WO2006040459A1

WO2006040459A1 - Intermediation method in a transaction between a client terminal and a reply supplying server, and associated server

Info

Publication number: WO2006040459A1
Application number: PCT/FR2005/002482
Authority: WO
Inventors: Aymeric De Solages; Rémi Groult; Mohammed Boutahar
Original assignee: France Telecom
Priority date: 2004-10-08
Filing date: 2005-10-07
Publication date: 2006-04-20
Also published as: FR2876530A1

Abstract

The invention concerns an intermediation method in a transaction including a request and a reply between a terminal and a server comprising a catalogue of said replies. The method includes the following steps: sending a message by the terminal to an intermediation server requesting access to the reply server, exchanging messages between the terminal and the server via the intermediation server to select a reply from the catalogue of the server and, after selection, transferring data of the transaction to validating means of the intermediation server then, sending a message from the intermediation server to the terminal requesting agreement concerning the transaction, and receiving an agreement message in return, validating the transaction by the intermediation server with the validation server and sending a message from the intermediation server to the server for triggering execution of the selected reply.

Description

Method of intermediation in a transaction between a client terminal and a response provider server, and associated server. The present invention relates to a method of intermediation in a transaction comprising a request and at least one response between a client terminal and a server providing answers, and an intermediation server. In the context of interactive voice services, the providers of such services are remunerated by means of premium-rate telephone numbers set up by the telephone operators. The cost of calling a premium rate number is greater than the cost of the telephone call to account for the value of the information provided or the service rendered by the voice service.

In order to better manage this added value, the operators define surcharged number ranges with different tariff levels. The voice service provider can choose a pricing corresponding to the value of the service rendered.

The surcharge is split between the operator and the service provider. It is perceived by the operator, who is responsible for billing the customer, and the latter gives the service providers the share of the surtax which is theirs.

Currently, two modes of taxation are available: - the payment on the call, regardless of the duration, and

- the payment with the duration, the surcharge being proportional to the duration of the communication.

These two modes of taxation do not make it possible to separate the phase of consultation of the service from the phase of purchase and enjoyment of the good or service if these two phases take place on the same voice channel, since there is no possibility of differentiating taxation according to the phase of the dialogue.

In addition, the merchant can adjust the payment to the value of the information provided only by one of two means:

- artificially adjust the duration of the communication to the average value of the information provided by the service, or

- use different telephone numbers, associated with different tariff levels, for information of different values.

It should be noted that the structure of the voice services market is currently composed of large merchants who own their own infrastructure and brokers who make available and pool their infrastructure with small and medium traders.

The object of the invention is therefore to propose a method, and the associated server, which allows to offer a variety of payment methods while preserving this functional dichotomy between the telephone operator and merchants.

The object of the invention is therefore a method of intermediation in a transaction comprising a request and at least one response between a client terminal and a response provider server, this server comprising means for storing descriptions of said responses in the form of a a catalog, the method comprising the steps of: a) sending a message by the client terminal to an access request intermediation server to a server providing answers, b) message exchange, between the client terminal and the provider server via the intermediation server, able to allow the client terminal to consult the response catalog of the provider server and to choose a response from this catalog, c) storage of the selected response on the server of intermediation, d) the choice being made, transfer of information capable of qualifying the e) transaction to means of validation of the intermediation server, e) sending a message order for validating the transaction of the intermediation server to a validation server, f) receiving a validation commit message from the validation server by the intermediation server, g) sending a message from the server of validation intermediation to the provider server capable of triggering the execution of the chosen response, said response of the catalog comprising transaction setting information such that, in step c), the transfer of said information is done without intervention of the server provider.

