Method and system for negotiated routing in telephony systems

Method and system for protocol routing selection in telephone system

Technical Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the field of telephone call processing and switching, and more particularly to an intelligent call routing system and a device and method for customizing and personalizing routing rules and protocols.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED DOCUMENTS This application is a continuation of the pending U.S. Patent Application 08/869,815, which is a continuation of the U.S. Patent Application 08/802,667, and the latter is the pending U.S. Patent Application 08 The part of /797,420 continues to apply.

Background of the Invention At the time the patent application for the present invention was filed, the telephone call processing and switching system was a very complex computerized system, and new systems were continuously being developed and introduced. Generally speaking, the inventors and those skilled in the art can obtain publications with a large amount of information about the characteristics of hardware and software. In view of this, a large number of details in the known system will not be repeated here, otherwise the essence of the present invention will be obscured.

The document that provides the main information about intelligent networks is "ITU-T Recommendation Q.129, Intelligent Network User Guide Volume 1" (April 1994). This document is incorporated herein as a reference.

At the time of filing this patent application, telephone routing systems with routing between the origination point and the destination of an incoming call at or near the call destination are continuing to grow significantly. For example, a system known to the inventors performs initial call processing before routing incoming calls to the destination switch, and performs initial call processing in a computerized telephone device that is often referred to as customer premises equipment (CPE) at the destination of the call. Further routing. The invention is particularly suitable for routing selection at the equipment in the user's house.

At the time of application of the present invention, there are a large range of user indoor equipment systems that can be used by various manufacturers. The routing systems of modern technology are generally computerized, and there are also a wide variety of software. Used in such systems. Generally speaking, it is the software that sets the routing rules. The routing rules determine the decision path that a system should follow in the process of routing calls.

In the current technology, although there are many different systems in the technology related to routing rules, all such systems show a common shortcoming. Generally, once such a system is set (programmed) to follow certain routing rules and run, it is not easy to change, and individual users or user groups cannot change these rules at will. In order to adjust the routing rules in the equipment in the user's premises, a maintenance technician (system manager) with advanced training is usually required.

Obviously, some methods and devices are needed to enable individual users of the routing system or a group of user groups to modify and customize the routing rules of the system according to specific purposes, and the routing rules can be changed at any time according to the needs of users.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method for determining the destination of incoming telephone calls received in a telephone network is provided. For one of a plurality of workstations, the telephone network has a service control station (SCP) Each workstation has a telephone and a computer station, each computer station has a video display unit (PC/VDU) adjacent to the phone, and each video display unit is connected to the service control station through a wide area network (WAN), the method includes The following steps: (a) Implement a personal router in each video display unit, where each independent user determines the personal routing rules for the related workstations; (b) Send information about incoming calls from the service control site to one of the multiple workstations through the WAN The data of the call and the request for the destination; (c) the final destination of the incoming telephone call is negotiated between multiple personal routers; and (d) the response is sent to the service control station via the wide area network, the response including the determination based on the negotiation result The final destination of the phone call.

The further step is to send the telephone call to the final destination by the service control station, and guide the network to send the call according to the result of the answer in the above step (d). In some embodiments, a group of workstations is formed in the call center, and each call center has a telephone switch. A video display unit located near the phone connects each phone to the telephone switch. The video display units are connected to each other via a local area network, and the local area network is also connected to each other. The processor connection provides a connection to the service control site through the wide area network, and, in step (b), the data and destination request related to the telephone call are sent to each personal router through the wide area network and the local area network, and in step (c) , Negotiations must be carried out via LAN and WAN.

In some cases, the personal router is executed on a server, and the server has a client-server relationship with the workstation and is connected to the local area network. In some embodiments, the client-server router is executed on the telephone switch, which can be It is a processor connected to the telephone exchange in a computer-telephone integrated manner, and the processor is connected to the local area network.

In another aspect of the present invention, a telephone call distribution system for determining the destination of incoming telephone calls in a telephone network including a service control site is provided. The system includes a plurality of workstations, and each workstation includes a telephone network coupled to the telephone network. Telephone and a neighboring computer station with a video display unit connected to the service control site via a wide area network; and a personal router associated with each video display unit. The service control station broadcasts the data about the incoming telephone call and the request for the destination to each video display unit through the wide area network, and these personal routers negotiate the destination according to each routing rule and the data about the call, and at least each router One responds to the service control site with the destination of the call.

