US 9,571,371 B2 · Network connection communication system

Abstract

Provided is a technology that makes it possible for billing and balance management in the form of units that are difficult to understand for a user, to be expressed and managed in the form of units that are easy to understand from the viewpoint of the actual purpose of use. The network connection communication system is provided with means for expressing the unit price of network usage in terms of units that a user can understand more intuitively in the light of the purpose for which the network is used. For instance, the number of connection minutes (time), the number of books purchased and downloaded over the network, or the number of connections to a communicating partner can be used depending on the purpose of use of a service.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A computer-implemented method for adjusting an amount of network usage units available to a user based on a network utilization ratio, comprising:

receiving, from a terminal, a request for network usage units associated with a user;
searching a user database that stores network usage units associated with an account of the user, thereby determining a number of network usage units for the user;
providing the number of network usage units associated with the user to a unit converter;
retrieving, at the unit converter, a modifying coefficient that is based on a current network utilization ratio;
calculating an adjusted amount of network usage units associated with the user by multiplying the number of network usage units by the modifying coefficient;
and
providing, to the terminal, the adjusted amount of network usage units associated with the user.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Network connection communication system

Life of this patent

Network connection communication system

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims14