Title of Invention

"A METHOD FOR CHARGING OR RECHARGING A DATA MEDIUM CARD, AND AN INSTALLATION FOR CARRYING OUT THE SAME"

Abstract

The method is particularly applicable to the charging of a SIM card (7) for a mobile radio apparatus (6). The SIM card has an electronic chip comprising a storage means (11) in which the prepaid sum of money (28) is stored, decreasing as the mobile telephone is used. For charging or recharging the SIM card with the sum of money, a prepayment card, called a value card (13), is purchased. The value card (13) has a code area (14) covered by a removable opaque layer (22). Upon removal of the layer, a code (15) becomes visible The holder of the SIM card and the value card calls an access number from a communication apparatus. The caller is thereby connected to a data base (17) in which all codes assigned to value cards (13) and the sums of money associated therewith are stored. The caller is prompted to enter the code on the calling communication apparatus. The code entered is compared with the codes stored in the data base. If the entered code is found in the data base, a short message containing the value of the sum of money to be credited is prepared and temporarily stored in a short message service center (18, 19). The sum of money and the code are marked as used or cancelled in the data base. The next time the SIM card to be charged is inserted in any mobile telephone and a connection is established with the communication network, the temporarily stored prepaid sum is credited to the SIM card by means of the short message prepared.

Full Text

The present invention relates to method of charging or recharging a data medium card and an installation for carrying out the same. This invention relates to a method for charging or recharging a data medium card, especially a Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) card for a communication apparatus associated with a communication network, with a prepaid sum of money, this data medium card being provided with a storage means in which the value of the sum of money is stored. The invention further relates to a prepayment card (hereinafter called a "value card") for carrying out the method according to preamble of claim 6, as well as to components of an installation for carrying out the method according to the preamble of claim 9. SIM cards are customarily used nowadays in mobile telephones assigned to a digital cellular mobile radio network operating according to the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) standard. Among other things, SIM cards are used for identifying a subscriber and for the subscriber-earmarked billing of telephone calls made by that subscriber over the mobile radio network. In contrast to fixed networks, the charges in GSM networks are no longer billed to a permanently installed telephone but rather directly to the holder of the respective SIM card. European Patent Application EP 0 689 368 discloses a device for transmitting messages in a mobile communication network where the use of SIM cards, particularly for transmitting short messages, is extended to the processing of special services according to a special procedure accessible only to certain authorized subscribers. This device offers the possibility not only of transmitting any desired bit streams in transparent mode according to the GSM Phase 2 standard as a short message from a service center to the SIM card, but also of sending or receiving data and executable instructions to or from authorized subscribers. This is done without having to modify internationally established standards. The present invention now describes a certain special service, i.e., a certain function, viz., a method of charging or recharging a data medium card, especially a SIM card, with a prepaid sum of money, which card is used together with the device disclosed in the above-mentioned European patent application. Although not contemplated at present, it is conceivable to use SIM cards for operating fixed-network communication apparatus as well and no longer to bill charges to the telephone but rather to the card. The SIM card comprises an electronic chip which can be electrically connected via a contact bank assembly consisting of a plurality of individual electric contacts to a read-write device disposed in the communication apparatus. The chip comprises, among other things, a storage means in which the value of a prepaid sum of money is stored. When telephone calls are made or when other services are performed, the stored sum is gradually debited and must be recharged by the card holder when it reaches zero or a certain minimum. Until now, this procedure has been relatively complicated. For example, provision may be made for the card holder to pay in a certain sum at a post office, which sum is then transmitted by the postal service to an electronic billing module (Customer Care and Billing System for Mobilcom, or MOBIA). The sum paid in by the subscriber is then transmitted by the billing module as a prepayment, together with the subscriber's identification data, to an operating center for special services (SIM Service Center, or SSC). There, according to a special service or function, a short message is edited which then, the next time the subscriber uses the telephone, transmits the prepayment to the SIM card and recharges or charges the sum stored there by crediting the prepaid sum. This prior art