Abstract:
A general charging method includes establishing a charging strategy and performing the charging according to the charging strategy. The charging strategy includes at least one priority each of which includes at least one time period and each of the time periods is provided at least one rate segment in each of which there is at least one rate. Performing the charging includes: matching with a corresponding charging strategy upon the time a subscriber uses a service and/or the subscriber&#39;s current resource, and determining a charging mode; searching for a corresponding priority; performing the charging according to the charging mode. With such a structure of general charging strategy, the method can satisfy various charging demands and provide generality and adequate expansibility. Also, the method enables subscribers to configure different charging methods as necessary.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE OF RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/558,620 filed on Nov. 28, 2005 and entitled “General Charging Method” which is a U.S. national phase patent application based on the international application No. PCT/CN2003/001161 filed on Dec. 31, 2003 and entitled “General Charging Method”, claiming the priority of the Chinese patent application No. 03138392.0 filed on May 26, 2003 and entitled “General Charging Method”. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to the communication field, particularly to a charging method in the communication field.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     In the highly developed information society, communication operators provide subscribers with various information services, such as telephone service, Internet-access service, short-message service, as well as different charging methods.  
         [0004]     Typical charging methods include but not limited to the following:  
         [0005]     1. Duration-based charging: i.e. the charging is based upon the time that the subscriber spends in using the service, such as the telephone service. One charging method is that during the use of the service, the charge per unit time is identical, and the charge of the session service at a time is calculated according to the duration. Another charging method is that the entire use of the service is charged according to time segments, and the charge per unit time for each of the time segments is different, for example, the charging rate is 0.2 yuan/minute for the first minutes and 0.3 yuan/minute after 3 minutes. Then the charging is performed according to the relationships between the duration and the time segments and using the different charges per unit time. For example, the charging method is 0.2 yuan/minute for 0-3 minutes and 0.1 yuan/minute after 3 minutes. If the duration is 15 minutes, then the charge is 3*0.2+12*0.1=1.8 yuan.  
         [0006]     2. Traffic-based charging: it is mainly used for the Internet-access service, and the charging is based upon the quantity of data transferred during the service used by the subscriber. One charging method is that during the use of the service, the charge per unit traffic is identical, and the charge of the service is calculated according to the total traffic. Another charging method is based upon traffic segments for the use of the service, and the charge per unit traffic is different in each of the traffic segments, for example, the charge rate is 0.2 yuan/KB for the first 1 MB and 0.1 yuan/KB after 1 MB, and then the total charge is calculated according to the relationships between the total traffic used by the subscriber and the traffic segments and using the different charges per unit traffic. For example, the charging rate is based on 0.2 yuan/KB for 0-1 MB and 0.1 yuan/KB after 1 MB. If 1.5 MB is used, then the charge is 1024*0.2+0.5*1024*0.1=256 yuan.  
         [0007]     3. Number-of-times-based charging: the short message service and the call transfer service are mostly used at present, i.e. the charge of the service used each time is determined according to the number of times that service is used.  
         [0008]     4. Accumulative charging: the charging is based upon the total quantity of the accumulative duration, traffic or number of times for a certain service used by the subscriber, the unit charge before the total quantity reaches the prescribed accumulative quantity is different from that after the total quantity reaches the prescribed accumulative quantity. For example, in the Internet-access service, the charging rate is 1.0 yuan/hour within a 100-hour accumulative Internet-access duration and 0.5 yuan/hour after a 100-hour accumulative Internet-access duration. For example, if the accumulative Internet-access duration is 70 hours, and the duration of the certain Internet-access is 15 hours, then the charge is 15*1.0=15 yuan due to 70+15&lt;100.  
         [0009]     Though the above charging methods meet various charging demands to some extent, they have the following drawbacks:  
         [0010]     (1) Lack of generality: one charging method is often devoted to one service. When a new service is provided, it is often impossible to meet the charging demands in the existing charging system, and therefore the existing charging method has to be modified or new charging software has to be developed. For example, if the function of “accumulative charging” is to be added to a “duration-based charging” system, and a reward of 10-hour free Internet-access duration is for a 100-hour accumulative Internet-access duration, the existing charging method has to be modified.  
         [0011]     (2) Complexity and disaccord of configuration methods: different charging methods have different configuration methods. It is required for the subscribers to consider how to convert the charging method into a data structure that can be processed by the software, whereas it is required for the developers to consider how to design a software to meet different charging demands, which is one of the major reasons why it is necessary to modify the existing software or develop a new software in a new charging method.  
         [0012]     (3) Inflexibility of rate configuration methods: for example, a charging demand is that 1.0 yuan/hour is for the Internet-access, and a reward of 10-hour free duration is for accumulative 100-hour Internet-access duration. If the accumulative Internet-access duration of the subscriber is 98 hours and the current Internet-access duration is 3 hours, then there are two applicable charging methods:  
         [0013]     One method is that the charge of the current 3-hour Internet-access is 3*1.0=3 yuan, and the reward of 10-hour free duration will be used during the next Internet-access until the free hours are used up, which is referred to as “later use of reward”.  
         [0014]     The other method is that for the current 3-hour Internet-access, the charge is 2*1.0=2 yuan for the 2 hours which is counted within the accumulative 100 hours, and the rest 1 hour which is counted beyond the accumulative 100 hours takes the free duration of the reward and thus is not charged. Therefore, the charge is 2*1.0+1*0=2.0 yuan for the current Internet-access, while the remaining free Internet-access duration is recorded as  9  hours for later use, which is referred to as “instant use of reward.  
