U.S. patent application number 11/204589 was filed with the patent office on 2005-12-08 for universal state-aware communications.
Invention is credited to Andrews, Wayne, Gechter, Jerry.
Application Number | 20050271195 11/204589 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33417186 |
Filed Date | 2005-12-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050271195 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Andrews, Wayne ; et
al. |
December 8, 2005 |
Universal state-aware communications
Abstract
A communications system for general business environments that
exploits knowledge of user state to provide advantages of
efficiency and control for individual users and for the business.
The communications system also provides particular advantages in
environments where users have multiple communication devices and
for communications of a business with external parties. In other
aspects, the communication system provides features of application
flexibility and system fault-tolerance with broad applicability to
communication systems.
Inventors: |
Andrews, Wayne; (Naples,
FL) ; Gechter, Jerry; (Lincoln, MA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HAMILTON, BROOK, SMITH & REYNOLDS, P.C.
530 VIRGINIA ROAD
P.O. BOX 9133
CONCORD
MA
01742-9133
US
|
Family ID: |
33417186 |
Appl. No.: |
11/204589 |
Filed: |
August 15, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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11204589 |
Aug 15, 2005 |
|
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10436546 |
May 12, 2003 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
379/210.01 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 3/5232 20130101;
H04M 3/42365 20130101; H04L 67/24 20130101; H04L 65/1069 20130101;
H04L 43/0805 20130101; H04M 3/42093 20130101; H04M 3/42059
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
379/210.01 |
International
Class: |
H04M 003/42 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A system for communication with an external user comprising: a
plurality of internal users capable of communicating with external
users; and a controller that receives a communication request from
an external user to communicate with that user; receives state
information about the external user indicating whether the external
user is in an appropriate state for communicating; receives state
information about the internal users; and establishes a
communication to the external user when the external user is in an
appropriate state for communicating and one of the internal users
is in an appropriate state to communicate with the external
user.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein the communication request is made
by the arrival of a call or InstantMessage.
3. The system of claim 2 wherein the call is a call on a Public
Switched Telephone Network.
4. The system of claim 2 wherein the call is a Voice over Internet
Protocol call.
5. The system of claim 1 wherein the communication request is
communicated by invoking a web service.
6. The system of claim 5 wherein the web service is publicly
accessible over the Internet.
7. The system of claim 1 wherein the state information for an
external user is provided by a public or private Instant Messaging
system.
8. The system of claim 1 wherein the state information is
communicated from a web page.
9. The system of claim 1 wherein the state information is
communicated as a web service.
10. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller establishes a
communication to the external user when the external user is in an
appropriate state for communicating and one of the internal users
is in an Available state indicating that such user is available to
accept a communication.
11. A method for communication with an external user comprising:
receiving a communication request from an external user to
communicate with that user; receiving state information about the
external user indicating whether the external user is in an
appropriate state for communicating; receiving state information
about the internal users; and establishing a communication to the
external user when the external user is in an appropriate state for
communicating and one of the internal users is in an appropriate
state to communicate with the external user.
12. The method of claim 11 wherein the communication request is
made by the arrival of a call or InstantMessage.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein the call is a call on a Public
Switched Telephone Network.
14. The method of claim 12 wherein the call is a Voice over
Internet Protocol call.
15. The method of claim 11 wherein the communication request is
communicated by invoking a web service.
16. The method of claim 15 wherein the web service is publicly
accessible over the Internet.
17. The method of claim 11 wherein the state information for an
external user is provided by a public or private Instant Messaging
system.
18. The method of claim 11 wherein the state information is
communicated from a web page.
19. The method of claim 11 wherein the state information is
communicated as a web service.
20. The method of claim 11 wherein establishing includes
establishing a communication to the external user when the external
user is in an appropriate state for communicating and one of the
internal users is in an Available state indicating that such user
is available to accept a communication.
21. A server for directing communication between users comprising:
a communication request interface that receives a request from a
requesting user to communicate with that user; user status
interfaces that receive state information about users; a call
establishment interface by which the server establishes a
communication to the requesting user when the requesting user is in
an appropriate state for communicating and another user is in an
appropriate state to communicate with the requesting user.
22. The server of claim 21 wherein the communication request
interface receives the request by the arrival of a call or
InstantMessage.
23. The server of claim 22 wherein the call is a call on Public
Switched Telephone Network.
24. The server of claim 22 wherein the call is a VoIP call.
25. The server of claim 21 wherein the communication request is
communicated by invoking a web service.
26. The server of claim 25 wherein the web service is publicly
accessible over the Internet.
27. The server of claim 21 wherein the state information about the
requesting user is received from a user status interface to a
public or private Instant Messaging system.
28. The server of claim 21 wherein the state information about the
requesting user is received from a user status interface to a web
page.
29. The server of claim 21 wherein the state information about the
requesting user is received from a user status interface to a web
service.
30. The server of claim 21 wherein the call establishment interface
establishes a communication to the requesting user when the
requesting user is in an appropriate state for communicating and
another user is in an Available state indicating that the other
user is available to accept a communication.
Description
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.
No. 10/436,546, filed May 12, 2003. The entire teachings of the
above application are incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The invention relates to a system and method for
establishing communications between users.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Communications systems arose as mechanisms to connect
individual telephones to each other. Users dialed phone numbers and
were connected through a network to other telephones associated
with those numbers. This is still the primary mode of interaction
in telecommunication systems in both public and private networks.
For a business, this form of telecommunications function is
typically provided by a Private Branch Exchange (PBX) on company
premises or by a Centrex system offered by a telephone company. In
a PBX or Centrex system the system is aware of the "state" of
telephone lines rather than the state of the individuals (referred
to as "users" herein) and is typically limited to the busy and idle
line states.
[0004] Other types of telecommunications systems do exist but are
specialized in their applications. Of particular importance is the
Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) which is used, for example, in an
airline reservation bureau to keep a caller on hold until an
appropriate agent is ready to take the call. In these systems, a
person dialing in is one type of user, and the agents are another.
As opposed to the PBX, these systems route calls with respect to
identified people (i.e., the next available agent), and not just
telephone lines and numbers, and they do so using a concept of
state that reflects what the agent is doing, not just whether the
agent's phone is busy. However, the states are specific to the call
center environment, and the communications role is restricted to
dequeuing based on target user state. While ACDs cost significantly
more than PBXs to install, the efficiency gains provided by
state-dependent routing justify the increased expense.
[0005] Another form of communication often packaged with an ACD is
a callback system. With these systems a party can request a
callback according to a schedule. In this case a communication is
established according to the schedule and availability of agents
for callback work. Callback requests can be placed by phone or
other means including the internet.
[0006] Instant messaging systems offered by America On-Line and
Microsoft are a different type of communication system that has
been developed recently and used widely. With an Instant Messaging
client application, a user can set his own state to one of a
discrete number of values (For Microsoft: On-line, Busy, Be Right
Back, Away, On the Phone, Out to Lunch, Appear Off-line), and these
values will be delivered to others who have signed up with the
system to receive them. The system also enables the user to control
who is allowed to observe him. The state information is used
primarily by individuals who want to know if their friends and
colleagues are on-line, so that they can be contacted. There is
currently an international standards activity in the Internet
Engineering Task Force (IETF) to produce uniform protocols for
these state delivery systems.
SUMMARY
[0007] In one aspect the invention provides a system for
establishing communications between users, including one or more
communication devices for each user and a controller that
continually monitors the states of the users. The controller also
receives requests to establish communications between two or more
of the users, and establishes a requested communication when the
users are each in an appropriate state for participating in the
communication.
[0008] In particular instances the invention may include one or
more of the following features. Communication requests may include
specification of the appropriate state for one or more of the
users. Monitoring the states of users may be done by receiving
state change messages or by polling state data for the users. A
call status interface may be included in the controller to provide
external management of communication requests that are waiting to
be established. External management may be performed by a user, a
person who is not a user, or a computer application process. The
call status interface may provide information about communication
requests, including the length of time a communication request has
spent waiting to be established, and may include the capability to
initiate, delete, or modify a communication request. The call
status interface may have the capability to manage only the
communications requests involving a particular user, the capability
to set a user priority order for communication requests involving a
particular user, or the capability to set a corporate priority
order among the communication requests overall. Only some users and
not others may be able to set a corporate priority order.
[0009] The controller may respond to a change of state for a user
by determining that one or more requests for communication can be
established and selecting a single communication to be established.
The controller may respond to a change of state for a user by
establishing a communication instead of sending user state
information that would otherwise be sent. The controller may
include a reporting interface with historical information including
the duration of the pending time before a requested communication
was established. Communication may involve a real-time
communication medium such as voice or a non-real-time communication
medium such as email. It may involve an Instant Messaging system or
the Public Switched Telephone network. The state of a user may be
monitored using an Instant Messaging system, a CRM system, a SIP
network, a GPS system, a Web server or a Web service. The system
may involve an external user whose communication devices are not
connected to a communication network connected to the
controller.
