Contact server for call center

• US 6,654,815 B1
• Filed: 10/13/1999
• Issued: 11/25/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: MCI Communications Corporation (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Goss, Raymond G., Ravenscroft, Donald
• Primary Examiner(s): Lim, Krisna
• Application Number:
  US09/417,327
• Time in Patent Office: 1,504 Days
• Field of Search: 709/248, 709/203, 345/749, 345/751
• US Class Current: 709/248
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1106 Call signalling protocols; H.323 and related
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/401 wherein the services involve a main real-time session and one or more additional parallel real-time or time sensitive sessions, e.g. white board sharing or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• 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 3/5191 interacting with the Internet
• 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 3/5237 Interconnection arrangements between ACD systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0027 Collaboration services where a computer is used for data transfer and the telephone is used for telephonic communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/003 Click to dial services

Abstract

The present invention is a Contact Server that enables customers to submit call-back requests to a call center via the Internet, or virtually any other communications technology available. A call-back to the customer can be placed via any communications technology available. In its preferred embodiment, the Contact Server enables a call-back request to be submitted by a customer directly from an HTML page on a Web site, and have that same HTML page be presented to the agent that receives the call-back request. The agent can then place a telephone call to the number provided by the customer who submitted the call-back request, and at the same time, establish a TCP/IP communications session with the customer. This TCP/IP session can proceed between the agent'"'"'s Web browser and the customer'"'"'s Web browser, and the visible actions performed by the agent are transferred to the customer and displayed on the customer'"'"'s browser. The TCP/IP session proceeds simultaneous with the telephone call between the agent and the customer.

Claims

1. An interactive method of synchronizing web page displays between a customer and company support personnel at a plurality of locations over a TCP/IP communications link, wherein said customer and said support personnel have push/pull http access to a company http web server said method comprising the steps of:

(a) establishing a http communications link between the customer having a known IP address and the company http web server, which link receives a request from a customer for an additional communication with company support personnel;

(b) relaying said known IP address to said company support personnel

(c) registering the company support personnel with a contact server using the customers IP address, and establishing a synchronizing data link between said web server and said contact server;

(d) replicating connections by IP address on said contact server to enable simultaneous displays of any requested html data page or URL at each location and simultaneous execution of any local Java applets associated with said html data page or new URL.

2. An interactive method of synchronizing web page displays between a customer and company support personnel at a plurality of locations over a TCP/IP communications link as claimed in claim 1 which further includes the step of replicating connections by IP address on said contact server to enable simultaneous execution of any local Java applets associated with said html data page.

3. An interactive method of synchronizing web page displays between a customer and company support personnel at a plurality of locations over a TCP/IP communications link as claimed in claim 1 which further includes the step of replicating connections by IP address on said contact server to enable simultaneous execution and display of data transmitted by a second IP communications link.

4. A system for synchronizing web page displays viewed by a customer and company support personnel at a plurality of locations over a TCP/IP communications link, wherein said customer and said support personnel have push/pull http access to a company http web server said system comprising:

(a) a web server for establishing a http communications link with a customer having a known IP address, which link receives a request from a customer for an additional communication with company support personnel;

(b) a contact server for matching said customer to said company support personnel and then registering the company support personnel with the customers IP address to establish a synchronous data link between said web server and said contact server;

(c) means for replicating connections by IP address on said contact server to enable simultaneous displays of any requested html data page or URL at each location.

5. A system for synchronizing web page displays viewed by a customer and company support personnel at a plurality of locations over a TCP/IP communications link as claimed in claim 4, wherein said means for replicating connections by IP address provides simultaneous execution of any local Java applets associated with said html data page.

6. A system for synchronizing web page displays viewed by a customer and company support personnel at a plurality of locations over a TCP/IP communications link as claimed in claim 4, wherein said system further synchronizes web page displays and a second form of TCP/IP communications between a customer and a call center agent over a TCP/IP communications link.

7. A system for synchronizing web page displays viewed by a customer and company support personnel at a plurality of locations over a TCP/IP communications link as claimed in claim 5, wherein said java applet triggers a call back request for a call center agent over a telephony communications link.

8. A system for synchronizing web page displays viewed by a customer and company support personnel at a plurality of locations over a TCP/IP communications link as claimed in claim 5, wherein said contact server reserves a call center agent if an agent is not then available.

9. A method for providing communication between a customer and a customer support personnel from a company support personnel pool at a plurality of locations over a data network, comprising:

receiving a request from the customer for an additional communication with the company support personnel, the request being associated with a customer network address;

identifying the company support personnel from the company support personnel pool;

receiving identifying information associated with the company support personnel; and

establishing a communication link between the customer and the company support personnel based on the customer network address and the identifying information associated with the company support personnel;

wherein the communication link between the customer and the company support personnel enables simultaneous displays of information to both the customer and the company support personnel.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising replicating connections by network address to enable simultaneous execution of a local Java applet associated with the communication link.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising generating a second communication link between the customer and the company support personnel enabling simultaneous displays of information to both the customer and the company support personnel.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein identifying the company support personnel from the company support personnel pool includes identifying available personnel from the company support personnel pool.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising sending the customer network address to the company support personnel.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising sending the network address associated with the customer to the customer support personnel.

15. A system for providing communication between a customer and a customer support personnel from a company support personnel pool at a plurality of locations over a data network, comprising:

means for receiving a request from the customer for an additional communication with the company support personnel, the request being associated with a customer network address;

means for identifying the company support personnel from the company support personnel pool;

means for receiving identifying information associated with the company support personnel; and

means for establishing a communication link between the customer and the company support personnel based on the customer network address and the identifying information associated with the company support personnel;

means for wherein the communication link between the customer and the company support personnel enables simultaneous displays of information to both the customer and the company support personnel.

16. The system of claim 15, further comprising means for replicating connections by network address to enable simultaneous execution of a local Java applet associated with the communication link.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising means for generating a second communication link between the customer and the company support personnel enabling simultaneous displays of information to both the customer and the company support personnel.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the means for identifying the company support personnel from the company support personnel pool includes identifying available personnel from the company support personnel pool.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising means for sending the customer network address to the company support personnel.

20. The method of claim 15, further comprising sending the network address associated with the customer to the customer support personnel.