procedure is illustrated by means of a block diagram in Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings. There reference numeral 1 designates a postal deposit slip by means of which a remittance can be made at a location such as a post office 2. The sum remitted is forwarded as a prepayment, together with the subscriber identification, to the aforementioned billing module 3, which ensures that a short message 5 is edited in a SIM Service Center 4. This short message 5 is then transmitted via a mobile telephone 6, the next time the respective subscriber uses it, to his SIM card 7 inserted in that telephone 6. The prepayment contained in the short message is stored on the SIM card 7, which is recharged or charged by crediting the sum prepaid. This procedure, particularly for making the payment at a post office, is relatively complicated. Hence there is a need for a means of simplifying the prepayment of a sum of money for charging or recharging a SIM card. According to the present invention, a method is provided comprising the steps set forth in claim 1. A value card for carrying out the method is specified in claim 6. An installation for carrying out the method requires the components set forth in claim 9. A main advantage of the inventive method is that the value card can be purchased at many sales outlets, such as shops, kiosks, or post offices. This eliminates the tiresome procedure of filling out a deposit slip and making a remittance at a post office for charging or recharging a certain data medium card, particularly a SIM card. The amount to be paid for a value card simultaneously corresponds to the maximum sum by which a certain data medium card, particularly a SIM card, can be recharged or charged. The value card has a concealed code area which serves the added purpose of indicating, when its covering is intact, that the card has not yet been used. After the code area has been uncovered, e.g., by scraping away a concealing layer, a code is exposed which serves to prepare the recharging or charging of a certain SIM card via any desired communication apparatus connected to a public communication network. After calling a certain access number, the holder of the value card is prompted by means of an audio response menu to enter the code, e.g., to key it in on the key pad of the communication apparatus. The subscriber is, in fact, connected to a data base containing all the codes and associated prepayment sums for which value cards have ever been produced. If the keyed-in code is found in the data base, a short message is edited according to the GSM Phase 2 standard and is filed in a short message service center. At the same time, the code and the associated prepayment sum are marked as used in the data base or are cancelled. If the subscriber calls the aforementioned access number using a communication apparatus in which his SIM card is inserted, his personal identification stored on the SIM card is automatically recognized. After the code has been entered, it is known to whom the prepayment is to be credited. The short message edited and stored in a short message service center contains the subscriber's identification code and the amount of the prepayment. If the call to the aforementioned access number is made from a communication apparatus in which no SIM card can be used, e.g., from an ordinary telephone, the subscriber is prompted after entering the code to enter the identification code of the SIM card for which the prepayment is intended as well. The value card may also be used for telephoning normally. In this case, in one process step, after calling the aforementioned access number the caller is asked by means of automatic voice output whether a data medium card is supposed to be charged or recharged, or whether a telephone call is to be made. In case a telephone call is made, after the code number is entered, the charge is calculated on the basis of the subscriber called and the length of the call and is either recorded in the data base or already deducted from the prepayment stored there. In this case, if a data medium card is subsequently charged or recharged, the full prepayment sum can obviously no longer be credited but only the remainder after deduction of all call charges. As already mentioned, the value card has an area containing a code which is concealed by an opaque, removable layer when purchased. Complete concealment of this area is a guarantee that the purchased value card is really new and has never been used. A similar card having a layer to be scraped away is described in European Patent Application Publication No. 0 689 163 A1. There it is a question of a data medium card comprising a chip having a plurality of electric contacts for connection to a card reader. In order to determine whether or not the data medium card has already been used, at least some of the electric contacts are covered by a layer which can be scraped away. The card is used for making telephone calls. Further included in the chip are a certain number of call units which are gradually debited during telephoning. The card may also have a second concealed area covered with a layer to be scraped away, in which area a lottery number becomes visible, for instance, after it has been scraped. However, this prior art card is not intended for crediting other data medium cards with a prepaid sum of money. Until now it is provided that the communication apparatus