Tracking and notification of telephone plan minute status

#The invention relates to methods and systems for tracking phone usage. More specifically, the invention relates to software for allowing a user to track his phone usage to determine the length of calls and the times at which calls are made.

#Wireless telephone users are typically charged based on the time of day that a call is made and the length of the call. Typically, a price per minute, or rate, is set for a block of time during the day that is higher than the rate charged at night or on weekends. Rates charged at night or on weekends, commonly referred to as “off-peak” rates, are normally lower than daytime rates, or “peak” rates, due to the reduced demand for phone usage during nights and weekends.

#Due in part to the reduced demand for off-peak calls, some calling plans offer unlimited calls during these times. A “calling plan” refers to a rate structure or cost structure used by telephone service providers for charging a customer for phone use. Many calling plans and their associated rate structures are imposed by a phone service provider and chosen by a user. A particular user's calling plan is typically defined in a contract between the phone service provider and the user. Phone service providers typically charge users a periodic fee, normally a monthly fee, under a calling plan for telephone service.

#FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary wireless phone network.

#FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary computer system and phone network for implementing an embodiment of the invention.

#FIG. 3 is a chart demonstrating the time blocks defined by an exemplary calling plan.

#According to an embodiment of the present invention, a system tracks the total time that a telephone is used during a specific time block. A user can track how much time the telephone has been used during the time block, which is very useful to most telephone calling plans. Telephone calling plans are based on the time that a call is made, and typically allocate a finite number of minutes that can be used during a time block, after which a rate per minute is charged. Therefore, a user can tell how much time he has used, or conversely, how much time is left that the user is able to use, before the user is charged a per minute rate. The invention is applicable to a variety of applications, including computer networks and telephone network applications in wireless, “wired,” and other systems for communication between electrical devices.

#FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary wireless phone network. An overview of wireless phone networks is provided in more detail by U.S. Pat. No. 5,850,606 to Bedingfield et al., which is hereby incorporated by reference.

#For clarity and ease of presentation, an example of a wireless phone network has been depicted in FIG. 1. As will be readily appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, the invention is applicable to wireless as well as wired telephone networks, and other types of communication networks. For example, the invention is easily modified for use in a computer network. Any number of network configurations may be used to implement the system and method disclosed herein. It is not necessary that a particular wireless or wired telephone network configuration is used.