         [0015]     However, if either method is determined, the charging method cannot be changed to the other; otherwise, the software has to be modified.  
         [0016]     Furthermore, the existing charging methods are often devoted to some services, i.e. the charging method for one service is quite different from that for another. Therefore, if the operator provides a new service, a new charging method has to be customized, which not only increases the cost for the operator but also results in the disorder of the charging software in the market. Therefore, in order to meet the demands of the operators to develop services, it is rather advantageous for the operators and the subscribers to provide a uniform configuration and calculation method for all the charging methods and to further achieve a general charging method in a uniform structure.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0017]     One embodiment of the present invention provides a general charging method, which can meet all charging demands and provide adequate expansibility.  
         [0018]     The general charging method includes establishing a charging strategy and performing the charging according to the charging strategy.  
         [0019]     The charging strategy includes at least one priority each of which includes at least one time period, and each of the time periods is provided with at least one rate segment in each of which there is at least one rate; and  
         [0020]     performing the charging includes:  
         [0021]     matching with a corresponding charging strategy upon the time a subscriber uses a service and/or the subscriber&#39;s current resource, and determining a charging mode;  
         [0022]     searching for a corresponding priority; and  
         [0023]     performing the charging according to the charging mode.  
         [0024]     With such a structure of general charging strategy, the method provided by the embodiments of the present invention can satisfy various charging demands and provide generality and adequate expansibility. Meanwhile, the configuration pattern in the general charging method is uniform, i.e. there is a similar configuration pattern in the same structure regardless of various charging demands. Also, the method is flexible and enables subscribers to configure different charging methods as necessary. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0025]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of the charging strategy the charging method according to the embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0026]      FIG. 2  is a flow diagram of the charging method according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS  
       [0027]     The present invention is further detailed as follows with reference to the embodiments and accompanied drawings.  
         [0028]     First the following concepts are clearly defined for a better understanding of the charging method according to the embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0029]     Resource: it refers to any entity that can be possessed and used by the subscriber during the charging, such as currency, free duration, accumulative Internet-access duration, accumulative charge, total disk space, available disk space or the like.  
         [0030]     Rate: IT REFERS TO A SPECIFIC WAY IN WHICH A CERTAIN RESOURCE IS AFFECTED. For example, 1.0-yuan currency spent per hour refers to the resource of 1.0-yuan “currency” spent per hour; 0.1-yuan currency spent each time refers to the resource of 0.1-yuan “currency” spent each time; 1-hour increment of the accumulative Internet-access duration per hour refers to 1-hour increment of the resource of “accumulative Internet-access duration” per hour; and 1-hour free duration spent per hour refers to the resource of 1-hour “free duration” spent per hour.  
         [0031]     Rate segment: IT REFERS TO A SEGMENTED INTERVAL OF RATE. As described above, “the charging rate is 0.2 yuan/minute for the first 3 minutes and 0.1 yuan/minute after 3 minutes”, wherein “0-3 minutes” is called a rate segment, and “3 minutes above” is also called a rate segment; “the charging rate is 1.0 yuan/hour within 100-hour accumulative Internet-access duration and 0.5 yuan/hour after 100-hour accumulative Internet-access duration ”, wherein “0-100 hours” is called a rate segment, and “100 hours above” is also called a rate segment, and so on.  
         [0032]     Rate segments can be divided into resource-accumulative segmentation and usage-quantity segmentation. The resource-accumulative segmentation refers to segmentation of a certain resource, such as “accumulative Internet-access duration within 100 hours” as discussed above, and the rate segments of “0-100 hours” and “100 hours above” refer to the segmentation of the resource of “accumulative Internet-access duration”, wherein the charging is performed through selection of a rate according to a current value of the resource. The usage-quantity segmentation refers to segmentation of the once used quantity, such as “the first 3 minutes” as discussed above, and the rate segments of “0-3 minutes” and “3 minutes above” refers to the segmentation of the duration for this time, wherein the charging is performed according to the segmentation of the once used quantity.  
         [0033]     Time period: IT REFERS TO A TIME INTERVAL. For example, 8:00-10:00 is a time period, and Oct. 1, 2002 to Mar. 20, 2003 is also a time period. A plurality of rate segments can be defined within a time period. The charging is performed through searching for the corresponding rate segments within the different time periods according to the initial time the subscriber uses the service.  
         [0034]     Priority: it refers to that different time periods, rate segments and rates are combined to form different levels, each of which has a different successive relationship with another in use, and the subscriber can set the respective priorities high or low at his discretion as required. In actual applications, the process is usually performed according to the sequence from a high priority to a low priority. For example, there is a priority  0 , and it includes two time periods, i.e. the time period  0  and the time period  1 . The rate segments in the time period  0  are based upon the usage-quantity segmentation and include two rate segments. And also, the rate segments in the time period  1  are based upon the usage-quantity segmentation and include two rate segments. The priority can be described as follows:  
         [0035]     Priority  0   
         [0036]     Time period  0 : 1 st -7 th  of May 
        Rate segment  0 : 0-3 minutes 
            Rate  0 : 0.2-yuan currency spent per minute    
            Rate segment  1 : after 3 minutes 
            Rate  0 : 0.1-yuan currency spent per minute    
               