In a further operation, the service control site directs the incoming telephone call to a destination returned by at least one of the individual routers. In some embodiments, a plurality of workstations form a workstation group in a call center, and each call center has a telephone switch, and the telephone is connected to the telephone switch through a video display unit adjacent to the phone, and the video display unit passes through Local area networks are connected to each other, and a processor is also connected to the local area network to provide a connection to the service control site through the WAN. The personal router can be executed on a server, and the server is connected to the local area network in a client-server relationship with the workstation. In many embodiments, the call center is embodied as a telephone switch with enhanced computer telephone integration.

The device and method according to the present invention are disclosed in detail below, which are used to provide a novel, simplified and effective way to determine the destination of incoming calls to the telephone network, which can solve the problems existing in network call routing.

Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is a system diagram of a call routing system according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a sampling of broadcast announcement records according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 3 is an embodiment according to the present invention A sample user interface screen; and Figure 4 is a system diagram of a call routing system implemented in a client-server mode according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Description of the Preferred Embodiment Fig. 1 is a system diagram of a call routing system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In a preferred embodiment, such a device includes a computerized call center switch connected by a data link 212 to a processor 223 running a separate telephony server (T-server) T-S207 instance. The switch 121 in the traditional technology distributes the incoming call (on the line 105) to the connected phones, such as the phone 131 on the workstation 361 and the phone 132 on the second workstation 362. In various embodiments of the present invention, the T-server 207 running on the processor 223 exerts control over the routing of incoming calls, as described in further detail below.

In various embodiments of the present invention, each workstation (361, 362) has a personal computer with a video display, such as a video display unit 331 of the workstation 361 and a video display unit 332 of the workstation 362. In most structures, there will be more than two telephone workstations, each with a corresponding personal computer, but the inventor believes that an example of two telephone workstations is sufficient to illustrate the embodiments of the present invention.

The video display units 331 and 332 in each embodiment are connected to a local area network 301, which is also connected to a data file server 303 and a processor 223 running an instance of the T-server 207. The configuration of video display unit and telephone in each workstation is a common configuration used in many company facilities, and it is more popular because more and more people can write on computers. And many companies are also actively training employees to use computers, and set up PC-type computer equipment usually connected to each other by the company's local area network for employees to use.

In the exemplary system shown, the call may originate from any remote call point involved, which is represented by area 100 in FIG. 1, referred to herein as a network cloud line. The network cloud line 100 may be a small area part of the World-Wide-Network of the connected telephone device, or it may also represent the entire World-Wide-Network. Incoming calls from any location within the network cloud line 100 are represented by the vector 107 to the service control site (SCP) 101 (typically a router within the network cloud line), in this example it is connected to the subsidiary processing The processor 103 is coupled to an intelligent peripheral (IP) 102, a distribution processor 104, and a processor 208 running a second instance of a dedicated T-server 207 and a statistical server (sat-sever) 209. In this system, the call is transmitted to the switch 121 at the user's premises equipment through the telephone line 105, and related data is transmitted to the processor 223 in parallel through a digital network link 210. Among them, the call-related data is transmitted by the call itself on an independent link. The technology was known to the inventor when the inventor filed the patent application, but it is unknown to other persons in the art. However, this feature is not necessary to practice the present invention, although it is considered better in some embodiments.

In the embodiment of the present invention, a call originating in the cloud line of the network and being routed to the switch 121 and scheduled for one of the telephone 131 or 132 or another destination at the user's premises usually carries a destination number , The number may include direct dial-in (DID) features, which mainly rely on software technology, can achieve the use of a limited number of lines to transfer calls to a larger number of final destinations. The destination can also be a virtual number, many of which can be programmed, and the T-server 207 can be adapted to further route the transmitted call to such a virtual number. The telephone call can also be attached with a caller identifier (ID) (the phone number of the originating caller), in the case of an independent network digital data link between the processor 208 of the originating end and the processor 223 of the user facility , The data packets related to the call can be transmitted through the link 210. Moreover, the T-S207 that continuously interacts with the exchange in this embodiment can also process the given caller identifier and/or other call-related data with the data file server 303, and the data file server 303 retrieves the relevant caller. For further information.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that incoming calls are not limited to the two phones shown in FIG. 1. According to an embodiment of the present invention, there may be more than one telephone connected to the switch 121, and other telephone equipment such as facsimile equipment and data lines may also be connected and used in routing decisions and transactions. In addition, the existing technology, such as a certain number of virtual extensions for routing calls and multiple destinations for a pre-programmed protocol, can also be used. A simple drawing with a switchboard connecting two telephones is used as an illustration to describe an embodiment of the invention.

