Cellular radiotelephone credit card paystation method

US5144649A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• GTE Mobile Communications Service Corporation · US

Inventors

• Robert G. Zicker · Roswell, US
• Thanh H. Cao · Houston, US
• Daniel Borkowski · Lunenburg, US
• Donald A. Plouff · Noblesville, US
• Phillip Brown · Diemelstraße, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Oct 24, 1990
• Grant date: Sep 1, 1992
• Expiry date: Oct 24, 2010

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H04M2215/32
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A system (10) for operating a multiplicity of credit card reader-equipped cellular mobile radiotelephones (CMRs 12) as credit card paystations is disclosed. The CMRs (12) incorporate a remotely programmable unit (RPU 48) which controls credit card operation (1400, 1700) and which controls data communication sessions (188, 1900, 2100) with a credit card (CC) host (26) and a remote programming (RP) host (24). The RPU (48) resides between a conventional control unit (CU 42) and a conventional transmit/receive unit (TRU 62) of a conventional CMR. The RPU (48) monitors messages (1200, 1300) transmitted from the CU (42) and from the TRU (62). The CMR (12) powers up in a locked state (1402), within which a credit card (88) may be read. The credit card is locally validated (1421) at CMR 12. If the validation is successful, the CMR (12) is unlocked so that a call may be placed. Credit card information, called number, call time, call duration, and system identification number (SID) are recorded (1700) in a call record for each call established through the CMR (12). Call records are accumulated within the CMR (12). After each call, accumulated CMR (12) usage is checked (1730) against fraud al…