Method for forming a virtual call center

• US 5,524,147 A
• Filed: 02/02/1995
• Issued: 06/04/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Aspect Communications Corporation (Alvaria Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Aspect Telecommunications Corporation (Alvaria Incorporated)
• Inventors: Bean, Timothy E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hofsass, Jeffery
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wolinsky, Scott
• Application Number:
  US08/383,022
• Time in Patent Office: 488 Days
• Field of Search: 379/265, 379/266, 379/221, 379/309, 379/244, 379/211, 379/112, 379/212, 370/58.2
• US Class Current: 379/266.03
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5237 Interconnection arrangements between ACD systems

Abstract

A virtual call center is formed by use of real-time insertion of call-listing requests of new phone calls into existing calls-waiting lists of several ACDs according to time information such as the global age of the calls. Each ACD normally lists the calls by the local age, so the inserted requests can receive priority over calls listed only locally. A network of connected ACDs allows the calls to be answered by any available service agent in the order in which the phone calls were received by any ACD anywhere in the network of connected ACDs.

Claims

1. A method for forming a virtual call center in a network of automated call distributors (ACDs) such that service agents at different real call centers can field phone calls as if in a single call center, each of said ACDs maintaining a calls-waiting list for routing pending phone calls to local service agents, said method comprising the steps of:

receiving new phone calls at a first ACD anywhere in said network;

establishing a time stamp for each of said new phone calls at said first ACD;

after a predetermined timeout period following the receipt of each call, issuing a call-listing request for each call to a next ACD in said network, establishing time information for each call and passing said time information to said next ACD; and

inserting each call-listing request at a selected position in the calls-waiting list of said next ACD ahead of some pending phone calls in said calls-waiting list of said next ACD, said selected position being a ranking based on said time information and independent of time of occurrence of said issuing step, such that each call received at said first ACD can be answered ahead of some pending calls at said next ACD.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein said time stamp is referenced to a common time reference and wherein said time information includes the global age of each call.

3. The method according to claim 1, further including the step of delisting a call at said first ACD only after a connection is made with the call at any next ACD anywhere in the network.

4. The method according to claim 1 wherein said time stamp is referenced to a local time reference and wherein said time information is a fixed timeout length assigned to each call.

5. The method according to claim 1 wherein said time stamp is referenced to a local time and said time information is a recorded age of said call from the time of said receiving step to the time of said issuing step.

6. The method according to claim 5 wherein said inserting step at said next ACD comprises:

assigning each call a local time stamp, each local time stamp comprising the time of occurrence of each corresponding call-listing request rolled back by said recorded age, and

placing each call in time stamp order in said calls-waiting list.