[0010] Additionally the call status interface may have the
capability to manage incoming or outgoing communications, the
capability to change a user in a communications request, or the
capability to activate or deactivate a communication request. The
controller may include a configuration interface with the
capability to configure responses to communication events or state
change requests or the capability to configure a call evaluation
object that determines a corporate priority for a communication
request. The configuration interface may be accessible by an
individual user to configure call handling options for
communication requests in which he is involved. The controller may
include a state-setting interface and may send state information
either spontaneously or in response to information requests. The
controller may send communications status messages to inform users
of communication requests. The call status interface, the
configuration interface, and the state-setting interface may be
accessed from a communication device or separately. Also,
communication may use voice, video, text, or email and may involve
a circuit-switched, packet-switched, public or private network. An
external user may access the system using the Public Switched
Telephone Network or Instant Messaging and may change his state
using either Instant Message or a Web server. The system may
include interworking clients that receive communications from
outside networks including the Public Switched Telephone Network or
the Internet. The system may preserve communication requests when
it is restarted or may have a backup controller that receives state
information from the controller and provides the function of the
controller in case of failure.
[0011] In another aspect the invention enables a user to set
conditions for his communication. The system again includes one or
more communication devices for each user and a controller that
continually monitors the states of the users. The controller also
enables a user to set conditions under which communications are to
be established with that user, receives requests to establish
communications between two or more of the users, and establishes a
requested communication according to the conditions set by the
users and when the users are each in an appropriate state for
participating in the communication.
[0012] In particular instances the controller may include a call
status interface to provide external management of communication
requests that are waiting to be established or a configuration
interface for an individual user to configure call handling options
for communication requests in which he is involved.
[0013] In another aspect the invention enables an administrator to
set conditions for communications among users. The invention again
provides a system for establishing communications between users,
including one or more communication devices for each user and a
controller that continually monitors the states of the users. In
this aspect the system includes a system administrator, and the
controller receives conditions under which communications are to be
established among the users from the system administrator. The
controller also receives requests to establish communications
between two or more of the users, and establishes a requested
communication according to the conditions set by the administrator
and when the users are each in an appropriate state for
participating in the communication.
[0014] In particular instances the invention may include one or
more of the following features. The administrative conditions may
be set for an individual communication request or set by priority
rules configured by the administrator. The administrative
conditions may involve assigning a corporate priority order to a
communication request or changing the characteristics of a
communication request. The administrative conditions may involve
configuration of a call evaluation object which determines a
corporate priority based on characteristics of a communication
request. The administrative condition may be set using a call
status interface to provide external management of communication
requests that are waiting to be established. The administrator may
or may not be a user.
[0015] In another aspect the invention provides a system for
establishing communications among users involved in a project. In
this aspect the controller continually monitors project states in
addition to user states and establishes a requested communication
among two or more users based upon the state of at least one of the
two or more users and the project states. This enables the system
to facilitate communications necessary to the success of the
project.
[0016] In particular instances the invention may include one or
more of the following features. The controller may respond to a
change in project state by initiating a communication request, by
establishing or changing a priority for a communication request, or
by changing the state of a user. The controller may respond to a
change in project state by modifying a communication request,
deleting a communication request, deactivating a communication
request so that it cannot be established, activating a deactivated
communication request so that it can be established, or changing
the users involved in a call request. The controller may establish
a requested communication based on the states of all of the two or
more users and the project states.
[0017] In another aspect the invention involves users having more
than one communication device. In this aspect the controller
establishes a requested communication when the users are each in an
appropriate state on an appropriate device. This means that the
controller can additionally impose conditions on the devices at
which users can be reached for particular communications.
[0018] In particular instances the invention may include device
selection logic to determine which user devices are appropriate for
the requested communication based on the states of the users on
their devices, the identities of the users, or the time of day or
day of week.
[0019] In another aspect the invention provides a caller-state
callback system including one or more communication devices for
each user, one or more communication requesters, and a controller
that continually monitors the states of the users. In this aspect
the controller receives communication requests from the
communication requesters, and establishes a requested communication
between the requesting user and additional users when the
requesting user is in an appropriate state. In this aspect a user
can initiate a request to communicate with other users subject to
his own availability to participate in the communication.
[0020] In particular instances the invention may include one or
more of the following features. Communication requests may include
specification of the appropriate state for one or more of the
users. Monitoring the states of users may be done by receiving
state change messages or by polling state data for the users. A
call status interface may be included in the controller to provide
external management of communication requests that are waiting to
be established. External management may be performed by a user, a
person who is not a user, or a computer application process. The
call status interface may provide information about communication
requests, including the length of time a communication request has
spent waiting to be established, and may include the capability to
initiate, delete, or modify a communication request. The call
status interface may have the capability to manage only the
communications requests involving a particular user, the capability
to set a user priority order for communication requests involving a
particular user, or the capability to set a corporate priority
order among the communication requests overall. Only some users and
not others may be able to set a corporate priority order.
[0021] The controller may respond to a change of state for a user
by determining that one or more requests for communication can be
established and selecting a single communication to be established.
The controller may respond to a change of state for a user by
establishing a communication instead of sending user state
information that would otherwise be sent. The controller may
include a reporting interface with historical information including
the duration of the pending time before a requested communication
was established. Communication may involve a real-time
communication medium such as voice or a non-real-time communication
medium such as email. It may involve an Instant Messaging system or
the Public Switched Telephone network. The state of a user may be
monitored using an Instant Messaging system, a CRM system, a SIP
network, a GPS system, a Web server or a Web service. The system
may involve an external user whose communication devices are not
connected to a communication network connected to the
controller.
[0022] In another aspect the invention provides a database-driven,
stateful communication system. In this aspect the system involves
one or more communication devices for each user and a controller
that monitors the states of the users, receives communication
requests, and accesses one or more database tables for
configuration information. The database tables define the handling
of communication and state events through the following items: one
or more tables containing references to communication control
operations, one or more tables containing links associating one
communication control operation with a next one, one or more tables
specifying an initial communication control operation to be
performed in response to a communication request from a particular
user, and one or more tables specifying an initial communication
control operation to be performed in response to a change of state
for a particular user.
[0023] In particular instances the communication control operations
may include a make call operation that causes a communication to be
offered to a user, a send state operation that causes a user state
to be communicated to a user, or a pend call operation that causes
a communication to wait for conditions to be satisfied before
communication can be offered to a user. The conditions for the pend
call operation may include an appropriate state for a user for the
communication.
[0024] In another aspect the invention provides a fault-tolerant
system for disseminating information about states of users and
establishing communication between users. In this aspect the system
includes one or more communication devices for each user, an active
controller, and a backup controller. The active controller monitors
the states of the users, receives communication requests, sends
information about the states of the users, and establishes a
requested communication when one of the users is in an appropriate
state for participating. The backup controller receives information
about the states of users, receives a failure detection signal that
indicates the active controller has failed, subsequently receives a
communication request, and establishes the requested communication
in response to state information sent from the active
controller.
[0025] In particular instances the invention may include one or
more of the following features. The state information may include
states of users. The active controller may receive requests for
information about the states of users and the backup controller may
request information about the states of users.
[0026] The backup controller may receive state information directly
from the active controller. The system may include a registration
server that receives state information from the active controller
and sends it to the backup controller. The system may also include
a second registration server that receives state information from
the active controller and sends it to the backup controller. The
active controller may add a sequence identifier to each state
information message, so that duplicate messages will have the same
identifier.
[0027] In another aspect the invention provides a communication
system with multiple, independent user states. In this aspect the
system includes one or more communication devices for each user and
a controller that has a state setting interface with the capability
to generate a user state change request. The controller responds to
a state change request by activating some but not others of a
plurality of user states defining the state of a user on a device,
receives communication requests, and establishes a requested
communication when one of the users is in an appropriate state for
participating. This approach is necessary to capture the state of a
user in a general business environment, because of the number of
independent aspects of a user's activities.
[0028] In particular instances user states that may be activated
may include SignedOn, Available, Talking, Inapplication, Idle,
DoNotDisturb, Busy, Normal, AfterCallWork, Meeting, Away,
Traveling, AtHome, NotInOffice, Holiday, Break, or Lunch.
[0029] Embodiments of the invention may have one or more of the
following advantages.
[0030] The communication system exploits knowledge of user state to
deliver efficiency benefits in general business environments. The
system can enable users and corporations in these environments to
manage and control their communications interactions to a degree
that is impossible with any prior technology.
[0031] The system can receive state notifications associated with
the users and devices making up the system and respond under
scripted control. State notifications can trigger any system action
under scripted control. This may include state notifications (true
or transformed) sent to other users, but it may also include
establishment of communication service. The system can maintain a
representation of the states of all users and devices.
[0032] The system can receive communication service requests from
users and respond under scripted control. The response is subject
to the characteristics of the communication request and the state
of the system. In particular users can specify what communications
will be delivered as a function of the communication request and
the user's state. The system executes communication requests by
controlling media setup using the characteristics of the underlying
transport, including any media (e.g. voice, data, email, video)
supported by that transport. The system also maintains a data
context associated with the call, so as to support application
integration and collaboration.
[0033] The system can handle requests not only for immediate
service, but also for pending service to be executed for specified
combinations of system-wide user and device states. In particular,
the system maintains lists of parties who wish to communicate and
executes the communications on mutual availability of the parties.
Failed requests for immediate service can be converted to pending
service.
[0034] Pending service can be controlled and managed according to
well-defined system interfaces. Users can prioritize, activate,
deactivate, delete, and transfer their pending communications. When
a pending communication is deactivated, it is not considered for
execution based upon user states; when it is activated it is
considered for execution. Pending service can be monitored by
parties with access permission, and results (such as time to
completion) are available in system reporting. Pending service can
have priority over end-user notification of state, so that the
managed priorities for execution cannot be circumvented by end-user
camp-on.
[0035] The system is responsive to both corporate and individual
communications objectives for both immediate and pending service.
Corporate objectives can override individual ones in areas where
they are imposed. This means, for example, that corporations can
set priorities for work activities and assure that communications
supporting those activities will be recognized and executed
accordingly.
[0036] The system provides a comprehensive approach to managing of
multiple devices associated with a single user. In particular, the
system determines which devices a given communication request can
access based on the characteristics of the communication (including
the source user), the called party's scripted preferences, and the
current system state.
[0037] The system presents new and advantageous forms of
interaction with external users and business applications. Through
the mechanism of pending service, communication requests can
originate, for example, from web applications or corporate
workflows and then execute, and be managed according to the states
of the internal and external system users. For external users
(vendors, partners, customers) state may be provided by web
applications or Instant Messaging. This feature can enable a kind
of reverse ACD, where the originating party avoids waiting on hold
by receiving communication based on his own state. For business
applications, state may reflect user activity in a Customer
Relationship Management (CRM) application or completion of a work
item in a corporate work flow.
[0038] The operation of the communications system can be customized
to serve particular business applications. Responses to both state
and service events are scripted, so that the response to CRM
business state event can involve any system action. Further the
scripts are represented as combinations of basic system operations
stored in the system database. This means, for example, that a CRM
application that manages the work activities and application data
for a sales force can be extended into a customized communication
system supporting that sales operation, where state events in the
CRM system would generate communications activities and associated
priorities in the communication system. It is particularly useful
in this respect that the scripts are stored in transparent form in
the database, because it means that the entire system can be
managed through the database tools of the CRM application.
[0039] The system can present a new approach to fault-tolerance and
scalability by leveraging the infrastructure of user state
management. In this system users can connect to servers for service
and state messages and for management of pending communication.
Servers themselves can use the same registration and state
distribution mechanism to forward events and to keep their own
internal state representations up to date. In the case of failure,
users connect to alternative servers provided with the same scripts
and an up-to-date view of system state. This means that a single,
basic infrastructure serves as both the system application
framework and the means of achieving fault-tolerance and
scalability.
[0040] Other advantages and features of the invention will be
apparent from the following description of particular embodiments
thereof.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0041] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a communications system.
[0042] FIG. 2 is a diagram of user state.
[0043] FIG. 3 is a diagram of state messages.
[0044] FIG. 4 is a diagram of state notification.
[0045] FIG. 5 is a diagram of a communication request.
[0046] FIG. 6 is a diagram of communications status.
[0047] FIG. 7 is a diagram of call status data.
[0048] FIG. 8 is a diagram of a call processing server.
[0049] FIG. 9 is a diagram of a call processing structure.
[0050] FIG. 10 is a diagram of a call processing object
structure.
[0051] FIG. 11 is a diagram of a state handling structure.
[0052] FIG. 12 is a diagram of a user client structure.
[0053] FIGS. 12A-12F are diagrams of user client displays.
[0054] FIG. 13 is a diagram of an admin client structure.
[0055] FIG. 14 is a diagram of fault-tolerance and scalability.
[0056] FIG. 15 is a diagram of user client initialization.
[0057] FIG. 16 is a diagram of ordinary call signaling.
[0058] FIG. 17 is a diagram of pending call signaling.
[0059] FIG. 18 is a diagram of ordinary user state change.
[0060] FIG. 19 is a diagram of user state change with outbound
pending call.
[0061] FIG. 20 is a diagram of pended call execution.
[0062] FIG. 21 is a diagram of pended call updating and
deletion.
[0063] FIG. 22 is a diagram of pended call insertion.
[0064] FIG. 23 is a diagram of other interaction interfaces.
[0065] FIG. 24 is a diagram of other network interfaces.
[0066] FIG. 25 is a diagram of network interworking.
[0067] FIG. 26 is a diagram of an interworking client
structure.
[0068] FIG. 27 is a diagram of networking interworking for
state.
[0069] FIG. 28 is a diagram of network interworking for an incoming
call.
[0070] FIG. 29 is a diagram of network interworking for an outgoing
call.
[0071] FIG. 30 is a diagram of network interworking for a public
telephone network call.
[0072] FIG. 31 is an expanded system diagram.
[0073] FIG. 32 is a diagram of an external user example.
[0074] FIG. 33 is a diagram of a business application example.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0075] Structure
[0076] FIG. 1 presents an overview diagram of the main elements of
a communications system. There are three types of elements: the
Call Processing Server 101, the User Clients 102, and the Admin
Clients 103. These are familiar functional elements in a
communications system: the Call Processing Server is the central
control of the system, the User Clients access the system services
on behalf of users, and the Admin Clients are the means of
configuration and operation of the Call Processing Server. In the
particular embodiment described the communication between
components is provided by conventional Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) data networking as supported by
the Microsoft Windows operating system. For this description the
term "call" refers to a communication without implications for the
type of media.
[0077] The communication control system described relies on the
underlying environment to provide the communications media input
and output (audio, video, text), the facilities to establish
communications connections, and the data communications linkages
between the elements of the system. In the particular embodiment
described, these functions are supplied by the Windows environment,
including in particular the communications capabilities of
Microsoft Real-Time Communications (RTC). In this case the
computers are communication devices--using a microphone and speaker
for voice or an attached camera for video. Other embodiments are
described later, including other types of smart communications
devices and more traditional PBX phones. The control system of the
invention is common to all of these examples, using the
communications media and data networking that are present in the
environment.
[0078] The Call Processing Server (CP Server) 101 performs three
primary functions on behalf of the User Clients 102:
[0079] 1. It enables User Clients 102 to set their states and
receive current values of state for themselves and other users and
devices as presented by the logic of the CP Server 101.
[0080] 2. It enables the User Clients 102 to request and receive
communications services. These services may be requested to take
place immediately or when a specified a specified combination of
user and devices states is present (pending services).
[0081] 3. It enables the User Clients 102 to manage pending
services by prioritizing, activating, deactivating, deleting,
inserting, and transferring individual items.
[0082] In one embodiment the CP Server 101 runs on Microsoft
Windows NT or Windows Server 2003 with a database that is
implemented with Microsoft SQL Server 2000. The logical structure
of the CP Server application is given in FIGS. 8-11. In a small
configuration it can run on a single machine, i.e., a personal
computer; for large implementations a scalable, fault-tolerant
architecture is described in FIG. 14.
[0083] The User Client 102 enables users to access the above CP
Server functions. As such, it includes both user interfacing
functions and communications functions with the server 101. In a
particular embodiment the User Client 102 operates as a Windows XP
application, and the user interfacing functions are based on
Windows graphical displays. Audio and video media can be provided
by Universal Serial Bus (USB) devices such as an i750 telephone
from Clarisys, a DSP-100 headset from Plantronics, Inc., and a
QuickCam Pro 3000 video camera from Logitech, Inc.
[0084] The User Client 102 includes two distinct types of
interfaces to CP Server 101. The first is a message-based interface
used to communicate state and service operations between client 102
and server 101. This is the Server Messaging interface. The second,
the Call Status Interface, is a data-oriented interface that
enables the client 102 to operate on a server-maintained list of
pending communications. These are described in detail in the FIGS.
2-7. For reporting purposes, the User Client 102 also has read
access to user-specific data in historical tables of system
events.
[0085] The structure of the user client 102 is presented in FIG.
12. Other types of clients are presented later that enable
different types of users to interact with the system using these
interfaces.
[0086] The Admin Client 103 in the particular embodiment is a
Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 application. The interface
between the Admin Client 103 and the Call Processing Server 101 is
by update of the CP Server's database. Updates to the database are
propagated to real-time call processing as described the discussion
of CP Server architecture in FIG. 8.
[0087] The Admin Client 103 supports two primary areas of
configuration:
[0088] 1. Defining the characteristics of the users, devices, and
other system objects.
[0089] 2. Specifying the functional scripts that determine how the
system responds to service and state events. These scripts are
stored in the database as collections of link, node, and page items
with properties defined by database fields.
[0090] For reporting purposes, the Admin Client 103 also has read
access to historical tables of system events. The structure of the
Admin Client is given in FIG. 13.
[0091] Because the interface used by the Admin Client 103 is
exclusively to the database and because all of the configured
items, including the scripts, can be understood as database
entries, the Admin Client functions can be supported by any
database client development tool. This enhances the integration of
the communication system with user business applications, as
presented in FIG. 33.
[0092] FIGS. 2-7 describe the detailed structure of the interface
between the User Clients 102 and the CP Server 101.
