Patent ID: 7313230

Claim:
A general charging method comprising steps of establishing a charging strategy and performing the charging based upon the charging strategy, wherein: the charging strategy comprises a plurality of priorities each of which comprises a plurality of periods of time, and each of the periods of time corresponds to a type of rate segmentation and is provided a plurality of rate segments in each of which there are a plurality of rates; the step of performing the charging comprises: step 1: searching for the highest priority in the charging strategy; step 2: searching for a corresponding period of time in the priority based upon the time a subscriber uses a service; if found, performing the charging based upon the rate segments in the period of time and going to step 4, otherwise going to step 3; step 3: judging whether all the priorities have been searched through; if yes, going to step 5, otherwise searching for a next priority and going to step 2; step 4: judging whether the charging has been completed; if completed, going to step 5, otherwise going to step 3; and step 5: judging whether there is any usage quantity that can't be charged; if yes, recording it and terminating the charging, otherwise, terminating the charging.