Method and apparatus for adaptive time-based call routing in a communications system
First Claim
1. A method in a communications system for routing a call, the method comprising:
- specifying a call routing schedule that is based on a current time of day;
specifying, by a subscriber, a list of functions, each function being associated with a different activity of said subscriber;
receiving a call;
identifying call routing information for the call;
routing calls according to a current time of day utilizing said call routing schedule unless function-based routing is active and a function from said list has been selected;
determining, utilizing said call routing information, whether said subscriber has activated function-based routing;
determining, utilizing said call routing information, whether said function from said list has been selected;
in response to determining that said subscriber has activated function-based routing and said function from said list of functions has been selected, overriding said call routing schedule, said selected function being used for routing calls regardless of said subscriber'"'"'s current location;
routing the call using a sequence of destinations associated with the function instead of routing the call using the call routing schedule;
monitoring results from routing of the call; and
automatically modifying the call routing information based on the results to form modified call routing information, wherein subsequent calls are routed using the modified call routing information.
18 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus in a communications system for routing a call. A call to a subscriber is received. Call routing information is identified for the subscriber. Responsive to identifying call routing information for the subscriber. A determination is then made as to whether a function has been selected for routing the call. Responsive to a determination that a function has been selected for routing the call, the call is routed using a sequence of destinations associated with the function. Responsive to an absence of a determination that the function has been selected for routing the call, the call is routed using a call routing scheduled based on time. Destinations to which calls are actually completed are monitored and the sequence in which destinations are selected and the sequence of destinations may be altered depending on the call completions made to destinations within the sequence of destinations.
79 Citations
41 Claims
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1. A method in a communications system for routing a call, the method comprising:
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specifying a call routing schedule that is based on a current time of day;
specifying, by a subscriber, a list of functions, each function being associated with a different activity of said subscriber;
receiving a call;
identifying call routing information for the call;
routing calls according to a current time of day utilizing said call routing schedule unless function-based routing is active and a function from said list has been selected;
determining, utilizing said call routing information, whether said subscriber has activated function-based routing;
determining, utilizing said call routing information, whether said function from said list has been selected;
in response to determining that said subscriber has activated function-based routing and said function from said list of functions has been selected, overriding said call routing schedule, said selected function being used for routing calls regardless of said subscriber'"'"'s current location;
routing the call using a sequence of destinations associated with the function instead of routing the call using the call routing schedule;
monitoring results from routing of the call; and
automatically modifying the call routing information based on the results to form modified call routing information, wherein subsequent calls are routed using the modified call routing information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method in a communications system for call routing a call, the method comprising:
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specifying a call routing schedule that is based on a current time of day;
specifying, by a subscriber, a list of functions, each function being associated with a different activity of said subscriber;
routing calls according to a current time of day utilizing said call routing schedule unless function-based routing is active and a function from said list has been selected;
determining, utilizing said call routing information, whether said subscriber has activated function-based routing;
determining, utilizing said call routing information, whether said function from said list has been selected;
in response to determining that said subscriber has activated function-based routing and said function from said list of functions has been selected, overriding said call routing schedule, said selected function being used for routing calls regardless of said subscriber'"'"'s current location;
receiving a call to said subscriber;
routing the call to the subscriber using a sequence of destinations associated with the subscriber; and
responsive to a success of routing the call to the subscriber to a destination within the sequence of destinations, automatically modifying the sequence of destinations used to call the subscriber, wherein the sequence of destinations is modified to favor destinations with successful call completions. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method in a communications system for call routing a call, the method comprising:
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specifying a call routing schedule that is based on a current time of day, said call routing schedule including an ordered set of destinations;
specifying, by a subscriber, a list of functions, each function being associated with a different activity of said subscriber;
routing calls according to a current time of day utilizing said call routing schedule unless function-based routing is active and a function from said list has been selected;
determining whether said subscriber has activated function-based routing;
determining whether said function from said list has been selected;
in response to determining that said subscriber has activated function-based routing and said function from said list of functions has been selected, overriding said call routing schedule, said selected function being used for routing calls regardless of said subscriber'"'"'s current location;
receiving a call to a subscriber;
identifying a time of the call;
routing the call to the first destination in said ordered set of destinations for the subscriber based on the time of the call;
responsive to an absence of an answer of the call at the first destination, routing the call to a second destination in the ordered set of destinations;
responsive to an absence of an answer of the call at the second destination, routing the call to a third destination in the ordered set of destinations; and
responsive to an answer of the call at the third destination for a number of times, selecting the third alternate destination as the first alternate destination. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A switch comprising:
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a call routing schedule that is based on a current time of day;
a list of functions specified by a subscriber, each function being associated with a different activity of said subscriber;
said call routing schedule for routing calls according to a current time of day unless function-based routing is active and a function from said list has been selected;
call routing information for determining whether said subscriber has activated function-based routing;