[0093] FIG. 2 is an example illustrating the state of a user in a
particular embodiment. The hypothetical user John Smith has three
devices for communication in the system: his office PC 201, his
Laptop 202, and his home PC 203. Associated with each of these
devices is a set of activated user states that describe his
activity on that device:
[0094] On the office PC the states are (204) signed-on, in a
normal-task workstate, and Available to take a new
communication.
[0095] On the laptop the states are (205) signed-on, in a
critical-task workstate, and Unavailable for a new
communication
[0096] On the home PC the single state is (206) signed-off.
[0097] As background for FIG. 2, it is useful to review the role of
user state in communication. Historically communications systems
have concerned themselves primarily with the busy/idle status of
phone lines, but the line state does not reflect the state of the
user. To give a few simple examples:
[0098] ACD's have long recognized that agents frequently have work
to do after a call is completed and before they are prepared to
take a new call. "After call work" has consequently become a
standard ACD agent state during which the agent is unavailable to
take another call.
[0099] In a general business environment, different calls may have
different priorities (so that it might be desirable and appropriate
for one with a higher priority to interrupt another with a lower
priority), and the appropriateness of a communication for an
activity depends upon what that activity actually is. It is
advantageous for the definition of user state to reflect the
dimensions of user activity.
[0100] FIG. 2 shows the state of a user as a set of activated user
states for each device 201, 202, 203 belonging to that user or
where the user has signed on. For each such device the user can
have an arbitrary number of independent user states depending upon
the user's activities. A user sends state change messages each
indicating a desire to activate or deactivate a user state on a
device, and receives state changes message from the CP Server 101
indicating user states that are activated and deactivated for the
user on particular devices. The individual user states may be
standard system states such as Available, or customized user states
such as the workstates normal-task and critical-task. A user state
may also be defined a combination of general user state such as
Inapplication, plus a specific value such as Powerpoint.
[0101] A non-exhaustive list of possible user states follows:
[0102] SIGNEDON
[0103] AVAILABLE
[0104] TALKING
[0105] INAPPLICATION
[0106] IDLE
[0107] DONOTDISTURB
[0108] BUSY
[0109] NORMAL
[0110] AFTERCALLWORK
[0111] MEETING
[0112] AWAY
[0113] TRAVELING
[0114] ATHOME
[0115] NOTINOFFICE
[0116] HOLIDAY
[0117] BREAK
[0118] LUNCH
[0119] FIG. 3 shows the content of the state change messages
indicating a change of user state. For a change of user state the
user and device identifiers are specified, as well as the state and
whether it is being activated or deactivated. A user state data
value may also be included if necessary to further define the user
state, as noted above for the general Inapplication user state.
Messages with this content are sent to the CP Server 101 to
indicate a request to change state and received from the CP Server
101 to indicate the actual system state.
[0120] In addition to user states as shown in FIG. 2 there is also
a simpler notion of device state. Device states are associated
directly with devices 201, 202, 203 and take on values such as
Alerting which are descriptive of the software and hardware, not
the activities of the user. The device state message includes the
device identifier, the state, and the activate/deactivate
indicator.
[0121] A non-exhaustive list of possible device states follows:
[0122] CONNECTED
[0123] ACTIVE
[0124] IDLEDEVICESTATE
[0125] ALERTING
[0126] CONFERENCE
[0127] HOLD
[0128] INITIATING
[0129] FIG. 4 shows how users subscribe for event notification.
Users can subscribe to user state notifications on a user-on-device
basis; for devices the notification is naturally per device. As
noted in FIG. 4, the subscription registers interest in receiving
notifications, but that does not mean that the subscribing user
will be informed of the actual state of the user or device. The
actual information sent to the subscribing user is determined by
scripts controlled by the watched user that determine the
consequences of user or device events. This process is described in
more detail in connection with the server architecture in FIGS.
8-11.
[0130] FIG. 5 shows the content of a Communication request. These
messages are sent from a User Client 102 to the CP Server 101 to
request establishment of a communication session and from CP Server
101 to terminating User Client 102 to offer the communication
session. The fields in the request include the calling and called
user identifiers, the call information (including subject,
priority, media, and any other call context), and any pending state
information to be used to determine when this call should be
established (as a function typically of both calling and called
user states). In a particular embodiment, the subject, priority,
and media are presented by the User Client 102 to the called user
when a call is set up, and they are also displayed with pending
communications. The call context information is used, for example,
to support collaboration between desktop applications at the
calling and called users. To be specific, this can be used to set
up a communications session to support collaborative work on a
Microsoft Powerpoint presentation, in which case the call context
information would define the Powerpoint files and the initial
slide. A typical example of a pending communication would be a call
that executes when both parties are in the Available user
state.
[0131] The communication request (FIG. 5) sent by the client to the
server identifies the target user but not the specific user devices
(in this particular embodiment) to which the communication request
should be delivered. Identification of the target user's devices is
done by the CP Server 101 based on script values associated with
the target user. For example, with both immediate and pending
communication, the called user can decide that a particular
originating user can only access a certain subset of his devices.
In the case of pending communications, the communication will take
place only when the users are in appropriate states, and the called
user has an appropriate state on an accessible device.
[0132] FIG. 6 shows an additional message used to inform clients
102 of changes to the status of pending communications items. The
communications status message shown in FIG. 6 is sent when pended
communications are added, deleted, or change state. In this way,
all involved clients are informed when a pended communication
request is added or deleted, or when the communication becomes
active at one device. The message itself contains the same call
description fields as in FIG. 5, with the addition of three fields
specific to the function of this message: the Device ID identifies
a device as appropriate, the Call Status field describes the
current status of the call (e.g. pending versus active), and the
Activate/deactivate field indicates whether the Call Status is
starting or ending.
[0133] FIG. 7 shows the structure of the data records used to
manage pending communication service. This can be viewed as a data
record maintained by the CP Server 101 as part of its list of
pending communications. These records can be accessed by clients
102 (subject to permissions), and fields can be updated to enable
the clients 102 to manage the communication items.
[0134] The data fields in FIG. 7 contain all of the information of
a communication request in FIG. 5, as well as additional
information describing its current status. For pending
communications the Pending State Info will typically contain both
the called and calling party target states, whether explicitly
present in the communications request or implicitly determined by
other system data. The additional information includes the
following items:
[0135] Status: the status of the call, e.g. active or pending as in
FIG. 6
[0136] Devices: for an active call, the devices on which the call
is active
[0137] Pending Order--Calling User: priority order given to this
communication by the calling user
[0138] Pending Order--Called User: priority order given to this
communication by the called user
[0139] Pending Order--Corporate: priority order showing value of
this communication to the business
[0140] History: gives information about the handling of the
communications request thus far, including the create time and the
connect time for an active communication
[0141] Deleted: used to delete the call and to manage other
updates, as discussed for FIG. 8
[0142] Typically a user will have access only to his own
communications and his own ordering. Users with system privileges
can have additional permissions, such as the ability to access and
set the corporate priority order. An ordinary user can set his
order field to change his user priority order for the call, set
appropriate values of the delete field to activate, deactivate, and
delete the call, and, if he is the called user, change the called
user field to transfer the pended request. The pending order values
determine which call associated with a given user will execute when
a user changes state (e.g. which call will attempt to complete when
a user becomes Available with multiple calls pending and other
users in appropriate states). The details of this logic are given
in FIG. 20.
[0143] In the particular embodiment described, the Call Status data
is contained in the Call Status table in the CP Server database as
described in the discussion of FIG. 8. For this reason, the Call
Status data can be retained when the CP Server is restarted.
Alternative methods of interacting with this data are discussed in
the Other Embodiments section.
[0144] The next figures describe the detailed structure of the CP
Server. FIG. 8 shows that at the highest architectural level the
Call Processing Server 101 has three components: the call
processing or CP process itself 802, the database 804 (with call
management, configuration, and reporting roles as already
discussed), and a database manager (DBM) process 803 that extracts
data from the database for presentation to CP. In the database, the
figure shows three sets of database tables: the Call Status table
805 that contains the Call Status data just discussed in
association with FIG. 7, the Historical Data tables 806 that are
used to support the reporting features of the User Client 102 and
the Admin Client 103, and the Config tables 807 that are used for
the configuration functions of the Admin Client 103. Additional
detail on the Config tables is given in association with the
structure of the Admin Client in FIG. 13.
[0145] The figure also shows the client interfaces to the CP
Server. For the User Clients 102 the Server Message interface is
indicated by arrow 808 connecting the User Clients with the CP
process, the Call Status interface is shown by arrow 809 connecting
the User Clients with the Call Status table 805, and the User
Client reporting interface is show by arrow 810 connecting the User
Clients with the Historical Data tables 806. For the Admin Clients
103 the configuration interface is shown by arrow 811 connecting
the Admin Clients with the Config tables 807, and the Admin Client
reporting interface is shown by arrow 812 connecting the Admin
Clients with the Historical Data tables 806.
[0146] The relationship among the three CP Server components 802,
803, 804 is as follows. Updates to the database can take place
either to the Call Status table (for call management purposes) or
to the configuration tables managed by the Admin Clients 103. To
process these updates the DBM process regularly scans specific
tables to identify inputs. In doing this the DBM process can
consolidate multiple physical tables acting as input for the same
logical table. It is also possible to have multiple DBM processes
functioning simultaneously. The CP process also interacts with the
DBM process (or processes) to record information in the database.
