Contact server for call center

• US 7,783,755 B2
• Filed: 08/27/2003
• Issued: 08/24/2010
• 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:
  US10/648,427
• Publication Number:
  US 20040039846A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,554 Days
• Field of Search: 709225-227
• US Class Current: 709/225
• 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. In a user support system for providing support to a user accessing a web site, a method comprising:

receiving, via at least one of one or more of devices in the user support system, information associated with the user, the information comprising at least one of the user'"'"'s name, the user'"'"'s telephone number, an Internet protocol address associated with the user, or a uniform resource locator representing a web page;

accessing, via at least one of the one or more of devices in the user support system, a web page based on the received information;

establishing, via at least one of the one or more of devices in the user support system, a communications link with the user; and

passing, via at least one of the one or more of devices in the user support system, events performed on the user support system to the user via the communications link to enable the user to view a same web page as that being displayed by the user support system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the events comprise actions performed by a user support party via the user support system.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

identifying the user support party from a plurality of user support parties based on the information associated with the user.

4. The method of claim 3, where the information associated with the user further includes a selection of one or more of a plurality of user sport service categories, and where identifying the user support party is based on the selection of the one or more of the plurality user sport service categories.

5. The method of claim 1, where the information associated with the user includes the uniform resource locator representing the web page, and where the web page is used by the user to request the support.

7. The system of claim 3, wherein the events comprise;

actions performed by a user support party via the at least one processing device.

6. A system for providing support to a user accessing a web sit;

comprising;

at least one processing device to;

receive information associated with the user, the information identifying the web site that the user was accessing when a request for user support was made,

access the web site based on the received information, and

establish a communications link with the user,

wherein the at least one processing device includes a display device, the at least one processing device being further configured to;

pass events to the user via the communications link to enable the user to view a same web page as that being displayed by the display device.

8. The system of claim 6, where the at least one processing device is further to:

identify the user support party from a plurality of user support parties based on the information associated with the user.

9. The system of claim 8, where the information associated with the user further includes a selection of one or more of a plurality of user sport service categories, and where identifying the user support party is based on the selection of the one or more of the plurality user sport service categories.

10. The system of claim 6, where the information associated with the user includes a uniform resource locator associated with the web site.

11. The system of claim 6, where the communications link includes a transmission control protocol/internet protocol link.