Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
  • H04M3/42—Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers
  • H04M3/487—Arrangements for providing information services, e.g. recorded voice services or time announcements
  • H04M3/493—Interactive information services, e.g. directory enquiries ; Arrangements therefor, e.g. interactive voice response [IVR] systems or voice portals
  • H04M3/4938—Interactive information services, e.g. directory enquiries ; Arrangements therefor, e.g. interactive voice response [IVR] systems or voice portals comprising a voice browser which renders and interprets, e.g. VoiceXML
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M15/00—Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M15/00—Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
  • H04M15/58—Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP based on statistics of usage or network monitoring
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M15/00—Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
  • H04M15/67—Transmitting arrangements for sending billing related information
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M17/00—Prepayment of wireline communication systems, wireless communication systems or telephone systems
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M17/00—Prepayment of wireline communication systems, wireless communication systems or telephone systems
  • H04M17/02—Coin-freed or check-freed systems, e.g. mobile- or card-operated phones, public telephones or booths
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M2215/00—Metering arrangements; Time controlling arrangements; Time indicating arrangements
  • H04M2215/01—Details of billing arrangements
  • H04M2215/0188—Network monitoring; statistics on usage on called/calling number
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M2215/00—Metering arrangements; Time controlling arrangements; Time indicating arrangements
  • H04M2215/22—Bandwidth or usage-sensitve billing
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M2215/00—Metering arrangements; Time controlling arrangements; Time indicating arrangements
  • H04M2215/48—Sending information over a non-traffic network channel or another connection than the one actually used, e.g. signalling, D-channel, data and voice
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
  • H04M3/22—Arrangements for supervision, monitoring or testing
  • H04M3/2218—Call detail recording
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
  • H04M3/22—Arrangements for supervision, monitoring or testing
  • H04M3/36—Statistical metering, e.g. recording occasions when traffic exceeds capacity of trunks
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M3/00—Automatic or semi-automatic exchanges
  • H04M3/42—Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers
  • H04M3/42136—Administration or customisation of services
  • H04M3/42178—Administration or customisation of services by downloading data to substation equipment

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a method for managing a public telephone network allowing access to an information transport system of the Internet type.
• the invention also relates to a public telephone and a management server adapted to the implementation of this method.
• a public telephone network consists of public telephones distributed over a given territory. Public telephones are connected to a communication network, constituted for example by the switched telephone network, with which they communicate by means of a modem. Obviously, these public telephones can be connected to other types of networks such as digital networks, such as the integrated service digital network, or even as mobile radiotelephony networks, whatever their nature: GSM, CDMA, TDMA, AMPS, D-AMPS or even PCS.
• a public telephone network also includes one (or more) management server, often called PMS (acronym of the English term "Payphone Management System”), allowing the network operator to operate the supervision of the various public telephones.
• PMS cronym of the English term "Payphone Management System”
• This server which is connected by modem to the switched telephone network, has the function of exchanging with the fleet of public telephones information relating to the functioning of the telephony system.
• such a management server calls or is called regularly by each of the public telephones across the network. telephone at a time when the telephone is not used by a user. The purpose of this call is to transfer data concerning the number of communications made, the number of corresponding units and any faults encountered. All this information is then consolidated by the management server to establish various statistics.
• the supervision server can supply information to each public telephone, such as new tariff tables when these have been modified by the operator. Since public telephone networks are today faced with competition from cellular radiotelephones, the operators of these networks are seeking to offer new services likely to once again attract users to public telephones. Among these new services is access to the Web and the Internet.
• Information transport systems are known, such as the World Wide Web, known as the Web, which with its data distribution medium, the Internet, constitutes a heterogeneous and distributed universe of multimedia information accessible by different telecommunications networks.
• servers which are responsible for responding to requests for information, known as requests, from different requesters, known as client computers, is to say to transmit the desired information to them, and to receive from them certain information or data, specifying for example the requests for information.
• These servers can for example be machines dedicated to processing electronic mail or else dedicated to multimedia information.
• This communication principle is one of the foundations of the Web and the Internet: It ensures, in conjunction with Web and Internet standards, the decentralized and evolving nature of the transport system. information they constitute.
• the Internet links all client computers and all servers together.
• the notion of universality of access to information is reflected in the fact that anyone can have access to information freely accessible from servers and this, using any type of computer equipped with the elements and necessary software.
• the present invention therefore aims to remedy these drawbacks by offering operators of public telephone networks tools enabling them to know the expectations of their users and to offer them perfectly adapted services.
• the management method according to the invention relates to a public telephone network comprising at least one server such as a management server and / or an Internet access server and public telephones allowing access by means of an appropriate interface to an information transport system such as the WEB and the Internet,
• the method for managing a public telephone network is characterized in that the information exchanged by the users of public telephones during access to the information transport system is supervised to generate databases relating to the 'identity of the users and / or the nature of the operations carried out such as the sites consulted or the types of messages sent.
• the access to the information transport system is supervised at the level of each public telephone in the telephone network, the data thus collected being periodically transmitted to an associated server for generate network-wide databases.
• the data collected on the accesses to the information transport system include messages or cookies generated during the consultation of the Internet sites.
• the access interface to the information transport system implemented in public telephones is periodically modified to take into account the data thus collected on the entire network.
• the modifications to the access interface to the information transport system can also be personalized for each public telephone, taking account of the data collected locally.
• messages are sent to the users listed in the databases in order, for example, to inform them of the modifications made to the telephone network.
• the present invention also relates to a public telephone for implementing the method according to the invention.
• the public telephone is characterized in that it comprises means of access to an information transport system cooperating with an appropriate man-machine interface, means of transmitting data to a suitable server , means for receiving data and software transmitted by this server, means for supervising access to the Internet and means for creating and storing databases relating to access to the information transport system.
• the present invention also relates to a server such as a management server or an Internet access server for the implementation of the method according to the invention.
• the server is characterized in that it comprises means for transmitting data and software intended for the public telephones attached to it, means for receiving data transmitted by the public telephones, means for creation and storage of databases relating to access to the transport system of information transmitted by telephones.
• the server comprises means for processing the data thus collected, these means for processing data relating to access to the information transport system cooperating with software development tools used by the human machine interfaces of public telephones allowing access to the information transport system, this software being intended to be transmitted in public telephones by the aforementioned means of transmission.
• the means for processing data relating to access to the information transport system cooperate with means for sending messages to the destinations of the users listed in the databases.
• Figure 1 is a diagram of a public telephone network for the implementation of the method according to the invention.
• FIG. 1 a public telephone network 1 consisting of a plurality of public telephones 10, 10 '. These public telephones are intended for use by the public in self-service and are therefore installed for this purpose in public places, such as the street, or semi-public, such as shopping centers, airports, hotel halls, restaurants, shops, etc.
• PSTN public switched network
• ISDN digital integrated services network
• the service offered to the user is invoiced either at the level of the public telephone itself, by means of coins, pre-paid cards. , electronic purses, or other equivalent means, or billed in a deferred manner, for example by bank cards or subscriber cards.
• Each public telephone 10 therefore includes a certain number of particular elements inherent in a public telephone, in particular for ergonomics.
• display and data entry devices such as a screen 11 and a keyboard 12 with keys.
• the public telephone 10 implements software making it possible to exchange and represent information according to specific formats better adapted to its ergonomics, although operating according to the principles of hypermedia links.
• each public telephone integrates in these electronic circuits the material and especially software resources, such as a browser, necessary for the installation and the operation of a man-machine interface allowing access.
• software resources such as a browser
• the public telephone network 1 is therefore intended to be connected to an information transport system 2 using standard formats for exchanging and representing information.
• this system 2 can be the Internet web with its set of information servers 21 or of electronic mail in particular.
• the public telephone network 1 is connected to the information transport network 2 via a server 20, also called a gateway, comprising in particular an interpreter • which is software capable of converting information from standard formats of network 2 to specific formats of network 1.
