Method and apparatus for connecting terminals in a remote consulting system

• US 7,031,997 B2
• Filed: 05/02/2001
• Issued: 04/18/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi-Omron Terminal Solutions Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Mizuno, Hirotaka, Terahama, Yukinori, Oomura, Masatoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): VU, THONG H
• Application Number:
  US09/846,615
• Publication Number:
  US 20010032242A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,812 Days
• Field of Search: 709/201, 709/220, 709/223, 709/224, 709/241, 707/6, 707/9, 707/103, 714/48, 714/43, 714/235, 719/315, 379/38, 379/145, 379/88, 703/2, 700/110, 370/254, 370/218, 725/110, 715/804, 717/120
• US Class Current: 709/201
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1813 for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms instant messaging H04L51/04; protocols for multimedia communication H04L65/1101; arrangements for multi-party communication H04L65/403; telephonic conference arrangements H04M3/56; television conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/23 Reliability checks, e.g. acknowledgments or fault reporting
• 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 3/58 Arrangements for transferring received calls from one subscriber to another; Arrangements affording interim conversations between either the calling or the called party and a third party substation line holding circuits H04M1/80

Abstract

When a remote service terminal is to be connected, the present invention executes the following procedure. The lobby terminal selects a clerk terminal which can correspond to a consulting detail and the selected clerk terminal is connected to the lobby terminal and carries out a remote consultation. When the lobby terminal selects an unattended agent server, the lobby terminal retrieves the past reply corresponding to the consulting detail of the user and displays it at the lobby terminal. When the clerk terminal corresponding to the consulting detail becomes connectable while the unattended agent server is corresponding to the user of the lobby terminal, the unattended agent server takes over the consulting detail to the clerk terminal. When there is no clerk terminal to be changed when the consultation is over, the unattended agent server sends the inquiry data which is to be replied to the user asynchronously to the clerk terminal by a communication means separately.

Claims

1. A consulting system for replying to an inquiry from a customer, comprising:

a plurality of clerk terminals for use by an expert clerk to reply to said inquiry from said customer; and

a connection management apparatus for managing connections, said connection management apparatus comprising;

monitoring means for monitoring connective status of each of said clerk terminals,

storage means for storing data related to an expert clerk corresponding a connectable expert clerk terminal,

extraction means for extracting said data related to said expert clerk corresponding said connectable expert clerk terminal, and

sending means for sending a list of said data related to said expert clerk corresponding to said connectable expert clerk terminal, to a terminal for use by said customer, so that said customer can select an expert clerk related to said connectable clerk terminal;

wherein;

each of said clerk terminals sends data showing that connection is possible to said connection management apparatus when connection with said terminal for use by said customer is ended, and

said monitoring means of said connection management apparatus changes a connective status of said clerk terminal from “

connected”

to “

connectable”

based on said data showing connectable.

2. A consulting system according to claim 1, wherein said connection management apparatus comprises:

connecting means for connecting said terminal for use by said customer to an unattended agent server when there is no expert clerk corresponding to an inquiry from said customer;

judging means for judging that a clerk terminal corresponding said expert clerk to reply to said inquiry from said customer has become connectable, referring to said connective status of each of said clerk terminals;

changing means for changing connection of said terminal for use by said customer, from said unattended agent server to said clerk terminal that has become connectable, in accordance with the result of the judgment performed by said judging means, and

sending means for sending communication between said customer and said unattended agent server to said clerk terminal that has become connectable.

3. A consulting system according to claim 1, further comprising:

an unattended agent server comprising;

storage means for storing past reply to said inquiry of said customer;

retrieving means for retrieving said past reply corresponding to said inquiry; and

sending means for sending said past reply to said terminal for use by said customer, in accordance with said inquiry from said customer.

4. A consulting system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a terminal for use by said customer.

5. A consulting method for replying to an inquiry from a customer by using a consulting system having a connection management apparatus for managing connections, said method comprising the steps of:

monitoring connecting status of a plurality of clerk terminals for use by an expert clerk to reply to said inquiry of said customer;

storing data related to an expert clerk corresponding a connectable expert clerk terminal;

receiving said inquiry;

extracting said data related to said expert clerk corresponding said connectable expert clerk terminal in accordance with said inquiry from said customer;

sending a list of said data related to said expert clerk corresponding said connectable expert clerk terminal to a terminal for use by said customer so that said customer is able to choose an expert clerk corresponding said connectable expert clerk terminal; and

sending data showing connectable to said connection management apparatus when said connection for said customer is terminated,

wherein a connective status of said expert clerk terminal is changed from “

connected”

to “

connectable”

based on said data showing from said expert clerk terminal that has become connectable.

6. A connection management apparatus for managing connections between a first terminal for use by a customer and a plurality of second terminals for use by an expert clerk to reply to an inquiry from said customer, comprising:

monitoring means for monitoring a connective status of each of said second terminals;

storage means for storing data related to an expert clerk corresponding a connectable second terminal;

extraction means for extracting said data related to said expert clerk corresponding said connectable second terminal, in accordance with said inquiry from said customer; and

sending means for sending a list of said data related to said expert clerk corresponding to said connectable second terminal to said first terminal for use by said customer so that said customer can select an expert clerk related to said connectable second terminal, and

said monitoring means receiving data from said second terminal showing connectable when said connection of any one of said second terminals for said first terminal is terminated, and changing said connective status of said second terminal from “

connected”

to “

connectable”

based on said data showing said second terminal has become connectable from said second terminal.

7. A connection management apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising:

connecting means for connecting said first terminal for use by said customer to an unattended agent server when there is no expert clerk corresponding to an inquiry from said customer;

judging means for judging that a second terminal corresponding said expert clerk to reply to said inquiry from said customer has become connectable, referring to said connective status of each of said second terminals;

changing means for changing connection of said first terminal, from said unattended agent server to said second terminal that has become connectable, in accordance with the result of the judgment performed by said judging means; and

sending means for sending communication between said customer and said unattended agent server to said second terminal that has become connectable.

8. A connection management apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising:

means for setting a priority of consultation of said expert clerk in accordance with the frequency of the past consultation of said expert clerk,

wherein said extraction means extracts said data related to said expert clerk corresponding said connectable second terminal, in accordance with said priority.

9. A connection management method for managing connections between a first terminal for use by a customer and a plurality of second terminals for use by an expert clerk to reply to an inquiry from said customer, comprising steps of:

monitoring a connective status of each of said second terminals;

storing data related to an expert clerk corresponding said connectable second terminal;

extracting said data related to said expert clerk corresponding said connectable second terminal in accordance with said inquiry from said customer;

sending a list of said data related to said expert clerk corresponding said connectable second terminal to said first terminal so that said customer is able to choose an expert clerk corresponding said connectable second terminal;

sending data showing said second terminal is connectable when said connection of said second terminal for said first terminal has become terminated;

receiving data from said second terminal showing connectable when said connection of any one of said second terminals for said first terminal is terminated; and

changing said connective status of said second terminal from “

connected”

to “

connectable”

based on said data from said second terminal that has become connectable.