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Mobile Phone Patent Abstract
A method, program and system for calculating a cost discount for
mobile telephone Internet access are provided. The invention comprises
receiving an access request from a customer using a mobile phone
and determining that the phone is using a wireless communication
protocol (i.e. WAP). An electronic document (i.e. WML Web page)
is sent back to the mobile phone. The session time is tracked, and
if a customer purchase order is received, a discount is applied
to the purchase price of the order.
Mobile Phone Patent Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method for calculating a cost discount for mobile telephone
Internet access, comprising: a sever performing the following steps:
receiving an access request from a client machine; determining that
the client machine is using a wireless communication protocol; sending
an electronic document to the client machine; receiving a customer
purchase order; and applying a discount to a purchase price of the
customer purchase order, based on the fact that the client machine
was using the wireless communication protocol, wherein the step
of applying a discount to the purchase price further comprises:
mapping a customer identifier to a discount scheme table; and computing
a discount based on a discount scheme selected from the discount
scheme table, and wherein the discount scheme table includes a plurality
of discount schemes and wherein the discount is computed using a
discount scheme from the plurality of discount schemes that produces
greatest saving for the customer.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the wireless communication
protocol is Wireless Application Protocol.
3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the electronic document
sent to the client is a Wireless Markup Language document and contains
product information and ordering instructions.
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the discount scheme
selected is based on a wireless communication plan used by a customer.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the discount scheme
selected is based on a classification of a customer, and wherein
the classification includes regular customers, and wherein a regular
customer is determined based on a customer's purchase histories.
6. The method according to claim 4, wherein a greater discount
is applied if the wireless communication plan used by the customer
is a high-priced plan.
7. A computer program product in a computer readable medium for
use in a data processing system, for calculating a cost discount
for mobile telephone Internet access, the computer program product
comprising: instructions for receiving an access request from a
client machine; instructions for determining that the client machine
is using a wireless communication protocol; instructions for sending
an electronic document to the client machine; instructions for receiving
a customer purchase order; and instructions for applying a discount
to a purchase price of the customer purchase order, based on the
fact that the client machine is using the wireless communication
protocol, wherein the instructions for applying a discount to the
purchase price further comprise: instructions for mapping a customer
identifier to a discount scheme table; and instructions for computing
a discount based on a discount scheme selected from the discount
scheme tables and wherein the discount scheme table includes a plurality
of discount scheme and wherein the discount is computed using a
discount scheme from the plurality of discount schemes that produces
greatest savings for the customer.
8. The computer program product according to claim 7, wherein wireless
communication protocol is Wireless Application Protocol.
9. The computer program product according to claim 8, wherein the
electronic document sent to the client is a Wireless Markup Language
document and contains product Information and ordering instructions.
10. The computer program product according to claim 7, wherein
the discount scheme selected is based on a wireless communication
plan used by a customer.
11. The computer program product according to claim 7, wherein
the discount scheme selected is based on a classification of the
customer, and wherein the classification includes regular customers,
and wherein a regular customer is determined based on a customer's
purchase histories.
12. The computer program product according to claim 10, wherein
a greater discount is applied if the wireless communication plan
used by the customer is a high-priced plan.
13. A system for calculating a cost discount for mobile telephone
Internet access, comprising: a first receiving component which receives
an access request from a client machine; a first processing component
which determines that the client machine is using a wireless communication
protocol; a communications component which sends an electronic document
to the client machine; a second receiving component which receives
a customer purchase order; and a second processing component which
applies a discount to a purchase price of the customer purchase
order, based on the fact that the client machine is using the wireless
communication protocol, wherein the step of applying a discount
to the purchase price further comprises: a mapping component which
maps a customer identifier to a discount scheme table; and a processing
component which computes a discount based on a discount scheme selected
from the discount scheme table, and wherein the discount scheme
table includes a plurality of discount scheme and wherein the discount
is computed using a discount scheme from the plurality of discount
schemes that produces greatest savings for the customer.