The characteristics of the invention are:

after step g), a step of execution of the selected response comprising the transfer, by electronic means, of the response of the server provider to the intermediation server, then the electronic transfer of the response of the intermediation server to the client terminal;

in step b) of consulting the catalog, the messages destined for the client terminal comprise controlled links, these links being tags of messages referencing a response, and including the parameter setting information of the transaction;

the messages destined for the client terminal comprise free links, these free links being message tags enabling the client terminal to reach other predetermined information of the catalog; the transaction corresponds to a voice service, the client terminal being a telephone;

- The descriptions of the responses in the server catalog (5, 6, 7) are in the Voice XML format.

Another object of the invention is an intermediation server for implementing the method comprising:

first connection means with a client terminal;

second means of connection with a provider server and,

third means of connection with a validation server,

means for authenticating the client terminal or the client, the first and second means being connected to consultation means able to allow the client terminal to choose a response from a catalog of responses from the provider server,

- Storage means of the response, said response comprising transaction setting information suitable for qualifying the transaction;

transmission means capable of transmitting the references of the chosen response as well as information able to qualify the transaction to transaction validation means,

the validation means being also connected to the first and third connection means, and able to send a validation command to the validation server, in the name of the client terminal, and corresponding to the chosen response and to obtain the agreement of the server of validation for said validation order, means for delivering the chosen response from the provider server to the client terminal;

Other characteristics of the server, object of the invention, are:

the references of the chosen response are transmitted between the consultation means and the transaction validation means in the form of a data record having a previously defined format independent of the provider server.

Another object is a provider server able to communicate with an intermediation server and able to allow a client terminal to consult a response catalog and choose a response from this catalog through the intermediation server, the catalog including transaction setting information.

Another object of the invention is a software product recorded in a storage medium for implementation by a computer acting as dedicated equipment of the preceding intermediation method.

The invention will be better understood on reading the description which will follow, given solely by way of example, and with reference to the appended drawings, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the network in one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the various functional modules and their interactions in one embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 3 is a diagram of the flow of information of an embodiment of the method according to the invention.

In the embodiment described below, the example of a purchase transaction of a good or paying service will be used for illustrative and not limiting.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, FIG. 1, a server 1, called intermediation server, comprises first means 9 for connection to client terminals 2, 3.

These client terminals 2, 3 may be conventional personal computers 2 connected to the intermediation server 1 via the network 4 consisting for example of a local area network connected to the Internet or by a line telephone and a modem also connected to the Internet and preferably having an internet browser. They can also be conventional fixed or mobile telephones connected to the server 1 by a telephone network. In all cases, the client terminals 2, 3 comprise a human-machine interface allowing a human being to enter and receive information.

In the case where the client terminal is a telephone 3, the information presentation mode is therefore generally vocal and the information input mode is either voice via a voice recognition module located on the server 1, either by entering a code on the keypad of the phone as is well known to those skilled in the art.

It is also possible to use a telephone 3 to exchange written messages. To do this, USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Services Data) can be used.

The intermediation server 1 also comprises second and third means 10, 11 of connection, via a digital network, to servers 5, 6, 7 suppliers of goods and services, as well as at least a payment server 8. The servers 5, 6, 7 are presented for illustrative purposes and their number is, of course, not limited to 3.

A good or a service is a particular example of responses provided by the servers 5, 6, 7. Likewise, the payment server 8 is a particular case of a transaction validation server, the payment corresponding to a particular case of payment. validation.

The digital connection between the intermediation server 1 and the different servers 5, 6, 7 and 8 can be of any type allowing the exchange of digital messages between computers. Preferably, the Internet network to the IP standard is used and the exchange of messages between the machines is done according to the http protocol. It is also possible to advantageously use the secure http protocol, or https, to allow messages to be exchanged between the different machines that are secure and confidential, as is well known to those skilled in the art. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the server 1 is in the intermediate position, or interface, between the terminals 2, 3 clients and the servers 5, 6, 7, 8 providers or payment, hence the name of intermediation server given to the server 1. The hardware and the operating system of the different servers 5, 6, 7,

8 are conventional for this type of application and well known to those skilled in the art.

