charge for the path from the caller to the original destination and the called subscriber shares the charge from the original destination to the called subscriber, a selective call charging method in which either of the calling and called subscribers shares the charge based on the contents of the charge sharing information registered in the control station, an MBI value share charging method in which the charge is shared by both subscribers based on the MBI value.

Description

 Satsuki Itoda Allocated charging method Technical field

 The present invention relates to a method of sharing call charges in a network including a plurality of subscriber accommodation exchanges accommodating a plurality of calling terminals and a plurality of receiving terminals, and particularly to a method for connecting a specific number call connection. It relates to a shared charging method in which a call charge based on a call is separately charged to a caller and a callee. Landscape technology

 Generally, in a network having a plurality of subscriber exchanges accommodating a plurality of calling terminals and a plurality of receiving terminals, it is common for the caller to collectively bear all call charges. However, methods have also been put into practical use that allow the called party to bear the call charge, for example, a collect call in which an operator intervenes when making a call connection, or the caller dials a specific incoming billing identification number. Automatic call charging services (for example, free dialing), in which the callee pays the entire call charge when a call is made, are known. For more information on free dialing, see, for example, “Murase, Ikejiri, and Takeben; Customization of Services and Custom Control, NTT Technical Journal, Vol. 1, No. 9, pp. 16-20, 1989.12 "," Uesaka, Amitani; Pioneer of IN Service, Free Dial Service, NTT Technical Journal, Vol. 1, No. 9, pp. 21-26, 1989 .12 ”. In these prior arts, the call charge is charged only to either the caller or the callee, so the burden on either the caller or the callee increases, and the unfairness increases There was a disadvantage.

An invention in which the calling party and the called party share the call charge in order to eliminate such a drawback is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 63-115542. . In the publication disclosed in the publication, for a subscriber to be charged by sharing the communication charge between the calling subscriber and the called subscriber, charging sharing control information is registered in advance in the subscriber-related information storage device of the exchange. Please. And connection control for the connection request of the calling subscriber. At times, if the charge sharing control information is included in the information read from the subscriber's W information storage device of the calling or called subscriber, the calling e-subscriber is used in accordance with the logical rules of the relevant section. And the receiving subscriber and pay for the call charges. More specifically, the charge sharing control information stored for each subscriber includes (A) ¾ call arrival priority information at 8:00 o'clock, (Β) ¾ call arrival information at call arrival, and (C) ) The sharing ratio at the time of the call, and (D) the sharing ratio at the time of the incoming call, and the call charge between the outgoing call and the caller is determined according to a predetermined logical rule based on the charge sharing control information.

 % As a logical rule in the example,

 (1) Called party priority type that prioritizes the charge sharing control information of the called party 3 (If the calling party and the called party are both set to receive priority, the distribution ratio of the called party is used)

 () Calling subscription that prioritizes the charge sharing control information on the calling i side-Priority type (If the calling side is set to calling side priority on both the calling side and the calling side, the calling side sharing ratio is used)

 (3) Calling / Destination Matching Type 1 (Matching type: If the calling party is set to the calling party's priority and the called party's is set to the receiving party's priority, the call is accepted only when the sharing ratio of both parties matches- Use the matching sharing ratio)

 (4) Calling / arrival verification type 2 (Inconsistent type; if the calling party is set to the calling party's priority and the called party is set to the receiving party's priority and the sharing ratio of both parties does not match, Only when the originator's ft share ratio is higher than the originator's share ratio, 通 accepts τ and registers the subscriber in advance and determines the communication fee according to the specified charge sharing control information.)

 (5) — There is a rule-sharing ratio type (when charging-sharing control information is registered, a uniform sharing ratio is charged, for example, so that the communication fee is shared by 1/2).

In these known examples, the callee treats all callers equally, without specially specifying the caller iS 'who shares the call charge. That is, since the callee does not specify the caller to whom the call charge is to be shared, even if the call is received from an unspecified number of callers, including callers who do not want to share the charge, the caller will be charged uniformly. There was a problem that they would be lost. Furthermore, as described above, there are various logical rules in the charging method W in the above-mentioned publication, and the method of registering the charging sharing control information of the caller and the charging sharing control information of the receiving side is different. If the sharing charge method is different, or if the charge sharing control information is There is a problem that the charge connection is very complicated, such as the call connection may be prohibited if it does not match with the β side. Disclosure of the invention

 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, for an incoming call of a specific number originating from a call charge area designated by a callee, charging burden information relating to the caller and the callee is stored in advance, so that the above-mentioned problem is solved. To provide a shared billing method that allows the billing of the call charge based on the conditions specified by the callee only for incoming calls from the call charge area allowed by the callee. This is the purpose.