14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the wireless communication
protocol is Wireless Application Protocol.
15. The system according to claim 14, wherein the electronic document
sent to the client is a Wireless Markup Language document and contains
product information and ordering instructions.
16. The system according to claim 13, wherein the discount scheme
selected is based on a wireless communication plan used by a customer.
17. The system according to claim 13, wherein the discount scheme
selected is based on a classification of the customer, and wherein
the classification includes regular customers, and wherein a regular
customer is determined based on a customer's purchase histories.
18. The system according to claim 16, wherein a greater discount
is applied if the wireless communication plan used by the customer
is a high-priced plan.
Mobile Phone Patent Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to computer network environments,
and more specifically to mobile phone access via the Internet of
electronic commerce sites.
2. Description of Related Art
Internet shopping via web-based cellular phone is not picking up
very rapidly in the United States, primarily because of the high
cost per minute Web access. Internet access via mobile phone adds
costs to Web access that are normally not encountered with land
line access. These additional costs provide a significant disincentive
to use mobile phones for Internet shopping, by adding to the costs
of purchases.
Some telecommunication plans do allow free web access over cellular
phones to selected merchants (from whom telecommunication companies
receives payment). However, the free web access is not extended
to all merchants.
Currently, Internet merchants have to subscribe to discount plans
offered by telecommunications carriers. These plans often allow
cellular phone users to access the merchant sites for free. Cellular
phone users might rely on a bookmark listing such discount/free
merchant sites. However, the high costs of such special arrangements
with the telecommunications carriers are only affordable to large,
well-established Internet businesses.
Therefore, an affordable and flexible discount method for defraying
the costs of cellular phone Internet shopping would be desirable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a method, program and system for
calculating a cost discount for mobile telephone Internet access.
The invention comprises receiving an access request from a customer
using a mobile phone and determining that the phone is using a wireless
communication protocol. An electronic document is sent back to the
mobile phone. The session time is tracked, and if a customer purchase
order is received, a discount is applied to the purchase price of
the order.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are
set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however,
as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages
thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed
description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction
with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 depicts a pictorial representation of a network of data
processing systems in which the present invention may be implemented;
FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of a data processing system that
may be implemented as a server in accordance with a preferred embodiment
of the present invention;
FIG. 3A depicts a diagram illustrating a mobile phone in accordance
with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3B depicts a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration
of a mobile phone in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the
present invention;
FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart illustrating an application of a cellular
phone discount in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart illustrating the overall process flow
of a cell phone discount by the merchant server in accordance with
the present invention;
FIG. 6 depicts a diagram illustrating a discount computation mechanism
in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 7 depicts a diagram illustrating the software structure of
a merchant server in accordance with the present invention; and
FIG. 8 depicts a pictorial diagram illustrating phone displays
for discount information in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
With reference now to the figures, FIG. 1 depicts a pictorial representation
of a network of data processing systems in which the present invention
may be implemented. Network data processing system 100 is a network
of computers in which the present invention may be implemented.
Network data processing system 100 contains a network 102, which
is the medium used to provide communications links between various
devices and computers connected together within network data processing
system 100. Network 102 may include several types of connections,
such as wire, wireless communication links, or fiber optic cables.
However, for the purposes of the present invention, wireless communication
links will be emphasized.
In the depicted example, server 104, 106, and 108 are connected
to network 102. In the depicted example, servers 104 and 106 are
merchant servers with high speed connections to network 102, while
server 108 is a telecommunications/gateway server. In addition,
clients 110, 112 and 114 also are connected to network 102. Client
110 is a personal computer using a conventional land line communication
link. Clients 112 and 114 are mobile phones relying on wireless
communication links. Clients 110, 112, and 114 are clients to servers
104, 106, and 108. Network data processing system 100 may include
additional servers, clients, and other devices not shown.