Advantageously, the various connection means 9, 10, 11 make it possible to standardize the exchanges between machines at the application level and to simplify the setting up of the different devices.

In fact, with the respect of standards defined by the intermediation server 1, the servers 5, 6, 7 providers do not have to manage the possible diversity of the client terminals 2, 3 and their connection modes.

At the application level, in the sense of the ISO standard on telecommunications, the first connection means 9 of the intermediation server 1 comprise a "server" page engine which transforms the information to be sent to the client terminal into an intermediate stream destined for the client. client terminal 2, 3. When this intermediate stream is still constituted of pages, the client terminal 2, 3 decodes them by means of a "client" page engine to present them to the user on the human-machine interface of terminal output 2, 3.

In all cases, the information to be sent is at the origin, that is to say before their transformation by the engine of pages "server", in the form of pages, or files, containing structured data. These pages may for example be HTML, XML files ... For example, in the particular case of a voice service, these pages may be VoiceXML files.

Thus, in the case of an Internet service, the pages are coded in

HTML or one of its variants, broadcast on the network by an http server as the "Apache" server hosted by the server 1, then received and decoded by the "client" page engine of the Internet browser of the terminal 2 for display.

In most implementations of a voice service, the pages coming from the servers 5, 6, 7 providers are coded in VoiceXML and transformed by the "server" page engine of the intermediation server 1 into a signal, called intermediate signal. , compatible with the phone 3 of reception and then, again, transformed into an audible signal by the earpiece or the speaker of the latter.

In the case of a voice service, and for most implementations, the intermediate stream thus defined being a signal directly interpretable by the client terminal 3, it does not include a "client" page engine.

It must therefore be understood that when, in the rest of this description, the different flows or interactions between the objects are qualified by the semantics of the data they transport, this corresponds in fact to a perfectly structured message exchange according to the standardized Internet protocols. or IUT, protocols which are well known to those skilled in the art and the implementation of which does not contain any particular difficulty in the context of the embodiment described.

Referring to Figure 2, the different functions and their relationships will now be explained. The servers 5, 6, 7 suppliers of goods and services comprise two modules 12, 13. The first module 12 is a cataloging module. It includes means for storing descriptions of the goods and services offered for sale by the merchant supplier. The storage means also comprise navigation means enabling the customer to search for the desired good or service.

In the context of a voice service, this module 12 can advantageously be structured thanks to the VoiceXML standard combined with scripts written in Javascript.

The information is structured in the form of pages, each page containing free links and / or paid links.

Inside a page, a link is a portion of the page that has three elements: a label, a customer action, and an engine action.

The label corresponds to a portion of the page that describes the client action, ie the action that the client must perform, to obtain the execution of a motor action, that is, say the action to be performed by the page engine "server", itself described by the label.

Thus, in the context of a voice message, the execution of a voice link comprises two steps: - the sound reproduction of the label of the link, this label comprising at least a voice description of the customer action and the engine action. For example, if the motor action is the download of a voice page, the label includes a description of the action that the client must take to obtain this voice page;

- waiting for the customer's response. In case of non-response, the link may include a delay after which the processing of the link by the engine is abandoned, and the restitution of the current voice page continued.

A paid link, or controlled link, is then a special case of a link in the context of a commercial transaction. The label then contains the description of a product, its price, which is therefore a coded value of the product, and the description of the action to be performed by the customer in order to signify his intention to proceed with the purchase of the product described. . The corresponding engine action contains the instructions, in the computer sense of the term, necessary as a result of the transaction and the payment.

A free link, or free link, is a link that does not pay, that is to say that it allows access to other pages of the catalog but does not start a commercial transaction.

Thus, the catalog is the set consisting of a home page and all the pages accessible via the free links of this homepage directly or through other pages.

The servers 5, 6, 7 providers also include a content module 13 comprising means for storing the goods or services and thus allowing, when a transaction is made, to deliver the product or service purchased, in other words, d. Execute the chosen answer, as will be explained below.