 In order to achieve the objective, the present study aims to determine whether a network with multiple subscriber exchanges that accommodates multiple originating terminals and A call to a specific number that is different from the general subscriber's phone number originated from the area specified by <1> is received by the subscriber's telephone number specified in advance by the called party A charging method for a specific number call connection, comprising: setting and storing charging information of a caller and / or a receiver for a predetermined call charge in the specific number call connection; The call charge is divided and charged to the calling party and the called party based on the charging burden information.

 More specifically, the following methods can be implemented.

 (1) If the destination of the call for the specific number cannot be received, a second destination for routing connection is specified in advance, and the call is not the first destination but the second destination. If two destinations are connected by routing,

 • If the call charge to the second destination is higher than the call charge to the first destination, the caller to the first destination is charged to the caller;

 -Charge the callee for the difference between the call charge to the second destination and the call charge to the first callee, either in whole or in part for the callee And charge the remainder to the caller,

 • If the call charge to the second destination is less than the call charge to the first destination, the caller to the second destination is charged in full to the caller.

The sharing ratio between the caller and the callee with respect to the call charge corresponding to the difference is a predetermined ratio. It may be set or changed according to the conditions * that the call is made during the specified time zone, or that the call originates from a predetermined area.

 (2) (Similar to rJ, if the destination iS destination of the call to the specific number 前 before ti If the call is routed to the second destination instead of the first destination, the call charge to the first destination is calculated based on the charging burden information. Or charge one of the called parties-//.

 Here, which side is charged depends on conditions such as calling at a predetermined time, calling from a predetermined area, or calling from a predetermined telephone number registered in advance. It may be determined based on this.

 (3) In the specific number 'f' call connection, a plurality of distance ranges ra are set for each call charge area, with the same call charge for each distance starting from that area.

 • The caller's call charge [The caller is charged the caller's call charge from the area X to a predetermined distance range of the plurality of distance ranges,

 • Charge the third party a call fee for the difference obtained by subtracting the call fee up to the predetermined distance range from the call fee up to the pre-specified subscriber telephone number,

 • If the call charge to the subscriber's story number specified in the above is less than or equal to the call charge up to the specified distance range, the call charge to the subscriber's phone number will be fully paid to the subscriber. Charge.

 According to the above invention, when a call is dialed using a specific number, the call charge is shared based on the conditions specified by the called party only for incoming calls from the toll area permitted by the called party. This will be very effective in areas such as sales promotion, writing, and customer service in telemarketing.

In the specific number call connection, prior to being called by the call between the calling party and the called party, prior information regarding charging is notified to the subscriber exchange which accommodates the calling party. Guidance for transmitting the advance information may be sent to the caller. This allows the caller to know the billing information in advance and make a call with peace of mind, thus avoiding the situation where the caller unexpectedly incurs a high call charge. Brief description of drawings

 FIG. 1 is an example of a system configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 2 is an operation flowchart of the base sharing and charging method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

 Figure 3 shows an image of the site sharing charge (part 1).

 Figure 4 is an image (No.2) of the implementation of the charge-by-site charging.

 Figure 5 is an image of the implementation of selective call charging.

 FIG. 6 is an image of an implementation of the shared charging based on the MBI value. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

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

 The sharing / charging method proposed in the present invention is based on the general number of subscribers. The billing ft share information of the caller and the caller or the called party is stored in advance, and the actual call charge is shared between the called party and the called party based on this billing burden information. Things. Specifically, there are the following three types.

 (a) If the called party is changed from the originally planned called party due to the receiving party's convenience, the call charge of the changed called party is higher than the originally planned call charge of the called party before the change. When the cost increases, the caller pays the call charge from the source to the destination before the change, and the receiver pays only the shortfall.

 (b) A selective call charging method in which the receiver registers information on whether the receiver pays or the caller pays, and decides on which side the call charge is paid based on this information.