 
         [0041]     Time period  1 : other time 
        Rate segment  0 : 0-3 minutes 
            Rate  0 : 0.4-yuan currency spent per minute    
            Rate segment  1 : after 3 minutes 
            Rate  0 : 0.2-yuan currency spent per minute    
               
 
         [0046]     Charging strategy: it refers to a charging mechanism for a service comprising a combination of a plurality of priorities.  
         [0047]     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the charging strategy includes a plurality of priorities each of which includes a plurality of time periods, wherein each of the time periods has a plurality of rate segments, and each of the rate segments has a plurality of rates. One charging strategy corresponds to only one service type, and charging demands for different service can be satisfied through the charging strategies with a similar structure. Therefore, the method according to the embodiments of the present invention is general.  
         [0048]      FIG. 2  shows the flow of the charging method according to the embodiment of the present invention. First, the process searches out the highest priority in the charging strategy, and searches for time periods in this priority according to the time the subscriber starts to use the service. If the time is within a time period in this priority, the process performs the charging according to the type of rate segmentation and the rate segments in this time period; otherwise the process searches for the next priority. If the type of rate segmentation in the time period, within which the time is, is “resource-accumulative segmentation”, then the charging is performed according to the resource-accumulative segmentation; and if the type of rate segmentation is “usage-quantity segmentation”, then the charging is performed according to the usage-quantity segmentation. If the charging cannot be completed for this priority due to insufficient resource for the subscriber, a configuration error or the like, the process searches for the next priority and repeats the above steps, until the charging has been completed or all priorities have been searched through. If all priorities have been searched through and there are still some usage quantities that cannot be charged, the process records these usage quantities and terminates the charging for this time.  
         [0049]     In the case of the resource-accumulative segmentation, for example, the segments for a resource r 1  are a-b, b-c and c-d, whereas a current value of the resource r 1  is n. The process compares the current value n of the resource r 1  with a boundary value on the left and a boundary value on the right for each segment. In other words, the process judges whether it is “the boundary value on the left≦n&lt;the boundary value on the right” or “the boundary value on the left&lt;n≦the boundary value on the right”, so as to determine which segment the “n” is in, and then performs the charging according to the rate in that segment. If the charging process makes the value of the resource r 1  go beyond either boundary value of the segment, i.e. smaller than the boundary value on the left or larger than the boundary value on the right, then the boundary values are truncated, and the charging for the remaining part is continued in another segment. Finally, the sum of the charges for all respective segments is the total charge.  
         [0050]     In the case of the usage-quantity segmentation, for example, the segments are a-b, b-c, and c-d, and the currently used quantity is n. The respectively defined segments are covered with the interval of [ 0 , n], and all or some of the covered segment are selected. Then, the charging is performed according to the respective rates in the above segments. Finally, the sum of the charges for all the respective segments is the total charge.  
         [0051]     The charging method will be described as follows according to embodiments of the present invention.  
         [0052]     Embodiment 1: A charging method of the resource-accumulative with a reward, just as “later use of reward”.  
         [0053]     If the charging demand is that “1.0 yuan/hour is for the Internet-access, a reward of 10-hour free duration is for every 100-hour accumulative Internet-access, and the reward of the free duration is available for Internet-access of the next time”, then the charging strategy is first established as follows:  
         [0054]     Priority  0  
        Time period  0 : negative infinite (−□)−positive infinite (+□) 
            Rate segment  0 : 0 hour−+□   
               
