Intelligent communication routing

• US 10,560,579 B1
• Filed: 08/14/2017
• Issued: 02/11/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Patent Armory Inc. (Jeffrey M. Gross)
• Original Assignee: Steven Mark Hoffberg, Toby Heller, Wai Wu
• Inventors: Wu, Wai, Heller, Toby, Hoffberg, Steven M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Harry S
• Application Number:
  US15/676,554
• Time in Patent Office: 911 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/405 Competitive bidding for work items
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5233 Operator skill based call distribution

Abstract

A system and method for communicating in a communication network, comprising presenting a communication comprising data over a communications network to a router, said router being adapted to route the communication to one of a plurality of available network destinations; automatically executing a communication targeting algorithm in the router, based at least in part on the data, wherein the communication targeting algorithm operates to contextually jointly analyze a plurality of parameters extracted from the data and a plurality of contextual parameters, to determine an optimum target for the communication, wherein the optimum target varies in dependence on both the data and the context of the communication; and routing the communication in dependence on the algorithm execution.

Claims

1. A communications control system comprising:

(a) an input for receiving a respective communication classification vector of each of a plurality of communications, comprising a set of parameters that classify a plurality of attributes of each respective communication;

(b) a set of communication handler characteristic vectors, each comprising a plurality of parameters that classify characteristics of each respective communications handler of a plurality of communications handlers; and

(c) a processor, configured to;

determine, with respect to each respective received communication, an optimum communication handler of the plurality of communications handlers based on at least a dynamically weighted correspondence of the parameters of the respective communication classification vector of each respective received communication and the parameters of respective ones of the set of communication handler characteristic vectors, the dynamically weighted correspondence of the parameters varying over time, and the optimum communication handler being selected dependent on at least a respective time, and

control a routing of a communication corresponding to the communication classification vector, in dependence on the determined optimum communication handler.

2. The communications control system according to claim 1, wherein:

the plurality of parameters that classify characteristics of a respective communications handler each corresponds to a communication handler skill;

the set of parameters of the communication classification vector each correspond to one of the communication handler skills; and

the processor is further configure to access a memory which stores a table of skill weights, and applies the skill weights to determine the optimum communication handler.

3. The communications control system according to claim 2, wherein the table of skill weights varies independently of the communication classification vector and the set of communication handler characteristic vectors.

4. The communications control system according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of communication classification vectors are received and processed interactively to determine a plurality of determined optimum communication handlers according to a joint optimization.

5. The communication control system according to claim 1, wherein the processor comprises a neural network configured to determine the optimum communication handler.

6. The communication control system according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to perform a combinatorial analysis of potential associations of communications with respective communication handlers, to determine a global optimization.

7. A communications control system for routing real time communications, comprising:

an automated processor configured to optimize a routing of a concurrent plurality of communications to a plurality of different destinations,

each routing of a respective real time communication to a respective destination having a respective time-dependent cost function dependent on time, a plurality of characteristics of at least the respective real time communication, a plurality of characteristics of the respective destination, a set of dynamically varying weightings of the plurality of characteristics of at least the respective real time communication and the plurality of characteristics of the respective destination which varies as a function of time, and a respective time,

to globally minimize an aggregate cost of routing of the concurrent plurality of communications to the plurality of different destinations at the respective time, according to the time dependent cost functions of the routed communications.

8. The communications control system according to claim 7, wherein the automated processor is configured to perform a combinatorial analysis of a plurality of the routings of the concurrent plurality of communications to the plurality of different destinations.

9. The communications control system according to claim 7, wherein the automated processor comprises an artificial neural network.

10. The communications control system according to claim 7, wherein the time dependent cost function is further dependent on a load of real time communications received by the communications control system.

11. The communications control system according to claim 7, wherein the cost function is further dependent on at least a predicted change in a characteristic of a respective destination as a result of the routing.

12. The communications control system according to claim 7, wherein the globally minimized aggregate cost is achieved by conducting an iterative optimization which comprises grouping and then regrouping respective communications and respective destinations.

13. A communications method for routing a plurality of communications sources to a plurality of distinct destinations, comprising:

(a) receiving the plurality of concurrent communications;

(b) classifying each respective communication to determine a respective set of communication characteristics, at least one communication characteristic relating to a purpose of the communication;

(c) storing a set of target characteristics for each of a plurality of communications targets, at least one target characteristic relating to a purpose of the communication;

(d) determining an optimum communication target from the plurality of communications targets, for each respective communication of the plurality of concurrent communications, based on a time-dependent cost function dependent on a correspondence of the respective set of communication characteristics with the set of target characteristics and a set of time-varying weightings, the time-dependent cost function being evaluated for each of a plurality of possible different pairings of a respective communication to a respective communication target at a respective time, to achieve a global time-dependent optimum for the plurality of concurrent communications; and

(e) routing the plurality of concurrent communications to the respective optimum communication target.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the set of weightings varying over time as a result of an adaptive process.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein the correspondence of the respective set of communication characteristics with the set of target characteristics is determined by a set of weightings, the set of weightings being dependent on a relationship of a demand by the plurality of concurrent communications, for the supply of the plurality of communications targets.

16. The method according to claim 13, wherein said routing comprises determining a routing path between respective ones of the plurality of communications and respective ones of the plurality of communications target, and communicating the respective routing path to a communications router device.

17. The method according to claim 13, wherein the purpose of a respective communication is determined by an interactive communication prior to routing the communication to optimum communication target.

18. The method according to claim 13, wherein the communications targets are human agents, and the set of target characteristics comprise agent skills.

19. The method according to claim 13, wherein the optimum communication target is determined by an artificial neural network.

20. The method according to claim 13, wherein the optimum communication target from the plurality of communications targets is determined for each respective communication of the plurality of concurrent communications, according to a combinatorial analysis, to determine a global optimization.