Network telephony interface systems between data network telephony and plain old telephone service including CTI enhancement

• US 6,201,804 B1
• Filed: 03/09/1998
• Issued: 03/13/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Incorporated (Genesys Cloud Services Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Incorporated (Genesys Cloud Services Incorporated)
• Inventors: Kikinis, Dan
• Primary Examiner(s): VU, HUY DUY
• Application Number:
  US09/038,677
• Time in Patent Office: 1,100 Days
• Field of Search: 370/352, 370/353, 370/354, 370/356, 370/401, 370/402, 370/467, 370/468, 379/88.17, 379/309, 379/265, 379/266
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/103 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/104 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42323 PBX's with CTI arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/51 Centralised call answering arrangements requiring operator intervention , e.g. call or contact centers for telemarketing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13034 A/D conversion, code compression/expansion
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/1307 Call setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13097 Numbering, addressing
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13196 Connection circuit/link/trunk/junction, bridge, router, gateway
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13204 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/1322 PBX
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13389 LAN, internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/64 Distributing or queueing

Abstract

A telephony call center system has Data Network Telephony (DNT)-capable telephone apparatus at agent stations connected on a Local Area Network (LAN), a data router at the call center connected on the LAN with a data port connected to a data network capable of transmitting Data Network Telephony (DNT) calls, and a Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) Server connected by a CTI link to the data router. A bridge unit is connected to the same data network at a remote (network) location by a data network port, and to a Connection Oriented/Switched Telephony (COST) network by a second port. The bridge unit further includes conversion circuitry for converting data dynamically between DNT and COST telephone calls, and control routines adapted to receive a first call from one of the COST and DNT networks, to place a call associated with the received call on the network other than the network on which the call is received, and to dynamically convert data between the associated calls. In a preferred embodiment the COST network is a Publicly-Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and the data network is the Internet. Also in a preferred embodiment the CTI Server in the call center is connected by a separate data link to a CTI server at Service Control Point in the COST network for cooperation in call processing.

Claims

1. A Computer-Telephony Integration (CTI) enhanced telephony system, comprising:

a Data Network Telephony (DNT) call center at a first location, the call center having multiple agent stations with DNT-capable telephone apparatus connected on a local area network (LAN) to a first Data Router in turn connected to a data network capable of carrying DNT calls;

a first CTI Server at the call center connected by a CTI link to the first data router, the CTI server adapted to execute CTI applications;

a second CTI server at the data network connected by a CTI link to a second data router and having a separate data connection to the first CTI server;

a third CTI server at a Connection-Oriented/Switched Telephony (COST) network connected by a CTI link to a SCP and having a separate data connection to the first CTI server; and

a computerized telephony bridge at a second location remote from the first location;

the computerized bridge comprising;

a trunk-line port and associated circuitry connected to the SCP for receiving and placing Connection-Oriented/Switched Telephony (COST) telephone calls on a COST network;

a data network port and associated circuitry connected to the second data router for receiving and placing Data Network Telephony (DNT) calls on the data network;

conversion circuitry for converting data dynamically between DNT and COST telephone calls; and

control routines receiving a first call from one of the COST and DNT networks, to place a call associated with the received call on the network other than the network on which the call is received, and to dynamically convert data between the associated calls;

wherein the computerized telephony bridge is coupled to the first data router at the first location by the data network capable of carrying DNT telephony calls, and the second CTI server functions as an SCP for DNT-originated calls in the data network, and may route them to the DNT call center, or via the bridge to the COST network, and the first CTI server at the call center cooperates with the second and third network CTI servers at the SCP and second data router in call processing.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the data network is the Internet, and the DNT calls are Internet Protocol Network Telephony (IPNT) calls.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the DNT-capable telephone apparatus is a DNT-telephony-capable telephone.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the DNT-capable telephone apparatus is a multi-media personal computer (PC).

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the bridge further comprises a digitally-stored look-up table relating COST telephone numbers to IP addresses, and wherein the control routines are adapted to retrieve specific data from an incoming call, either COST or DNT, and to use the retrieved data to access the look-up table to determine an associated COST telephone number or IP address, and to use the associated COST telephone number or IP address to place a call associated with the incoming call.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the specific data from the incoming call is coded in a portion of an IP address associated with the incoming call.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the control routines are adapted to receive a DNT call from a caller, and to negotiate with the caller to ascertain a COST telephone number to use to place a COST call associated with the incoming DNT call.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the bridge further comprises an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) unit, and wherein the IVR unit negotiates with the caller to ascertain a COST telephone number for a call to be associated with the incoming DNT call.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the cooperative call processing includes pre-routing of incoming calls at the SCP based on data transferred from the CTI Server at the call center.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the cooperative call processing includes eliciting information from callers at the SCP and transfer of the elicited information to the CTI Server at the call center via the separate data link.

11. The call center system of claim 1 further comprising additional call centers at separate locations, each having two or more agent stations, a computerized DNT router at each agent station connected to the DNT network and to the DNT interfaces at the agent stations, wherein each router has a separate IP address and each router is adapted to receive DNT calls from the computerized telephony bridge and to route the calls to individual DNT equipment at the agent stations connected to the router at each host location based on pre-stored routing rules, which may be different at different host locations.

12. A method for implementing a data network telephony (DNT)-only call center, comprising steps of:

(a) forming a call center of two or more agent stations at a first host location, each agent station having a Data Network Telephony (DNT) interface connected by a local area network (LAN) to a first data router at the call center with a DNT port connected to a second data router in a data network capable of transmitting DNT telephony calls, the first data router having an IP address;

(b) connecting a data network telephony (DNT) network to the DNT port at the first data router;

(c) connecting a first Computer-Telephony Integration (CTI) Server to the first data router at the call center;

(d) connecting a second CTI server by a CTI link to the second data router;

(e) connecting, remote from the first host location, a computerized bridge unit to the DNT network by a data network port and associated circuitry for receiving and placing Data Network Telephony (DNT) calls on the data network, the bridge unit having a trunk-line port and associated circuitry for receiving and placing Connection Oriented/Switched Telephony (COST) telephone calls on a COST network having a SCP connected by a CTI link to a third CTI-server, conversion circuitry for converting data dynamically between DNT and COST telephone calls, and control routines receiving a first call from one of the COST and DNT networks, placing a call associated with the received call on the network other than the network on which the call is received, and dynamically converting data between the associated calls;

(f) receiving a COST call at the bridge unit placed by a caller on the COST network using a COST number;

(g) associating the COST call with the IP address of the first data router at the call center;

(h) placing a DNT call to the IP address;

(i) routing the DNT call to one of the agent stations based on routing rules controlled by the coordination of the CTI Servers;

(j) dynamically converting data at the bridge between the COST call and the associated DNT call, thereby effectively connecting the COST caller with an agent at the agent station.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the data network is the Internet and the COST network is a publicly-switched telephone network (PSTN).

14. The method of claim 12 wherein, in step (a) the DNT interface is a DNT-telephony capable telephone.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein in step (a) the DNT interface is a multi-media personal computer (PC).

16. The method of claim 12 wherein the bridge unit in step (c) further comprises a digitally-stored look-up table relating COST telephone numbers to IP addresses, and wherein in step (e) the association is done by accessing the look-up table.