U.S. patent application number 09/796060 was filed with the patent office on 2001-07-12 for point-of-presence call management center.
This patent application is currently assigned to Callnet Communications. Invention is credited to Sundaram, Mukesh, Uppaluru, Prem.
Application Number | 20010007589 09/796060 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26781902 |
Filed Date | 2001-07-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010007589 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Uppaluru, Prem ; et
al. |
July 12, 2001 |
Point-of-presence call management center
Abstract
A point-of-presence (POP) call center system capable of
answering, servicing, queuing and routing of calls at local points
of presence to reduce communications costs and enhance operational
efficiency for toll-free inbound call centers. The POP call center
system includes a set of point-of-presence call center gateways
distributed at points of presence close to the point of call
origination.
Inventors: |
Uppaluru, Prem; (Cupertino,
CA) ; Sundaram, Mukesh; (San Jose, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Sanjeet Dutta
BLAKELY, SOKOLOFF, TAYLOR & ZAFMAN LLP
Seventh Floor
12400 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles
CA
90025-1026
US
|
Assignee: |
Callnet Communications
|
Family ID: |
26781902 |
Appl. No.: |
09/796060 |
Filed: |
February 27, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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09796060 |
Feb 27, 2001 |
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09433636 |
Nov 3, 1999 |
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09433636 |
Nov 3, 1999 |
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09249395 |
Feb 12, 1999 |
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6011844 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
379/211.02 ;
379/219; 379/221.01 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 3/5191 20130101;
H04M 3/5237 20130101; H04M 3/5166 20130101; H04M 2207/35 20130101;
H04M 3/42306 20130101; H04M 7/0033 20130101; H04M 7/1245 20130101;
H04M 7/125 20130101; H04M 7/121 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
379/211.02 ;
379/219; 379/221.01 |
International
Class: |
H04M 003/42; H04M
007/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method, comprising: redirecting a telephone call that is
directed to a remote call center to a local call center;
automatically answering the redirected telephone call in the local
call center to determine whether connection to the remote call
center is necessary; and bridging the redirected telephone call
with a telephone connection in the remote call center via a
telecommunication network adaptable to be coupled between the local
call center and the remote call center if connection to the remote
call center is necessary.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising signaling the remote
call center via a data network between the local call center and
the remote call center to request the telephone connection to be
established in the remote call center if connection to the remote
call center is necessary.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein redirecting the telephone call
from the remote call center to the local call center comprises
translating a telephone number associated with the inbound
telephone call to a translated number that terminates at the local
call center.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein bridging the redirected telephone
call with the telephone connection in the remote call center
comprises: determining when the telephone connection in the remote
call center is imminent; and forwarding the redirected telephone
call to the remote call center via the communication network to be
bridged with the telephone connection in the remote call center in
response to determining that the telephone connection in the remote
call center is imminent.
5. The method of claim 4 wherein determining when the telephone
connection in the remote call center is imminent comprises the
local call center receiving a signal from the remote call center
via a data network coupled between the local call center and the
remote call center, the signal indicating that the telephone
connection in the remote call center is imminent.
6. The method of claim 4 further comprising storing an entry in a
queue in the remote call center to indicate the request for the
telephone connection to be established in the remote call center,
and wherein determining when the telephone connection in the remote
call center is imminent comprises determining when the entry in the
queue in the remote call center has advanced to the head of the
queue.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein automatically answering the
redirected telephone call in the local call center to determine
whether connection to the remote call center is necessary
comprises: automatically answering the call using an automated call
answering system; and executing an interactive application in the
automated call answering system to interact with a caller.
8. The method of claim 7 further comprising downloading at least a
portion of the interactive application from the remote call center
to the local call center via a data network coupled between the
local call center and the remote call center.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein bridging the redirected telephone
call with the telephone connection in the remote call center via a
communication network comprises bridging the redirected telephone
call with the telephone connection in the remote call center via a
voice communication channel established over a data network coupled
between the local call center and the remote call center.
10. A distributed telephone call servicing system comprising: a
remote call center configured to service telephone calls; and a
local call center configured to automatically answer telephone
calls that have been redirected from the remote call center to the
local call center, the local call center being further configured
to determine, for each redirected telephone call, whether
connection to the remote call center is necessary and, if
connection to the remote call center is necessary, to bridge the
redirected telephone call with a telephone connection in the remote
call center via a communication network coupled between the local
call center and the remote call center.
11. The system of claim 10 further comprising a data network
coupled between the local call center and the remote call center,
the local call center being further configured to signal the remote
call center via the data network to request the telephone
connection to be established in the remote call center if
connection to the remote call center is necessary.
12. The system of claim 11 wherein the data network is a virtual
private network that provides industry standard connection and
transport protocols.
13. The system of claim 11 wherein the data network between the
local call center and the remote call center forms the
communication network used to bridge the redirected toll free call
with the telephone connection in the remote call center.
14. The system of claim 11 further comprising a database of network
addresses coupled to the local call center via the data network,
the local call center being configured to access the database of
network addresses to determine a network address of the remote call
center in response to answering a telephone call that has been
redirected from the remote call center to the local call
center.
15. The system of claim 14 wherein the local call center indexes
the database of network addresses based on a phone number generated
by translating a telephone number assigned to the remote call
center.
16. The system of claim 15 wherein the phone number generated by
translating the telephone number assigned to the remote call center
is a telephone number assigned to the local call center.
17. The system of claim 10 wherein the local call center includes
an automated call answering system that executes an interactive
application to interact with respective callers of the redirected
telephone calls.
18. The system of claim 17 further comprising a data network
coupled between the local call center and the remote call center,
the local call center being further configured to download at least
a portion of the interactive application from the remote call
center via the data network.
19. A distributed telephone call servicing system comprising: a
remote call center configured to service telephone calls; and a
plurality of local call centers that are distributed within
respective service regions, each configured to automatically answer
telephone calls that originate within the local call center's
respective service region, each of the telephone calls being
redirected from the remote call center to one of the plurality of
local call centers selected according to the service region from
which the telephone call originated, the selected one of the
plurality of local call centers being configured to determine, for
each redirected telephone call received, whether connection to the
remote call center is necessary and, if connection to the remote
call center is necessary, to bridge the redirected telephone call
with a telephone connection in the remote call center via a
communication network between the local call center and the remote
call center.
20. The system of claim 19 further comprising a data network
interconnecting each of the plurality of local call centers with
the remote call center, the selected one of the plurality of local
call centers being further configured to signal the remote call
center via the data network to request the telephone connection to
be established in the remote call center if connection to the
remote call center is necessary.
21. The system of claim 20 wherein the data network is a virtual
private network that provides industry standard connection and
transport protocols.
22. The system of claim 20 wherein the data network interconnecting
the plurality of local call centers with the remote call center
forms the communication network used to bridge the redirected toll
free call with the telephone connection in the remote call
center.
23. The system of claim 19 wherein each of the plurality of local
call centers includes an automated call answering system that
executes an interactive application to interact with respective
callers of the redirected telephone calls.
24. The system of claim 23 further comprising a data network
interconnecting each of the plurality of local call centers with
the remote call center, at least one of the plurality of local call
centers being configured to download at least a portion of the
interactive application from the remote call center via the data
network.
25. The system of claim 19 wherein the service regions correspond
to geographic regions.
26. The system of claim 19 wherein the service regions are local
access network service regions.
27. The system of claim 26 wherein at least one of the local access
network service regions is served by a wireless access network.
28. The system of claim 26 wherein at least one of the local access
network service regions is served by a data access network.
29. The system of claim 26 wherein at least one of the local access
network service regions is served by a digital subscriber line
access network.
30. The system of claim 19 wherein at least one of the service
regions is served by a long distance access network.
31. A telephone call handling system comprising: a telephony switch
to receive telephone calls that have been redirected to the call
handling system by a local access network; a computer telephony
server coupled to the telephony switch to detect when a redirected
telephone call is received in the telephony switch and to
automatically answer the redirected telephone call to determine
whether connection to a remote call center is necessary, the
computer telephony server being configured to bridge the redirected
telephone call with a telephone connection in the remote call
center via a communication network adaptable to be coupled between
the local call center and the remote call center if connection to
the remote call center is necessary.
32. The call handling system of claim 31 wherein the communication
network is a data network.
33. The call handling system of claim 31 wherein the communication
network is a wireless network.
34. The call handling system of claim 31 wherein the computer
telephony server is configured to issue a request to the remote
call center to initiate a proxy call in the remote call center, the
proxy call being a request for connection to a human operator that
is managed within the remote call center without a long distance
voice connection being established between the remote call center
and the call handling system.
35. The call handling system of claim 34 wherein the computer
telephony server is further configured to receive communications
via a data network indicating progress of the proxy call in the
remote call center and wherein the computer telephony server is
further configured to bridge the redirected telephone call with a
telephone connection in the remote call center by bridging the
redirected telephone call with the proxy call in response to
detecting that the proxy call is about to be answered by a human
operator.
36. A telephone call handling system comprising: a local call
center gateway communicatively coupled to an access network
accessible by one or more end users; an automated call distributor
configured to queue inbound calls in a queue and to distribute the
inbound calls in sequence to human operators as human operators
become available; and a computer telephony server coupled to the
automated call distributor and configured to receive proxy call
requests from a data network coupled to the local call center
gateway, the computer telephony server further being configured to
insert a proxy call in the queue and to notify the local call
center gateway, via the data network, when the proxy call has
advanced to a threshold point in the queue.
37. The telephone call handling system of claim 36 wherein the
threshold point in the queue is the head of the queue.
38. The telephone call handling system of claim 36 further
comprising a telephony switch to receive telephone calls from the
local call center gateway via a communication network, and wherein
the computer telephony server is further configured to connect a
telephone call received from the local call center gateway via the
communication network to the proxy call.
39. The telephone call handling system of claim 36 wherein the
computer telephony server is further configured to receive
telephone calls from the local call center gateway via the data
network and to connect such telephone calls to the proxy call.
40. The telephone call handling system of claim 36 wherein the
access network comprises a private network.
41. The telephone call handling system of claim 40 wherein the
private network is configured to support voice communication over
IP.
42. The telephone call handling system of claim 36 wherein the
access network comprises a wireless network.
