Dynamically reconfigurable distributed interactive voice response system

• US 7,379,539 B2
• Filed: 08/12/2004
• Issued: 05/27/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Liu, Te-Kai, Maruyama, Kiyoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Gauthier; Gerald
• Application Number:
  US10/917,550
• Publication Number:
  US 20050207544A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,384 Days
• Field of Search: 379/201.02, 379/88.02, 379/93.17, 379/88.17, 379/88.22, 709/214, 709/217, 704/270
• US Class Current: 379/88.17
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42068 where the identifier is used to access a profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4938 comprising a voice browser which renders and interprets, e.g. VoiceXML

Abstract

The present invention is a computer system and method that manages connections between one or more data network interfaces and one or more phone interfaces. A manager process, running on a computer system having both data and phone network interfaces, receives one or more telephone calls from one or more users over one of the phone interfaces and than accesses one or more profiles associated with each of the users. These profiles have one or more service identifiers and one or more interactive response agent (IRA) identifiers associated with the respective user. A menu of the service identifiers is presented to the user. The system then looks up an agent address of one of the IRAs that is associated with the service identifier selected by the user from the menu and establishes a session with the associated IRA. Having done this a two-way communication with the associated IRA occurs during the session. In this communication, the IRA is capable of passing information to the system from one or more application servers to which the IRA is connected over one or more data networks.

Claims

1. A method of operating an agent to obtain information for a user from a Web site, wherein the method is for use with a manager, the method comprising the steps of:

the agent receiving a start request across an interface to establish a session;

in response to receiving said request, the agent sending across the interface an acknowledgement to establish the session;

during the established session, the agent entering a loop, including the steps of the agent receiving a request across the interface from a user for information, obtaining information from a Web site, sending the obtained information to the user, and monitoring for an end of session signal across the interface from the user;

the agent receiving across the interface from the user an end request to end the session; and

in response to receiving said end request, the agent ending the session; and

wherein;

the user and the manager are on a first side of the Internet;

the agent is on a second side of the Internet, said second side being opposite said first side;

the step of the agent receiving the request for information includes the step of the agent receiving the request for information from the user via the manager;

the step of the agent sending an acknowledgement to establish the session includes the step of the agent sending said acknowledgement to the manager; and

the step of the agent sending the obtained information to the user includes the step of the agent sending the obtained information to the user via the manager.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein:

the Web site is operated by an information service provider; and

said information service provider operates the agent.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein:

said information service provider operates a plurality of Web sites; and

the step of obtaining information includes the steps of, during the session, obtaining information from said plurality of Web sites and sending the information obtained from said plurality of Web sites to the user across the interface.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein:

the agent has idle and active states;

further comprising the steps of;

the agent, in response to receiving the start request, switching from the idle state to the active state; and

the agent, in response to receiving the end request, switching from the active state to the idle state.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein:

the step of receiving a request from a user for information includes the step of receiving from the user a selection of a first application server; and

further comprising the steps of the agent, after sending the obtained information to the user, sending to the user a service menu for the user'"'"'s next selection,

receiving from the user another selection of a second application server, and

in response to receiving said another selection, obtaining additional information from said second application.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein:

the agent includes a set of connection functions and an application server interface; and

further comprising the step of, the agent using the set of connection functions to establish said session;

wherein;

the step of obtaining information includes the steps of

i) using the application server interface to communicate with an application server, and

ii) obtaining the information from the application server.

7. A computer readable medium, tangibly embodied with a program of instructions executable by the computer to perform method steps for operating an agent to obtain information for a user from a Web site, wherein the method is for use with a manager, said method steps comprising:

the agent receiving a start request across an interface to establish a session, wherein the user makes a telephone call to transmit the request to the manager, the manager receives the telephone call and obtains an Internet address for the agent, and the manager uses the Internet address to transmit the request to the agent;

in response to receiving said request, the agent sending across the interface an acknowledgement to establish the session;

during the established session, the agent entering a loop, including the steps of the agent receiving a request across the interface from a user for information, obtaining information from a Web site, sending the obtained information to the user; and

monitoring for an end of session signal across the interface from the user; and

wherein;

the user and the manager are on a first side of the Internet;

the agent is on a second side of the Internet, said second side being opposite said first side;

the step of the agent sending said acknowledgement includes the step of the agent sending said acknowledgement to the manager;

the step of the agent receiving the request for information includes the step of, the agent receiving the request for information from the user via the manager; and

the step of the agent sending the obtained information to the user includes the step of the agent sending the obtained information to the user via the manager.

8. A computer readable medium according to claim 7, wherein:

the agent is operated by an information service provider;

said information service provider operates a plurality of Web sites; and

the step of obtaining information includes the step of, during the established session, the agent obtaining information from said plurality of Web sites and sending the information obtained from said plurality of Web sites to the user across the interface.

9. A computer readable medium according to claim 8, wherein the agent has idle and active states, and said method steps further comprise:

the agent, in response to receiving the start request, switching from the idle state to the active state; and

the agent, in response to receiving the end request, switching from the active state to the idle state.

10. A computer readable medium according to claim 7, wherein:

the step of receiving a request from a user for information includes the step of receiving from the user a selection of a first application server; and

said method steps further comprise the steps of the agent, after sending the obtained information to the user,

sending to the user a service menu for the user'"'"'s next selection,

receiving from the user another selection of a second application server, and

in response to receiving said another selection, obtaining additional information from said second application.

11. A computer readable medium according to claim 7, wherein:

the agent includes a set of connection functions; and

said method steps further comprise the step of, the agent using the set of connection functions to establish said session.

12. A computer readable medium according to claim 7, wherein:

the agent includes an application server interface; and

the step of obtaining information includes the steps of

i) using the application server interface to communicate with an application server, and

ii) obtaining the information from the application server.