 
         [0057]     (Usage-Quantity Segmentation) 
            Rate  0 : 1-hour free Internet-access duration spent per hour            
 
         [0059]     Priority  1  
        Time period  0 : −□−+□
            Rate segment  0 : 0-100 yuan    
               
 
         [0062]     (Resource-Accumulative Segmentation with the Resource of Accumulative Internet-Access Charge) 
            Rate  0 : 1.0-yuan currency spent per hour     Rate  1 : 1.0-yuan increment of the accumulative Internet-access charge per hour         Rate segment  1 : after 100 yuan        
 
         [0066]     (Resource-Accumulative Segmentation with the Resource of Accumulative Internet-Access Charge) 
            Rate  0 : 10-hour increment of the free Internet-access duration     Rate  1 : 100-yuan reduction of the accumulative Internet-access charge            
 
         [0069]     The charging process is as follows: when the subscriber accesses the Internet for the first time, the value of the resource of “accumulative Internet-access charge” is 0, and the value of the resource of “free Internet-access duration” is 0. If the current Internet-access duration of the subscriber is 150 hours, the process first searches out the priority  0  and the time period  0  according to the usage-quantity segmentation in this priority, and further searches out the rate segments and the rates in this time period. Because the value of the resource “free Internet-access duration” for the current subscriber is 0, the charging cannot be performed, and thus the process searches for the next priority. The process searches out the time period  0  according to resource-accumulative segmentation in the priority  1 , and further searches out the rate segment  0  in accordance with the current value 0 of the resource “accumulative Internet-access charge” to perform the charging. When the Internet-access duration reaches 100 hours, 100-yuan currency is spent, the charge of the accumulative Internet-access counts up to 100 yuan, and thus the remaining 50 hours need to be charged in the rate segment  1 . In the rate segment  1 , 10 hours are added to the subscriber resource of “free Internet-access duration”, and the “accumulative Internet-access charge” is reduced by 100 yuan. Because the rate segment in that time period is not related to the Internet-access duration, the remaining 50 hours have not been charged yet. In such a case, the value of “accumulative Internet-access charge” is changed to 0, and the process goes on the charging in the rate segment  0 . In the rate segment  0 , the above steps will be repeated until the charging has been completed. Finally, the resultant charge is determined as 150-yuan currency, the accumulative Internet-access charge is determined as 50 yuan, and the free Internet-access duration is determined as 10 hours.  
         [0070]     When the subscriber accesses the Internet for the second time and the Internet-access duration is 30 hours, then the charging will be first performed in the priority  0 . Because the value of the resource “free Internet-access duration” for the current subscriber is 10, only 10 hours will count in that priority, and the remaining 20 hours will be charged in the next priority. The charging process in the priority  1  is similar to the charging process described above. Therefore, the resultant charge is that 20-yuan currency is spent, 10-hour free Internet-access duration is spent, and the accumulative Internet-access charge is increased by 20 yuan to become 70 yuan.  
         [0071]     Embodiment 2: A charging method of the resource-accumulative with a reward, just as “instant use of reward”.  
         [0072]     If the charging demand is that “1.0 yuan/hour is for the Internet-access, a reward of 10-hour free duration is for every 100-hour accumulative Internet-access, and the reward of the free duration is available right now, the reward of the free duration cannot be accumulated into the resource-accumulative for the reward. Then the charging strategy is first established as follows:  
         [0073]     Priority  0  
        Time period  0 : negative infinite (−□)−positive infinite (+□) 
            Rate segment  0 : 0 hour−+□   
               
