Universal state-aware communications

• US 20040228469A1
• Filed: 05/12/2003
• Published: 11/18/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Teletech Customer Care Management Incorporated (TTEC Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Onstate Ltd.
• Inventors: Gechter, Jerry, Andrews, Wayne
• Granted Patent: US 6,970,547 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/265.03
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0805 by checking availability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42059 Making use of the calling party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42093 Notifying the calling party of information on the called or connected party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42365 Presence services providing information on the willingness to communicate or the ability to communicate in terms of media capability or network connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5232 Call distribution algorithms

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.

Claims

1. A system for establishing communications between users comprising

one or more communication devices for each said user, and

a controller that continually monitors the states of said users, receives communication requests for the establishment of a communication between two or more said users, and establishes a requested communication among two or more said users when said two or more said users are each in an appropriate state for participating in said communication.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein said requests for the establishment of communication include specification of said appropriate state for one of said two or more of said users.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein said controller monitors the states of said users by receiving state change messages requesting or indicating a change in the state of a said user.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein said controller monitors the states of said users by polling state data for said users.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein said controller includes a call status interface that can be used to provide external management of communication requests that are waiting to be established.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein said external management is performed by a user.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein said external management is performed by a person who is not a user.

16. The system of claim 13 wherein said external management is performed by a computer application process.

17. The system of claim 13 wherein said call status interface provides information about communication requests managed by said interface, and said information provides the length of time a communication request has spent waiting to be established.

18. The system of claim 13 wherein said call status interface includes the capability to initiate a communication request.

19. The system of claim 13 wherein said call status interface includes the capability to delete a communication request that is waiting to be established.

20. The system of claim 13 wherein said call status interface includes the capability to modify a communication request that is waiting to be established.

21. The system of claim 13 wherein said call status interface is responsive to the identity of an interface user and manages only the communication requests involving that interface user.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein said call status interface includes the capability for a user to set a user priority order for call requests involving that user, and said controller uses said user priority order to determine the order in which communications are established.

23. The system of claim 13 wherein said call status interface includes the capability to set a corporate priority order among the communication requests waiting to be established, and said controller uses said corporate priority order to determine the order in which communications are established.

24. The system of claim 23 wherein only some users and not others are able to utilize said capability to establish a corporate priority order.

25. The system of claim 1 wherein said controller responds to a change of state for a said user by determining that one or more requests for communication can be established because the users for each request are each in an appropriate state, and selecting a single communication to be established.

26. The system of claim 1 wherein said controller further sends user state information describing the states of users and responds to a change of state for a said user by establishing a communication instead of sending user state information that would otherwise be sent.

27. The system of claim 1 wherein said controller includes a reporting interface that provides historical information on the handling of communication requests by the system and said historical information provides the duration of the pending time before a requested communication was established.

28. The system of claim 1 wherein said communication is a real-time communication medium such as voice.

29. The system of claim 1 wherein said communication is a non-real-time communication medium such as email.

30. The system of claim 1 wherein said communication involves an Instant Messaging system.

31. The system of claim 1 wherein said communication involves the Public Switched Telephone network.

32. The system of claim 1 wherein the state of a user is monitored using an Instant Messaging system, a CRM system, a SIP network, or a GPS system.

33. The system of claim 1 wherein the state of a user is monitored using a Web server or a Web service.

34. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one said user is an external user whose communication devices are not connected to a communication network connected to said controller.

65. The system of claims 1, 6, or 9 wherein the states of said users include a state that is independent of whether the user is currently communicating with another said user.

66. The system of claims 1, 6 or 9 wherein the states of said users include an Available state in which the user is willing to communicate with another said user.

67. The system of claim 65 and 66 wherein a said user can be in the Available state independent of whether he is currently communicating with another said user.

2. A system for establishing communications between users comprising

one or more communication devices for each said user

a controller that monitors the states of users, receives communication requests for the establishment of a communication between two or more said users, enables a said user to set conditions under which communications are to be established with said user, and establishes a requested communication among two or more said users according to said conditions set by said users and when said two or more said users are each in an appropriate state for participating in said communication.

3. A system for establishing communications between users comprising

one or more communication devices for each said user, and

a controller that monitors the states of said users, receives communication requests for the establishment of a communication between two or more said users, receives conditions under which communications are to be established among said users from a system administrator, and establishes a requested communication among two or more said users according to said conditions set by said administrator and said two or more said users are each in an appropriate state for participating in said communication.

4. A system for establishing communications between users involved in a project comprising

one or more communication devices for each said user, and

a controller that continually monitors the states of said users and project states relating to said project, receives communication requests for the establishment of a communication between two or more said users, and establishes a requested communication among two or more said users based upon the state of at least one said user and said project states.

35. The system of claim 4 wherein said controller responds to a change in project state by initiating a communication request.

36. The system of claim 4 wherein said controller responds to a change in project state by establishing or changing a priority for a communication request, where said priority is used by said controller to determine the order in which communications are established.

37. The system of claim 4 wherein said controller responds to a change in project state by changing the state of a user.

38. The system of claim 4 wherein said controller establishes said requested communication based upon the states of said two or more said users and said project states.