43. The telephone call handling system of claim 36 wherein the
access network comprises a long distance network.
44. The telephone call handling system of claim 36 wherein the
access network comprises a digital subscriber line network.
45. The telephone call handling system of claim 36 wherein the
access network comprises a data communication network.
46. The telephone call handling system of claim 38 wherein the
communication network comprises a wireless network.
47. The telephone call handling system of claim 38 wherein the
communication network comprises a long distance network.
48. The telephone call handling system of claim 38 wherein the
communication network comprises a digital subscriber line
network.
49. The telephone call handling system of claim 38 wherein the
communication network comprises a data communication network.
50. The telephone call handling system of claim 36 wherein the
access network comprises a network that is partially a wireless
network and partially a wired network.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of application
Ser. No. 09/433,636 filed Nov. 3, 1999, which is a continuation of
application Ser. No. 09/249,395, filed Feb. 12, 1999, now U.S. Pat.
No. 6,011,844.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to the field of
telecommunication, and more particularly to management of toll free
telephone calls.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] FIG. 1 is a functional diagram of a premises call center
connecting an end user 116 to a business call center 108 via an
originating Local Public Switched Telecommunications Network (PSTN)
106, a Long Distance Network 114 and terminating Local PSTN 106.
Business call centers are typically put together by integrating
multiple system components into a complete business solution to
answer, service, queue and route inbound customer calls. These
system components can include a Private Branch Exchange (PBX) 102,
an Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) 112 and an Interactive Voice
Response (IVR) System 110 in addition to customer service or help
desk applications for the call center agents 104. Many call centers
deploy a Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) server providing
intelligent call routing. Traditionally, different vendors supplied
the different system components and systems integrators pulled the
components together into a solution.
[0004] FIG. 2 is a functional diagram of a network-based call
center connecting an end user 116 to a business call center 108 via
an originating Local PSTN 106, a Long Distance Network 114 and a
terminating Local PSTN 106. Network call centers may include a
Switch 122, an ACD 112 and an IVR 110 within the Long Distance
Network 114 and provide call answering, servicing and queuing
services. These services are built on call center solutions
residing inside the network that aggregate the services across
multiple business customers on the shared physical configurations.
Many call center vendors have targeted this fast growing network
call center market with PSTN integrated systems and solutions.
[0005] The call centers depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2 each share the
disadvantage that long distance toll charges accrue while a call is
on hold awaiting connection to a call center agent. Long distance
toll charges also accrue while the caller is interacting with the
Interactive Voice Response.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] A method and system for managing a toll free long distance
call to a business call center are disclosed. A toll free long
distance call to a business call center is redirected to a local
call center. The redirected toll free call is automatically
answered in the local call center to determine whether long
distance connection to the business call center is necessary. If
connection to the remote call center is necessary, the redirected
toll free call is bridged with a telephone connection in the
business call center via a long distance network.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0007] The present invention is illustrated by way of example and
not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawing in which
like references indicate similar elements and in which:
[0008] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a prior art call center
configuration with PBX, ACD and IVR systems located at the business
call center;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a prior art network based
call center configuration with Switch, ACD and IVR systems located
inside the long distance network;
[0010] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a POP Call Center
configuration according to an embodiment that includes Switch and
POP Call Center Gateway located at points of presence connected to
Premises Call Center Gateway over a Call Center Network;
[0011] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of components of a POP Call
Center system according to one embodiment, including a POP Call
Center Gateway, a Premises Call Center Gateway and a Call Center
Network of a business;
[0012] FIG. 4A illustrates an alternative network arrangement for
the system shown in FIG. 4.
[0013] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of components of a POP Call
Center system according to an embodiment that supports a single
business with multiple call center sites connected with multiple
POP Call Centers;
[0014] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of components of a POP Call
Center system according to an embodiment that supports multiple
business call centers connected to multiple POP Call Centers;
and
[0015] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of POP Call Center System
software modules and their interconnections according to one
embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0016] Although the present invention is described below by way of
various embodiments that include specific structures and methods,
embodiments that include alternative structures and methods may be
employed without departing from the principles of the invention
described herein.
OVERVIEW OF EMBODIMENTS
[0017] In general, embodiments described below feature a global
call center system capable of answering, servicing, queuing and
routing of calls at local points of presence to reduce
communications costs and enhance operational efficiency for
toll-free inbound call centers. In at least one embodiment, the
global call center system includes a set of point-of-presence call
center gateways distributed at points of presence close to the
point of call origination that are interconnected by a virtual
private network to premises call center gateways at business
locations where the call centers reside.
[0018] A point-of-presence (POP) call center gateway according to
embodiments of the invention is capable of intercepting and
answering inbound toll-free telecommunications calls at or near the
point of call origination. The POP call center gateway is also
capable of providing interactive voice response based automated
service, holding and queuing the calls until operators are
available to service the call, and playing music or customized
announcements to the caller while the call is being held. The POP
call center gateway is further capable of requesting connected
premises call center gateways to originate proxy calls on its
behalf, monitoring call progress and routing the locally queued
calls to the premises call center just in time before the operator
picks up the call.
