Work at home agent ACD call distribution

• US 5,459,780 A
• Filed: 01/31/1994
• Issued: 10/17/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: AT&T IPM Corp. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T IPM Corp. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sand, Paul R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Matar, Ahmad
• Application Number:
  US08/189,477
• Time in Patent Office: 624 Days
• Field of Search: 379/265, 379/266, 379/210, 379/211, 379/212, 379/214, 379/201, 379/309, 379/308, 379/220, 379/207
• US Class Current: 379/266.09
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/6018 Subscriber or terminal logon/logoff
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/36 Statistical metering, e.g. recording occasions when traffic exceeds capacity of trunks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5125 with remote located operators
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5175 Call or contact centers supervision arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5183 Call or contact centers with computer-telephony arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/523 with call distribution or queueing
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13072 Sequence circuits for call signaling, ACD systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0029 Provisions for intelligent networking

Abstract

An arrangement for providing Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) service from a mixture of local and remote agents. The remote agents are connected via a voice connection to the home switch of the ACD and voice data connection to a Home Agent Server (HAS). The HAS passes call event data to a Management Information System (MIS) of the ACD, which informs the ACD switch of call events that make a remote agent available or unavailable, and passes applications data to a host processor for serving the applications of the ACD. Call set-up time is reduced by establishing longer term connections between the ACD and the remote server and using these connections for a plurality of calls; such connections are established or disconnected when the traffic level suggests the desirability of having more or fewer remote servers. Advantageously, ACD service can be provided efficiently and economically from a remote server.

Claims

1. A method of providing automatic call distribution (ACD) service, for incoming calls received at an ACD system, from an agent station not served by a switch for serving said ACD system, comprising:

responsive to receipt of a call by said ACD system, establishing an audio connection from said incoming ACD call to said agent station for serving said call via a public switched telephone network, said audio connection comprising an audio path via said public switched telephone network for connecting said ACD system to said agent station, wherein said audio path is not part of an integrated voice/data path; and

following a disconnect of said call, retaining said audio path for use in serving a subsequent call, to said ACD system, by said agent station.

2. A method of providing automatic call distribution (ACD) service for incoming calls received at an ACD system, from an agent station not served by a switch for serving said ACD system, comprising:

responsive to a need detected in said ACD system, establishing an audio path between said ACD system and an agent station of said ACD served by a different switching system, said audio path being established via a public switched telephone network, wherein said audio path is not part of an integrated voice/data path;

establishing a subsequent connection for a call to said ACD system, to be served from said agent station, by connecting said call to said audio path; and

upon disconnecting said call, retaining said audio path for use in serving a subsequent call, to said ACD system, by said agent station.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of:

responsive to a path disconnection request from said agent station, disconnecting said path.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said agent station is programmed to selectively automatically generate said disconnection request.

5. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

responsive to a decrease of a number of simultaneous calls to said ACD, disconnecting said path.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein said path is established in response to an increase of a number of simultaneous calls to said ACD.

7. The method of claim 2 wherein said path is established in response to a decrease in the number of agent stations logged on to said ACD system.

8. The method of claim 2 wherein said agent station communicates control information over a data link to a home agent server for informing said ACD system of an availability status of said agent station.

9. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of:

prior to establishing said audio path, receiving a log on request from said agent station.