This includes, for example, inserting or updating records in the
Call Status table or inserting historical records in the Call
Detail table. Write operations are performed in parallel on all
active DBM processes.
[0147] For each client-updateable table, specific fields serve as
flags to indicate changes. For the Call Status table the sign of
the deleted field in the Call Status data of FIG. 7 is used to
indicate an updated record; for the configuration tables there is
an upload field used for this purpose. For flagged entries, the
updated table rows are forwarded as message inputs to call
processing. The CP process acknowledges the inputs to the DBM
process, and the DBM process rewrites the row entries to remove the
flags.
[0148] FIGS. 9-11 describe the operation of the CP process itself.
FIG. 9 shows the general mechanism for event processing, FIG. 10
gives a detailed view of an individual call processing object, and
FIG. 11 describes CP Server data structures.
[0149] In FIG. 9 one sees how the resources of the CP Server 101
are organized for event processing. At the top we see the resources
of the CP application: the currently-active call processing objects
(CP objects) 901, the object factory and traversal mechanism 902
which creates and links those objects, and the object framework and
data context associated with the objects 903. These are shown to be
linked to the Node and Link Tables 913, which are the database
representations of the scripts and provide the basis for creation
of CP objects, as described in more detail in FIG. 10. Finally, the
figure indicates that the CP objects have been associated through
the Event Registration block 904 with the events that they are
waiting to process. This registration process gives CP objects the
flexibility to define the events of interest to them. This means,
for example, that a Pend call object can register for state events
representing the combination of states of users for which the
communication can be established.
[0150] Starting at the bottom, we see how these CP process
resources get applied to system events. Events come in at the
bottom of the figure from the system clients 102 or 103. For event
processing, all client actions appear as messages 911. The messages
are generated by the clients themselves for the message interfaces
or by the database scanning processes for database updates. For
example, communication requests as in FIG. 5, state change requests
using state messages as in FIG. 3, and changes to Call Status data
of FIG. 7 all result in messages 911. These messages are parsed 909
to determine the events they represent and then inserted into the
event input queue 908. At the Event Dispatcher 906 the events are
matched up against the event registrations for the CP objects. Once
the association of an event and a CP object is established, then
the object callback 905 for that object is invoked, and execution
of the object begins. Note that since the CP objects are directly
derived from the routing scripts in the database, this structure
enables the whole event-handling mechanism to be completely
configurable in the database.
[0151] Two types of results are generated by the CP object
processing: Timer events 907 and Output commands 910. Timer events
are themselves inputs to the call processing structure and are
introduced through the Input Queue 908 back into the Event
Dispatcher 906. Output commands are actions to be taken as a result
of event processing (e.g. send a state message or a call
notification). These lead to Output messages 912. Most
straightforwardly these messages are sent to the clients 102 or 103
that receive the state notifications or calls. In addition,
however, these messages can be fed back into call processing as an
interaction between CP objects (for example if multiple CP objects
are waiting for alternative events and receipt of one cancels the
others). For this reason the Output message block 912 is also
connected to the Message parsing block 909.
[0152] FIG. 10 gives a more detailed look at the functions of FIG.
9 by showing how a CP object 901 works. Starting at the top, the
object is created on the basis of its node type 1001 (e.g. pend
call or send state) using the facilities of the object factory 1002
(part of 902) for the node type with the data associated with this
object. This is kicked off by completion of processing in the
previous object 1011 (or on initialization if this is the first
object in the script). When the object is created it establishes
its registration as discussed in FIG. 9 (e.g. the event tests to
trigger execution of a pending call). It then performs any
immediate actions 1004 which result in Output commands 910 as was
discussed for FIG. 9.
[0153] At this point there is a dichotomy of behavior depending on
the object types. If this is an object without registrations (e.g.
Send state) then the object has completed its function and proceeds
to the final block 1009 Select Next Object. This causes the next
object to be located in the database 1010, created 1015, and
completed.
[0154] On the other hand, if this object does create registrations
(e.g. Pend call) then the object registers its callback 1005 and
waits for an event. An event arrival from Dispatch 906 then hits
the registration 904 and initiates the callback function 1007 (as
described for Object Callback 905). This causes the callback
actions to be performed 1008 (e.g. execute the pending call).
[0155] Once that is done, this object has completed its function.
It selects the next node 1009 using the link data 1010 in the
database, and then starts that node 1015 and ends.
[0156] FIG. 11 shows the basic data structures used by the CP
Server 101 to manage state in the system. For simplicity of
presentation, this figure assumes a single user associated with a
device.
[0157] The presentation is this figure is organized around a user
device 1101, which could be one of user devices 201-203 shown in
FIG. 2. Associated with the device are first of all two state
lists: the states of the device itself 1103 and the states of the
user on the device 1105 (e.g., states 204-206 of FIG. 2). There are
also notification lists associated with the device: addresses to
send the User/Device notifications 1104 associated with Viewuser
and Viewdevice registrations (FIG. 4) and addresses to send
Communications Status messages (FIG. 6) indicating changes of
status for pending calls. In this way, the device object keeps with
it the references to the entities that need to be informed when it,
its user, or an associated call changes state.
[0158] The device object includes a reference to the user 1105, who
in turns references all devices which he either owns or on which he
is currently signed on. The device also includes references to any
communication session in which it participates though the half-com
objects 1107. These are half-com objects, since what they reference
is the local end of the call. The half-com objects are in turn
referenced by CP objects concerned with the processing of the
calls.
[0159] The general case, with multiple users per device, is
straightforward but more complex to draw. In that case the
fundamental entity is a user-device, the basic entity for user
state as described in FIG. 2. There are state lists, notifications,
and half-com objects associated with the user-device, as well as
separate device states and notifications associated with the device
itself. Each user-device by definition has a single user.
[0160] FIG. 12 gives the structure of the User Client 102. The two
primary areas of structure are the User Interactions 1201 and the
Software Subsystems 1202.
[0161] The User Interactions 1201 show five interfaces to interact
with the user. The primary display component is the Call &
State Control 1204. This enables the user to make and receive
communication requests and to set his state in the various
dimensions as indicated in FIG. 2. In the particular embodiment
described there is a Windows form with buttons and menu items to
set state, and a separate form to supply the information contained
in a communication request message (FIG. 5). In this embodiment the
Available user state indicates readiness to receive a new
communication. The sound, video, or other communication media input
is provided by Media I/O 1203.
[0162] FIGS. 12A-12C present example user displays to support the
interactions for Call & State Control 1204 and Media 1,0 1203.
FIG. 12A shows the primary display 1221 for Call & State
Control. It includes an active communication display 1226 that
contains communications items 1224, 1225 representing all
communications that are currently active at User Client 102, each
with an indication of the other party and the medium. One
communication item can be selected, as indicated by the dark border
of item 1224. For this selected communication the media may be
changed by the Voice, Video, and Chat media buttons 1236, 1237,
1238. Also the hold, transfer, and disconnect operations can be
performed by the buttons 1235, 1234, and 1233 respectively. The
number of communications currently pending for the user is shown by
display line 1223. The user's state on this User Client 102 can be
changed by the Available/Unavailable toggle button 1222 and by the
workstate menu 1230 on menu bar 1231. The workstate menu 1230
allows the user to become active in one out of a customizable list
of workstates. Other items in menu bar 1230 are a File item 1227
that includes an exit item for the application, a Status item 1228
that is used to present displays 1256 and 1265, and a Reports item
that is used to present display 1272. The MakeCall button 1232
presents display 1239 that is used to prepare a communication
request message as in FIG. 5. For an incoming call there is an
additional pop-up display that shows the caller, subject, priority,
and proposed media for the call as defined by the communication
request. The receiving user can accept the call, possibly changing
the proposed media, or reject it. Once the call is accepted the
media connection is established and presented to user with the
Media I/O as discussed below.
[0163] FIG. 12B shows display 1239 that defines values for fields
of a communication request message from FIG. 5. There are drop down
lists to select the user 1243, the medium 1242, the choice of
immediate or pending communications 1241, the pend conditions if
any 1239 (e.g. both parties in the Available state), and the
priority 1245. The text box 1244 enables entry of a subject
description, and the Conference section 1246 enables parties to be
added or dropped from a conference using Add 1248 and Drop 1247
buttons. As is typical in IP communication networks, conferencing
can use a Multipoint Conference Unit (MCU), for example made by
Radvision Corporation. There is also an Enter button 1250 to send
the communication request message and a Cancel button 1249 to close
the display to be closed without sending.
[0164] Media I/O may or may not have an associated display. If the
Media is voice, then the media input and output are provided by
audio devices, for example the microphone and speaker of the USB
headset mentioned earlier. FIG. 12C shows an example text chat
display 1251 that sends and receives text chat media. In the
display there is a title that shows the communicating party 1255, a
display box for the received text content from both parties 1254,
an input text box 1253, and a send button 1252. For video, input is
by a video camera and output is by a display that shows the video
image.