[0019] A premises call center gateway according to embodiments of
the invention is capable of receiving proxy call origination
requests from connected POP call center gateways and in response,
generating and presenting proxy calls to the automatic call
distributor (ACD) at the premises call center. The premises call
center gateway is further capable of monitoring the progress of
such proxy calls within the ACD for operator availability,
communicating with the appropriate POP call center gateways for
just in time call delivery to the selected operator, and bridging
the calls between the POP call center gateways and the premises
ACD.
[0020] Embodiments of the invention include a system and method for
operating the global call center system where in a customer calls
an advertised inbound toll-free number to reach a business call
center. The call is intercepted at the local central office or
tandem switch and routed to a local POP call center gateway using
the point of call routing capability of a Service Management
System/800 (SMS/800) database system and signaling system 7 (SS7 )
protocols. The local central office or tandem switch uses the
SMS/800 database system to translate the single inbound toll-free
number for the business call center into a matching local phone
number terminating at the local POP call center gateway. The local
central office or tandem switch identifies to the local POP call
center gateway the translated called party number and optionally
the calling party number. The call is terminated at the local POP
call center gateway, which answers the call with an automated voice
response system.
[0021] The POP call center gateway uses the translated called party
number to identify and run a matching interactive voice response
application customized to the business call center. The customized
interactive voice response application can either be replicated at
each local POP call center gateway or dynamically accessed from the
business call center just in time as the call is answered and
serviced. In either case, the POP call center gateway responds to
the incoming call with an interactive voice response application
customized to the business call center that was called by the
customer. This custom interactive voice response application then
services the customer call by providing appropriate prompts and
menus, gathering input from the customer and interactively
providing automated service. The custom interactive voice response
application uses a virtual private network (connecting the POP call
center gateways to one or more business premises call center
gateways) to securely access the customer application and/or data
at the corresponding business call center to appropriately service
the calling customer.
[0022] If the call is to be held waiting for an available call
center agent, the POP call center gateway holds and queues the call
locally while requesting the corresponding premises call center
gateway to insert a proxy call into the business call center's ACD.
The POP call center gateway, optionally plays music and/or periodic
prompts and messages to the caller while the call is on hold. The
corresponding premises call center gateway inserts a proxy call in
the business call center's ACD and starts monitoring its progress
through the ACD queue.
[0023] When the proxy call reaches the head of the queue and is
about to be answered by a live call center agent, the premises call
center gateway alerts the waiting POP call center gateway. The
waiting POP call center gateway then routes the locally queued call
to the premises call center gateway over an appropriate long
distance network, either a public/private switched telephone
network or a public/private Internet Protocol (IP) telephony
network. The corresponding premises call center gateway receives
the routed call, matches it with the corresponding proxy call to
the business call center ACD and bridges the incoming call to the
proxy call.
[0024] A selected call center agent at the business call center
then answers the call and provides expected customer service to the
customer. Finally, when the customer or the call center agent hangs
up the call, the appropriate call center gateway detects the event
and alerts the matching counter-part gateway and both gateways
terminate the call.
SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
[0025] FIG. 3 is a functional diagram of a point-of-presence (POP)
call center system in accordance with at least one embodiment of
the present invention wherein the end user 116 is connected to the
POP-enabled business call center 150 via an originating Local PSTN
106, a Long Distance Network 114 and a terminating Local PSTN
106.
[0026] The POP call center system extends the conventional premises
and network based call center systems to a fully distributed call
center system with multiple points of presence. The POP call center
system is capable of locally answering, servicing, queuing and
routing inbound toll-free calls to business call centers thereby
saving on communications costs and increasing operating
efficiency.
[0027] The POP call center system consists of one or more POP call
center gateway servers 146 distributed at one or more points of
presence 152 close to the points of call origination. These POP
call center gateway servers 146 are connected by one or more call
center networks 148 to premises call center gateway servers 142 at
one or more POP-enabled business call centers 150. The POP call
center gateway server 146 is connected to a Switch 144 enabling it
to receive and originate calls on the local PSTN 106. The POP call
center gateway servers 146 are further connected to a switched or
dedicated access public telecommunications network 114 enabling
long distance voice communications with connected premises call
center gateway servers.
[0028] A POP-enabled business call center 150 consists of one or
more premises call center gateway servers 142, one of which would
be selected dynamically at the time of handling of an incoming call
at a POP call center gateway.
[0029] Referring to FIG. 4, a POP call center gateway 166
intercepts and answers inbound toll-free calls at or near their
point of call origination. In addition, it provides automated
service with interactive voice response applications, holds and
queues the calls until appropriate operators are available to
service the call, and plays music or customized announcements to
the caller while the call is on hold. If a call is queued, this
gateway further requests a corresponding premises call center
gateway 164 to originate a proxy call at the call center ACD on its
behalf and monitor the progress of the queued call. When the
premises call center gateway 164 alerts the POP call center gateway
166, the POP call center gateway 166 routes the locally queued call
to the premises call center 150 just in time before the operator
picks up the call.
[0030] The premises call center gateway 164 responds to requests
for call center information and applications from POP call center
gateways 166, accesses the requested information and applications
from premises call center database systems and supplies it to the
requesting POP call center gateway 166. The premises call center
gateway 164 further receives proxy call origination requests from
the POP call center gateways 166 and generates proxy calls on their
behalf to the premises call center automatic call distributor
(ACD). The premises call center gateway 164 then monitors the
progress of proxy calls within the ACD for operator availability,
communicates with the appropriate originating POP call center
gateway 166 for just in time call delivery to the selected
operator, and bridges the calls between the POP call center gateway
166 and the premises ACD.