It is very obvious to those skilled in the art that, depending on the machine intelligence and complexity level of the switch 121, the independent processor shown as the processor 223 in FIG. 1 is not strictly required in the embodiment of the present invention. . The switches in the user's premises continue to be developed with a new level of intelligence capabilities, and some switches can interact with other components of the present invention without the need to set up an independent processor between the switch and the local area network such as the local area network 301. The processor 223 will be required to implement the various embodiments of the present invention through many existing telephone exchanges as the component 121. In fact, in all cases of practicing the present invention, a dedicated T-server 207 instance executed on a computer platform is required.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, routing intelligence is no longer limited to a central configuration such as telephone exchange 121 or T-server 207 running on a connected processor, but is distributed, which allows individual users of the system The respective personal computers can be used to specify the routing method on their own workstations. This is mainly achieved by a program that can be executed on the user's computer workstation. The actual program code is not required to always exist in the user workstation, because it may be, for example, a shared program code in a file server such as the file server 303 residing on the local area network 301. A single program code can be accessed by such a server, and operations can be performed by the video display unit 331 and the video display unit 332 in any of several workstations such as workstations 361 and 362, respectively. However, the location where the program codes are stored and the access to these programs are not closely related to the present invention. In the embodiment of the present invention, a separate personal computer executes a separate program code to provide control of individual call routing.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the T-server 207 is adapted to operate in conjunction with program code executing on a separate personal computer to route incoming calls. In this unique routing process, at least two different mechanisms can be used. One mechanism is that all calls are routed to a unique routing site, and individual routing applications log in with that routing site. In this case, a record of each call is broadcast on the local area network 301, as explained more fully below, and filtered on each personal computer router. The second mechanism is that each personal computer using a personal router can have a virtual routing site on the local area network. In this second case, there is no need to play call details on the local area network. This second alternative is typically more expensive than the first one, and currently there are quite strict restrictions on how many automatic call distribution (ACD) queues or routing sites can be configured on a typical central exchange.

Refer now to Figure 2 and assume that using the first of the two mechanisms just described, a full record of calls is broadcast on the local area network 301 before each incoming call is routed. This comprehensive record can take many different forms. The example in FIG. 2 is only one exemplary form. In this example, the full record consists of 4 data parts. A data part is composed of cells 201 and 202. The data unit 201 is used as the caller identifier related to the incoming call to identify this part, and the unit 202 is the caller identifier. The second data part is composed of data units 203 and 204. This part may be a data set transmitted to the processor 223 in parallel with the incoming call via the link 210, or a data set composed of data retrieved by the server 303 using other calls as pointers. The unit 203 identifies the data as a data set, and the unit 204 is a pointer. Similarly, the units 205 and 206 constitute a directional inward dialing (DID) number, and the units 207 and 208 specify the number of rings.

The central link of the present invention is that the user runs an instance of a personal router application program on a separate personal computer. Provide the user with instantaneous and complete control over the routing of calls directed to the user (or, in some cases, user-related). The user's personal computer such as the video display unit 331 is usually connected to a processor similar to the processor 223 by a local area network, and thus to a central switch, such as the switch 121.

In the computer part of a separate workstation, such as the video display unit 331 of the workstation 361, the user accesses the local application program that interacts with the program executed on the S-server 207 of the processor 223, according to the specific data unit in the playback announcement record (Figure 2) To control and determine the routing of incoming calls. In some embodiments, as part of the unique capabilities of this programmed routing response, individual users can load a unique user interface in their video display unit, one example of which is shown in FIG. 3.

Figure 3 illustrates windows compatible with operating systems such as Windows that can be provided to users on a separate workstation. This is an input and display interface for personal routers, which can be changed and assigned to each selected employee. These individuals can be combined with existing telephone equipment to customize and periodically adjust the routing of specific incoming calls. Ability to choose. In this example, the interface is for company XYZ and is limited to employee JohnDoe.

Through the separate interface, in this example, John Doe can program in a relatively high-level language according to the data broadcast of such calls on the local area network 301 to complete the routing of specific incoming calls. In the case where each user already has a dedicated routing site, incoming calls are directed to this separate computer without broadcasting.

