User interface for multi-channel communication
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- obtaining an event at a communication server, whereinthe event is obtained from a channel driver,the event originates from a communication channel that is communicatively coupled to the channel driver,the communication channel is of a first media type,the communication server is communicatively coupled to a plurality of communication channels via a plurality of channel drivers,the plurality of communication channels comprises the communication channel,the plurality of channel drivers comprises the channel driver,each communication channel of the plurality of communication channels has a media type,at least two communication channels of the plurality of communication channels have different media types,each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is external to the communication server,the each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is designed to communicate with the communication server according to a communication application program interface (API),the communication API allows communications occurring between the each channel driver and the communication server to be media-independent, andthe event corresponds to a work item available to an agent;
in response to the obtaining, providing a notification of the work item to the agent via a single user interface, whereinthe single user interface is configured to be presented by a web browser,the single user interface is configured to simultaneously present a plurality of work items by virtue of the single user interface being configured to communicate with the communication server that is configured to communicate with the plurality of communication channels independent of the media type of the plurality of communication channels, andthe single user interface is further configured to allow the agent to communicate using the plurality of communication channels;
receiving an activation of a work item object from the single user interface, whereinthe work item object is associated with the work item;
identifying a command to be issued, whereinthe command is associated with the activation of the work item object; and
causing the channel driver to issue the command to the communication channel.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a user interface and method for communicating using multiple communication channels of different media types. The method includes obtaining an event communicated via an incoming communication channel, where the event corresponds to a work item available to an agent. A notification of the work item is provided via the user interface. The method includes receiving an activation of a work item object of the user interface, where the work item object is associated with the work item. The method includes issuing a command associated with the activation of the work item object to an outgoing communication channel. The user interface enables the agent to work using different communication channels while presenting a consistent interface independent of the media type of the communication channel.
113 Citations
87 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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obtaining an event at a communication server, wherein the event is obtained from a channel driver, the event originates from a communication channel that is communicatively coupled to the channel driver, the communication channel is of a first media type, the communication server is communicatively coupled to a plurality of communication channels via a plurality of channel drivers, the plurality of communication channels comprises the communication channel, the plurality of channel drivers comprises the channel driver, each communication channel of the plurality of communication channels has a media type, at least two communication channels of the plurality of communication channels have different media types, each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is external to the communication server, the each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is designed to communicate with the communication server according to a communication application program interface (API), the communication API allows communications occurring between the each channel driver and the communication server to be media-independent, and the event corresponds to a work item available to an agent; in response to the obtaining, providing a notification of the work item to the agent via a single user interface, wherein the single user interface is configured to be presented by a web browser, the single user interface is configured to simultaneously present a plurality of work items by virtue of the single user interface being configured to communicate with the communication server that is configured to communicate with the plurality of communication channels independent of the media type of the plurality of communication channels, and the single user interface is further configured to allow the agent to communicate using the plurality of communication channels; receiving an activation of a work item object from the single user interface, wherein the work item object is associated with the work item; identifying a command to be issued, wherein the command is associated with the activation of the work item object; and causing the channel driver to issue the command to the communication channel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method comprising:
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communicating an event from a channel driver to a communication server, wherein the event originates from a communication channel that is communicatively coupled to the channel driver, and the communication channel is of a first media type; obtaining the event at the communication server, wherein the communication server is communicatively coupled to a plurality of communication channels via a plurality of channel drivers, the plurality of communication channels comprises the communication channel, the plurality of channel drivers comprises the channel driver, each communication channel of the plurality of communication channels has a media type, at least two communication channels of the plurality of communication channels have different media types, each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is external to the communication server, the each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is designed to communicate with the communication server according to a communication application program interface (API), the communication API allows communications occurring between the each channel driver and the communication server to be media-independent, and the event corresponds to a work item available to an agent; in response to the obtaining, providing a media-independent;
notification of the work item to the agent via a single user interface, whereinthe single user interface is configured to be presented by a web browser, the single user interface is further configured to simultaneously present a plurality of work items by virtue of the single user interface being configured to communicate with the communication server that is further configured to communicate with the plurality of communication channels independent of the media type of the plurality of communication channels, and the single user interface is further configured to allow the agent to communicate using the plurality of communication channels; activating a command from the single user interface; and causing the channel driver to issue the command to the communication channel. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A computer program product comprising:
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an obtaining module to obtain an event at a communication server, wherein the event is obtained from a channel driver, the event originates from a communication channel that is communicatively coupled to the channel driver, the communication channel is of a first media type, the communication server is communicatively coupled to a plurality of communication channels via a plurality of channel drivers, the plurality of communication channels comprises the communication channel, the plurality of channel drivers comprises the channel driver, each communication channel of the plurality of communication channels has a media type, at least two communication channels of the plurality of communication channels have different media types, each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is external to the communication server, the each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is designed to communicate with the communication server according to a communication application program interface (API), the communication API allows communications occurring between the each channel driver and the communication server to be media-independent, and the event corresponds to a work item available to an agent; a notification module to provide a notification of the work item to the agent via a single user interface, in response to obtaining the event, wherein the single user interface is configured to be presented by a web browser, the single user interface is configured to simultaneously present a plurality of work items by virtue of the single user interface being configured to communicate with the communication server that is independent of the media type of the plurality of communication channels, and the single user interface is further configured to allow the agent to communicate using the plurality of communication channels; a work item object, wherein the work item object is associated with the work item; a receiving module to receive an activation of the work item object; an identifying module to identify a command to be issued, wherein the communication server comprises the identifying module, and the command is associated with the activation of the work item object; and a physical computer readable storage medium, configured to store the computer program product. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27)
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28. A computer program product comprising:
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a notification object to provide a notification of an event, wherein the event is received by a communication server, the event is received from a channel driver, the event originates from a communication channel that is communicatively coupled to the channel driver, the communication channel is of a first media type, the communication server is communicatively coupled to a plurality of communication channels via a plurality of channel drivers, the plurality of communication channels comprises the communication channel, the plurality of channel drivers comprises the channel driver, each communication channel of the plurality of communication channels has a media type, at least two communication channels of the plurality of communication channels have different media types, each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is external to the communication server, the each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is designed to communicate with the communication server according to a communication application program interface (API), the communication API allows communications occurring between the each channel driver and the communication server to be media-independent, the event corresponds to a work item available to an agent, the notification is provided via a single user interface, the single user interface is configured to be presented by a web browser, the single user interface is further configured to simultaneously present a plurality of work items by virtue of the single user interface being configured to communicate with the communication server that is configured to communicate with the plurality of communication channels independent of the media type of the plurality of communication channels, and the single user interface is further configured to allow the agent to communicate using the plurality of the communication channels; a command object, wherein activation of the command object is associated with a command; an identifying module to identify the command, wherein the communication server comprises the identifying module, and the command is associated with the activation of the work item object; a causing module to cause the channel driver to issue the command to the communication channel; and a physical computer readable storage medium, configured to store the computer program product.
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29. A computer system comprising:
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a processor; a display, coupled to the processor; computer readable storage medium coupled to the processor; and computer code, encoded in the computer readable storage medium, configured to cause the processor to; obtain an event at a communication server, wherein the event is obtained from a channel driver, the event originates from a communication channel that is communicatively coupled to the channel driver, the communication channel is of a first media type, a plurality of communication channels comprises the communication channel, a plurality of channel drivers comprises the channel driver, each communication channel of the plurality of communication channels has a media type, at least two communication channels of the plurality of communication channels have different media types, each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is external to the communication server, the each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is designed to communicate with the communication server according to a communication application program interface (API), the communication API allows communications occurring between the each channel driver and the communication server to be media-independent, and the event corresponds to a work item available to an agent; provide a notification of the work item to the agent via a single user interface, in response to obtaining the event, wherein the single user interface is configured to be presented by a web browser, the single user interface is further configured to simultaneously present a plurality of work items by virtue of the single user interface being configured to communicate with the communication server that is configured to communicate with the plurality of communication channels independent of the media type of the plurality of communication channels, and the single user interface is further configured to allow the agent to communicate using the plurality of communication channels; receive an activation of a work item object from the single user interface, wherein the work item object is associated with the work item; identify a command, wherein the command is associated with the activation of the work item object; and cause the channel driver to issue the command to the communication channel.