[0031] Referring briefly to FIG. 4a, a more generalized view of a
system that includes a POP call center gateway 166 is shown. In
this embodiment, inbound calls to POP call center gateway are
received through access network 106a. Access network 106a may be a
local PSTN as discussed above, or it may be any other form of
telecommunications (or even data communications) network, such as a
wireless communications network, (e.g., a wireless local loop), a
partially-wired and partially-wireless communications network, a
long distance telecommunications network, a digital subscriber line
(DSL) communications network, or combinations of any such networks.
Similarly, communication network 114a need not be just a long
distance telecommunication network, but instead be any (or
combinations of any) of the foregoing types of networks. All other
features and functions of the system remain as described above and
throughout this description it should be appreciated that access
network 106a may be substituted for a local PSTN and communications
network 114a may be substituted for a long distance (and/or, long
distance plus local) communication network. Further, the inbound
call from the end user 116 need not be a toll free call.
[0032] Referring to FIG. 5, a call center network according to one
embodiment is a virtual private network connecting the POP call
center gateways to one or more premises call center gateways all of
which belong to a single business call center. A virtual private
network offers industry standard connection and transport protocols
such as ATM, Frame Relay or Internet Protocol (IP) for secure and
private data communications between connecting entities with
optional quality of service guarantees. Referring to FIG. 6, each
POP call center gateway can be part of multiple such call center
networks one for each business call center that it serves. POP call
center gateways use a call center network to connect to
corresponding premises call center gateways and access appropriate
interactive voice response applications and information as well as
request proxy call origination and monitoring of call progress. A
call center network can optionally support voice communications
over ATM, Frame Relay or IP protocols. In such a case, the POP call
center gateways can use the call center network as an alternative
long distance voice communications network when calls are bridged
across the premises call center gateway to the business call center
ACD.
[0033] Referring to FIG. 7, all the call center networks connect to
a global POP call center network directory service 194 for
translating the called party number of an incoming call at a POP
call center gateway to the network address of a corresponding
premises call center gateway. For each called party number at each
POP call center, the POP call center network directory maintains a
service record containing at a minimum the corresponding premises
call center gateway network address. In one preferred embodiment of
the invention, a POP call center network directory service uses a
network directory based on the Internet standard Lightweight
Directory Access Protocol (LDAP).
[0034] A POP call center gateway further comprises POP call manager
182, POP voice response client 184 and POP network manager 186
software modules hosted on an industry-standard computer telephony
server. A computer telephony server consists of an industry
standard server computer such as an Intel PC server or Sun
Microsystems server enhanced with telephony and voice processing
capabilities and running an industry standard applications server
operating system such as Microsoft Windows NT or Sun Microsystems
Solaris. In an alternative preferred embodiment, a POP call center
gateway can comprise an IP telephony gateway server and a separate
applications server connected over a high-speed local area network.
An IP telephony gateway is capable of translating traditional
circuit switched voice communications to packet switched
communications and transporting voice over long distance using IP
networks. In such a configuration, the applications server hosts
the POP call manager, POP voice response client and POP network
manager modules which interact with the IP telephony gateway for
voice communications and signaling.
[0035] A premises call center gateway further comprises premises
call manager 188, premises voice response server 190 and premises
network manager 186 software module hosted on an industry standard
computer telephony server similar to the one hosting the POP call
center gateway. In an alternative preferred embodiment, a premises
call center gateway can comprise an IP telephony gateway server and
a separate applications server connected over a high-speed local
area network. In such a configuration, the applications server
hosts the premises call manager, premises voice response server and
premises network manager software modules which interact with the
IP telephony gateway for voice communications and signaling.
[0036] For each participating business call center network, the POP
call center system assigns a unique universally accessible inbound
toll-free number. This number can be a previously existing 800/888
toll-free access number of a participating business call center.
Depending on the geographic areas in which it wishes to receive POP
call center service, the participating business call center chooses
one or more POP call centers to be connected to its call center
network. The POP call center system then assigns a distinct direct
inward dial (DID) number for each POP call center connected to the
business call center network. This DID number, also referred to as
the POP call center called party number, uniquely identifies at
each POP call center the specific business call center to which an
incoming call is targeted. The POP call center gateway uses this
called party number to identify the network address of the
corresponding premises call center gateway.
[0037] The POP call center system uses the point of call routing
capability of the SMS/800 database management system to route
toll-free inbound calls originating in a local PSTN to the nearest
and most cost effective POP call center capable of handling these
calls. Local exchange carriers use SMS/800 database management
system to intelligently route inbound toll-free calls to
appropriate inter exchange carriers or other competitive local
exchange carriers. For each inbound toll-free call targeted at a
toll-free number, the responsible central office switch or tandem
switch requests routing instructions from the SMS/800 database
management system utilizing Signaling System 7 (SS7 ) protocols.