[0165] Pending Call Management 1205 provides the user interface to
support interaction with the Call Status data from FIG. 7. In the
particular embodiment described this is done by the display 1256 in
FIG. 12D with a series of data rows 1257, 1258, 1259, 1260
corresponding to individual pending communications. These rows can
be reordered by drag and drop. They can be deleted by the Delete
button 1263 in each row. They can be activated, deactivated,
deleted, and transferred with the Update button 1264 in each row,
which then presents the options. A user with system privileges is
able to set the corporate priority. The display 1261 for each
communication includes the name of the other party, the subject and
priority 1262, and the current status of the communication 1263,
which can include the length of time the communication has been
pending.
[0166] User State Monitoring 1206 displays state information about
other users ("buddies") or devices that the user has chosen to
observe. As noted previously, the displayed information represents
a scripted response to state changes requested by those users and
not necessarily the actual user state information itself. In the
particular embodiment described user state information is presented
by display 1265 in FIG. 12E. In this display there is a row 1268,
1269, 1270 for each observed user. In that row there is a block
1270 corresponding to each device for that user. These blocks can
change color depending upon the Available and Signed-on states for
the user on the device. Clicking a block brings up a text box 1271
with a complete list of user states for the user on the device.
[0167] Historical reporting from the system database is presented
by the report interface 1207. An example report 1272 is shown is
FIG. 12F. As indicated by the title 1277 this report shows all
communications for the user in order of start time. There is a row
1273, 1274, 1275, 1276 for each communication. The information for
each row includes the originating and terminating user, the call
info from the Call Status data of FIG. 7, the start time for the
communication, the duration of the communication, and the time that
the communication spent pending for establishment of the
communication.
[0168] The Software Subsystems 1202 mediate between the
communications interfaces and the user interactions. User State
Processing 1210 handles state change messages and keeps a list of
all states associated with the observed buddies and with the client
user. Call state processing 1209 handles communication request and
status messages and keeps an updated list of all communications for
this user so as to drive the displays and user interactions. Media
management 1208 associates the media inputs from 1203 with the
external media interface 1212. Report processing prepares specific
reports based on read-only queries over the data interface
1215.
[0169] Of the four interface modules 1212-1215, two have already
been discussed and one is new. The Server Message Interface 1213
and the Call Status Interface 1214 are the two interfaces to the
server discussed in association with FIGS. 1 and 3-7. The Media
Interface 1212 and the Reporting Data Interface 1215 are new.
[0170] The Media Interface 1212 is the means by which the actual
media connections for communications are established. In the
particular embodiment described this is done using the Real-Time
Communication (RTC) capability provided with the Windows XP
operating system. Microsoft RTC includes the capability to
establish voice, video, and Instant Messaging connections over an
Internet Protocol (IP) network based on either IP or Session
Initiation Protocol (SIP) network addresses. The Reporting Data
Interface 1215 is a database query interface to access historical
data on the CP Server. As shown in the figure, in the particular
embodiment described both the Call Status Interface and the
Reporting Data Interface are query interfaces to the system
database. However, their roles are functionally distinct and other
implementations could treat them differently.
[0171] FIG. 13 gives the structure of the Admin Client 103. This is
somewhat simpler than the structure of the User Client 102, because
there are fewer functions and all interfaces are to the CP Server
database. As discussed above, in the particular embodiment, the
interactions of the Admin Client are with the database component of
the server.
[0172] There are three primary User Interaction components 1301
reflecting the functions of the Admin Client: System object
configuration 1303, Call Handling configuration 1304, and Reporting
1305. The interactions associated with the system object
configuration tend to be grid-oriented. For example, the user of
the Admin Client is able to create and delete users and devices and
associate them with each other via ownership. The Admin client is
also the means to configure call evaluation objects, which
determine corporate priorities from the call characteristics in
FIG. 5.
[0173] Call handling is presented to the user by a visual scripting
language. As noted earlier, scripts are stored as collections of
links and nodes on pages and are drawn and edited as functional
flow charts. Reporting gives Administrative personnel access to
historical results for groups of individual users. A subset of the
Admin Client functionality is available to an individual user to
set call handling options for himself.
[0174] System object processing 1306, Call Script processing 1307,
and Report processing 1308 mediate between the user interactions
and the database tables in which the information is stored. The
update procedure includes the capability to schedule the time at
which the updates will be loaded into real-time call processing.
The updates themselves are made to the System object tables for
System Object processing and to the Link, Node, and Page tables for
the Script processing. For Report processing the data access is
read-only.
[0175] The final figure of this section presents a hardware
architecture for deployment of the CP Server in a large-scale
system. While the CP Server operates as a single functional entity,
implementation on a single machine may not satisfy requirements for
fault-tolerance and scalability that arise for large systems. FIG.
14 presents a fault-tolerant and scalable architecture for the CP
Server, building upon the architectural concepts already introduced
for state distribution and call management.
[0176] In this architectural diagram there are three copies of the
CP Server 101 providing call processing services in a redundant way
to two sample User Clients 102. The three copies of the CP Server
maintain the same database configuration for call processing, as
provided by the elements in the top half of the figure. In the
figure there are two pairs of replicated databases 1401, 1402 and
1403, 1404 that are combined by independent DBM processes 803 into
consolidated data images that are presented to all of the CP
Servers (see FIG. 8 for detail on DBM processes).
[0177] Additionally, in the bottom half of the figure, one sees how
the CP Servers acquire the state information from other CP Servers,
so that one can take over processing from another in case of
failure. The distribution of state information is by a new type of
system element, the Registration Client 1405. A Registration Client
sends Viewuser and Viewdevice messages (FIG. 4) to register for
events from each of the CP Servers, and each CP Server similarly
registers with Registration Clients for events from the other two
CP Servers. A single Registration Client therefore provides each CP
Server with state information from the other CP Servers, and the
protocols used by the Registration Client to acquire and distribute
data are exactly the same as those used to distribute state to any
other client in the system.
[0178] With two Registration Clients as in the figure, the
distribution of state information can be made redundant, as each CP
Server receives events from each of the Registration Clients. To
exploit this architecture, the CP Servers support the capability
for redundant state notification. Any client receiving state
messages from multiple sources will normally receive multiple
copies of each state change. With redundant state notification, a
counter and server id is attached to each state value, so
duplicates can be removed wherever they are received.
[0179] If one of the CP Servers fails, then the failure is detected
by heartbeat, and its clients can logon to any other server, as
indicated by the dashed lines from User Clients 102. The logon
follows the normal procedure and new CP Server has both the
database configuration and the current state information necessary
to provide service.
[0180] Operation
[0181] This section describes operational procedures using the
structures described in the previous section. In particular, we
describe the information flows associated with the interface
structures that have been defined.
[0182] FIG. 15 describes the message flows associated with the
initialization of the User Client 102 at logon to the CP Server
101. Following the logon message, the client specifies the
notifications it wants to receive from the server. First there is a
sequence of Viewuser and Viewdevice messages as introduced in FIG.
4. As noted earlier, the response to these messages depends upon
scripting belonging to the watched users. Then there is a set of
Query messages to register interest in receiving Communications
Status messages (FIG. 6) for each of the user's devices.
Communications Status messages are optional to allow for simple
clients that do not need to handle them. Finally the client sends a
series of User state and Device state messages (FIG. 3) to
establish its initial state.
[0183] Following this initialization the client is ready to
initiate communication requests. FIGS. 16 and 17 show the handling
of ordinary and pending requests. It should be noted that in this
and the subsequent call flows, the message that delivers the
content of a communications request from FIG. 5 is called an
"Invite," following the terminology of the SIP protocol.
[0184] The ordinary communication sequence in FIG. 16 is
straightforward. The initiating Invite message is as described in
FIG. 5. Here the destination of the request is by called user. The
CP Server determines which of that user's devices will be involved
and sends the Invite on. The CP Server's action is scripted and can
depend upon on any part of the call context and the system state.
In particular the scripting can use a call evaluation object to
establish a corporate priority for the call and consequently to
which devices the call will be offered. In the figure only two of
the called party's three devices receive the Invite messages. The
user on one device then accepts the communication request with a
Useranswer message. In response a Disconnect is sent to the other
device, as the first device to accept gets the call, and all other
Devices receive disconnects.
[0185] As noted in the figure, the Useranswer message contains a
network identifier for the receiving device. This is forwarded with
the Useranswer message to the initiating device. With this device
identifier, the originating device then establishes the media for
the communication session. As noted in FIG. 5, the Invite contains
an indication of proposed media; this can be overridden in the
Useranswer which determines the actual media established. As
alternative for the connection of the media, the particular
embodiment describes also supports a backward call setup in which
the media is established from the receiving device in parallel with
the Useranswer message.
[0186] Pending call handling in FIG. 17 is more complex, as it
supports the unique features of pending communication. In this case
the initial Invite contains both the target user and the pending
states for the communication. As before, the server determines
which of the target user's devices are involved in this
communication. Those devices then receive Communications Status
messages (FIG. 6) indicating that a pended call has been
established.
[0187] This ends the first stage of the sequence. Because this is a
pended call, call processing is suspended until the two parties are
in appropriate states.