The payment server 8 conventionally comprises the means necessary to record, validate and execute payment orders.

The intermediation server 1 comprises first means 9 of connection with the client terminal, second means 10 of connection with the provider servers and third means 11 of connection with a payment server as explained above with reference in Figure 1.

The server 1 further comprises, Figure 2, means 14 authentication for authenticating the client terminal or the user client. These means 14 use, for example, either the number of the telephone line or the IP address, or cryptographic authentication means well known to those skilled in the art (identifier / password, challenge / response, .. .).

The first and second connection means 9, 10 of the server 1 are connected to consultation means 15 capable of enabling the client terminal to choose a good or a service from the provider server. The means 15 of consultation transmit the references of the good or service chosen to means

16 validation of the transaction according to a predetermined format. Thus the communication between the means of consultation and the means of validation is completely defined in order to limit the risks of fraud that may come, in particular, from the servers 5, 6, 7 suppliers, these not intervening in the phase next validation.

The validation means are connected to the client terminal and the payment server via the first and third connection means 9, 11.

Their role is to collect the customer's agreement on the transaction, to send a payment order to the payment server, payment order corresponding to the good or service chosen, and to collect the payment server 8 agreement for this order of payment. payment. When this last agreement is obtained, they transmit the delivery order to means of delivery.

These are able to manage the delivery, or tracking, between the client terminal 2, 3 and the provider server 5, 6, 7.

The operation of the intermediation server and its various means will now be explained in relation to FIG.

It should be noted that, as far as possible, the exchanges of messages described and referenced in relation to FIG. 3, have also been reported, with the same references in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram comprising, symbolized by dashed vertical lines, the different objects described with reference to FIG. 1, namely the client terminal 2, 3, the intermediation server 1, a server 5, 6, 7 with which a consultation and a transaction will be performed, and the payment server 8. The different information flows between these objects are symbolized by horizontal arrows-oriented lines to indicate the direction of the main flow of information.

As previously explained, these information flows physically correspond to messages formatted according to protocols such as the http protocol. For the clarity and simplicity of the schema, a single line of the schema can correspond to several semantically equivalent messages.

For example, a large data set that needs to be split into multiple packets / messages to be transmitted is represented by a single line. Similarly, messages with a purely technical content, related to the protocol, such as acknowledgments, are not represented.

Finally, it should be noted that the timing of the fluxes in time is represented in FIG. 3 by a flow of time going from the top to the bottom.

After connecting 20 to the intermediation server 1, the client terminal 2, 3 or the user client itself is authenticated at 21 by the intermediation server 1 as explained above.

During the exchange 22, the customer calls a merchant, or, more exactly, a server 5, 6, 7 provider of goods or services, by means of the address of a service. The intermediation server 1 then performs, if necessary, a translation of the address provided by the client into an internal identifier of the called service.

At the intermediation server 1, the call is then transferred to the consultation means.

These find the address of the catalog service of the supplier server from the internal identifier and then manage the consultation by the customer of this catalog in the interactions 23, 24 and 25.

The interaction 23 corresponds to downloading the catalog home page of the server 5, 6, 7 provider to the intermediation server 1. The interaction 24 corresponds in particular to the downloading of this same page from the intermediation server 1 to the client terminal 2, 3 or, more generally, to the intermediate stream corresponding to this same page, as defined above, as well as to the selection in return, by the client terminal 2, 3 free links allowing access to new pages, this selection giving rise to the downloading of the corresponding pages of the server 5, 6, 7 provider in 25. The interaction 24 also corresponds to the downloading of these new pages of the intermediation server 1 to the client terminal 2, 3 or, more generally, the intermediate stream corresponding thereto.

It is easy to see that, since the catalog is composed of several pages as explained above, the interactions 23, 24 and 25 may in fact represent several entangled interactions, the pages being thus transmitted as and when the client requests it.