which can be operated with the data medium card, particularly with a SIM card, is a mobile telephone having a card reader based on the GSM standard. Although not yet currently planned, it may naturally be provided in the future that fixed-network telephones, too, may have a card reader and be used with a SIM card belonging to the respective subscriber or caller. The whole billing procedure of the telecommunications company would then no longer take place per wired, fixed-network communication apparatus, such as a telephone, but exactly the same way per SIM card holder instead. As described above, the subscriber is guided by an audio response system. This system is constructed as a speech server which is integrated in the communication network and can be called by means of the aforementioned access number. Access to the speech server may take place via a fixed network or a mobile radio network. The installation likewise comprises a billing module connected to the audio response system and the data base, on the one hand, and to the short message service center, on the other hand. The purpose of this billing module is, for one thing, to forward to the short message service center such messages as come from the data base and contain an identification code and a prepaid sum of money by which the SIM card indicated by the code is to be charged or recharged, and for another thing, to prepare respective short messages for sums of money remitted according to the prior art. Therefore, the present invention relates to a method for charging or recharging a data medium card, especially a Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) card for a communication apparatus associated with a communication network, with a prepaid sum of money, said data medium card being provided with a storage means in which the value of the sum of money is stored, comprising the following steps: calling an access number from a first communication apparatus, particularly a telephone set, or from a second communication apparatus, particularly a mobile telephone, whereby the caller is connected to a data base in which all codes assigned to value cards and the sum of money associated with each code are stored, prompting the caller through a voice output system to enter the code exposed from a concealed code area of a value card in the calling communication apparatus, comparing the entered code with the codes stored in the data base, preparing and temporarily storing in a short message service center a short message with the value of the sum of money if the entered code is found in the data base, marking as used or cancelling the value of the sum of money and the code in the data base, and crediting the data medium card to be charged or recharged with the temporarily stored value of the sum of money by means of the prepared short message the next time the data medium card is inserted in any of the communication apparatus and a connection is established with the communication network. The present invention also relates to a value card for carrying out the method as described hereinabove, wherein a location of the value card contains an area covered by an opaque, removable layer, a code being visible after removal of said layer. The present invention further relates to an installation for carrying out the method as described hereinabove, wherein the communication apparatus is a GSM mobile telephone, said mobile telephone having a card reader, and said data medium card being a SIM card. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS The invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a block diagram relating to a prior art method, Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating the inventive method, Figure 3 is a first flow chart showing the steps at the beginning of the inventive method, Figure 4 is a second flow chart showing the steps for charging or recharging a certain data medium card according to the present invention, and Figures 5A and 5B are a third flow chart showing the steps when using the inventive value card for ordinary telephoning. Figure 1 illustrates in a block diagram a prior art method already described earlier in this specification. Figure 2, also a block diagram, shows hardware components needed for carrying out the inventive method. Reference numeral 25 designates a plant where value cards, e.g., of cardboard or plastics, are produced. Imprinted on each value card 26 is a sum of money, e.g., 10, 20, 50, or 100 units of currency. Each value card 26 is provided at a location intended for that purpose with a code 15 on a code area 14. The area 14, i.e., its location, is then covered with a removable layer 22, which is opaque so that the code on new value cards 26 is no longer visible. Advertisements, for example, may be printed on the surfaces of the value cards. It is also possible to print instructions for using the value card thereon. It may already be mentioned at this time that when the value cards are produced at the plant 25, the code 15 and sum of money 28 associated with each new value card 26 produced are transmitted in a status block 33 to a rating platform 16 and stored there in a data base 17. The newly made value cards 26 are then sent to sales outlets 27, e.g., to kiosks, shops, post offices, etc. In as wide a sales network as possible, the value cards may be purchased by paying an amount of money 12 equal to the sum printed on