The local PSTN switch then routes the call to the appropriate
carrier based on the response received from the SMS/800 database
management system. The POP call center system programs the SMS/800
database management system to instruct the local PSTN switch to
route the call to the appropriate POP call center using its
uniquely assigned DID number matching the originally called
toll-free number.
[0038] A POP call center gateway receives and terminates calls
originating from a connected local public switched
telecommunications network (PSTN) enabling it to locally answer,
service and queue the calls. A POP call center gateway can be
connected to local PSTN at a central office switch, a tandem switch
or a LATA tandem switch depending on local telecommunications
traffic patterns and geographic location of the PSTN switches. It
should be noted that the type and location of PSTN switch to which
POP call center gateway is connected determines the local
communication costs and geographic coverage for the inbound
toll-free calls. In general, connection at a higher level of the
PSTN switch results in broader geographic coverage and higher local
communications costs.
EXEMPLARY PSEUDO CODE LISTINGS
[0039] Pseudo code listings A-D are appended to and form part of
this specification. The listings present pseudo code
representations of the interactions between the POP modules and the
premises modules, particularly the call manager and voice response
components. The functionality of each module is described as a set
of messages received by the module from other modules and the
actions taken by the module in response to these messages. Each
module maintains state through private data structures that are
identified in the pseudo code.
[0040] POP Call Manager
[0041] Referring to pseudo code listing A, appended hereto, a POP
call manager receives an incoming toll-free call through the
message INCOMING_CALL and requests the local POP network manager to
identify the called party number and locate the business call
center to which the call is directed by calling
TranslateNumberToAddress. The POP network manager implements the
translation. The POP call manager determines whether the
corresponding call center is able to receive additional incoming
calls by sending the message, ALLOCATE_PROXY_CALL, to the premises
call manager. If the corresponding call center is able to receive
additional incoming calls, the POP call manager attaches the
incoming call on an available voice port and transfers the call to
the POP voice response client by calling
CreateVoiceResponseClientInstance with the operation parameter,
ANSWER. If the corresponding call center is unable to receive
further calls, the POP call manager generates a busy signal to the
local PSTN. If the POP voice response client transfers the call
back to it for queuing through the message QUEUE_CALL, the POP call
manager requests the corresponding premises call center gateway to
originate a proxy call at the premises ACD on its behalf by sending
the message PLACE_PROXY_CALL. Upon completion, the POP call manager
places the call on hold by transferring the call to the POP voice
response client by calling CreateVoiceResponseClientInstance with
the operation parameter, HOLD. When the premises call manager
alerts the POP call manager that the call is about to be answered
by an operator through the message AGENT_READY, the POP call
manager terminates the voice response client by sending it the
message, TERMINATE. This results in the voice response client
passing control of the call back to the POP call manager through
the message TRANSFER_CALL. The POP call manager then routes the
call over an appropriate long distance voice communications network
to the premises call center gateway by calling PlaceCall, bridging
the inbound call with the newly placed call by calling BridgeCall.
At any time during the call, if the POP call manager receives a
termination message USER_TERMINATION from the POP voice response
client, which sends such a message if the user terminates the call,
it notifies the premises call manager of the event by sending the
message TERMINATE_CALL. The POP call manager may also receive a
notification from the premises call manager that the agent has
terminated the call, through the message AGENT_TERMINATION. In
either case, it performs clean up of the incoming and long distance
voice ports, and all state data associated with the incoming
call.
[0042] POP Voice Response Client
[0043] Referring to pseudo code listing B, appended hereto, a POP
voice response client receives and responds to instructions from
the local POP call manager to answer and service an incoming call
to a specified business call center. Based on the instructions as
well as the configuration options for the specified business call
center, the POP voice response client locates and connects to the
premises voice response server on the matching premises call center
gateway. Thereafter, the POP voice response client interacts with
the corresponding premises voice response server to run an
interactive voice response application customized to the business
call center. Such interactions include accessing the necessary
voice prompts, menus, forms, scripts, data and applications from
the premises voice response server. It should be noted that the
interactive voice response application can be customized to the
specified business center by previously loading all the necessary
voice prompts, menus, forms, scripts, and applications at the POP
call center gateway. This approach would require full replication
of all business applications at all POP call centers, which is
wasteful in utilization of resources and expensive due to
operational complexity. Thus, while business applications may be
replicated at all POP call centers in certain embodiments, the
envisioned approach is to use a distributed voice user interface
manager that adapts dynamically to the required interactive
application customized to the specified business call center.
[0044] A preferred embodiment of the invention features a POP voice
user interface manager embedded in the POP voice response client
enabling it to dynamically adapt to the specified business call
center's interactive voice response application without having to
locally store all business call center applications at each POP
call center. A POP voice user interface manager dynamically
accesses voice prompts, menus, forms, scripts and applications
customized to a specified business call center as needed from the
corresponding premises voice response server. The POP voice user
interface manager and the corresponding premises voice response
server use a specialized request/response protocol such as the
Internet standard Hyper Text Transfer Protocol to access the
distributed resources. Optionally, the POP voice user interface
manager and the corresponding premises voice response server may
use the Internet standard Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) or its
extensions such as Extended Markup Language (XML) to access
conveniently packaged units of information or application across
the call center virtual private network. The POP voice response
client optionally stores frequently used and rarely modified voice
prompts and messages locally in a network cache to improve access
efficiency. However, the voice response client can also access
voice prompts, messages and other audio files in real-time using
Internet streaming protocols such as Real-time Transfer Protocol
(RTP) across the call center virtual private network.