More specifically, when the client, after reading the label a free link, performs the corresponding client action, a signal encoding this action is transmitted 24 to means 15 for consultation of the intermediation server 1. These transmit this information to the page engine

"Server" to perform the corresponding engine action.

If this engine action corresponds to the downloading of a new catalog page, this downloading is done in a conventional manner between the intermediation server 1 and the provider server 5, 6, 7.

More precisely, during this consultation of the catalog, a dialogue takes place between the client terminal 2, 3 and the intermediation server 1 at 24. During this interaction 24, the client acquires knowledge of the contents of the catalog, and in particular of the labels of free or paid links it contains. The client performs the client actions associated with some of these links via the human-machine interface of the client terminal 2, 3. Each time a client action is performed, a signal encoding the customer action is transmitted. from the client terminal 2, 3 to the intermediation server 1, as part of the interaction 24.

If the link corresponding to the customer action performed is a paid link, this means that the customer has chosen to buy a good or a product. A signal encoding this client action is transmitted at 26 to the intermediation server to perform the corresponding engine action. This consists in particular in transmitting to the payment transaction means 16 the elements of the transaction (description of the product, price, etc.) and in transferring to them the control of the transactions.

It is remarkable to note that in order to provoke the payment, the merchant must, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, insert in all his paid links or, more exactly, in the motor actions of these links, the code allowing the transfer to the means 16 of payment transaction of the parameters of the transaction.

The format of the data record corresponding to the paying link and which is transmitted by the consultation means to the means for validating the transaction is completely defined at the level of the intermediation server 1.

Thus, the means 16 for validating the transaction have no direct link with the servers 5, 6, 7, suppliers.

The absence of this code would deprive the merchant of the payment, even in the event that it tries to simulate the payment dialogue with the customer, normally managed by the intermediation server 1, to modify, for example, the price. Indeed the merchant does not have direct access to the payment server 8.

The method thus advantageously protects the customer against fraud by the merchant. During the step controlled by the payment transaction means 16, the merchant does not intervene. The intermediation server 1 thus plays a role of trusted third party in the transaction.

The intermediation server receives the client's agreement for the transaction. To this end, it presents in 27 to the customer a customer authorization page on which the essential elements of the transaction are recalled.

If some of these items are different from those in the catalog, that is, the items shown on the previously selected paid link label, the elements of the customer authorization page are authentic. It is conceivable that this makes it possible to protect the customer against a fraud in which the price displayed in the label would be different from the price transmitted by the corresponding motor action to trigger the payment process.

The customer authorization page includes, in a classic way, two links: one to agree to the transaction, the other to refuse.

If the client does not agree, in the form of data passing from the client terminal to the intermediation server at 27, the process is interrupted and returns to the consultation of the catalog, steps 23, 24, 25.

On the other hand, if the client gives a positive response in the form of data transiting from the client terminal to the intermediation server at 27, this means that it confirms the purchase and that it gives its agreement for a transaction of payment in 28 between the intermediation server and the payment server 8 according to the terms set in the customer authorization page.

The payment server 8 gives its answer in 29. If the response of the payment server is positive, that is to say that it has agreed to the payment, then the intermediation server will transfer the transaction data. to means 17 of delivery.

In the case of a negative response from the payment server 8, the intermediation server 1 warns the client with a suitable message and then returns, possibly, to the means 15 for consulting the catalog. The delivery means 17 of the intermediation server transmit to the provider server, in 30, the information necessary for the latter to perform the delivery.

This can take two forms:

- in the case of a physical good, the provider server sends 31 to the intermediation server the relevant information on the delivery

(carrier, date ...). This information is recorded by the intermediation server as a means of proof in case of dispute and sent in 32 to the client;

- In the case of a "virtual" good or service, that is to say corresponding to a digital file stored on the server 5, 6, 7 provider, it is downloaded in 31 on the server 1 of intermediation which transfers it at 32 to the client terminal 2, 3.

It should be noted that, depending on the size of the downloadable object, the interactions 31 and 32 may in fact correspond to several interleaved message exchanges.