(c) MBI value (The number of seconds that a user can talk for 10 yen is determined by dividing the distance into several stages, and these stages are called MBI values 1, 2, .... For example, “MBI The value 1. is 3 minutes / ¥ 10, the "MBI value 2" is 90 seconds / ¥ 10, and so on. Within each call charge area, the MBI value is 1 power ^s , and any 2 An MBI value that is assigned to two or more toll zones according to the distance is determined based on the distance.) Hereinafter, these three types of billing methods will be described in detail.

 (a) Location sharing method

 Well-known features that change the destination are:

 (1) Reception destination change function 11 (outside business hours, etc.) (Dynamic connection function)

 (2) Wide-area representative function 1—Register a wide-area representative across multiple regions (for example, multiple lines (parent) in Tokyo as the first selection order, name g as the second selection order). If the caller dials multiple lines (Child 1), the third selection order is Osaka (Multiple 2), and the caller dials a specific number, then the parent line is searched first. If there is a vacancy, connect to that line.If there is no vacancy in the parent's line, search for vacancies in the child lines of the lower M selection order in order. Function to connect to the line (if no free line is found, busy ^ send)

and so on.

 In this method, the connection destination is routed when such a history change function or wide-area representative function is used, and the first destination (reception destination) is used. The call charge to the second destination (the actual connection destination after the change) will be higher than the call charge to the reception destination change source in the case of the change officer function and the parent in the case of the wide area representative function. In this case, the call charge to the first destination is charged to the caller, and the remaining call charge is charged to the caller. Regarding the call charges charged to the called party, the higher difference is further subdivided based on the condition that calls are made from a specific time zone or a specific area, and calls are received from the caller at a certain sharing ratio. It is also possible to charge both parties.

 The following is a specific example of the base sharing charging method.

 FIG. 1 is an example of a system configuration for realizing the present invention.

 In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a control station, which is a time zone in which a call can be established by an arbitrary specific number, which is designated in advance by a called party, and a call permitted area (one or more call charge areas: here). , Calling rate areas are areas where the same rate is set, for example, Tokyo

(Area code: 03), Kawasaki (area code: 044), etc., and subscriber telephone numbers corresponding to specific numbers are registered. Further, as described above, the higher difference is further refined based on the condition that the difference is transmitted from a specific time zone or a specific region. Differentiate and transmit at an ffl ratio? In the case of charging both i- and the called party, information on the above conditions and the sharing ratio is also registered.

 The control β1 refers to the above registration information and converts any specific number originated from the call charge area designated by the called party in advance to an arbitrary subscriber telephone number similarly designated by the called party. At the same time, it manages the line occupancy status of all subscriber phone numbers specified by the called party.

 2, 3, 3 ′ are multiple subscriber exchanges accommodating multiple originating and multiple terminating terminals, 4 is a common channel signaling network, 5 is the originating terminal (telephone, facsimile , 6 'and 6' are called terminals (similarly, any communication devices such as telephones, fax machines, etc.), and 8, 8 'are These are the accommodation areas for subscriber accommodation exchanges 2, 3, and 3 ', respectively. Next, 9 or 11 or 1 1 ′ connects the control station 1 and the subscriber exchanges 2, 3 and 3 ′ via the common channel signaling network 4 and controls signals for information transmission. Is a line for connecting subscriber exchanges 2 and 3 to each other, and 12 'is a trunk line connecting subscriber exchanges 2 and 3' to phase II. . In the following description, 5, 6, and 6 'are telephones.

 FIG. 2 is an operation flowchart of the base-sharing charging method according to the embodiment. When the user dials a specific number (for example, a logical number such as 0 AB 0 — * * * * * *: 0 AB 0 is 0 570) on the telephone 5 (step 21), It is connected to the local exchange 2 that can access the control station 1, and the specific number is sent to the local exchange 2. The subscriber exchange 2 sends the specific number and the calling area information (for example, the telephone number of the caller) to the control station 1 using the common channel signaling network 4 (step 22) o

The control station 1 compares the received specific number and the transmission area information with the information registered in advance by the called party, such as the connectable time zone and the permissible call area corresponding to the specific number. Then, the specific number received from the subscriber exchange 2 is converted into a general subscriber telephone number (physical number) registered in advance by the called party (step 23). In this case, the telephone having the converted subscriber telephone number is telephone 6 in FIG. The control station 1 then re-establishes another telephone because the telephone with the converted subscriber telephone number cannot be connected. It is determined whether or not it is necessary to convert to the subscriber's telephone number (step 24). If there is no need to change the subscriber's telephone number, the normal connection processing is performed on the telephone 6 of the subscriber's telephone number (step 25).