[0045] The POP call manager creates an instance of the voice
response client, and passes an incoming call to it to handle, by
specifying the operation parameter ANSWER. This results in the
voice response client contacting the voice response server at the
premises call center gateway by calling AccessScript, with the
parameter ANSWER_SCRIPT, to receive the script to execute. This
script is passed to ExecuteScript, which processes and executes the
script which typically interacts with the user presenting
announcements and menu options and accepts user input via touch
tones keys on the phone or speech recognition. Thereafter, when an
external event occurs, the voice response client processes the
event and takes actions. When user input is received through the
message USER_INPUT, the input is decoded by calling
ProcessUserInput, which determines what action should be performed
in response to the input. This is codified by the returned result,
UserRequest, which is passed to the voice response server to
process by calling AccessScript. AccessScript returns back to the
voice response client a new script to process, which is once again
passed to ExecuteScript. If the user input is a request for
operator assistance, the script returned by the business call
center application running on the premises voice response server
instructs the POP voice response client to transfer the call back
to the local POP call manager to be queued awaiting availability of
a call center agent. The POP voice response client sends the
message, QUEUE_CALL, to the POP call manager. The POP call manager,
as described earlier, queues the call and requests the
corresponding premises call manager to generate a proxy call at the
business call center ACD on its behalf. The POP call manager also
creates an instance of the voice response client with the operation
parameter HOLD. The general operation of the voice response client
in this case is identical to the case of ANSWER, except that the
first script, which is requested by calling AccessScript, is with
the parameter HOLD_SCRIPT. This parameter serves to distinguish the
script executed by the voice response client when the user is on
hold from when the user is going through self-service.
[0046] When the control events USER_HANGUP, which is generated when
a user hangs up the phone, or TERMINATE, which is sent by the POP
call manager to terminate user interaction, occur, the voice
response client responds by sending the messages USER_TERMINATION
and TRANSFER_CALL to the POP call manager.
[0047] While the user is awaiting an available agent, the voice
response client interacts with the voice response server to acquire
status updates regarding the progress of proxy calls that the
premises call manager had originated. Based on this information and
call center configuration options, the voice response client alerts
the waiting caller with status update messages. The script selected
by HOLD_SCRIPT controls this behavior.
[0048] A POP network manager receives requests from the local POP
call manager to translate the called party number of an incoming
call to the network address of the premises call center gateway by
a call to its procedure TranslateNumberToAddress. The POP network
manager in turn requests the global POP network directory service
to retrieve the entry corresponding to the specified called party
number. The POP network manager accesses the network address of the
corresponding premises call center gateway from the retrieved entry
and returns it to the requesting local POP call manager. It should
be noted that the global POP network directory service could be
implemented using a single directory server or a collection of
directory servers with replicated data for additional reliability.
It should also be noted that the directory servers could be
co-located at the POP call centers. As noted earlier, the directory
service can be implemented using Internet standard LDAP compliant
directory services.
[0049] Premises Call Manager
[0050] Referring to pseudo code listing C, appended hereto, a
premises call manager receives requests from POP call managers to
allocate proxy call resources at the business call center ACD on
their behalf, originate a proxy call on the allocated resources and
finally bridge the incoming call from the POP call manager with the
ACD line. The premises call center gateway is equipped with an
inbound and an outbound voice port pair. The inbound voice port
receives a call from the POP call manager and the outbound port is
connected to the ACD, and looks like an incoming voice line to the
ACD. When the agent is ready to take the user's call, the inbound
and outbound ports are bridged to pass the bi-directional
conversation. It should be noted that as far as the call center ACD
is concerned, such a call appears no different than if it were to
be received on one of its inbound trunks.
[0051] A POP call manager requests a premises call manager to
allocate a port line pair through the message ALLOCATE_PROXY_CALL.
Upon receiving such a request, the premises call manager locally
creates a proxy call record and allocates a voice port pair for the
call by calling AllocateLinePair. If this allocation is successful,
it creates a new proxy call associated with the voice port pair and
the incoming call, and returns a handle to the proxy call to the
invoking POP call manager. If it is unable to allocate a line pair,
it returns failure, causing the invoking POP call manager to
produce a busy tone to the caller.