said call routing information for determining whether said function from said list has been selected;
in response to determining that said subscriber has activated function-based routing and said function from said list of functions has been selected, said call routing schedule being overridden, said selected function being used for routing calls regardless of said subscriber'"'"'s current location;
an input for receiving a call for a subscriber;
signaling interface for sending a request to a database for said call routing information, wherein call routing information from the database includes a calling sequence for said function associated with the subscriber in response to the subscriber previously selecting the function; and
a switch fabric, wherein the call is routed from the input through the switch fabric to an output to a destination returned by the database using the calling sequence for the function wherein the sequence of destinations is automatically modified in response to a success of routing the call to the subscriber to a destination within the sequence of destinations and wherein the sequence of destinations is modified to favor destinations with successful call completions. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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20. A service control point comprising:
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a call routing schedule that is based on a current time of day;
a list of functions specified by a subscriber, each function being associated with a different activity of said subscriber;
said call routing schedule for routing calls according to a current time of day unless function-based routing is active and a function from said list has been selected;
routing information for determining whether said subscriber has activated function-based routing;
said routing information for determining whether said function from said list has been selected;
in response to determining that said subscriber has activated function-based routing and said function from said list of functions has been selected, said call routing schedule being overridden, said selected function being used for routing calls regardless of said subscriber'"'"'s current location;
an input/output interface, wherein request for routing information is received from a requestor at the input/output interface and routing information returned to the requestor;
a database containing a plurality of calling sequences for subscribers; and
a processing unit connected to the input/output interface and the database;
wherein the processing unit has a plurality of modes of operation including;
a first mode of operation in which the processing unit monitors for requests for said routing information;
a second mode of operation, responsive to receiving a request, in which the processing unit identifies routing information for the call;
a third mode of operation, responsive to identifying routing information for the call, in which the processing unit determines whether a function has been selected for routing the call;
a fourth mode of operation, responsive to a determination that a function has been selected for routing the call, in which the processing unit sends routing information for the call using a sequence of destinations associated with the function;
a fifth mode of operation, responsive to an absence of a determination that a function has been selected for routing the call, in which the processing unit sends routing information for the call using a call routing schedule based on time;
a sixth mode of operation for monitoring results from routing of the call; and
a seventh mode of operation for automatically modifying the call routing information based on the results to form modified call routing information, wherein subsequent calls are routed using the modified call routing information.
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21. A communications system for routing a call, the communications system comprising:
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a call routing schedule that is based on a current time of day;
a list of functions specified by a subscriber, each function being associated with a different activity of said subscriber;
said call routing schedule for routing calls according to a current time of day unless function-based routing is active and a function from said list has been selected;
call routing information for determining whether said subscriber has activated function-based routing;
said call routing information for determining whether said function from said list has been selected;
in response to determining that said subscriber has activated function-based routing and said function from said list of functions has been selected, said call routing schedule being overridden, said selected function being used for routing calls regardless of said subscriber'"'"'s current location;
receiving means for receiving a call;
identifying means for identifying said call routing information for the call;
routing means for routing the call using a sequence of destinations associated with the function instead of routing the call using the call routing schedule;
first monitoring means for monitoring results from routing of the call; and
second modifying means for automatically modifying the call routing information based on the results to form modified call routing information, wherein subsequent calls are routed using the modified call routing information. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A communications system for call routing a call, the communications system comprising:
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a call routing schedule that is based on a current time of day;
a list of functions specified by a subscriber, each function being associated with a different activity of said subscriber;
said call routing schedule for routing calls according to a current time of day unless function-based routing is active and a function from said list has been selected;
determining means for determining whether said subscriber has activated function-based routing;
determining means for determining whether said function from said list has been selected;
in response to determining that said subscriber has activated function-based routing and said function from said list of functions has been selected, said call routing schedule being overridden, said selected function being used for routing calls regardless of said subscriber'"'"'s current location;
receiving means for receiving a call to a subscriber;
routing means for routing the call to the subscriber using a sequence of destinations associated with the subscriber; and
modifying means, responsive to a success of routing the call to the subscriber to a destination within the sequence of destinations, for automatically modifying the sequence of destinations used to call the subscriber, wherein the sequence of destinations is modified to favor destinations with successful call completions. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A communications system for routing a call, the communications system comprising:
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a call routing schedule that is based on a current time of day;
a list of functions specified by a subscriber, each function being associated with a different activity of said subscriber;
said call routing schedule for routing calls according to a current time of day unless function-based routing is active and a function from said list has been selected;
call routing information for determining whether said subscriber has activated function-based routing;
said call routing information for determining whether said function from said list has been selected;
