EMBEDDED MULTI-CHANNEL KNOWLEDGEBASE

• US 20090210473A1
• Filed: 02/15/2008
• Published: 08/20/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verint Americas Incorporated (Verint Systems Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: KANA Software Incorporated (Verint Systems Incorporated)
• Inventors: Arseneault, Robert L., Isaacs, Charlie
• Granted Patent: US 9,355,354 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/201
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/17325 Synchronisation; Hardware support therefor intertask synchronisation G06F9/52
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45591 Monitoring or debugging support
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/022 Knowledge engineering; Knowledge acquisition
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/016 After-sales
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2814 Exchanging control software or macros for controlling appliance services in a home automation network arrangements for maintenance or administration involving configuration of the network and network elements H04L41/08

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, system and computer program product for an embedded multi-channel knowledgebase for embedded product support. In one embodiment of the invention, an embedded multi-channel knowledgebase data processing system can be configured for embedded product support. The system can include a consumer appliance, a knowledgebase embedded in the consumer appliance, a help module disposed in the consumer appliance and programmed to provide access to the knowledgebase through the consumer appliance, and multi-channel escalation and reporting logic coupled to the help module. The logic can include program code enabled to escalate support requests in the help module from the embedded knowledgebase to a remote, communicatively coupled response manager over a computer communications network.

Claims

1. An embedded multi-channel knowledgebase data processing system configured for embedded product support, the system comprising:

a consumer appliance;

a knowledgebase embedded in the consumer appliance;

a help module disposed in the consumer appliance and programmed to provide access to the knowledgebase through the consumer appliance; and

,

multi-channel escalation and reporting logic coupled to the help module, the logic comprising program code enabled to escalate support requests in the help module from the embedded knowledgebase to a remote, communicatively coupled response manager over a computer communications network.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising an aggregator communicatively coupled to the consumer appliance, the aggregator aggregating support request information in an aggregated knowledgebase accessible by multiple different communicatively coupled consumer appliances over the computer communications network.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the consumer appliance is a copier.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the consumer appliance is a cellular telephone.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the response manager is disposed in a computing device in a call center.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the program code enabled to escalate support requests in the help module from the embedded knowledgebase to a remote, communicatively coupled response manager over a computer communications network, is further enabled to escalate support requests through a selected channel of communication selected from the group consisting of e-mail, instant messaging and voice chat.

7. A method for embedded multi-channel escalation and reporting, the method comprising:

receiving a support request through a consumer appliance;

accessing a knowledgebase to answer the request from within the consumer appliance; and

,

escalating the support request to a remote response manager over a selected channel through a computer communications network communicatively coupling the remote response manager to the consumer appliance.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising logging the support request over the computer communications network in an aggregated knowledgebase.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising selecting the channel from amongst an e-mail channel, an instant messaging channel and a voice chat channel according to a level of escalation.

10. A knowledge management computer program product comprising a computer usable medium embodying computer usable program code for embedded multi-channel escalation and reporting, the computer program product comprising:

computer usable program code for receiving a support request through a consumer appliance;

computer usable program code for accessing a knowledgebase to answer the request from within the consumer appliance; and

,

computer usable program code for escalating the support request to a remote response manager over a selected channel through a computer communications network communicatively coupling the remote response manager to the consumer appliance.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, further comprising computer usable program code for logging the support request over the computer communications network in an aggregated knowledgebase.

12. The computer program product of claim 10, further comprising computer usable program code for selecting the channel from amongst an e-mail channel, an instant messaging channel and a voice chat channel according to a level of escalation.