[0188] Call processing picks up again when the calling and called
users have entered the appropriate states. Since they will have
entered the states on specific devices, only those devices will be
involved in subsequent call processing. In the figure, only one of
the devices is still involved for each party.
[0189] The first message that is sent is a Pendinvite. The
Pendinvite contains the same fields as a regular Invite, but is
sent to the originator of a pending call to indicate that the call
is now ready to execute. In the figure the originating user accepts
the call by sending a Useranswer message. The call can also be
rejected by sending a Disconnect. Once the originating user accepts
the call, then the call can complete as in FIG. 16. In addition,
however, once the call does complete, Communications Status
messages are sent to all of the calling and called user devices
(capable of receiving Communications Status) to indicate that the
call has completed and to identify the active user device. In this
way, all of a user's devices can appropriately display all calls
for that user, regardless of where the calls terminate.
[0190] FIGS. 18 and 19 describe the interaction of the state
changes with the pending call mechanism. For purposes of the
examples, the state transition that causes execution of the pending
call is activation of the Available user state for a particular
user on a device. As point of departure, FIG. 18 describes an
ordinary user state change without a pending call. In this case the
user send a userstate(Available) message to the server, which
determines what the watchers (who have subscribed to this user
event) will see. In the figure, two of the watchers get the
userstate (Available) message, and the third gets nothing.
[0191] In FIG. 19 by contrast the userstate (Available) message
only causes triggering of the pending call with no indication to
the watchers that the user has activated the Available state. This
is done in the particular embodiment decribed by scripting the
pending call mechanism to have first access to the user state
change, and the execution of the pending call is triggered without
sending notification of the user activation of Available. Because
the pending call mechanism has first access to the state change,
this means that the system's managed control of pending
communication takes precedence over unilateral call camp-on
initiated on the basis of user state monitoring.
[0192] In FIG. 19, the pending call setup is completed as in FIG.
17, then the call is disconnected, and then a subsequent userstate
(Availabile) message is sent before the user is transitioned to
Available and the notifications to the watchers are sent as in FIG.
18. Procedures with an inbound pended call are entirely analogous
based on the called-party interactions in FIG. 17.
[0193] FIG. 20 describes how the system determines which call to
establish when a user state transition takes place. As noted in the
figure the user state change triggers a state processing script
based on the mechanism of FIG. 9. At this point the server
identifies all calls waiting for this user and state. Normal
ranking of calls is based on the ordering of pended calls by
calling and called user as expressed by the Call Status data
entries (FIG. 7). Default behavior is to use the ranking by called
user. If the call has not been ranked by the users or the normal
ranking is inconclusive, then the ranking is by priority and order
received. Finally, if corporate ranking is used, then the corporate
priority (FIG. 7) can be used either directly or with a call
evaluation object (managed by the Admin Client 103) that determines
a corporate priority for the call. If that value is sufficiently
high, then it overrides then normal ranking for selection of the
call.
[0194] FIGS. 21 and 22 give the operational details for user
management of pending communication using the Call Status interface
structure of in FIG. 7. FIG. 21 gives the sequence of steps for
pended call updating and deletion. The steps are as follows:
[0195] 2101: The client queries the Call Status interface to get
the current list of pended calls in the view accessed by the
user.
[0196] 2102: The client interface presents the items to the user.
In the particular embodiment described the calls are listed
according to the user's order value.
[0197] 2103: The client interface enables the user to specify the
update operations he wants to perform. As noted in the discussion
of FIG. 12D, items can be dragged and dropped to specify priority
order, and a delete button is used to delete the call.
[0198] 2104: In the next step an update is performed on the Call
Status interface, so that in the particular embodiment described
the user's changes are performed on the Call Status table in the
server database.
[0199] 2105: When the changes are uploaded to call processing, the
update flags for the modified table values are removed (see
discussion of FIG. 8).
[0200] 2106: Finally, within call processing the changes in the
Call Status data entries cause Communications Status messages to be
sent for appropriate events (e.g. deletes).
[0201] FIG. 22 shows how the Call Status interface can also
function as an alternative to the server message interface in
adding new pending communications items to the system.
[0202] As indicated, the user of this interface can define the
details of the communication item using the fields of FIG. 5 as
presented in the interface of FIG. 7. Once the record is inserted
into the system database, it is treated as a normal pended call,
with notification of clients by Communications Status messages, and
execution based on pending for user states. The current status of
any call is always reflected by its Call Status table status
entry.
[0203] As will be noted in the discussion of alternative clients,
this use of the Call Status interface to initiate communication is
particularly adapted database or web-service oriented clients, such
as web servers, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems, and CRM
systems.
Other Embodiments
[0204] As noted at the beginning, the communications control system
exploits knowledge of user state to deliver communications
efficiency benefits in general business environments. It is
independent of the specifics of the network and user interactions,
as well as the specifics of the underlying technology of
implementation.
[0205] The remaining figures describe options for use of the
communications control system in other environments. These
embodiments are implemented through alternative clients that access
the functions of the CP Server through capabilities presented by
the CP Server interfaces (e.g. setting state, requesting
communications). Clients may access subsets of full functionality.
For example a client may just set state for a user on one or more
devices, or it may make a pending communication request for a call
that will be established with a different device. Clients may also
use the interface in something other than an end-user role (as in
the multi-user role of the Web server and the third-party roles of
the Workflow in FIG. 23).
[0206] From an implementation point of view these interfaces
themselves can be packaged in a variety of ways, using the many
methods that exist for applications to interwork with each other.
For example, communications could be invoked and delivered via a
local Component Object Model (COM) object as defined by Microsoft
Corporation and state setting or the Call Status interface could be
presented as XML Web Services as defined by the World Wide Web
Consortium (W3C). Other alternatives include the Common Object
Request Broker Architecture (Corba) from the Object Management
Group, Enterprise Java Beans from Sun Microsystems, and many
others. These implementation alternatives are evident to one
skilled in the art. Similarly the call communication system is
independent of the operating system or application execution
environment of the clients.
[0207] FIG. 23 describes alternative forms of interaction with
client users. There are five examples: Web server, Interactive
Voice Response (IVR), Workflow, Softphone, Application-specific
state sources. In the Web server example, a Web server functions as
the system client and exports the user interactions to supported
browsers. This can be a functional replacement for the User Client
102 of FIG. 12, which may or may not support the actual
communications media on the user's browser application. Without
media it can be used to set state and to initiate pended
communications that may be delivered to other devices. The Web
server can act on behalf of multiple users, so that a single Web
server can enable a population of users to access the client
functions. The Web server can also access the interfaces used by
the Admin Client 103 to provide a Web-based alternative for
configuration and/or operation of the CP Server.
[0208] An Interactive Voice Response system (IVR), for example the
Conversant.RTM. system from Avaya Technology Corporation, enables
automated telephone interaction with users using either speech
recognition or telephone tones. This type of interface would
typically be used to set state or initiate pended communications
from a telephone with a dialed connection to the IVR system. IVR
systems typically support both message-based and data-oriented
computer interfacing and hence can be configured for interaction
with the CP Server using either the Server Message Interface or the
Call Status Interface.
[0209] The Workflow example represents a data processing
application interfacing to the communications system. In this case
the interacting client is the data processing application itself,
for example a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application
such as Siebel Sales 7.5 from Siebel Systems, Inc., rather than a
human user. A CRM application typically manages work activities and
supporting data within a business. Using the Call Status interface,
the Workflow application can direct the communication system in
response to business project states. For example, it can place a
pending call into the system to deal with a product delivery that
has changed to the "delayed" state and adjust the priority order of
communications for a specific task that has entered the "critical"
state. In this example the Call Status interface is used in
third-party form, with the Workflow client placing and adjusting
communications items for human users. The Workflow client can also
use the Server Message interface in a third-party way to set human
user states depending on the project states associated work
activities in the CRM system.
[0210] A Softphone is a desktop application that controls the
operation of a user telephone device, typically on a PBX or ACD. An
existing softphone application can be adapted to work with the CP
Server and in this way can support management of pending calls in
its own communication environment. In the PBX case this will
normally include delivery of calls to existing PBX phones. A
customized softphone adapted to the CP Server interfaces can
integrate a customer business application with the tasks and
priorities used by the call processing rules and can provide the
data necessary for application collaboration between originating
and terminating users.
[0211] Application-specific state sources refer to the many types
of state information that may be useful to particular business
applications. These state-sources can use the state-setting
function from the CP-Server interface to affect states for users on
devices. An example is Global Positioning System (GPS) location
data. GPS data can be in a user state element for a delivery truck
operator, so that a communication can be setup to discuss
particular requirements of an area the truck operator is
serving.
[0212] FIG. 24 gives examples of other communication networks
supported by the communications control system. These can be viewed
as replacement for the Microsoft RTC Media Interface in FIG. 12.