in response to determining that said subscriber has activated function-based routing and said function from said list of functions has been selected, said call routing schedule being overridden, said selected function being used for routing calls regardless of said subscriber'"'"'s current location;
receiving means for receiving a call to a subscriber;
routing means for routing the call using call routing information associated with the subscriber;
monitoring means for monitoring results from routing of the call to the subscriber; and
modifying means for automatically modifying the call routing information based on the results to form modified call routing information, wherein subsequent calls are routed using the modified call routing information. - View Dependent Claims (33)
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34. A communications system for routing a call, the communications system comprising:
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a call routing schedule that is based on a current time of day;
a list of functions specified by a subscriber, each function being associated with a different activity of said subscriber;
said call routing schedule for routing calls according to a current time of day unless function-based routing is active and a function from said list has been selected;
said call routing schedule being overridden when a determination is made that said subscriber has activated function-based routing and said function from said list has been selected, said selected function being used for routing calls regardless of said subscriber'"'"'s current location;
receiving means for receiving a call to a subscriber;
identifying means for identifying a time of the call;
first routing means for routing the call to the first destination in an ordered set of destinations for the subscriber based on the time of the call;
second routing means, responsive to an absence of an answer of the call at the first destination, for routing the call to a second destination in the ordered set of destinations;
responsive to an absence of an answer of the call at the second destination, routing the call to a third destination in the ordered set of destinations;
responsive to an answer of the call at the third destination for a number of times, selecting the third alternate destination as the first alternate destination. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A computer program product in a computer readable medium for routing a call, the computer program product comprising:
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instructions for specifying a call routing schedule that is based on a current time of day;
instructions for specifying, by a subscriber, a list of functions, each function being associated with a different activity of said subscriber;
instructions for routing calls according to a current time of day utilizing said call routing schedule unless function-based routing is active and a function from said list has been selected;
instructions for determining, utilizing said call routing information, whether said subscriber has activated function-based routing;
instructions for determining, utilizing said call routing information, whether said function from said list has been selected;
in response to determining that said subscriber has activated function-based routing and said function from said list of functions has been selected, instructions for overriding said call routing schedule, said selected function being used for routing calls regardless of said subscriber'"'"'s current location;
first instructions for receiving a call;
second instructions for identifying call routing information for the call;
third instructions for routing the call using a sequence of destinations associated with the function;
fourth instructions for monitoring results from routing the call; and
fifth instructions for automatically modifying the call routing information based on the results to form modified call routing information, wherein subsequent calls are routed using the modified call routing information.
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40. A computer program product in a computer readable medium for call routing a call, the computer program product comprising:
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instructions for specifying a call routing schedule that is based on a current time of day;
instructions for specifying, by a subscriber, a list of functions, each function being associated with a different activity of said subscriber;
instructions for routing calls according to a current time of day utilizing said call routing schedule unless function-based routing is active and a function from said list has been selected;
instructions for determining, utilizing said call routing information, whether said subscriber has activated function-based routing;
instructions for determining, utilizing said call routing information, whether said function from said list has been selected;
in response to determining that said subscriber has activated function-based routing and said function from said list of functions has been selected, instructions for overriding said call routing schedule, said selected function being used for routing calls regardless of said subscriber'"'"'s current location;
first instructions for receiving a call to a subscriber;
second instructions for routing the call to the subscriber using a sequence of destinations associated with the subscriber; and
third instructions, responsive to a success of routing the call to a subscriber to a destination within the sequence of destinations, for automatically modifying the sequence of destinations used to call the subscriber, wherein the sequence of destinations is modified to favor destinations with successful call completions.
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41. A computer program product in a computer readable medium for routing a call, the computer program product comprising:
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instructions for specifying a call routing schedule that is based on a current time of day;
instructions for specifying, by a subscriber, a list of functions, each function being associated with a different activity of said subscriber;
instructions for routing calls according to a current time of day utilizing said call routing schedule unless function-based routing is active and a function from said list has been selected;
instructions for determining, utilizing said call routing information, whether said subscriber has activated function-based routing;
instructions for determining, utilizing said call routing information, whether said function from said list has been selected;
in response to determining that said subscriber has activated function-based routing and said function from said list of functions has been selected, instructions for overriding said call routing schedule, said selected function being used for routing calls regardless of said subscriber'"'"'s current location;
first instructions for receiving a call to a subscriber;
second instructions for identifying a time of the call;
third instructions for routing the call to the first destination in an ordered set of destinations for the subscriber based on the time of the call;
fourth instructions, responsive to an absence of an answer of the call at the first destination, for routing the call to a second destination in the ordered set of destinations;
fifth instructions, responsive to an absence of an answer of the call at the second destination, for routing the call to a third destination in the ordered set of destinations;
sixth instructions, responsive to an answer of the call at the third destination for a number of times, for selecting the third alternate destination as the first alternate destination.
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Specification