Telephony server application program interface API

• US 6,192,121 B1
• Filed: 09/19/1997
• Issued: 02/20/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: MCI Communications Corporation (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Atkinson, Wesley, McDuff, Richard, Baxter, Craig
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Harry S.
• Application Number:
  US08/934,166
• Time in Patent Office: 1,250 Days
• Field of Search: 379/201, 379/207, 379/265, 379/266, 379/309
• US Class Current: 379/265.01
• 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

Abstract

An application program interface (API) provides an interface for application programs to communicate with a telephony server. The telephony server generates events regarding calling activity within a call center. The API receives these events and forwards them to the application programs. The API may be run on an agent workstation along with application programs. The applications register with the API to identify what types of events are of interest to the application program. The API receives the events from the telephony server and distributes the events according to the registrations.

Claims

1. In a call center having agents stationed at agent stations that include computer systems and a telephony server for generating events regarding calling activity within the call center, a method practiced on a selected one of the computer systems of a given one of the agent stations, comprising the computer-implemented steps of

providing an application program interface(API) that interfaces with the telephony server;

providing at least one application program that runs on the selected computer system;

selectively providing an event from the telephony server to the API if the event pertains to the given agent station; and

passing the event to the application program from the API.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of registering the API with the telephony server to receive events from the telephony server.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the API registers to receive events from the telephony server that concern calls destined to the given agent station.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the API registers to receive all events that are generated from the telephony server that concern calls destined to be given agent station.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the method further comprises the step of the application program registering with the API to receive certain events from the API.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the application program registers to receive a subset of less than all of the events that are received by the API.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein multiple application programs are run on the selected computer system and wherein the event is passed to multiple ones of the application programs run on the selected computer system.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the application program polls the API to determine if the API has any events to pass to the application program.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the given agent station includes a telephone pad and wherein the application program controls the telephone pad.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the application program is a sales and service program that performs sales and servicing processing.

11. In a call center having agents stationed at agent stations that include computer systems and a telephony server for generating events regarding calling activity within the call center, a method practiced on a selected one of the computer systems of a given one of the agent stations, comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

providing a first application program and a second application program on the selected computer system;

providing an application program interface (API) on the selected computer system that interfaces with the telephony server to selectively receive events that pertain to the given agent station;

receiving a first event from the telephony server at the API;

passing the first event from the API to the first application program;

receiving a second event from the telephony server at the API; and

passing the second event from the API to the second application program.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the first application program registers to receive the first event and the second application program registers to receive the second agent.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the first event is not passed to the second application program.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of registering the API with the telephony server to receive events from the telephony server.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the API registers to receive events from the telephony server that concern calls destined to the given agent station.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the API registers to receive all events that are generated from the telephony server that concern calls destined to the given agent station.

17. A call center comprising;

a telephony server for generating events regarding call activity in the call center;

an agent station for an agent to handle calls having a telephone pad and a computer system, said computer system including;

(i) an application program; and

(ii) an application program interface (API) for interfacing with the telephony server to selectively receive events pertaining to the agent station from the telephony server and to pass the events to the application program.

18. The call center of claim 17, further comprising an additional agent station having an additional computer system that includes an additional instance of the API.

19. The call center of claim 17 wherein the computer includes an additional application program to which the API passes events received from the telephony server.

20. In a call center having a telephony server for generating events regarding calling activity in the call center, a computer system comprising:

a processor for running at least one application program and an application program interface that receives events from the telephony server and selectively forwards at least one of the events to the application program if the event is of a type requested by the application program; and

a storage for storing the application program and the API.

21. The computer system of claim 20, further comprising an additional application program for receiving at least one event from the API.

22. The computer system of claim 20 wherein the application program controls the telephone pad.

23. In a call center having agents for handling calls, an agent computer system for running an application program and an application program interface (API) that interfaces with telephony servers and a telephony server for generating events regarding calling activity in the call center, a computer-readable medium holding computer-executable instructions for performing a method comprising the steps of:

passing an event from the telephony server to the API only if the event is of concern to the application program;

passing the event from the API to the application program.

24. The computer-readable medium of claim 23 wherein the API registers with telephony server to receive events.

25. The computer-readable medium of claim 23 wherein the application program registers with the API to receive events from the API.

26. The computer-readable medium of claim 23 wherein the agent computer system runs multiple application programs and wherein the API passes events from the telephony server to the multiple application programs.