• a server 20 also called a gateway
• an interpreter • which is software capable of converting information from standard formats of network 2 to specific formats of network 1.
• this architecture is not limiting of the invention and any other device allowing the connection of public telephones 10, 10 ′ to the Internet 2 can be used.
• the server 20 has the function of translating the data or instructions in “http” format of the network 2, into data or instructions directly interpretable by the public telephones 10, 10 'and this, more particularly in the case where the latter have not hardware and software resources to use the "http” protocol. Indeed, given the low power levels of public telephones, it is difficult to install the computing capacities required for such protocols. In fact, public telephones are limited to using only the "TCP / IP" protocol.
• the server 20 is also connected to an Internet service provider ISP (Internet Service Provider) to access the network 2 and to the various servers 21 of the Web and the Internet.
• ISP Internet Service Provider
• the link between the public telephone network 1 and the server 20 is made by physical access modules connected to the PSTN or ISDN network. This link can also be done via network 2 and an ISP.
• the main functions of the server 20 are as follows: recognizing the type of public telephone 10, and therefore the specific formats to be used, as indicated to it by the public telephone, thus implementing the format negotiation principle; convert the information contained in HTML pages, or any information of any existing standard format of exchange and representation including information storage (in particular databases), to specific formats of representation adapted to each type of telephone public, formats which may be specific to each type; convert the requests sent between the public telephone 10 and the information, service or electronic mail servers 21, following actions or input of user data, and which may be a format specific to each type of telephone public, in http requests, or in any standard request format; and finally, ensuring the transport of information between the public telephone 10 and the Internet service provider and therefore also with the servers 21 of the Web and the Internet.
• the interpreter is thus adapted to each type of public telephone 10, each type of public telephone (determined by the type of ergonomics, for example: characteristics of the screen, of the keyboard, etc.) possibly corresponding to a configuration, or version, of the interpreter.
• the use of a server 20 to obtain the interoperability of a fleet of public telephones on the Web and the Internet and therefore for information and services has only been described as an example of realization and could for example be replaced by appropriate means installed at each public telephone.
• Public telephones As can be seen in Figure 1 through a public telephone schematized 10 ', they are equipped with TCP / IP communication protocols in accordance with the technical recommendations of the IETF ("Internet Engineering Task Force"). Public telephones also have suitable software such as a browser for accessing the Web and the Internet, as well as for transmitting and receiving electronic messages.
• a server 3 for managing public telephones 10, 10 ′ is also shown.
• This server 3 is also called PMS (English acronym for “Payphone Management System”), it has the function of '' exchange information relating to the functioning of the telephone system with the public telephone fleet.
• the public telephones 10, 10 ′ and the management server 3 are provided with appropriate means of supervision and of reception / transmission of data and software, these means which are in themselves known will not be described in more detail.
• These supervision and reception / transmission means are responsible for organizing exchanges of information between public telephones 10, 10, ... and PMS 3, especially to control • file transfers and / or software between public telephones and the
• the supervision means manage the initialization sessions of public telephones and establish statistical data from information received from public telephones 10, 10 ', ...
• the means for transferring software and / or files are intended either to provide public telephones with files necessary for their operation, such as rate tables, configuration parameters concerning the type of dialing for example , opposition or watch lists, public telephone status files, i.e. to receive from public telephones information relating to their use, namely a daily report comprising data relating to transactions carried out, traffic, and a report of alarms which make it possible to report to the PMS the occurrence of incidents on a public telephone, such as a breakdown in the card reader or a torn handset, so as to anticipate the intervention of a surveillance officer.
• the management server 3 also has means for creating and developing software used for the implementation of the interface for public telephone access to the Web and the Internet.
• public telephones also include supervision means incorporated into the navigation software which controls access to the Web and the Internet.
• These essentially software means collect non-confidential information in the form of cookies, such as the websites visited or the addresses of the electronic messages consulted.
• cookies mainly take the form of short character strings stored by the browser in appropriate memories of the public telephone. Their role is to temporarily or permanently store information relating to the site visited.
• cookies can be generated automatically or even on request. In the latter case, appropriate means then trigger the creation of cookies.
• These means can be located in the public telephone or in the server 20.
• the information contained in the cookies thus collected is then stored in the form of databases in appropriate memories RAM of public telephones or even in the server 20.
• This information on connections to the Web and the Internet is then periodically transferred to the management server 3.
• This therefore has means, also software, for receiving the data thus collected on Internet accesses, as well as means for creating and storing databases gathering all the information transmitted by each telephone. public.
• this information is stored on the server 20, it may be possible to process it directly on the server 20 without transferring it to the management server 3, the operator also having access to the server 20. Thanks to these databases, data, the network operator is able to have very detailed information on the users of public telephones, which allows him to have a better understanding of the users and their expectations.
• the operator of a public telephone network like many operators of self-service devices, has no direct contact with its customers.
• the only information available to date concerned the number, duration and location of telephone calls made from a public telephone, which is very insufficient to know the profile of customers, and therefore offer a service corresponding to the expectations of those -this.
• the operator of the public telephone network finally has tools that allow him to improve the service offer and to be able to develop perfectly targeted communication campaigns.
• messages can be differentiated according to seasonality: greeting cards at the end of the year or even during the holidays, an electronic postcard service corresponding to the location of public payphones.
• the illustrated embodiment has been given by way of example and is in no way limitative of all of the solutions that can be implemented thanks to the present invention.
• the public telephone network described above can be replaced by any network of devices offering the public and self-service full or partial access to the Internet.
• Such public terminals can, for example, be dedicated to this service by being made up of all the elements of a PC, but assembled in a specific box suitable for their public use.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Signal Processing (AREA)
• Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
• Computer Security & Cryptography (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Probability & Statistics with Applications (AREA)
• Telephonic Communication Services (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=8850686

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (4)

Family Cites Families (4)

• 2000
  • 2000-05-26 FR FR0006799A patent/FR2809563B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2001
  • 2001-05-25 EP EP01938349A patent/EP1284086A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2001-05-25 AU AU2001264033A patent/AU2001264033A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2001-05-25 WO PCT/FR2001/001633 patent/WO2001091432A1/fr not_active Ceased

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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