 
         [0076]     (Usage-Quantity Segmentation with the Resource of Free Internet-Access Duration) 
            Rate  0 : 1-hour free Internet-access duration spent per hour            
 
         [0078]     Priority  1  
        Time period  0 : −□−+□
            Rate segment  0 : after 0 hour-+□   
               
 
         [0081]     (Usage-Quantity Segmentation with the Resource of Free Internet-Access Duration) 
            Rate  0 : 1.0-yuan of free Internet-access duration spent per hour         Time period  1 : −□−+□
            Rate segment  0 : no less than 0 hour-+□   
               
 
         [0085]     (Resource-Accumulative Segmentation with the Resource of Accumulative Internet-Access Charge) 
            Rate  0 : 1.0-yuan currency spent per hour     Rate  1 : 1.0-yuan increment of the accumulative Internet-access charge         Rate segment  1 : equal to 100-yuan        
 
         [0089]     (Resource-Accumulative Segmentation with the Resource of Accumulative Internet-Access Charge) 
            Rate  0 : 10-hour increment of the free Internet-access duration     Rate  1 : 100-yuan reduction of the accumulative Internet-access charge            
 
         [0092]     The charging process is as follows: when the subscriber accesses the Internet for the first time, the value of the resource of “accumulative Internet-access charge” is 0, and the value of the resource of “free Internet-access duration” is 0. If the current Internet-access duration of the subscriber is 210 hours, the process first searches out the priority  0  and the time period  0  according to usage-quantity segmentation in this priority, and further searches out the rate segments and the rates in this time period. Because the value of the resource “free Internet-access duration” for the current subscriber is 0, the charging cannot be performed, and thus the process searches for the next priority. The process searches out the time period  0  according to the resource-accumulative segmentation in the priority  1 , but the value of the resource of “free Internet-access duration” is 0, the charging cannot be performed, and search out the time period  1  of the priority  1 . and the time period  1  according to resource-accumulative segmentation in the priority  1 , further searches out the rate segment  0  in accordance with the current value 0 of the resource “accumulative Internet-access charge” to perform the charging. When the Internet-access duration reaches 100 hours, 100-yuan currency is spent, the charge of the accumulative Internet-access counts up to 100 yuan, and thus the remaining 110 hours need to be charged in the rate segment  1 . In the rate segment  1 , 10 hours are added to the subscriber resource of “free Internet-access duration”, and the “accumulative Internet-access charge” is reduced by 100 yuan. Because the current value of the resource of “free Internet-access duration” is 10 hours, the charging will be performed in the rate segment  0  of the priority  1  and the reward of 10 hours will be consumed gradually. When the subscriber resource of “free Internet-access duration” is 0, the remaining 100 hours have not been charged yet. Because the subscriber resource of “accumulative Internet-access charge” is 0, the charging will be performed in the rate segment  1  of the time period  1  of the priority  1 ; in such a case, the value of “accumulative Internet-access charge” is changed to 0, and the process goes on the charging in the rate segment  1 . In the rate segment  1 , the above steps will be repeated until the charging has been completed. Finally, the resultant charge is determined as 200-yuan currency, the accumulative Internet-access charge is determined as 0 yuan, and the free Internet-access duration is determined as 10 hours.  
         [0093]     When the subscriber accesses the Internet for the second time and the Internet-access duration is 150 hours, then the charging will be first performed in the priority  0 . Because the value of the resource “free Internet-access duration” for the current subscriber is 10, only 10 hours will count in that priority, and the remaining 140 hours will be charged in the next priority. The charging process in the priority  1  is similar to the charging process described above. Therefore, the resultant charge is that 130-yuan currency is spent, 20-hour free Internet-access duration is spent, and the accumulative Internet-access charge is 30 yuan, and the free Internet-access duration is determined as 0 hours.  
         [0094]     It shall be appreciated that the above embodiment is merely illustrative of but not limitative to the technical solutions of the present invention. Although the present invention has been detailed with reference to the preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art shall understand that various modifications and the equivalents will be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions, and will be covered by the appended claims of the present invention.