In the depicted example, network data processing system 100 is
the Internet with network 102 representing a worldwide collection
of networks and gateways that use the TCP/IP suite of protocols
to communicate with one another. At the heart of the Internet is
a backbone of high-speed data communication lines between major
nodes or host computers, consisting of thousands of commercial,
government, educational and other computer systems that route data
and messages. FIG. 1 is intended as an example, and not as an architectural
limitation for the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 2, a block diagram of a data processing system
that may be implemented as a server is depicted in accordance with
a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Data processing
system 200 may be a symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) system including
a plurality of processors 202 and 204 connected to system bus 206.
Alternatively, a single processor system may be employed. Also connected
to system bus 206 is memory controller/cache 208, which provides
an interface to local memory 209. I/O bus bridge 210 is connected
to system bus 206 and provides an interface to I/O bus 212. Memory
controller/cache 208 and I/O bus bridge 210 may be integrated as
depicted.
Peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus bridge 214 connected
to I/O bus 212 provides an interface to PCI local bus 216. A number
of modems may be connected to PCI bus 216. Typical PCI bus implementations
will support four PCI expansion slots or add-in connectors. Communications
links to clients 110-114 in FIG. 1 may be provided through modem
218 and network adapter 220 connected to PCI local bus 216 through
add-in boards.
Additional PCI bus bridges 222 and 224 provide interfaces for additional
PCI buses 226 and 228, from which additional modems or network adapters
may be supported. In this manner, data processing system 200 allows
connections to multiple network computers. A memory-mapped graphics
adapter 230 and hard disk 232 may also be connected to I/O bus 212
as depicted, either directly or indirectly.
Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the hardware
depicted in FIG. 2 may vary. For example, other peripheral devices,
such as optical disk drives and the like, also may be used in addition
to or in place of the hardware depicted. The depicted example is
not meant to imply architectural limitations with respect to the
present invention.
The data processing system depicted in FIG. 2 may be, for example,
an eServer pSeries system, a product of International Business Machines
Corporation in Armonk, N.Y., running the Advanced Interactive Executive
(AIX) or Linux operating systems.
With reference now to FIG. 3A, a diagram illustrating a mobile
phone is depicted in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the
present invention. Mobile phone 300 includes a display 306 for presenting
textual and graphical information. Display 306 may be a known display
device, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) device.
Mobile phone 300 may also include keypad 308, speaker 314, and
microphone 316. The keypad may be used to enter, for example, telephone
numbers, user identification information, and commands for interacting
with the interface. Audio feedback may be presented via speaker
314. In addition to normal voice conversation, feedback may include
other information, for example, location. Microphone 316 can be
used not only for voice conversation, but for entering specific
voice commands for voice actuated functions.
Mobile phone 300 also includes antenna 318, which is necessary
for establishing wireless communication links with remote transmitting
towers.
Turning now to FIG. 3B, a block diagram illustrating the hardware
configuration of mobile phone 300 is shown in accordance with a
preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3B illustrates
the increasing sophistication of modern mobile phone designs.
Mobile phone 300 employs bus architecture. Processor 322 and main
memory 324 are connected to bus 330. Display adapter 326, keypad
adapter 328, storage 332, and audio adapter 334 are also connected
to bus 330. Mobile phone 300 also includes wireless link 336 connected
to bus 330. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that
the hardware in FIG. 3B may vary depending on the implementation.
Other internal hardware or peripheral devices may be used in addition
to or in place of the hardware depicted in FIG. 3B.
Mobile phone 300 may rely on Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)
for facilitating communications. WAP is a standard for providing
wireless phones, pagers and other handheld devices with secure access
to e-mail and text-based Web pages. WAP provides a complete environment
for wireless applications that includes a wireless counterpart of
TCP/IP and a framework for telephony integration such as call control
and phone book access. WAP features the Wireless Markup Language
(WML), which was derived from Phone.com's Handheld Device Markup
Language (HDML) and is a streamlined version of HTML for small screen
displays. It also uses WMLScript, a compact JavaScript-like language
that runs in limited memory. WAP also supports handheld input methods
such as a keypad and voice recognition. Independent of the air interface,
WAP runs over all the major wireless networks in place. It is also
device independent, requiring only a minimum functionality in the
unit so that it can be used with a myriad of phones and handheld
devices. However, it should be pointed out that WAP has been described
for illustrative purposes, and other wireless protocols may be used
to implement the present invention.
