System and method for interactive voice response call processing with external routing and application flow control
First Claim
1. A system for processing an incoming call, the system comprising:
- a call router for providing external application flow control for an interactive voice response unit, the call router including rules for handling call arrival and call departure, wherein the rules for handling call arrival include rules for pre-routing a call to the interactive voice response unit based on available call parameters by issuing a call notification to the interactive voice response unit, wherein the call notification includes an application number, and wherein the rules for handling call arrival further include rules for responding to a query from the interactive voice response unit to provide a suggested treatment based on caller data collected by the interactive voice response unit, and wherein the rules for handling call departure comprise rules for determining a call destination based on an exit condition from the interactive voice response unit; and
the interactive voice response unit for processing calls distributed by the call router comprising a state and event table for operation as a state machine for intermediate processing between call arrival and call departure, wherein the interactive voice response unit is configured to run an application based on the application number in the call notification to collect caller data, to query the call router to obtain the suggested treatment based on the caller data, and to determine the exit condition based on the suggested treatment using the state and event table.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system are provided for processing an incoming call and providing an interactive voice response unit with application flow control and call arrival and departure control. The system includes a call router including rules for handling call arrival and call departure and an interactive voice response unit. The interactive voice response unit includes a state and event table for operation as a state machine for intermediate processing between call arrival and call departure. An additional external resource is provided for updating the state and event table in order to control interactive voice response application flow. The method includes processing call arrival at the call router, performing intermediate processing with the state machine at the interactive voice response unit, and handling call departure procedures at the call router. The method additionally includes updating the state and event tables and providing application flow control using an external resource.
29 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A system for processing an incoming call, the system comprising:
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a call router for providing external application flow control for an interactive voice response unit, the call router including rules for handling call arrival and call departure, wherein the rules for handling call arrival include rules for pre-routing a call to the interactive voice response unit based on available call parameters by issuing a call notification to the interactive voice response unit, wherein the call notification includes an application number, and wherein the rules for handling call arrival further include rules for responding to a query from the interactive voice response unit to provide a suggested treatment based on caller data collected by the interactive voice response unit, and wherein the rules for handling call departure comprise rules for determining a call destination based on an exit condition from the interactive voice response unit; and the interactive voice response unit for processing calls distributed by the call router comprising a state and event table for operation as a state machine for intermediate processing between call arrival and call departure, wherein the interactive voice response unit is configured to run an application based on the application number in the call notification to collect caller data, to query the call router to obtain the suggested treatment based on the caller data, and to determine the exit condition based on the suggested treatment using the state and event table. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for processing an incoming call using an interactive voice response unit and a call router providing external application flow control for the interactive voice response unit, the method comprising:
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initially treating a call with arrival procedures at a call router, including pre-routing a call to an interactive voice response unit based on available call parameters by issuing a call notification to the interactive voice response unit, wherein the call notification includes an application number; receiving the call notification at the interactive voice response unit and running an application based on the application number in the call notification to collect caller data; querying the call router to obtain a suggested treatment based on the caller data; receiving the suggested treatment from the call router and processing the call using a state and event table in the interactive voice response unit to determine an exit condition; performing call departure procedures at the call router upon receiving the exit condition from the interactive voice response unit, including defining a call destination based on the exit condition; and routing the call to the call destination. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An interactive voice response unit for processing a call after call arrival at a call router, the call router providing external application flow control for the interactive voice response unit, the interactive voice response unit comprising:
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a call routing interface and a call event interface for receiving information or instructions from the call router and for notifying the call router about call state changes; a set of interactive voice response applications and an application list for locating an application; and a state and event table for processing the received information in order to determine a new state from a current event and a current state; and wherein the interactive voice response unit is configured to; receive a call notification from the call router, the call notification including an application number, run an application from the set of interactive voice response applications based on the application number to collect caller data, query the call router to obtain a suggested treatment based on the caller data, process the call using the state and event table to determine an exit condition, and communicate the exit condition to the call router, wherein the caller router performs call departure procedures based on the exit condition. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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22. A method for intermediate processing of an incoming call at an interactive voice response unit after call arrival at a call router providing external application flow control for the interactive voice response unit, the method comprising:
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receiving a call notification from the call router at an interactive voice response unit call routing interface and call event interface, the call notification including call information and an application number; running an interactive voice response application based on the application number to collect caller data; querying the call router to obtain a suggested treatment for the call based on the caller data; and receiving the suggested treatment and implementing a state and event table stored in the interactive voice response unit as a state machine to determine a new state based on a current state and a current event. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification