Operator connection control method

• US 6,122,358 A
• Filed: 03/04/1997
• Issued: 09/19/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Shoji, Shuichi, Ogasawara, Hajime, Kawaguchi, Eriko
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Harry S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): TIEU, BENNY QUOC
• Application Number:
  US08/811,470
• Time in Patent Office: 1,295 Days
• Field of Search: 379/309, 379/265, 379/266, 379/214, 379/165, 379/201, 379/210, 379/211, 379/246, 379/209, 379/219, 379/220, 379/221, 379/260, 379/261, 379/262
• US Class Current: 379/265.11
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5125 with remote located operators
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/523 with call distribution or queueing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5231 with call back arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5233 Operator skill based call distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5238 with waiting time or load prediction arrangements

Abstract

A terminal management unit for executing control for connection to an operator when a communication apparatus is busy is provided in a network, and terminals connected to the network are registered as operator terminals in a master list possessed by the terminal management unit If the communication apparatus is busy when an incoming call from a caller arrives at the communication apparatus, the terminal management unit stores the telephone number of the caller in a registration list on the originating side. The terminal management unit subsequently refers to the master list, periodically calls the operator terminals and, when an operator terminal responds, calls the caller, which has been registered in the registration list on the originating side, and connects the caller to this operator terminal.

Claims

1. An operator connection control method in a communication system including a communication apparatus and a plurality of operator terminals under the control of the communication apparatus wherein the communication apparatus connects a caller to one of the operator terminals at the time of an incoming call and allowing an operator to make a prescribed response to the caller using the operator terminal, comprising the steps of:

internally providing a network with a terminal management unit for executing operator connection control when the communication apparatus is busy;

pre-registering, in the terminal management unit, a list of communication apparatuses capable of receiving call-busy service and a list of external operator terminals used by external operators, these terminals being connected to the network externally of the communication apparatus;

determining whether a communication apparatus is busy when there is an incoming call to the communication apparatus and whether the communication apparatus has been registered in the list as an apparatus capable of receiving the call-busy service;

storing, by the terminal management unit, a telephone number of a caller in a case where the communication apparatus is busy and the communication apparatus has been registered in the list; and

subsequently having the terminal management unit call the external operator terminals periodically and, when an external operator terminal responds, call the caller and connect the caller to this external operator terminal.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

calculating, by said terminal management unit, average time needed to connect a caller to an external operator terminal from the moment the caller discontinues a call; and

notifying the caller of the average time by said terminal management unit.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said terminal management unit has a master list for registering the external operator terminals and an active list for registering external operator terminals which, from among the external operator terminals that have been registered in the master list, are capable of actually responding to a caller;

said terminal management unit periodically calling the external operator terminals that have been registered in the active list and, when an external operator terminal responds, calling the caller and connecting the caller to this external operator terminal.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising the steps of:

dispersing active lists to a plurality of exchanges in a network;

calling an external operator terminal, which has been registered in an active list, by an exchange on the basis of a command from the terminal management unit; and

when an external operator terminal responds, calling the caller and connecting the caller to this external operator terminal.

5. The method according to claim 3, further comprising the steps of directly accessing the terminal management unit from an external operator terminal and registering this external operator terminal in the active list as an active external operator terminal or deleting this external operator terminal from the active list.

6. The method according to claim 3, further comprising the steps of:

simultaneously registering, in the master list, dates and times at which external operators are active when external terminals are registered in said master list as external operator terminals; and

periodically calling active external operator terminals for which the current date and time are included as the active date and time and, when an external operator terminal responds, calling the caller and connecting the caller to this external operator terminal.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising the steps of:

registering time differences between an area in which the terminal management unit is located and areas in which the external operator terminals are located in the terminal management unit in a case where the external operator terminals are connected to the network in dispersed fashion in areas for which there is a time difference relative to the area in which the terminal management unit is located;

obtaining, by said terminal management unit, external operator terminals in an active time period from among the external operator terminals registered in the active list upon taking time difference into account; and

periodically calling these external operator terminals by said terminal management unit and, when an external operator terminal responds, calling the caller and connecting the caller to this external operator terminal.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising the steps of:

obtaining an external operator terminal in an area for which the time difference relative to the location of the caller is smallest; and

calling this external operator terminal and, when the external operator terminal responds, calling the caller and connecting the caller to this external operator terminal.