Since the communications control system is concerned with the
establishment of network connections, essentially any network can
be used. This includes both traditional circuit-switched networks
(such as the telephone network) and packet-switched networks
(including IP networks such as the internet or a corporate
intranet) in both wireline and wireless deployments. Also,
essentially any of the telecommunications control interfaces can be
used. Examples include the Telecommunications API (TAPI) from
Microsoft and its Java version (JTAPI) from Sun Microsystems, the
Computer Supported Telephony Applications (CSTA) standards of the
European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA), as well as the
manufacturers' CTI interfaces to PBX's and ACD's. Potential client
communication devices can include Personal Digital Assistants
(PDA's) and mobile phones with wireless data access (e.g. using the
IEEE 802.11 standards) and the capability to add customized
applications. With third-party control interfaces, such as the CSTA
standards, the media can be delivered to existing phones. The
communications control system can be used with any kind of
communication, including voice, video, text-oriented communication
such as Instant Messaging (already part of RTC), and non-real-time
communication such as email.
[0213] FIG. 25 describes another type of networking option. In
addition to the client networking options in FIG. 24, the
communications control system supports interworking with media
streams originated by external clients. In this way, users on the
system can receive phone calls originated on the Public Switched
Phone Network (PSTN), as well as messages and state events from
Instant Messaging clients from America On-Line (AOL) and Microsoft.
Further, pending calls can be delivered to ordinary phone lines and
accepted by answering in the ordinary way. As another example, in
SIP networks the routing servers (proxy or redirect) can receive
both state and communications services messages, so the
communications control system can become an added-value application
for state-dependent routing in the environment of the SIP server.
Architecturally, the interworking with these external media streams
is provided by Interworking Clients. The structure and operation of
these clients is given in FIGS. 26-30.
[0214] FIG. 26 is a structure diagram for an Interworking Client
analogous to the structure diagram for the User Client 102 in FIG.
12. This shows that the Interworking Client is a simplified version
of the User Client 102 focused on media and call and state control.
The drawing is a functional subset of the elements of FIG. 12 with
the exception of the interaction interface elements 2601,
2603-2606. In this client, the call and state inputs are provided
by the interworking modules 2605 and 2606 that adapt the media and
signaling inputs from the network 2603, 2604 to the basic
connection and messaging events used by call and state processing.
Interworking modules between signaling protocols are well-known in
the art; for example see the PSTN/Internet Interworking (PINT)
service specification (IETF Request for Comment #2848). For Instant
Messaging, interworking between competing systems has been provided
by companies such as FaceTime Communications.
[0215] The media portion of the Interworking Client (2603, 2605,
2607, 2610, 2612) may or may not be used in a specific client,
depending up whether the media actually traverse the client or are
redirected from the client using the capabilities of the signaling
interface 2604. When the media passes through the client, then the
operation of the system is quite simple: the call offering from the
originating network is repeated on the terminating network, and
once the call is accepted, both calls are answered and linked
together through the media stream on the client. This works for
calls that are either incoming and outgoing to the system.
Redirection can be used as an alternative where the external
communication is compatible with media control on the User Clients
102. In this case, an incoming call can be redirected from the
Interworking Client to the target User Client 102. It is also
possible that some media such as Instant Messaging text messages
would traverse the client whereas other media such as voice would
be redirected.
[0216] FIGS. 27-29 describe example message flows for the
functional interworking with external networks. FIG. 27 shows a
state change. In this case the interworking is straightforward, as
the Interface Client translates the content of the external state
change to an equivalent userstate message which is then passed on
internally.
[0217] FIGS. 28 and 29 show connection establishment in the
incoming and outgoing directions without media traversal of the
Interworking Client. These are somewhat more complicated in that
the signaling messages are passed out of band to establish the
actual media connections. FIG. 28 shows two methods for handling
incoming calls. In the first (redirect) case 2801 the incoming call
request is turned into an incoming call setup as in FIG. 16. When
the call is accepted by a device, a call redirect message is sent
to the network to have the media established to the target device.
The proxy case 2802 can be used when the network protocol allows
the call request to be forwarded to a new potential termination.
This is the case, for example, for a SIP network call that is
received by a system with User Clients 102 in the particular
embodiment described with Microsoft RTC. In this case, instead of
using a redirect, the original call request is an Invite message
that can be passed to the target device for media setup.
[0218] FIG. 29 shows an example of an outgoing call setup from a
User Client 102 to the external network. In this case the call
setup is forwarded to the Interface Client, which causes a setup to
the external network. Once the call is answered, the media can be
redirected via transfer to the initiating client in parallel with
the Useranswer message, using the backward media setup option
discussed for the particular embodiment described in association
with FIG. 16.
[0219] FIG. 30 shows how this works for the special case for an
ordinary telephone call arriving from the public switched telephone
network (PSTN). In the figure the call from phone 3005 first
arrives at a Telecom Gateway 3004 such as an Access Server 5350
from Cisco Systems. The Telecom Gateway then converts the telephone
network call to a voice over IP call using SIP. The SIP call is
then offered to the PSTN Interface Client 3003. As in the FIG. 28,
the incoming call request is sent to the CP Server 3001 and thence
to User Client 102. When the call is accepted by User Client 102,
the Useranswer message propagates back to the Interface Client 3003
as in either mode 2801 or 2802 of FIG. 28. Since the SIP protocol
supports redirect and is consistent with the media interface of the
User Client in the particular embodiment described, the
communication media path (indicated by the heavy lines from 3004 to
3005 for the PSTN call 3006 and from 3005 to 3002 for the SIP voice
call 3007) does not need to pass through the PSTN Interface Client
3003. In fact, the SIP protocol supports both the redirect and
proxy modes from FIG. 28, and the call from the Telecom Gateway can
be redirected to the User Client 102 and received there.
[0220] FIG. 31 is an expanded system diagram giving an indication
of the scope of the system with the alternative clients we have
just discussed. In addition to the User Clients 102 from FIG. 1
there are two clients with other interaction interfaces, namely a
Web Server or IVR client 3103 and a Workflow client 3104 from FIG.
23. There are also two interface clients, one for the PSTN using a
PSTN Interface Client 3003 and a Telecom Gateway 3004 as just
discussed in FIG. 30 and another IM Interface Client 3105 for a
Microsoft Messenger instance 3106 as discussed in association with
FIG. 26. Users can now access this system with ordinary User
Clients 102, over the Web, via Instant Messaging, and with ordinary
phones. They can set state by whatever means is appropriate to
their access method and benefit from the communication management
features of the communication control system.
[0221] FIGS. 32 and 33 give examples of what this can mean. FIG. 32
describes the features available to an example user who would
normally be considered to be outside the system. This user is at an
external location 3210 and has no direct connection either to the
media supported by the User Clients 102 or to the CP Server 101
itself. What the user does have is a phone 3208 and a PC 3209 with
an Internet browser 3211 and an Instant Messaging client 3106. With
this arrangement, the user's state can be derived first of all from
the user state on the Instant Messaging client 3106, which the CP
Server can be configured to recognize as the state of the user on
the phone 3208 as well. As an alternative or complement the user
can also explicitly set elements of his state using the Web Server
client 3103. He can receive pending communications that are
established subject to his state using either his phone 3208 or the
Instant Messaging client 3106. Using the web browser 3211 he can
establish calls with context into the system and have them show up
on pending call lists for himself via the browser 3211 and for
associated internal users. Both he and the internal users can
manage those calls according to individual and/or corporate
priorities and have detailed records of the entire transaction.
Hence even though this user would traditionally have been
considered outside the system, both he and his internal contacts
can manage their interactions through the capabilities provided by
the communications control system.
[0222] Viewed somewhat differently this example also describes a
new kind of contact system linking an external caller and the
company he is calling. With the web interface 3211 the external
caller can register a request to communicate when he is available,
and he can provide his state either using the web 3211 or by
specifying an Instant Messaging client 3106 whose state should be
used. Since the call will be established based on the caller's
state, there is a potential to avoid waiting on hold. In addition,
from the point of view of the receiving company, there is a
possibility to enhance service by enabling particular employees to
work with particular outside clients, something that is awkward and
inefficient with traditional ACD technology.
[0223] FIG. 33 describes the integration of the communications
control system with a business customer application such as a CRM
system. In the figure the integration takes places in three areas.
First the Workflow client 3104 enables the CRM system to integrate
with the communication application as a user. In this way the CRM
system can initiate pending communications and manage communication
priorities and user availability based upon business project states
reflecting the needs of the business application. Second the figure
shows CRM customized softphones 3302. These clients are directly
controlled by the users and can initiate communications with call
context derived from the business application, including priorities
and task references, and can assure that the communication context
contains the information necessary for application collaboration
between originating and terminating users. Also, the entire state
mechanism for the users can reflect the needs of the business
environment by using customized, independent states as described in
FIG. 2. Finally, the figure shows a CRM-customized version of the
Admin Client 3303 that presents the capabilities of configuration
control interface used by the Admin Client 103 in the user
interface environment of the CRM application. As has been noted
earlier, the entire configuration of call processing is managed in
a transparent way by database interfaces, so that a customized
Admin Client can be built as another database client interface
within the CRM.
[0224] It should be noted that with the three clients in FIG. 33,
the CRM system has actually fused with the communication system, to
point where there is now one system that merges the business and
communications management and control for the benefit of both the
individual users and the business as a whole.
* * * * *