Connection recovery in a call center

• US 8,582,750 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2006
• Issued: 11/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.), Medtronic Incorporated (Medtronic Plc)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lee, Eric H., Jabbour, Fadi R., Lee, David C., Lee, Johnny H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsang, Fan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pope, Kharye
• Application Number:
  US11/461,114
• Publication Number:
  US 20080037764A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,661 Days
• Field of Search: 379/355.02, 379/265.02, 379/265.12, 379/265.01, 379/265.09, 379/201, 379/202, 379/203, 379/204, 379/210, 379/221, 379/265, 379/266, 379/260, 379/261, 379/258, 379/309, 379/201.01, 379/88.18, 455/519, 455/403, 455/423, 455/424, 455/436, 370/352, 370/353, 370/354, 370/355, 370/356, 370/357
• US Class Current: 379/265.02
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/18 Comparators
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2005 Temporarily overriding a service configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2088 Call or conference reconnect, e.g. resulting from isdn terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/12 Marking faulty circuits "busy"; Enabling equipment to disengage itself from faulty circuits ; Using redundant circuits; Response of a circuit, apparatus or system to an error
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42042 Notifying the called party of information on the calling party details within substation equipment H04M1/57, signalling details H04Q3/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42102 Making use of the called party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42365 Presence services providing information on the willingness to communicate or the ability to communicate in terms of media capability or network connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/523 with call distribution or queueing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5232 Call distribution algorithms

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method includes detecting termination of a first connection between a first caller and a first agent during a communication session between the first caller and the first agent. The method also includes storing information indicating a state of the communication session at the termination of the first connection, and communicating the information to the first agent or to a second agent in response to establishment of a second connection between the first caller and the first agent or the second agent to facilitate a continuation of the communication session.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting termination of a first connection between a first caller and a first agent during a communication session between the first caller and the first agent, wherein detecting termination of the first connection includes identifying a lack of a stored work entry associated with the communication session;

storing information indicating a state of the communication session at the termination of the first connection, wherein the information indicating the state of the communication session is arranged to identify the first caller and the first agent as being associated with the first connection; and

communicating the information to the first agent or to a second agent in response to establishment of a second connection between the first caller and the first agent or the second agent to facilitate a continuation of the communication session.

2. The method of claim 1 further including:

placing the first agent in a suspend mode if termination of the first connection is detected, wherein placing the first agent in the suspend mode includes preventing the first agent from being connected to a second caller and generating a record which indicates that the termination of the first connection was premature, the second caller being associated with a queue of callers.

5. The method of claim 1 further including:

allowing the first agent to be connected to a second caller if the termination of the first connection is detected, the second caller being associated with a queue of callers.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the queue of callers is associated with the first agent, the method further including:

receiving a second call from the first caller;

identifying the first agent using the information indicating the state of the communication session; and

assigning the first caller to a beginning of the queue of callers.

7. The method of claim 6 further including:

determining whether a predetermined amount of time has elapsed between the second call and the first call, wherein the first agent is identified using the information indicating the state of the communication session if the predetermined amount of time has not elapsed.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the termination of the first connection is caused by one selected from the group including a failure of a link between the first caller and the first agent, a failure associated with the first agent, and a failure associated with the first caller.

21. The method of claim 1 wherein the information includes at least a serial number of a product associated with the first caller.

22. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying the lack of the stored entry includes identifying a lack of stored run-time state information.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein storing the information indicating the state of the communication session at the termination of the first connection includes storing the run-time state information at the termination of the first connection.

3. A method comprising:

detecting termination of a first connection between a first caller and a first agent during a communication session between the first caller and the first agent;

storing information indicating a state of the communication session at the termination of the first connection;

placing the first agent in a suspend mode if termination of the first connection is detected, wherein placing the first agent in the suspend mode includes preventing the first agent from being connected to a second caller and generating a record which indicates that the termination of the first connection was premature, the second caller being associated with a queue of callers;

receiving a second call from the first caller;

identifying the first agent using the information indicating the state of the communication session;

determining if the first agent is in the suspend mode;

establishing the second connection between the first caller and the first agent if it is determined that the first agent is in the suspend mode; and

communicating the information to the first agent or to a second agent in response to establishment of a second connection between the first caller and the first agent or the second agent to facilitate a continuation of the communication session.

