Appeal No. 1998-2191
Application No. 08/284,708
BACKGROUND
The invention is directed to a telephone billing management method for cellular
telephones. Claim 1 is reproduced below.
1. A telephone billing management method for a cellular telephone system
having at least one provider with a real-time node computer and a plurality of user
phone terminals with display units, said method comprising the steps of:
preprogramming the provider’s real-time node computer to download
cumulative current billing period information and transmit via cellular radio
telecommunication channels said information to at least one of the user phone
terminals during a two-way call signalling set-up period initiated by a user when
beginning a current call; and
downloading and transmitting from the provider’s real-time node computer
said cumulative current billing period information to the user phone terminal during
said two-way call set-up period via the cellular radio telecommunications
channels, the user phone terminal being capable of displaying said current billing
period information on the display unit.
The examiner relies on the following references:
Hattori et al. (Hattori) 5,109,401 Apr. 28, 1992
Ortiz et al. (Ortiz) 5,361,297 Nov. 1, 1994
(filed Jul. 28, 1992)
Claims 1-17 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over
Hattori and Ortiz.
We refer to the Final Rejection (mailed Feb. 21, 1996), the Examiner's Answer
(mailed Oct. 29, 1996), and the Supplemental Examiner’s Answer (mailed May 9, 1997)
for a statement of the examiner's position. We refer to the Brief (filed Aug. 13, 1996) and
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