the value card. Hence the value card 26 is also called a prepaid value card 13 or prepayment card. A data medium card 7 intended to be charged or recharged comprises in an electronic chip a storage means 11 in which, besides an identification code 29, the value of a sum of money is also stored, among other things. The value need not necessarily correspond to an amount of currency but may be divided into rate units instead. For communication apparatus used in a mobile radio network, the identification code may be the number of the mobile telephone, for instance. For charging or recharging, the data medium card 7 is inserted in a card reader 23 provided for that purpose in a communication apparatus 6, usually a mobile telephone. The removable layer 22 of the prepaid value card 13 is now removed. The removable layer 22 is preferably made so that it can just be scraped off with a fingernail. The code 15 in the code area 14 then becomes visible. In further steps of the method for charging or recharging the data medium card, which may also be seen in the flow charts of Figures 3 and 4, an access number is now dialed. The access number may be printed on the value card. After the access number has been dialed, the mobile telephone in the example shown is connected over the radio-operated communication network 10, the mobile radio network, and over the fixed communication network 9, e.g., an ISDN, to the voice output system, a speech server 21. This operation corresponds to block 39 of the flow chart of Figure 3. Per block 40, the subscriber is greeted in several languages. Per block 41, the speech server now prompts the subscriber by means of a spoken communication to enter the desired menu language. Depending on the region, the subscriber may choose among several languages, say, English, French, or German for instance. After this, per block 42 of the flow chart in Figure 3, the speech server prompts the subscriber in the selected language to enter the code of his value card. Based upon the value card code entered by the subscriber, the speech server recognizes the type of card. The value card can thereby be distinguished from other telecommunications cards, such as the widely-used "calling cards," which are intended for other functions. This operation is symbolized by block 43 of the flow chart in Figure 3. Two functions are foreseen for the value card, viz., firstly, the inventive charging or recharging of a data medium card with a sum of money, and secondly, the use of the value card for making ordinary telephone calls. The flow chart in Figure 4 shows the steps to be carried out for charging or recharging the data medium card. After dialing a service access number, the subscriber is prompted per block 44 of the flow chart of Figure 4 to enter whether he would like to make a telephone call or charge a data medium card. In the flow chart shown in Figure 4, the subscriber selects charging or recharging of the data medium card, as indicated by block 45. The subscriber is now prompted to enter the identification code, i.e., the mobile telephone number of the data medium card he would like to credit with a sum of money. If, as in the example just described, the subscriber has dialed the service access number from a mobile telephone, the identification code for the data medium card inserted in the mobile telephone can be directly shown on a display of the mobile telephone (block 47). If it is this data medium card which is supposed to be charged, the subscriber need only confirm the identification code displayed. Otherwise, he is prompted by the speech server to enter the correct identification code. This procedure is depicted in blocks 48, 49, and 50 of Figure 4. Once the correct identification code has been entered, the method of charging or recharging the data medium card now specified proceeds as follows. Per block 51 of Figure 4, a request is made in the data base 17, i.e., a rating is undertaken. For this purpose, the voice output system 21 is likewise connected to the rating platform 16 containing the data base 17. In a message block 31, the code 15 entered by the subscriber on the mobile telephone 6 and the identification code of the data medium card to be recharged or charged with the prepaid value of the value card are communicated to the rating platform 16. The rating platform now searches the data base 17 for the code corresponding to the entered code 15, the former code having been stored there when the value card was produced, as already mentioned. If the code is not found, the subscriber is prompted via the speech server, according to the loop formed by blocks 53, 52, 51 in Figure 4, to enter the code 15 correctly. If this is done, and if the correct code 15 is also found in the data base 17, the procedure is terminated for the subscriber. The rating platform now transmits a message block 32, containing the identification code 29 of the data medium card to be charged or recharged, as well as the value of the prepaid sum of money or the number of rate pulses with which the designated data medium card is to be credited, to a billing module 24. The value sum 28 or the number of rate pulses by which the data medium card, designated by the identification code 29, is now to be charged, has been determined from the data base. This sum was associated with the identification code there. After the message block 32 has been created, the respective code 15 in the