5. A system for establishing communications between users comprising

one or more communication devices for each said user, at least some said users having more than one said communication device, and

a controller that continually monitors the states of said users on their communication devices, receives communication requests for the establishment of a communication between two or more said users, and establishes a requested communication when said two or more said users are each in an appropriate state on an appropriate device for participating in said communication.

39. The system of claim 5 wherein said controller further includes device selection logic to determine which user devices are appropriate for said requested communication and said device selection logic depends on the states of at least one of said two or more said users on their devices.

6. A system to establish communications between users comprising

one or more communication devices for each said user,

one or more communication requesters, each said communication requester able to request the establishment of a communication for a requesting user with one or more additional users,

a controller that continually monitors the states of said users, receives communication requests for the establishment of a communication from said communication requesters, and establishes a requested communication between said requesting user and said additional users when said requesting user is in an appropriate state.

40. The system of claim 6 wherein said requests for the establishment of communication include specification of said appropriate state for one of said two or more of said users.

41. The system of claim 6 wherein said controller monitors the states of said users by receiving state change messages requesting or indicating a change in the state of a said user.

42. The system of claim 6 wherein said controller monitors the states of said users by polling state data for said users.

43. The system of claim 6 wherein said controller includes a call status interface that can be used to provide external management of communication requests that are waiting to be established.

44. The system of claim 43 wherein said call status interface provides information about communication requests managed by said interface, and said information provides the length of time a communication request has spent waiting to be established.

45. The system of claim 43 wherein said call status interface includes the capability to initiate a communication request.

46. The system of claim 43 wherein said call status interface includes the capability to delete a communication request that is waiting to be established.

47. The system of claim 43 wherein said call status interface includes the capability to modify a communication request that is waiting to be established.

48. The system of claim 43 wherein said call status interface is responsive to the identity of an interface user and manages only the communication requests for that interface user.

49. The system of claim 48 wherein said call status interface includes the capability for a user to set a user priority order for call requests involving that user, and said controller uses said user priority order to determine the order in which communications are established.

50. The system of claim 43 wherein said call status interface includes the capability to set a corporate priority order among the communication requests waiting to be established, and said controller uses said corporate priority order to determine the order in which communications are established.

51. The system of claim 50 wherein only some users and not others are able to utilize said capability to establish a corporate priority order.

52. The system of claim 6 wherein said controller responds to a change of state for a said user by determining that one or more requests for communication can be established because the users for each request are each in an appropriate state, and selecting a single communication to be established.

53. The system of claim 6 wherein said controller further sends user state information describing the states of users and responds to a change of state for a said user by establishing a communication instead of sending user state information that would otherwise be sent.

54. The system of claim 6 wherein said controller includes a reporting interface that provides historical information on the handling of communication requests by the system and said historical information provides the duration of the pending time before a requested communication was established.

55. The system of claim 6 wherein said communication is a real-time communication medium such as voice.

56. The system of claim 6 wherein said communication is a non-real-time communication medium such as email.

57. The system of claim 6 wherein said communication involves an Instant Messaging system.

58. The system of claim 6 wherein said communication involves the Public Switched Telephone network.

59. The system of claim 6 wherein the state of a user is monitored using an Instant Messaging system, a CRM system, a SIP network, or a GPS system.

60. The system of claim 6 wherein the state of a user is monitored using a Web server or a Web service.

61. The system of claim 6 wherein at least one said user is an external user whose communication devices are not connected to a communication network connected to said controller.

7. A system for establishing communication between users comprising

one or more communication devices for each said user,

a controller that monitors the states of said users, receives requests for the establishment of a communication between two or more said users, and accesses one or more database tables for configuration information,

said one or more database tables containing references to communication control operations for said controller,

said one or more database tables containing links, where each link specifies an association of one said communication control operation for said controller with a next said communication control operation for said controller,

said one or more database tables specifying an initial said communication control operation to be performed by said controller in response to a communication request from a said user, and

said one or more database tables specifying an initial said communication control operation to be performed by said controller in response to a change of state for a said user.

62. The system of claim 7 wherein said communication control operations include a make call operation that causes a communication to be offered to a user.

8. A system for disseminating information about states of users and establishing communication between users comprising

one or more communication devices for each said user,

an active controller that monitors the states of said users, receives requests for the establishment of a communication between two or more said users, sends information about the states of said users, and establishes a requested communication among two or more said users when one of said two or more said users is in an appropriate state for participating in said communication, and

a backup controller that receives information about the states of said users, receives a failure detection signal that indicates the active controller has failed, subsequently receives a request for the establishment of a communication between two or more said users, and establishes said requested communication among two or more said users in response to state information sent from said active controller.

63. The system of claim 8 wherein said state information includes states of users.

64. The system of claim 8 wherein said active controller receives requests for information about the states of said users and said backup controller requests information about the states of said users.

9. A system for establishing communications between users comprising

one or more communication devices for each said user,

a controller that includes a state setting interface with the capability to generate a user state change request to change the state of a said user, responds to a state change request by activating some but not others of a plurality of user states defining the state of a said user on a said device, receives requests for the establishment of a communication between two or more said users, and establishes a requested communication between two or more said users when one of said two or more said users is in an appropriate state for participating in said communication.