 If the subscriber telephone number needs to be changed, the control station 1 performs a subscriber telephone number conversion. In other words, the converted subscriber phone number (the subscriber phone number after the change in the case of the reception destination change function, or the vacant found child number in the case of the wide area representative function) is connected to the telephone (terminal) of the connection destination (see FIG. 1 (corresponding to the telephone 6 ') (step 26).

 After the telephone set to be connected is determined, the control station 1 sends the changed destination number and ankle information (the number of billing seconds corresponding to the connection to the telephone set 5) to the subscriber exchange 2 on the caller side. Notice. Prior to connecting to the incoming call receiver based on the notified connection destination number-, the attendant accommodation converter 2 sends guidance indicating call charge information to the caller's terminal, and provides guidance. After the transmission is completed, the telephone is connected to the young telephone 6 '(step 27).

 The control station 1 compares the call charges for the original destination (telephone 6 in Fig. 1) and the changed destination (telephone 6 'in Fig. 1), and changes the initial If the charge is equal to or greater than the call charge of the destination, the charge is not made and the basic charge is made (that is, the caller bears the entire call charge ft).

On the other hand, if the original call charge of the called party is less than the post-change 通⁵ payee's charge, the charge is shared, and the caller's burden is the amount equivalent to the call charge from telephone 5 to telephone 6. Then, the difference of the other call charges is set as S charge for the called party (Step 28). Also, depending on the setting conditions (the above-mentioned conditions such as the transmission from a specific time zone or a specific area), the burden on the receiver is further subdivided, and both the receiver and the receiver are assigned ft at a certain sharing ratio.

In the case of the above-described base-sharing accounting method, as shown in the image diagram of the charging allotment in FIG. 3, for example, from the caller (telephone 5) to the actual destination (router 6 ′) connected by routing. Is 90 yen, and if the call charge from the caller (game machine 5) to the original destination (telephone 6) is 70 yen, the caller costs 70 yen and the callee costs 20 yen (9 0 yen — 70 yen = 20 Π). Depending on the setting conditions, the 20-yen portion of the burden on the younger party may be subdivided. For example, as shown in Fig. 4, the sender may pay 80 yen, and the receiver may pay 10 yen. You can do it. In other words, the call charge added by the change is paid in full or-part by the called party, and the calling party also pays the calling charge if the called party is changed but not changed. You only have to pay a certain amount of additional amount, and you can charge more fairly and flexibly (adaptively).

 (b) Optional call billing method

 In this sharing accounting method, information on whether the call charge for the call connected to the destination by the specific number is fully negative ffl or whether the caller bears the full amount is specified for each destination in advance. Register to control station 1, and use this registration information for the call connected to the destination in the same way as in (a) above, which one for each destination It is a method of deciding whether to bear.

 Figure 5 shows an image of this method. According to this method, a call connected to a specific destination using the reception destination change function or the wide area representative function described in (a) can be specified by the receiver (registration with the control station). It is possible to charge the called party in full or the calling party in full.

 In addition, for the designation of each iff destination, the full amount is charged to the arriving and arriving side based on the conditions such as calling from a certain time zone or a certain area, or calling from a pre-registered telephone number. It is also possible to specify a destination with an additional condition of paying.

 If the called party pays the full amount, it is also possible to send a guidance to the caller, such as, for example, "We will pay the full telephone charge j".

 (c) Sharing charge method based on MBI value

This shared billing method is used to convert any specific number sent from the call charge area specified by the callee in advance to any subscriber telephone number specified by the callee, connect to the call, and Regardless of whether or not the call is changed, the caller bears the call charge up to the specific MBI value range registered as a child in the control station 1 by the callee, and the caller pays the remaining call charge. It is a way to bear. At this point, the called party should designate and register an arbitrary subscriber telephone number, and the call charge up to the telephone number is calculated based on the specific MBI value registered above. In the case of a call charge or less, the caller will be responsible for all call charges up to any subscriber designated by the called party. Figure 6 shows an image diagram of this method. In other words, according to this method, for example, if a specific MBI value of 1 (3 minutes / 10 yen) is registered as a specific MBI value at the control station 1, a call within 3 minutes between g will take 2 minutes. If a call charge of 0 yen is charged, the caller will be charged 10 yen, and the remaining 10 yen (20 yen-10] = 10 yen) will be paid by the appetizer! ¾ You will be doing IK. According to this shared billing method, the communication fi will bear a charge of 1ii or more regardless of the area of the called party, so it is possible to communicate with confidence. Become.

