Automatic call system and method, and an alert engine and an activation stage used in the system

• US 20060068770A1
• Filed: 08/25/2005
• Published: 03/30/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Orange S.A.
• Original Assignee: Orange S.A.
• Inventors: Savina, Bernard, Liard, Samuel, Carlier, Ludovic
• Application Number:
  US11/210,875
• Publication Number:
  US 20060068770A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/418
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/005 Alarm destination chosen according to a hierarchy of available destinations, e.g. if hospital does not answer send to police station

Abstract

A system for automatically calling a set of receivers includes an alert engine for commanding calls to the receivers of the set in accordance with an alert procedure defining at least one conditional transition between stages of calling a list of receivers. The alert procedure is stored in a file that can be modified independently of the alert engine.

Claims

1. A system for automatically calling a set of receivers, the system comprising an alert engine for causing calls to be set up to the receivers of said set in accordance with an alert procedure defining at least one conditional transition between stages of calling a list of receivers, wherein the alert procedure is stored in a file that can be modified independently of the alert engine.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the alert engine commands the execution of a new call stage if a condition associated with an anticipated transition is evaluated as true and without waiting for the end of the execution of a preceding call stage and, after the anticipated transition, the call engine executes the preceding call stage and the new call stage in parallel without interrupting the execution of the preceding call stage.

3. A system according to claim 2, wherein the anticipated transition is defined in the alert procedure.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein it includes an autodialer under the control of the alert engine and which calls each receiver from a list of receivers and sends tracking information on the state of progress of the calls to the alert engine, which evaluates the conditions associated with transitions defined by the alert procedure as a function of that tracking information.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein the alert procedure is written in a content description language that uses tags and is derived from the Standard Generalized Markup Language.

6. A system according to claim 5, wherein the alert engine interprets the tags contained in the alert procedure.

7. A system according to claim 5, wherein the alert procedure includes an anticipated transition tag marking the beginning of the definition of an anticipated transition enabling the triggering of a new call stage even before a preceding call stage has terminated.

8. A system according to claim 5, wherein the alert procedure includes a waiting-for-a-command tag marking the beginning of the definition of a stage of waiting for a command which, when it is executed by the alert engine, enables the alert engine to wait for a condition to be satisfied before proceeding to a call stage.

9. A system according to claim 1, wherein the alert engine simultaneously executes a plurality of call stages belonging to different alert procedures.

10. A system according to claim 1, wherein it further includes:

a plurality of alert procedures stored in files modifiable independently of the alert engine, and

a station for activating the execution of one of those alert procedures that is connected to the engine via a long-distance information transmission network and selects the alert procedure to be executed by the alert engine.

11. A system according to claim 10, wherein the station sends the alert engine either the whole of an alert procedure to be executed or else an identifier of a prestored alert procedure to be executed, in response to which the alert engine triggers the execution of the alert procedure that was sent or the prestored alert procedure corresponding to the identifier that was sent.

12. An alert engine adapted to be used in a system according to claim 1 and to command calls to the receivers of said set in accordance with the alert procedure, which defines at least one additional transition between stages of calling receivers from a list of receivers, wherein the alert engine executes an alert procedure stored in a file modifiable independently of the alert engine.

13. An activation station adapted to be used in a system according to claim 10, wherein:

the station is connected to the alert engine via a long-distance information transmission network, and

the station selects the alert procedure to be executed by the alert engine and activates the execution of the selected alert procedure.

16. An alert procedure adapted to be executed in a system according to claim 1, the alert procedure being executable by the alert engine for causing calls to be set up to receivers and defining at least one conditional transition between stages of calling a list of receivers, wherein the alert procedure can be stored in a file that can be modified independently of the alert engine.

17. A procedure according to claim 16, wherein it defines an anticipated transition which, when it is evaluated as true, enables the alert engine to cause a new call stage to be executed without waiting for the end of the execution of a preceding call stage, so that after the anticipated transition the call engine executes the preceding call stage and the new call stage in parallel without interrupting the execution of the preceding call stage.

18. A procedure according to claim 16, wherein the conditions associated with transitions defined in the alert procedure are a function of tracking information on the state of progress of the calls sent to the alert engine by an autodialer.

19. An alert procedure according to claim 16, wherein it is written in a content description language that uses tags and is derived from the Standard Generalized Markup Language.

20. An alert procedure according to claim 19, wherein it includes an anticipated transition tag marking the beginning of the definition of an anticipated transition enabling the triggering of a new call stage before a preceding call stage has terminated.

21. An alert procedure according to claim 19, wherein it includes a waiting-for-a-command tag marking the beginning of the definition of a stage of waiting for a command which, when it is executed by the alert engine, enables the alert engine to wait for a condition to be satisfied before proceeding with a call stage.

22. A memory which contains an alert procedure according to claim 16.

23. A computer program which includes instructions for executing an alert procedure according to claim 16 when those instructions are executed by an electronic computer.

14. A method of automatically calling a set of receivers, the method comprising a stage of commanding calls to the receivers of said set in accordance with an alert procedure defining at least one conditional transition between stages of calling a list of receivers, wherein it includes a stage of storing an alert procedure in a file that can be modified independently of an alert engine for executing the command stage.

15. A method according to claim 14, wherein it includes a stage of writing the alert procedure in a content description language that uses tags and is derived from the Standard Generalized Markup Language.