The depicted example in FIG. 3B and examples described above are
not meant to imply architectural limitations. In addition, the use
of wireless communications protocols for Internet access need not
be restricted to mobile phones. The present invention may be applied
to other wireless devices which have similar communications protocols.
Mobile phones are used merely for illustrative purposes.
The present invention provides a method for Internet merchants
to apply discounts to cellular phone purchases. While prior art
approaches rely on merchants subscribing to a discount plan offered
by a telecommunications supplier, the present invention allows the
merchant to offer discounts directly to the customer. This direct
approach not only provides greater flexibility than subscribing
to a centralized discount plan, but also opens opportunities for
Internet merchants that might not otherwise be able to afford subscribing
with the major telecommunications companies.
Referring to FIG. 4, a flowchart illustrating an application of
a cellular phone discount is depicted in accordance with the present
invention. The customer registers with an Internet merchant (step
401). Session identifiers may be used to track the customer (i.e.
IDs embedded in cookies or Universal Resource Locator (URL) encoding).
First time customer who have not registered with a merchant may
be alerted by the merchant server that a discount may be applied
to any purchases, which will provide further incentive for first
time wireless customers who may not otherwise be aware of the potential
savings. An email may also be sent to customers alerting them about
possible discounts.
The merchant server determines that the customer's client (e.g.
cell phone) is communicating over the WAP protocol (wireless communications)(step
402). This may be accomplished by detecting the type of browse used
by the mobile phone, the type of header, or the presence of a WAP
gateway. The merchant server then returns WML and also tracks the
time the client spends at the web site (step 403). To reduce costs
to consumers, and thereby encourage more cell phone web purchases,
the time spent at a merchant's web site can be used to calculate
discounts applied to purchases. In addition to time-based discounts,
other discounting methods may be used to cover cellular phone costs.
Examples of alternate discounts schemes include fixed rate per call
and percentage of purchase price. Some merchants may wish to apply
a ceiling to the discount. In addition, because different wireless
communication plans may have different costs, greater discounts
may be applied to higher priced plans. Examples of ways to determine
the particular plan used by a customer (and hence relative costs)
include: detecting the particular WAP gateway being used, the customer's
wireless service provider, and customer profiles. Many other discount
schemes are possible and should be determined according to merchant
business needs.
When and if the customer makes a purchase from the merchant, a
discount is applied directly to the purchase price, depending on
the cost determination and discount method of the merchant (step
404). The system then determines if there are more requests from
the same customer (step 405). An example would be a "continue
shopping" command from the customer after placing the order.
If there is another request, the system returns to step 403. If
there are no more requests from the customer, the process stops
and the system exits.
Turning to FIG. 5, a flowchart illustrating the overall process
flow of a cell phone discount by the merchant server is depicted
in accordance with the present invention. Customers register with
a merchant database (step 501). This database in maintained on the
merchant server and contains different types of registered customers.
The criteria for classifying customers is determined by the business
requirements of the merchant. For example, merchants may classify
customers as business or professional customers, or they may classify
customers according to the customer's wireless communication plan.
Merchants might also classify customers according to the types of
products the customers are interested in purchasing. These kinds
of details can be gathered from the customers during the registration
process in step 501, and may also be updated at a later date. In
addition, the server might track repeat customers and apply greater
discounts to regular customers, depending upon the customers' purchase
histories.
When a customer contacts the merchant server or places an order
(step 502), the merchant server maps the customer to a discount
scheme table (step 503), depending on the customer's classification
within the database. The discount scheme table may contain several
discounting methods, similar to those described above. The different
schemes may be applied to different customer classifications. Alternatively,
the server may calculate which discount scheme will produce the
greatest savings for the customer for a particular transaction.