 According to the above-described embodiment, when a dialing is performed by a specific number, a callee in the network climbs bye! ^ Charges assigned to the calling party and the called party based on the charged billing information provided by the calling party, and the billing burden specified by the called party at the calling β party and the target section respectively specified by the called party It is possible to make a shared charge on a condition. In other words, when the incoming call is routed by the designation of the called party, it is possible to charge separately for the first and second--destinations, so that the call charges paid by the caller will be unexpected. It can be prevented from becoming large.

 In addition, when an incoming call is routed and connected (under certain conditions), an arbitrary destination can be specified for caller billing. In the system, the order receiving center of the second destination is specified as the caller's billing target, and the second destination's receiving destination after the product is completed, that is, the call after the product is exhausted, is charged to the second party It becomes possible. In addition, since it is possible to charge the caller for the area up to a certain call charge area and the receiver for the remaining section, for example, PC communication and Internet connection It is possible to reduce the burden of call charges for users living in areas where access points are not available. In addition, since the caller is notified of the billing information (guidance information) before the call is connected to the callee, the call charge is clear to the caller, and the call can be made with confidence. This prevents the caller from incurring unexpectedly high call charges.

Claims

The scope of the claims 1. In a network equipped with a plurality of subscriber exchanges accommodating a plurality of calling terminals and a plurality of receiving terminals, from an area designated in advance by the called party from among a plurality of toll zones. A shared accounting method in a specific number call connection in which a call made to a specific number different from a general subscriber telephone number is received by a subscriber telephone number specified in advance by the called party,  Setting and storing charging burden information of a caller and / or a callee for a predetermined call charge for the specific number / call connection thread;  A shared charging method characterized in that the call charge is shared between the former caller and the third caller based on the stored charge information. 2. In the specific number call connection, when the destination of the call for the specific number cannot be reached, a second destination to be connected for routing is specified in advance, and the call is made to the first If the call is routed to the second destination instead of the destination, then; if the call charge to the second destination is higher than the call charge to the first destination Billing said caller a call charge to said second destination,  For the call charge corresponding to the difference between the call charge to the second destination and the call charge to the first destination, either the entire charge is charged to the called party or a part is charged to the called party. And charge the remainder to the caller,  If the call charge to the second destination is less than or equal to the call charge to the first destination, the caller to the second destination is charged in full to the caller. The sharing charging method according to claim 1. 3. The sharing ratio between the caller and the callee with respect to the call charge for the difference is set based on a condition of making a call in a predetermined time zone or making a call from a predetermined area. The sharing accounting method described in item 2. 4. In the specific number call connection, the destination of the call for the specific number is If nj is routed, the second ¾iS destination that is connected is the end finger; i has been called, and the call is not the first destination but the previous gd is the first destination. If the connection is established, the call charge to the second destination is charged to either one of the ¾ 'reporter and the f¾ callee based on the charging burden information. The shared charging method described in Paragraph 1 of the scope. 5. Calling at the specified time, calling from a specified area, or from a specified telephone number registered in advance, as to whether to charge the called party or the previous called party. 5. The sharing billing method according to claim 4, wherein the charge is determined based on a condition of β generated. 6. In the specific number call connection, for each call charge area, a plurality of distance ranges are set, with the same call charge for each distance starting from the area,  From the call charge area of the caller, a call charge for a predetermined distance range of the plurality of distance ranges is charged to the investigator, and the call to the designated subscriber's talk number is completed. Charge the callee for the difference of the charge minus the call charge up to the predetermined distance range,  If the call charge up to the predetermined subscriber telephone number is less than or equal to the previous call charge up to the predetermined distance range, the caller up to the subscriber telephone number is charged to the caller in full. The shared charging method described in claim 1 of the following claim. 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the plurality of distance ranges are set based on a result obtained by dividing the number of seconds during which a call can be made with a predetermined amount into a plurality of stages according to distance. Minutes 課 金 billing method. 8. In the specific number call connection, prior to the call connection between the calling party and the called party, prior information regarding charging is notified to a subscriber exchange which accommodates the calling party. 8. The sharing / charging method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein guidance for transmitting the advance information is sent to the caller.