System and method for controlling outbound and inbound calls in a telephone communication system
First Claim
1. An inbound/outbound calling connection system, comprising:
- calling means for automatically attempting outbound call placement, said calling means monitoring and adjusting attempted outbound calling connections based on call completion times and availability to handle completed calls; and
incoming call receiving means for queueing inbound calls, said incoming call receiving means adjusting operation of said calling means to account for receipt of each said received inbound call.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
There is disclosed an inbound/outbound call handling system and method in which outbound calls are automatically paced so that as attendants become available a valid call is completed to be handled by the available attendant. As an inbound call is received, the system responds by halting attempts to place an outbound call and queueing the inbound call for handling by the next available attendant. The system takes advantage of an algorithm which statistically monitors average call completion time, average attendant in-use time, average time to answer and probability of a valid answer. Call placing and receiving overlap is controllable in conjunction with the monitored statistical parameters to achieve operation around any desired system operating parameter. The system is controlled by a plurality of precisely defined operational tasks operating in a hierarchical manner.
135 Citations
45 Claims
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1. An inbound/outbound calling connection system, comprising:
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calling means for automatically attempting outbound call placement, said calling means monitoring and adjusting attempted outbound calling connections based on call completion times and availability to handle completed calls; and incoming call receiving means for queueing inbound calls, said incoming call receiving means adjusting operation of said calling means to account for receipt of each said received inbound call. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An inbound/outbound calling connection system for handling by an attendant, comprising:
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calling means for automatically attempting outbound call placement, said calling means monitoring and adjusting attempted outbound calling connections based on call completion times and availability of said attendant; and incoming call receiving means for queueing an inbound call for connection to said attendant, said incoming call receiving means adjusting operation of said calling means to account for receipt of said inbound call. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method for connecting calls in an inbound/outbound calling connection system, comprising the steps of:
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automatically attempting outbound call placement by monitoring and adjusting attempted outbound calling connections based on call completion times and availability to handle completed calls; and adjusting operation of said attempted outbound calling connections to account for receipt of an inbound call. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A system for controlling inbound and outbound calls in an attendant system where the system has multiple attendants handling calls to and from multiple called parties all under processor control and where there can be several call completion attempts before a live called party answers a called connection, the system comprising:
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a computer having a database of telephone line numbers and data information pertaining to each said line; a processor for controlling the establishment of said calls in response to telephone line numbers supplied by said computer; a plurality of attendant terminals connected both to said computer and said processor; said processor comprising; a statistical task running in said processor, said statistical task including; means for determining the average attendant in-use times which includes any time said attendant is not available to communicate with a live called party; and means for determining the average time it takes for a live answer to occur on a series of outbound placed calling connections; a queueing task for maintaining an ordered queue of ordered agents and an ordered queue of live answered calls not actively communicating (on hold) with an attendant; at least one call task assigned to each attendant for making individual calls under control of calling numbers furnished by said processor; at least one answer task operable for starting and stopping said call tasks for a particular attendant, said answer task including; means for reporting to said processor and to said statistical and queuing tasks when a live answer occurs and when an attendant connects to said live answer connection; a schedule task individual to each attendant, said schedule task including; means for connecting said associated attendant to a live answered line under control of said queueing task and based upon information provided by said answer and call task; and
wherein;said processor including means operative in response to said schedule task and a connection between an attendant on a live answered line, for providing the called telephone number of said answered line to said attendant'"'"'s terminal; and incoming call receiving means for queueing inbound calls for connection to one of said multiple attendants, said incoming call receiving means adjusting operation of said means for determining average agent in-use time, said means for determining the average time it takes for a live answer to occur and at least one call task to account for receipt of each of said received inbound calls. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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Specification