After the customer/order is mapped to a particular discount scheme,
the server uses the scheme to compute the discount for the transaction
(step 504) and then applies the discount when calculating the customer's
bill (step 505), as illustrated below in FIG. 6.
Referring to FIG. 6, a diagram illustrating a discount computation
mechanism is depicted in accordance with the present invention.
The example in FIG. 6 illustrates a time-based discount scheme.
However, as stated above, other discount schemes may be used. The
computation mechanism identifies a particular customer with the
session and transaction. In the present example, the session identifier
is 1A36794 (which is in the cookie). Because the present example
is using a time-based discount scheme, the computation mechanism
uses the total session time recorded by the server (45 minutes).
The session time is then multiplied by a cost conversion factor
(10.cent. per minute), and the total discount ($4.50) is calculated
and applied to the purchase price.
The discount schemes used by merchants might require a minimum
total purchase, in order to make the discount services more cost
effective for the merchants.
Referring to FIG. 7, a diagram illustrating the software structure
of a merchant server is depicted in accordance with the present
invention. This diagram is an example of the types of software features
used to carry out the method of the present invention. The merchant
server contains Web Server software 701, which enables the server
to communicate with other servers and client machines. Incoming
requests coming through the Web Server software 701 are compared
to a database 702 of types of customers. These types might include
first time customers, repeat customers with registered accounts,
business customers, or any type of classification that the merchant
wishes to use, based on the nature of the merchant's business. The
classification of customers may also be based on method of communication
used by the customer in contacting the merchant. The explanation
of the present invention assumes that the customer is using mobile
or cellular telephone communication. However, there may also be
possible sub-classifications with mobile communications.
The classification of the incoming customer request is then mapped
to a table of discount schemes 703. Discount computation software
704 then calculates the discount based on the appropriate discount
scheme. This discount is then applied to the purchase price by billing
software 705.
Referring now to FIG. 8, a pictorial diagram illustrating phone
displays for discount information is depicted in accordance with
the present invention. The displays illustrated in FIG. 8 are merely
possible examples of the type of discount display a customer might
receive on his or her cell phone after an order is placed. Display
800 is an example of a detailed display identifying the merchant,
the discount parameter (i.e. time), and the total discount on the
order. In the example illustrated by display 810, a menu selection
option is presented to the customer rather than detailed information.
Because wireless Internet purchases may be impulse and discretionary,
an Internet merchant that discounts the cost of cell-phone access
may find more visitors and recoup the cost of the discounts due
to economies of scale from greater sales. By using the present invention,
merchants will not have to pay the telecommunications carriers in
order to provide free cell-phone access to the merchant web sites.
This allows smaller merchants to avoid the often prohibitive costs
of making special arrangements with the telecommunications firms.
It is important to note that while the present invention has been
described in the context of a fully functioning data processing
system, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that
the processes of the present invention are capable of being distributed
in the form of a computer readable medium of instructions and a
variety of forms and that the present invention applies equally
regardless of the particular type of signal bearing media actually
used to carry out the distribution. Examples of computer readable
media include recordable-type media, such as a floppy disk, a hard
disk drive, a RAM, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, and transmission-type media,
such as digital and analog communications links, wired or wireless
communications links using transmission forms, such as, for example,
radio frequency and light wave transmissions. The computer readable
media may take the form of coded formats that are decoded for actual
use in a particular data processing system. WAP and WML are used
merely for illustrative purposes. Other markup languages (e.g. HDML)
and communications protocols (e.g. bluetooth) may be used with the
present invention.
The description of the present invention has been presented for
purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended to
be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed.
Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary
skill in the art. The embodiment was chosen and described in order
to best explain the principles of the invention, the practical application,
and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand
the invention for various embodiments with various modifications
as are suited to the particular use contemplated. |