In this example, John Doe has programmed his interface to receive all calls with caller identifiers that match a list of "List 1" after n1 rings. List 1 resides in John Doe's database associated with his own personal router, and John Doe can call this list and modify, delete, and expand as needed. The number of ringing n1 can be any convenient number for achieving John's intention.

John Doe can also compile a rejection list. Although no specific recommendations are made, a rejection list can be used to hang up all calls with identifiers associated with a company or individual that has made multiple harassing calls to employees, or to branch such calls to a dedicated tracking program. and many more.

In this example, his personal router is also programmed to send all calls with his designated inbound dial to his desk after ringing at O, and to an answering machine after ringing at n2. It is also possible to make a correlation with the data, and compare such a data set with a stored summary table, etc. In this example, the lower part of the display can provide a summary of the status of the call. The user can choose to arrange this window one after another on his computer screen, or hide it and call it when needed. It will also be obvious to those who are familiar with the technical field. It is not absolutely required that every selected person with a designated related routing interface has a computer nearby. For those who program their routing for one reason or another, the interface can be called and completed by others, and appropriate access security can be increased. The secretary or system administrator can use any workstation connected to the public local area network 301 to perform such a function.

The user interface at the user workstation can take any of a variety of different forms and have various functions. Typically, when a user registers, his system will be configured to execute a stand-alone application to run in the background environment, and monitor incoming calls at all times when the user is present and at work. It will be obvious to a person familiar with the technical field of the present invention that this can be done in various different ways. For example, the interface can be a Graphic User Interface (GUI, Graphic User Interface) in which icons can be used to represent the caller, caller, and other users, and on a workstation, an individual user can choose to display these icons when desired. In this alternative embodiment, the incoming call can appear as a small phone in the notification bar on the user's video display unit. Such notification bars are familiar to those skilled in the art, as seen on the operating system platform, where the arrival of the email can be indicated by a letter icon and a sound.

In such an embodiment, by moving the screen cursor to a phone icon that can be programmed to "ring" or vibrate as if it is ringing, the user can activate a textballoon to notify the caller identifier or other call data, or Such data can be displayed directly in the icon. The system can be configured in such an embodiment so that the user can click the mouse, route the call to his own phone, can hang up by double-clicking the mouse, drag the call to the hold queue (for example, with a basket) To send the call to an answering machine. This can be achieved by dragging and dropping the phone icon to an answering machine icon. This can be achieved by dragging and dropping the phone icon to represent another user (such as a secretary or manager of an emergency user). ) Icon to transfer the call to other personnel. Those familiar with the technical field will understand that the functions implemented by using mouse clicks and drag-and-drop are actually very wide.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the operations taken by the personal router interface on the individual personal computer on the local area network 301 are edited, as on the local area network, the T-server running on the processor connected to the central switch 121, such as the processor 223 207 (in most cases) issued instructions. For example, if a user on the workstation receives a call waiting indicator and drags the ringing phone to his secretarys desk graphic on his interface, his personal router will interact with the T-server 207 To instruct the switch 121 to route the call to the secretary's phone. Similarly, most of the actions of the personal router also become instructions to the switch 121, and generally every user who can access such a personal router can program call responses and respond to incoming calls in real time with a large number of feasible responses.

In the embodiment of the present invention, not all calls are routed by a personal router running on a personal computer in the local area network 301. There may also be overriding routing rules programmed into the switch 121, so that specific calls or call types are always handled in a certain way. The rules in switch 121 can also be used to determine the outcome of calls that were not routed by the personal router in the end. For example, all calls that still exist after 7 rings can be switched to a recorded announcement, and so on. In this way, a very large degree of freedom of routing selection can be realized, and the changes in the organization can be adapted with safety and flexibility.

Those familiar with the technical field will understand that the division of program codes and functions between the server 303, the T-server 207 running on the processor 223, and the individual workstations on the local area network is somewhat arbitrary and requires The individual at the workstation has an access interface for customizing and updating individual routing rules.

Another aspect of the present invention is that the personal office desktop router can be implemented as a client-server architecture. This embodiment is explained with reference to FIG. 4. In this embodiment, a router 401 is provided and executed on the processor 223, which also executes the T-server 207 instance. The router 401 in this example is a central router with routing rules divided into domain names (DN) dedicated to each designated user segment or local area network 301. On individual workstations connected to the local area network 301, such as workstations 361 and workstations 362, unique client interface packages (Unique Interface Packages) represented by units 401a and 401b are set. The purpose of the client interface packages 401a and 401b is to enable users to edit their own personal routing rules at the workstation, as described above for the personal router according to the embodiment of the present invention, where the router is executed on the workstation.

