Call center access in a dispatch based call system

• US 20030232623A1
• Filed: 06/12/2002
• Published: 12/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Balasuriya, Senaka, Cox, Gregory W., Johnson, Walter L., Upp, Steven
• Granted Patent: US 6,980,821 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/507
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/10 Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-On-Call services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/45 for Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-to-Talk over cellular [PoC] services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/186 Processing of subscriber group data

Abstract

A dispatch based call system configured to contact a call center using a single unique name or number. Multiple users are able to simultaneously dispatch the single generic call center number and communicate with a unique end station or individual at the call center. A user, or subscriber unit, when dispatching a call communicates initially with the service provider infrastructure. The infrastructure then establishes communication with the call center. The call center determines the identifier of an available end station and the subscriber is subsequently connected to the available end station.

Claims

1. In a dispatch communications system comprising a service provider infrastructure, a method for communicating with a call center having at least one end station, the method comprising the steps of:

initiating a dispatch request from a subscriber unit to the fixed service provider infrastructure using a selected identifier corresponding to a given call center;

obtaining an identifier corresponding to an available end station within the desired call center; and

establishing a dispatch session between the subscriber unit and the available end station using the available end station identifier.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the initiating step comprises the step of mapping the selected name to the desired call center'"'"'s generic identifier.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the obtaining step comprises the steps of:

intercepting the dispatch request sent by the subscriber unit;

determining whether the dispatch request sent by the subscriber unit is to a call center;

obtaining an available end station identifier;

providing the identifier to the system controller; and

switching messages from the generic call center identifier to the end station identifier and from the end station identifier to the generic call center.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein contact with the call center is established using SMS.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein contact with the call center is established using a data communications network.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein contact with the call center is established using dispatch messaging.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the establishing step comprises the steps of:

switching from the call center'"'"'s generic identifier to the available end station identifier; and

maintaining a mapping for translating addresses between the call center'"'"'s generic identifier and the available end station identifier.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of releasing the available end station identifier when the communication between the subscriber unit and the call center is terminated.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of deleting the mapping when the communication between the subscriber unit and the call center is terminated.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of deleting the mapping when the communication between the subscriber unit and the call center does not occur within a predetermined time period.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of storing the mapping when the communication between the subscriber unit and the call center is terminated.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of determining whether the end station in the stored mapping is available when dispatching a subsequent call to the call center.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of dispatching a call to the end station in the stored mapping if the end station is available.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining step comprises the step of forwarding the end station identifier to the subscriber unit.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the establishing step comprises the step of the subscriber unit dispatching a call to the forwarded end station identifier.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the mapping is maintained by a device in the infrastructure.

17. The method of claim 4, wherein the data communications network comprises a data packet capable network.

18. A dispatch communications system for enabling a subscriber unit to communicate with a call center, the dispatch system comprising:

a call center having at least one end station; and

an infrastructure for processing dispatch requests to the call center, the infrastructure comprising a dispatch applications processor for controlling communications between the subscriber unit and the call center.

19. The dispatch communications system of claim 18, wherein the infrastructure includes a call center agent for obtaining the identifier of an available end station and for forwarding the end station identifier to the subscriber unit.

20. The dispatch communications system of claim 18, wherein the infrastructure includes an address translator for obtaining the identifier of an available end station and for switching from a generic call center identifier to the end station identifier.

21. The dispatch communications system of claim 20, wherein functionality of the address translator is integrated with the dispatch applications processor in the infrastructure.

22. In a dispatch communication system, a method for establishing a communications connection between a call center and a subscriber unit, the method comprising the steps of:

initiating a dispatch request from the call center to multiple subscriber units;

identifying the source of the call on each of the subscriber units using a single identifier; and

establishing a dispatch session between the dispatch call center and the multiple subscriber units.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the initiating step comprises initiating multiple calls simultaneously using multiple virtual end device interfaces.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the call center automates initiation of the connection between the call center and the subscriber units.