data base 17 is marked as having been used or is cancelled. Based upon the data contained in the message block 32, the billing module 24 initializes the editing of a short message 20 via the operating center for special services 19 in the short message service center 18. There the short message is stored in a data base. The next time the data medium card 9 designated by the identification code is activated in a mobile telephone 6, i.e., when the telephone is switched on, the short message 20 is transmitted, and the data medium card is charged or recharged with the respective prepaid sum or specified number of rate pulses via the mobile radio network 10. This terminates the procedure. As indicated by reference numeral 8, the charging or recharging operation may likewise be carried out from any ordinary telephone connected to a fixed network-here, for example, to an ISDN 9. In this case, the subscriber must enter manually the identification code or mobile telephone number of the data medium card to be charged or recharged. As described above, the subscriber will be prompted to do this by means of a spoken message from the voice output system 21. The data medium card 7 shown in dashed lines at the telephone set 8 indicates that in the future it might also be possible that every wired telephone 8 will no longer be identified by its telephone number but by the data medium card to be inserted in this telephone set for calling. The telephone charges would then no longer be billed to a certain telephone but instead, as is customary in GSM mobile radio networks, to a data medium card, especially a SIM card. Although such an embodiment is not provided at this time, it is also intended to be comprised by the present invention. Instead of the data being entered by means of a service access number, a short message under the GSM standard may be used. As already stated, the value card 13 may also be used for ordinary telephoning. The individual steps of this method are shown in the flow chart of Figure 5, Since the actual telephoning by means of the value card does not form part of the invention, and since the flow chart of Figure 5 is self-explanatory, the telephoning procedure need not be explained in detail. Suffice it to point out that after the telephoning option has been selected, and after the telephone number of the subscriber being called has been dialed on the telecommunication apparatus, the maximum calling duration is calculated per block 55 on the basis of the location of the calling subscriber and the prepaid sum in the data base 17. If no calculation can take place because the code 15 of the value card cannot be found in the data base 17 of the rating platform 16, the code is further searched (loop of blocks 56, 57). If the request is valid, the connection to the subscriber being called is established. After a connection has successfully been established, a timer is started in the speech server, and the maximum calling duration previously calculated is monitored. When the connection is terminated, the cost of the call is calculated in the rating platform 16. The cost of the call, or the number of rate pulses corresponding to the cost of the call, is stored in the data base 17 of the rating platform 16 as the value of the calling amount. Upon charging or recharging the data medium card according to the flow chart of Figure 4, in case telephone calls have been made, it is now not the nominal monetary value printed on the value card which is credited but rather that value less the sum of all calling amounts. If the rate pulses are counted, the difference in value may likewise correspond to a number of rate pulses. This procedure takes place per blocks 59 and 60 of the flow chart of Figure 5. At the end of each call, the remaining prepaid sum of money on the value card is communicated to the calling subscriber. When the maximum calling duration calculated has been reached, the call to the called subscriber is automatically terminated. Per blocks 62 and 63, the calling amount is calculated in the same way as described with reference to blocks 59 and 60 and is filed in the data base 17 of the rating platform 16. The difference between the nominal prepaid sum of money on the value card and the sum of all calling amounts is now zero. Accordingly, per block 64, the calling subscriber is informed that the repaid sum of money on the value card has been used up. If a subscriber tries to telephone after the prepaid sum of money on his value card has been transferred to the data medium card, or if it is attempted to recharge or charge the data medium card again using the same value card, a lockout module (not shown in the flow charts) ensures that the subscriber of the communication apparatus is informed that the value card is invalid. He is prompted a few times to enter a correct code. Since he cannot do so, the program is terminated.

Documents:

2370-del-1997- description (complete).pdf

2370-del-1997- form-2.pdf

2370-del-1997-abstract.pdf

2370-del-1997-assignment.pdf

2370-del-1997-correspondence-others.pdf

2370-del-1997-correspondence-po.pdf

2370-del-1997-drawings.pdf

2370-del-1997-form-1.pdf

2370-del-1997-form-13.pdf

2370-del-1997-form-19.pdf

2370-del-1997-form-3.pdf

2370-del-1997-form-4.pdf

2370-del-1997-form-6.pdf

2370-del-1997-gpa.pdf

2370-del-1997-petition-137.pdf

2370-del-1997-petition-138.pdf

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