Finally, when the delivery has taken place, the intermediation server can transfer the client to the consultation means of the catalog for a possible continuation of the process.

It is easy to see that this method advantageously makes it possible to offer a variety of payment methods for voice services and that, more generally, it makes it possible to offer a platform for centralization and coordination of a virtual shopping mall. It protects advantageously the customer and the merchant from certain frauds by acting as trusted third party.

Claims

1. Method of intermediation in a transaction comprising a request and at least one response between a client terminal (2, 3) and a server (5, 6, 7) providing answers, this server comprising storage means (12) descriptions of said responses in the form of a catalog, the method comprising the steps of: a) sending a message by the client terminal (2, 3) to an access request intermediation server (1); server (5, 6, 7) providing answers, b) exchanging messages between the client terminal (2, 3) and the server (5,

6, 7) via the intermediation server (1), able to allow the client terminal (2, 3) to consult the response catalog, and to choose a response from said catalog (12), c) storage of the selected response on the intermediation server, d) the choice being made, transfer of information capable of qualifying the transaction to means (16) of validation of the server (1) of intermediation, e) sending a message order of validation of the transaction of the server (1) for intermediation to a server (8) validation, f) reception of a validation agreement message validation server (8) by the server (1) intermediation, g) sending a message from the server (1) intermediation to the server (5, 6, 7) provider able to trigger the execution of the chosen response, characterized in that, said response of the catalog includes transaction setting information such as, in step c), transferring said ormations is done without intervention of the provider server.

2. Intermediation method according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises, after step g), a step of execution of the selected response comprising the transfer, electronically, the response of the server (5, 6, 7) provider to the server (1) intermediation, and then electronically transfer the response of the server (1) intermediation to the client terminal (2, 3). 3. intermediation method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, in step b) of consulting the catalog, the messages to the client terminal (2,

3) have controlled links, these links being tags of messages referencing a response, and including the parameter setting information of the transaction.

4. intermediation method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the messages to the client terminal (2, 3) comprise free links, these free links being message tags allowing the client terminal to reach other predetermined information from the catalog.

5. Intermediation method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the transaction corresponds to a voice service, the client terminal being a telephone.

6. Intermediation method according to claim 5, characterized in that the descriptions of the responses in the catalog of the server (5, 6, 7) provider are in Voice XML format.

7. Server (1) intermediation for implementing the method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises, - first means (9) of connection with a client terminal (2, 3 )

second means (10) of connection with a provider server (5, 6, 7) and,

third means (11) for connection to a validation server (8); means (14) for authenticating the client terminal (2, 3) or the client,

the first and second means (9, 10) being connected to consultation means (15) able to allow the client terminal (2, 3) to choose a response from a catalog of responses from the server (5, 6, 7); ) provider, - storage means of the response, said response comprising transaction setting information capable of qualifying the transaction;

transmission means able to transmit the references of the selected response as well as the information able to qualify the transaction to transaction validation means (16), the validation means (16) being also connected to the first and third means (9, 11) of connections, and able to send a validation command to the validation server (8), in the name of the client terminal (2, 3) , and corresponding to the selected response and to obtain the agreement of the server (8) validation for said validation order,

means (17) for delivering the selected response from the provider server (5, 6, 7) to the client terminal (2, 3).

Intermediate server according to claim 7, characterized in that the references of the selected response are transmitted between the consultation means (15) and the transaction validation means (16) in the form of a data record having a previously defined format independent of the provider (5, 6, 7).

9. Server (5, 6, 7) provider capable of communicating with an intermediation server as claimed in one of claims 7 to 8, said server being able to allow a client terminal (43) to consult a catalog of responses (12) and to select a response from this catalog (12) through the intermediation server, characterized in that the selected response includes parameter information of the transaction.

10. Software product recorded in a storage medium for implementation by a computer acting as dedicated equipment of the intermediation method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.