[0052] When the POP call manager requests the premises call manager
to place the proxy call to the ACD through the message
PLACE_PROXY_CALL, the premises call manager places the call to the
ACD, noting the ACD's call ID. It returns success to the POP call
manager, setting the state of the call. The premises call manager
then monitors the progress of the proxy call using the ACD's CTI
interface. When the proxy call is about to be delivered to a live
call center agent, the call center ACD alerts the premises call
manager through the message AGENT_READY. Upon receiving the
notification, the premises call manager identifies the POP call
manager originally responsible for the proxy call and the matching
inbound voice port using the proxy call record. The premises call
manager then notifies the responsible POP call manager specifying a
direct inward dialing (DID) number corresponding to the inbound
voice port. Upon receiving such notification from the premises call
manager, the receiving POP call manager identifies the matching
queued call and dials the provided DID number to transfer it to the
notifying premises call center gateway. When this call is received
by the premises gateway, it appears to the premises call manager
through the message INCOMING_CALL. Using the inbound voice port on
which the call arrives at the premises call center gateway, the
premises call manager matches it to the local proxy call record and
bridges the call to the corresponding outbound voice port, by
calling BridgeCall. This series of operations results in the
customer call queued at the POP call center to be connected just in
time to the appropriate business call center agent, as the agent
becomes available. At any time during the call, if the premises
call manager receives the message AGENT_TERMINATION from the ACD,
it notifies the POP call manager of the event by sending the
message AGENT_TERMINATION. The premises call manager may also
receive a notification from the POP call manager that the user has
terminated the call, through the message TERMINATE_CALL. In either
case, it performs clean up of the voice port pairs and the proxy
call record.
[0053] The above described techniques can be extended to
accommodate multiple premises call center gateways at a single
location. This is accomplished through one of the premises call
center gateways acting as a master, selecting an appropriate
gateway for handling an incoming call and returning that gateway
address as part of processing INCOMING_CALL. Similarly, multiple
POP-enabled business call center locations, each with one or more
premises call center gateways can also be accommodated by one of
the locations acting as the master site receiving the incoming call
requests.
[0054] Voice Response Server
[0055] Referring to pseudo code listing D, appended hereto, a
premises voice response server hosts interactive voice response
applications including voice prompts, menus, scripts and forms
customized to the local business call center. The premises voice
response server connects to business call center databases 198 to
access customer and business information as needed by the hosted
interactive voice response applications. In one preferred
embodiment, the premises voice response server dynamically down
loads all or parts of the requested interactive voice response
applications to the requesting POP voice response client. The voice
response client requests two types of scripts, one designated by
the message ANSWER_SCRIPT and the other by HOLD_SCRIPT. These
scripts may perform different functions for the business call
center depending on whether the phone is being answered or the call
is being placed in a queue awaiting an agent. Thereafter, the voice
response client requests through a generic message VRC_REQUEST,
which provides sufficient context such as requesting voice response
client, last script executed, and new user input. In an alternative
preferred embodiment, the voice response server responds to
specialized request protocols such as HTTP from remote voice user
interface managers embedded in POP voice response clients
distributed at POP call centers. In response to such requests, the
premises voice response server supplies the requested voice
prompts, menus, forms and scripts to the requesting voice user
interface manager. This configuration allows the voice user
interface manager embedded in the POP voice response client to
adapt dynamically to the interactive voice response application
customized to the business call center to which the inbound call is
directed.
[0056] A premises network manager connects to the call center
network for the corresponding business call center. The premises
network manager initially registers with the global network
directory service and creates a business call center service record
for each POP call center connected to its call center network. The
service record contains at a minimum the called party number at the
POP call center corresponding to its business call center and the
matching premises call center gateway network address. As described
earlier, the POP call manager accesses this service record to
identify the business call center gateway corresponding to an
inbound call arriving on a particular called party number.
[0057] In a preferred embodiment, the POP call center gateway and
the premises call center gateway each use two voice ports to bridge
the call between the user and the long distance network, and the
long distance network and the ACD. If the POP call center connects
to a CTI-enabled switch, the requirement to bridge the call is
eliminated in the POP call center gateway, since the POP call
manager can request the switch perform a "transfer connect" through
the CTI interface. Likewise, if the premises call center utilized a
CTI-enabled PBX, the need to bridge the voice call at the premises
is similarly eliminated.
SYSTEM MANAGEMENT
[0058] Configuration of Call Center Networks
[0059] When a business call center network is created, the POP call
center network directory service entries are required to be
created, as it is the configuration source to the network of all
POP call centers. The business selects the participating POPs and
this determines the allocation of telephone numbers local to the
POP's LATA. The set of all the telephone numbers, along with area
code is also registered with the SMS/800 system to enable the point
of call routing of the toll-free number. The address of the
premises call center gateway server is associated with each of the
telephone numbers allocated for the business. This ensures that
when the call arrives, the query for the address of the premises
call center gateway server is correctly handled. The query is based
on the local number allocated at the POP to which the SMS/800
system referred the toll-free call. Also to be registered at the
directory service is the starting point Uniform Resource Locator
(URL) for any HTTP based communication, such as the POP voice
response client.
[0060] Management of Audio Media in the POP
[0061] The voice response client at the POP call center gateway
executes voice response application scripts that are created by the
business. It is expected to handle a large number of audio media
files in the course of executing these voice response application
scripts. When a business changes its media files the voice response
client would download large amounts of data in order to replace the
cached audio resources. This process should be performed when not
handling a user call. Accordingly, an auxiliary media management
process in the POP call center system coordinates the validation
and replacement of cached files as a maintenance task within the
system.
[0062] In the foregoing specification and in the following pseudo
code listings which form part of the specification, the invention
has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments
thereof. It will, however, be evident that various modifications
and changes may be made to the specific exemplary embodiments
without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the
invention as set forth in the appended claims. Accordingly, the
specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative
rather than a restrictive sense.
Pseudo Code Listing A-POP Call Manager ?
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