4. The method of claim 3 further including:

determining whether a predetermined amount of time has elapsed between the second call and a first call associated with the first connection, wherein the first agent is identified using the information indicating the state of the communication session if the predetermined amount of time has not elapsed; and

assigning the first caller to a beginning of the queue of callers if the predetermined amount of time has not elapsed and if the first agent is not in the suspend mode.

9. An apparatus comprising:

means for detecting termination of a first connection between a first caller and a first agent during a communication session between the first caller and the first agent, wherein the means for detecting termination of the first connection include means for identifying a lack of a stored work entry associated with the communication session;

means for storing information indicating a state of the communication session at the termination of the first connection;

means for communicating the information to the first agent or to a second agent in response to establishment of a second connection between the first caller and the first agent or the second agent to facilitate a continuation of the communication session; and

means for placing the first agent in a suspend mode if termination of the first connection is detected, wherein the means for placing the first agent in the suspend mode include means for generating a record which indicates that the termination of the first connection was premature.

10. The apparatus of claim 9

wherein the means for placing the first agent in the suspend mode further include means for preventing the first agent from being connected to a second caller, the second caller being associated with a queue of callers.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 further including:

means for determining whether to place the first agent in the suspend mode or to connect the first agent to a second caller if the termination of the first connection is detected; and

means for allowing the first agent to be connected to the second caller if the termination of the first connection is detected and if it is determined that the first agent is to be connected to the second caller, the second caller being associated with a queue of callers.

12. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the termination of the first connection is caused by one selected from the group including a failure of a link between the first caller and the first agent, a failure associated with the first agent, and a failure associated with the first caller.

13. An apparatus comprising:

at least a first agent; and

a server arrangement, the server arrangement being arranged to cause a first caller to be in a communication session with the first agent, the server arrangement further being arranged to detect termination of a first connection between the first caller and the first agent and to store information indicating a state of the communication session at the termination of the first connection, wherein the information indicating the state of the communication session is arranged to identify the first caller and the first agent as being associated with the first connection, the server arrangement still further being arranged to communicate the information to the first agent or to a second agent in response to establishment of a second connection between the first caller and the first agent or the second agent to facilitate a continuation of the communication session, wherein the server arrangement is arranged to detect the termination of the first connection by identifying a lack of a stored work entry associated with the communication session.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the server arrangement is further arranged to prevent the first agent from being connected to a second caller associated with a queue of callers.

16. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the server arrangement is further arranged to receive a call from the first caller and to identify the first agent using the information, and wherein the server arrangement is arranged to assign the first caller to a beginning of the queue of callers.

17. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the server arrangement is further arranged to detect if the termination is caused by a failure associated with a link between the first caller and the first agent, the first caller, or the first agent.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the server arrangement is still further arranged to determine when the failure is corrected and to use the information to establish the second connection when the failure is corrected.

15. An apparatus comprising:

at least a first agent; and

a server arrangement, the server arrangement being arranged to cause a first caller to be in a communication session with the first agent, the server arrangement further being arranged to detect termination of a first connection between the first caller and the first agent and to store information indicating a state of the communication session at the termination of the first connection, the server arrangement still further being arranged to communicate the information to the first agent or to a second agent in response to establishment of a second connection between the first caller and the first agent or the second agent to facilitate a continuation of the communication session, wherein the server arrangement is further arranged to prevent the first agent from being connected to a second caller associated with a queue of callers, to receive a call from the first caller, and to identify the first agent using the information, and wherein the server arrangement is arranged to establish the second connection between the first caller and the first agent.

19. An apparatus comprising:

a memory; and

a processing arrangement, the processing arranged to detect termination of a first connection between a first endpoint and a second endpoint, wherein the processing arrangement is arranged to store information indicating a state of the communication session in the memory if the processing arrangement detects the termination of the first connection between the first endpoint and the second endpoint, the information including run-time state information that includes identifying information for the first endpoint and identifying information for the second endpoint, the processing arrangement still further being arranged to communicate the information to the second endpoint or to a third endpoint in response to establishment of a second connection between the first endpoint and the second endpoint or the third endpoint to facilitate a continuation of the communication session.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the termination of the first connection is caused by one selected from the group including a failure of a link between the first endpoint and the second endpoint, a failure associated with the first endpoint, and a failure associated with the second endpoint.