CONNECTION RECOVERY IN A CALL CENTER

• US 20080037764A1
• Filed: 07/31/2006
• Published: 02/14/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.), Medtronic Incorporated (Medtronic Plc)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: LEE, ERIC H., LEE, JOHNNY H., LEE, DAVID C., JABBOUR, FADI R.
• Granted Patent: US 8,582,750 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/266.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/18 Comparators
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2005 Temporarily overriding a service configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2088 Call or conference reconnect, e.g. resulting from isdn terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/12 Marking faulty circuits "busy"; Enabling equipment to disengage itself from faulty circuits ; Using redundant circuits; Response of a circuit, apparatus or system to an error
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42042 Notifying the called party of information on the calling party details within substation equipment H04M1/57, signalling details H04Q3/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42102 Making use of the called party identifier
• 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 3/523 with call distribution or queueing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5232 Call distribution algorithms

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method includes detecting termination of a first connection between a first caller and a first agent during a communication session between the first caller and the first agent. The method also includes storing information indicating a state of the communication session at the termination of the first connection, and communicating the information to the first agent or to a second agent in response to establishment of a second connection between the first caller and the first agent or the second agent to facilitate a continuation of the communication session.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting termination of a first connection between a first caller and a first agent during a communication session between the first caller and the first agent;

storing information indicating a state of the communication session at the termination of the first connection; and

communicating the information to the first agent or to a second agent in response to establishment of a second connection between the first caller and the first agent or the second agent to facilitate a continuation of the communication session.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the information indicating the state of the communication session is arranged to identify the first caller and the first agent as being associated with the connection.

3. The method of claim 1 further including:

placing the first agent in a suspend mode if termination of the first connection is detected, wherein placing the first agent in the suspend mode includes preventing the first agent from being connected to a second caller, the second caller being associated with a queue of callers.

4. The method of claim 3 further including:

receiving a second call from the first caller;

identifying the first agent using the information indicating the state of the communication session;

determining if the first agent is in the suspend mode; and

establishing the second connection between the first caller and the first agent if it is determined that the first agent is in the suspend mode.

5. The method of claim 4 further including:

determining whether a predetermined amount of time has elapsed between the second call and the first call, wherein the first agent is identified using the information indicating the state of the communication session if the predetermined amount of time has not elapsed; and

assigning the first caller to a beginning of the queue of callers if the predetermined amount of time has not elapsed and if the first agent is not in the suspend mode.

6. The method of claim 1 further including:

allowing the first agent to be connected to a second caller if the termination of the first connection is detected, the second caller being associated with a queue of callers.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the queue of callers is associated with the first agent, the method further including:

receiving a second call from the first caller;

identifying the first agent using the information indicating the state of the communication session; and

assigning the first caller to a beginning of the queue of callers.

8. The method of claim 7 further including:

determining whether a predetermined amount of time has elapsed between the second call and the first call, wherein the first agent is identified using the information indicating the state of the communication session if the predetermined amount of time has not elapsed.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the termination of the first connection is caused by one selected from the group including a failure of a link between the first caller and the first agent, a failure associated with the first agent, and a failure associated with the first caller.

10. An apparatus comprising:

means for detecting termination of a first connection between a first caller and a first agent during a communication session between the first caller and the first agent;

means for storing information indicating a state of the communication session at the termination of the first connection; and

means for communicating the information to the first agent or to a second agent in response to establishment of a second connection between the first caller and the first agent or the second agent to facilitate a continuation of the communication session.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 further including:

means for placing the first agent in a suspend mode if termination of the first connection is detected, wherein placing the first agent in the suspend mode includes preventing the first agent from being connected to a second caller, the second caller being associated with a queue of callers.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 further including:

means for allowing the first agent to be connected to a second caller if the termination of the first connection is detected, the second caller being associated with a queue of callers.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the termination of the first connection is caused by one selected from the group including a failure of a link between the first caller and the first agent, a failure associated with the first agent, and a failure associated with the first caller.

14. An apparatus comprising:

at least a first agent; and

a server arrangement, the server arrangement being arranged to cause a first caller to be in a communication session with the first agent, the server arrangement further being arranged to detect termination of a first connection between the first caller and the first agent and to store information indicating a state of the communication session at the termination of the first connection, the server arrangement still further being arranged to communicate the information to the first agent or to a second agent in response to establishment of a second connection between the first caller and the first agent or the second agent to facilitate a continuation of the communication session.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the server arrangement is further arranged to prevent the first agent from being connected to a second caller associated with a queue of callers.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the server arrangement is further arranged to receive a call from the first caller and to identify the first agent using the information, and wherein the server arrangement is arranged to establish the second connection between the first caller and the first agent.

17. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the server arrangement is further arranged to receive a call from the first caller and to identify the first agent using the information information, and wherein the server arrangement is arranged to assign the first caller to a beginning of the queue of callers.

18. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the server arrangement is further arranged to detect if the termination is caused by a failure associated with a link between the first caller and the first agent, the first caller, or the first agent.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein the server arrangement is still further arranged to determine when the failure is corrected and to use the information to establish the second connection when the failure is corrected.

20. An apparatus comprising:

a memory; and

a processing arrangement, the processing arranged to detect termination of a first connection between a first endpoint and a second endpoint, wherein the processing arrangement is arranged to store information indicating a state of the communication session in the memory if the processing arrangement detects the termination of the first connection between the first endpoint and the second endpoint, the processing arrangement still further being arranged to communicate the information to the second endpoint or to a third endpoint in response to establishment of a second connection between the first endpoint and the second endpoint or the third endpoint to facilitate a continuation of the communication session.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the information is run-time state information that includes identifying information for the first endpoint and identifying information for the second endpoint.

22. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the termination of the first connection is caused by one selected from the group including a failure of a link between the first endpoint and the second endpoint, a failure associated with the first endpoint, and a failure associated with the second endpoint.

23. An apparatus comprising:

at least a first agent; and

a server arrangement, the server arrangement being arranged to cause a first caller to be in communication with the first agent, the server arrangement further being arranged to obtain run-time state information associated with the first caller and run-time state information associated with the first agent, wherein the server arrangement is arranged to store the run-time state information associated with the first caller and the run-time state information associated with the first agent.