In the client-server embodiment of the present invention, the actual router software exists and executes as a router 401. The client program packages 401a and 401b can be implemented as a graphical user interface with the graphical drag-and-drop feature described above with reference to FIG. 1, or can also be other suitable types designed to interact with the router 401.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the router 401 is not required to reside in the processor 223 in this embodiment, but may reside in any other router that can run the router and be connected or coupled to the local area network 301. On the machine, such as the switch 121. It will also be clear to those familiar with the technical field that although in this particular embodiment each of the individual workstations 361 and 362 generates router functions, the editing capabilities provided to users through the client program packages 401a and 401b can basically maintain the same What is described in the previous embodiment is the same as what is described here.

In a typical embodiment, the router 401 is configured to enable a group of group administrators or system representatives to perform higher-level configuration of routing rules, such as types of valid calls, call parameters, user functions or location changes, etc. ; At the same time, each individual user can configure routing rules for his own call within the scope set by the administrator through its interface.

It will be obvious to those familiar with the technical field that any configuration division of editing capabilities can refer to routing rules, as they may exist in any given application, and be applied without departing from the spirit and essence of the present invention. category. A server-based router, such as the router 401 in this embodiment, provides a unique client program package for editing purposes on a user's workstation such as workstation 361, which is unknown to the present inventor so far.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the communication through the analog line 105 and the data link 210, as well as other functions of the system, are essentially the same as shown in FIG. 1 and described above with reference to FIG. 1. The network cloud line 100 and its composition are also basically the same as the embodiment of FIG. 1. In view of this, most of the details about the dynamic characteristics of the communication and the communication path in the embodiment of the present invention in FIG. 4 will not be repeated here.

In another aspect of the present invention, routers of different levels include, for example, a central router in a network cloud line, such as a central router at a service control site, a router at the switch level, such as a call center with enhanced computer phone integration, and a router at the personal level. As the personal router disclosed in this manual, whether it is executed on a personal computer as a whole or in a client-server mode, routing can be negotiated between them.

In an embodiment that demonstrates this negotiation feature, different system layers and routers are adapted to negotiate. For example, in a call center that uses a personal router and each individual user can set and change their own routing rules, it is very likely that two or more people will set it up in a way that might compete for an incoming call Their personal routing rules. As one of many possible examples, one agent in a call center may have set up routing rules for receiving all calls from Spanish-speaking customers, while another agent may have set up rules to handle all calls from elderly people . For a call from an elderly person whose first language is Spanish, it is not clear which representative to assign it to, so negotiation is required.

In this case, the negotiation can be carried out between two personal routers or between each personal router and a router at the switch layer. Various methods can be used to set up negotiation rules to arbitrate such overlap and competition. Priorities can be given based on, for example, busy status, load format, time of day, and many other criteria, and the criteria can be weighted. In an embodiment based on this negotiation feature of the present invention, the arbitration process finally routes the call.

In some embodiments, the central router, such as at the service control site level, will be eliminated together with the traditional method of randomly determining routing at the service control site based on valid information. In such a system, based on the incoming call from the lower-level router, the service control station makes a request, and based on the negotiation and instructions from and at the local level, the call is routed to the switch, and finally to the final destination. In essence, the service control station broadcasts data according to incoming calls and requests for destinations, and the local routers negotiate with each other, according to rules and arbitration schemes that may be updated by personnel at the final destination level in some embodiments, to locate or leave the call Their own destination.

It will be obvious to those familiar with the technical field that in the embodiments of the present invention described here, many alternative schemes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Some of them have been explained above, for example, a telephone server such as the T-server 207 running on the processor 223 is used. In some cases, such a server is not necessary in order to practice the present invention, as mentioned above.

Many functional units of the system in the embodiments of the present invention can be implemented as coding routines in computerized telephone equipment, computer servers, and individual workstations.

As we all know, programmers are highly personalized and may implement the same function in extremely different routines. The present invention can also be applied to hardware systems that make greater changes. Moreover, the hardware used to implement the present invention can be changed in many ways. Similarly, there are many other alternatives in the embodiments described here, and they will fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention in the aspects described. The present invention is limited to the extension of the listed claims.