9. The method according to claim 6, further comprising the steps of:

converting active time periods of external operator terminals to time periods that prevail in the area in which the terminal management unit is located based upon time differences between the area in which the terminal management unit is located and areas in which the external operator terminals are located;

registering the time periods resulting from the conversion in the active list together with telephone numbers of the external operator terminals;

obtaining, from the active list by said terminal management unit, active external operator terminals for which the current date and time fall within an active time period of the external operator terminals; and

periodically calling these external operator terminals and, when an external operator terminal responds, calling the caller and connecting the caller to this external operator terminal.

10. The method according to claim 3, further comprising the steps of:

registering languages, which are used by operators of the external operator terminals, in the master list at the same time that external terminals are registered in said master list as the external operator terminals; and

obtaining external operator terminals, whose languages are desired by a caller, from the active list, periodically calling these external operator terminals and, when an external operator terminal responds, calling the caller and connecting the caller to this external operator terminal.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

creating, on the basis of languages used by external operator terminals that have been registered in the master list, active lists classified by the languages used;

periodically calling external operator terminals that have been registered in an active list conforming to a language desired by a caller; and

when an external operator terminal responds, calling the caller and connecting the caller to this external operator terminal.

12. The method according to claim 3, further comprising the steps of:

obtaining external operator terminals that satisfy a preset condition from the active list if external operator terminals that satisfy a condition specified by a caller do not exist in the active list; and

periodically calling these external operator terminals and, when an external operator terminal responds, calling the caller and connecting the caller to this external operator terminal.

13. The method according to claim 3, wherein said terminal management unit calls external operator terminals in the order in which they were registered in the active list and connects a caller to whichever external operator terminal responds first.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein when said terminal management unit is calling a certain external operator terminal and this external operator terminal is busy for a period of time that exceeds a set period of time, the terminal management unit shifts this external operator terminal to the bottom of the active list.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein if length of time an external operator terminal is being called exceeds a fixed length of time without this external operator terminal responding or with this external operator terminal remaining busy, the next external operator terminal is called.

16. The method according to claim 3, wherein if an external operator terminal does not respond even when said terminal management unit has called the external operator terminal, which has been registered in the active list, in excess of a set number of times or even when total length of calling time is greater than a set length of time, said terminal management unit automatically deletes this external operator terminal from the active list.

17. The method according to claim 3, further comprising the steps of:

dispersing terminal management units in areas having time difference relative to one another and providing a central management station for centrally managing these terminal management units,

if an external operator terminal capable of terminating a call does not exist in the area to which the caller belongs, having said central management station obtain a terminal management unit in an area for which the time difference is smallest relative to the area to which the caller belongs and instruct this terminal management unit to connect the caller to an external operator terminal; and

having the instructed terminal management unit obtain a connectable external operator terminal by referring to the active list and connect the caller to this external operator terminal.

18. The method according to claim 3, further comprising the step of providing the terminal management unit at a service control point of an intelligent network or at a service switching point of an exchange.

19. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of directly accessing the terminal management unit from an external terminal and registering this external terminal in the master list as an external operator terminal or deleting this external terminal from the master list.

20. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

successively calling external operator terminals by said terminal management unit if the communication apparatus is busy when an incoming call from a caller arrives at the communication apparatus; and

if no external operator terminal responds even when length of calling time exceeds a set time or when number of calls made exceeds a set number, registering a telephone number of the caller in a registration list on the originating side after the caller has discontinued the call.

21. The method according to claim 20, further comprising the steps of:

periodically calling external operator terminals by said terminal management unit after the telephone numbers of callers have been registered in the registration list on the originating side;

when an external operator terminal has responded, calling the callers in the order in which they were registered in the registration list on the originating side; and

if a caller fails to respond within a fixed period of time, shifting this caller to the bottom of the registration list on the originating side and calling the next caller.

