Integrated communication center functionality for WAP devices

• US 6,418,146 B1
• Filed: 04/14/2000
• Issued: 07/09/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/1999
• 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: Miloslavsky, Alec
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Wellington
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHAN, MAN U
• Application Number:
  US09/549,449
• Time in Patent Office: 816 Days
• Field of Search: 370/310, 370/328, 370/349, 370/352, 370/400, 370/401, 379/265, 379/207, 379/211, 379/210, 379/220, 379/225, 379/221
• US Class Current: 370/400
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/206 composed of PSTN and wireless network
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5191 interacting with the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/00 Communication routing or communication path finding

Abstract

A wireless access protocol service provider (WAP-SP), providing access to Internet data for WAP-enabled appliances is enhanced with software for facilitating telephony calls, enabling, for example, connection of a user of the WAP-enabled appliance, communicating with a Web site through the WAP-SP, to an agent of an enterprise that hosts the Web site.

Claims

1. An Internet-connected wireless access protocol service provider (WAP-SP), comprising:

a wireless communication interface for communicating with a WAP-enabled appliance;

a telephony communication interface;

a data repository storing user data; and

a software suite;

characterized in that the software suite presents an interface to a user at the WAP-enabled appliance, enabling the user to initiate a live voice call, and then routes the call according to pre-programmed rules in response to the user initiation to a selected destination, and data associated to the user initiating the call is retrieved from the data repository and sent along with the call to the destination.

2. The WAP-SP of claim 1 wherein the telephony interface is an Internet connection, and the calls placed and routed are IPNT calls in the Internet.

3. The WAP-SP of claim 1 further comprising a connection-oriented switched-telephony (COST) trunk line into a public-switched telephony network (PSTN), wherein the calls placed and routed are calls in the PSTN.

4. A system for routing telephony calls initiated by a user of a wireless application protocol (WAP)-enabled device, comprising:

a software-enhanced WAP service provider (WAP-SP) connected to the Internet, connected by WAP protocol to the WAP-enabled device, and connected to a telephony network;

an Internet-connected server hosted by an enterprise;

a call center connected to the telephony network and hosted by the enterprise; and

a dedicated data link separate from the telephony network connection connecting the WAP-SP and the call center;

characterized in that the WAP-SP, by virtue of the software enhancement, enables the user to request a telephony connection to the call center, and routes the requested call via the telephony network to the call center, and wherein data associated with the user is transferred over the dedicated data link to the call center parallel to a live voice call routed via the telephony network.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the telephony network is the Internet, the calls routed are Internet-protocol network telephony (IPNT) calls, and the call-center is enabled to handle IPNT calls.

6. The system of claim 4 wherein the telephony network is a public switched telephone network (PSTN) and the call center is enabled to handle PSTN calls.

7. A method for placing a telephony call by a user of a WAP-enabled appliance to a call center hosted by a host of a WEB service, comprising steps of:

(a) connecting to a hosted WEB service by the WAP-enabled appliance through a wireless-application protocol service provider (WAP-SP);

(b) initiating a live voice call by the user at the WAP-enabled appliance through an interface provided by the WAP-SP;

(c) placing the call to a call center hosted by the host of the Web service through a telephony network connected to the WAP-SP; and

(d) retrieving data associated with the user from a data store accessible to the WAP-SP, and forwarding the data with the call.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein, in step (c) the telephony network is the Internet, and calls placed are Internet Protocol Network Telephony calls.

9. The method of claim 7 herein, in step (c), the telephony network is a connection-oriented switched-telephony (COST) network, and the calls placed and routed are calls in the COST network.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein telephony functions are provided by software executing on a CTI processor connected by a CTI link to the WAP-SP.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the CTI processor comprises a separate data network link, other than the telephony network, to a CTI processor at the call center, and further in step (d) data associated with the user is retrieved from the data store accessible to the WAP-SP, and forwards the data with the call over the separate data network link.