22. An operator connection control system including a communication apparatus connected to a network and a plurality of operator terminals used by a plurality of external operators under control of the communication apparatus, the communication apparatus connecting a caller to one of the operator terminals at the time of an incoming call and allowing an operator to make a prescribed response to the caller using the operator terminal comprising:

a plurality of communication apparatus connected to the network;

a terminal management unit provided in the network for executing operator connection control when a communication apparatus capable of receiving call-busy service is busy; and

external operator terminals used by external operators for each communication apparatus, these terminals being connected to the network externally of the communication apparatus, wherein

the terminal management unit including;

means for pre-registering a list of communication apparatuses capable of receiving call-busy service and a list of external operator terminals used by external operators;

means for determining whether a communication apparatus is busy when there is an incoming call to the communication apparatus and whether the communication apparatus has been registered in the list as an apparatus of receiving the call-busy service; and

means for storing a telephone number of a caller in a case where the communication apparatus is busy and the communication apparatus has been registered in the list, and for subsequently calling the external operator terminals periodically and, when an external operator terminal responds, for calling the caller and connecting the caller to said responding external operator terminal.

23. The system as in claim 22, further comprising:

means for calculating, by said terminal management unit, average time needed to connect a caller to an external operator terminal from the moment the caller discontinues a call; and

for notifying the caller of the average time by said terminal management unit.

24. The system according to claim 22, wherein said terminal management unit has a master list for registering the external operator terminals and an active list for registering external operator terminals which, from among the external operator terminals that have been registered in the master list, are capable of actually responding to a caller;

said terminal management unit periodically calling the external operator terminals that have been registered in the active list and, when an external operator terminal responds, calling the caller and connecting the caller to this external operator terminal.

25. The system according to claim 22, further comprising means for directly accessing the terminal management unit from an external terminal and registering this external terminal in the master list as an external operator terminal or deleting this external terminal from the master list.

26. The system according to claim 24, further comprising:

means for dispersing active lists to a plurality of exchanges in a network;

means for calling an external operator terminal, which has been registered in an active list, by an exchange on the basis of a command from the terminal management unit.

27. The system according to claim 24, further comprising means for directly accessing the terminal management unit from an external operator terminal and registering this external operator terminal in the active list as an active external operator terminal or deleting this external operator terminal from the active list.

28. The system according to claim 24, further comprising:

means for simultaneously registering, in the master list, dates and times at which external operators are active when external terminals are registered in said master list as external operator terminals; and

for periodically calling active external operator terminals for which the current date and time are included as the active date and time and, when an external operator terminal responds, calling the caller and connecting the caller to this external operator terminal.

29. The system according to claim 24, further comprising:

means for registering languages, which are used by operators of the external operator terminals, in the master list at the same time that external terminals are registered in said master list as the external operator terminals; and

for obtaining external operator terminals, whose languages are desired by a caller, from the active list, periodically calling these external operator terminals and, when an external operator terminal responds, calling the caller and connecting the caller to this external operator terminal.

30. The system according to claim 24, further comprising:

means for obtaining external operator terminals that satisfy a preset condition from the active list if external operator terminals that satisfy a condition specified by a caller do not exist in the active list; and

for periodically calling these external operator terminals and, when an external operator terminal responds, calling the caller and connecting the caller to this external operator terminal.

31. The system according to claim 24, wherein said terminal management unit calls external operator terminals in the order in which they were registered in the active list and connects a caller to whichever external operator terminal responds first.

32. The system according to claim 24, wherein if an external operator terminal does not respond even when said terminal management unit has called the external operator terminal, which has been registered in the active list, in excess of a set number of times or even when total length of calling time is greater than a set length of time, said terminal management unit automatically deletes this external operator terminals from the active list.

33. The system according to claim 24, further comprising:

additional terminal management units dispersed in areas having time difference relative to one another, and

a central management station for centrally managing these terminal management units,

if an external operator terminal capable of terminating a call does not exist in the area to which the caller belongs, said central management station having means for obtaining a terminal management unit in an area for which the time difference is smallest relative to the area to which the caller belongs and for instructing this obtained terminal management unit to connect the caller to an external operator terminal by referring to the active list and connecting the caller to this external operator terminal.

34. The system according to claim 24, wherein the terminal management unit is at one of a service control point of an intelligent network and a service switching point of an exchange.

35. The system according to claim 22, further comprising:

means for successively calling external operator terminals by said terminal management unit if the communication apparatus is busy when an incoming call from a caller arrives at the communication apparatus; and

if no external operator terminal responds even when length of calling time exceeds a set time or when number of calls made exceeds a set number, for registering a telephone number of the caller in a registration list on the originating side after the caller has discontinued the call.