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30. A computer program product comprising:
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a database comprising; a communication channel table comprising information regarding a communication channel of a plurality of communication channels, wherein the communication channel is of a first media type, each communication channel of the plurality of communication channels has a media type, and and at least two of communication channels of the plurality of communication channels have different media types; a command table comprising information regarding a user interface object of a user interface, wherein the user interface is configured to be presented by a web browser, the user interface is further configured to simultaneously present a plurality of work items by virtue of the user interface being configured to communicate with a communication server that is configured to communicate with the plurality of communication channels independent of a media type of the plurality of communication channels, and the user interface is further configured to allow an agent to communicate with the plurality of the communication channels; a channel driver table comprising information regarding a channel driver of a plurality of channel drivers that controls the operation of the communication channel and is operable to provide an event from the communication channel to the communication server and to issue a command to the communication channel, wherein the event corresponds to a work item available to the agent, the command is associated with activation of the user interface object, the communication server is communicatively coupled to the plurality of communication channels via the plurality of channel drivers, the plurality of communication channels comprises the communication channel, the plurality of channel drivers comprise the channel driver, each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is external to the communication server, the each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is designed to communicate with the communication server according to a communication application program interface (API), and the communication API allows communications occurring between the each channel driver and the communication server to be media-independent; an event table comprising information regarding the event; a command parameter table comprising information regarding the command; instructions to access the communication channel table, the command table, the channel driver table, the event table, and the command parameter table to communicate via the communication channel; and a physical computer readable storage medium, configured to store the computer program product. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A computer program product comprising:
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a user interface object, wherein the user interface object is displayed using a single user interface, the single user interface is configured to be presented by a web browser, the single user interface is further configured to simultaneously present a plurality of work items by virtue of the single user interface being configured to communicate with a communication server that is configured to communicate with a plurality of communication channels independent of a media type of the plurality of communication channels, and the single user interface is configured to allow an agent to communicate using the plurality of the communication channels; a receiving module configured to receive an activation of the user interface object, wherein each communication channel of the plurality of communication channels has a media type, at least two communication channels of the plurality of communication channels have different media types, the activation of the user interface object is received at the communication server, the communication server is communicatively coupled to the plurality of communication channels via a plurality of channel drivers, each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is external to the communication server, the each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is designed to communicate with the communication server according to a communication application program interface (API), the communication API allows communications occurring between the each channel driver and the communication server to be media-independent; an accessing module configured to access a command parameter table comprising one or more parameters necessary for a command, a command identifier, and a channel driver; a channel driver module configured to cause the channel driver to issue the command to the communication channel to which the channel driver is coupled; and a physical computer readable storage medium storing the modules of the computer program product. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A computer program product comprising:
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a database comprising; a command table comprising information regarding a user interface object of a single user interface used to communicate with a communication channel of a plurality of communication channels, wherein the single user interface is configured to be presented by a web browser, the single user interface is further configured to simultaneously present a plurality of work items by virtue of the single user interface being configured to communicate with a communication server that is configured to communicate with the plurality of communication channels independent of a media type of the plurality of communication channels, the single user interface is further configured to allow an agent to communicate using the plurality of communication channels, the information regarding the user interface object comprises a command associated with activation of the user interface object, the activation of the user interface object is received at the communication server, the communication server is communicatively coupled to the plurality of communication channels via a plurality of channel drivers, each communication channel of the plurality of communication channels has a media type, at least two communication channels of the plurality of communication channels have different media types, each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is external to the communication server, the each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is designed to communicate with the communication server according to a communication application program interface (API), the communication API allows communications occurring between the each channel driver and the communication server to be media-independent; a command parameter table, wherein the command parameter table specifies one or more parameters for the command; instructions to access the command table when the single user interface is to display information related to a communication received from the communication channel; instructions to access the command parameter table; instructions to cause a channel driver to issue the command to the communication channel to which the channel driver is coupled; and a physical computer readable storage medium, configured to store the computer program product. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
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52. A computer program product comprising:
a database comprising; a command table comprising information regarding a user interface object of a single user interface used to communicate with a communication channel of a plurality of communication channels, wherein the single user interface is configured to be presented by a web browser, the single user interface is further configured to simultaneously present a plurality of work items by virtue of the single user interface being configured to communicate with a communication server that is configured to communicate with the plurality of communication channels independent of a media type of the plurality of communication channels, the single user interface is further configured to allow an agent to communicate using the plurality of communication channels, the information regarding the user interface object comprises a command associated with activation of the user interface object, the activation of the user interface object is received at the communication server, the communication server is communicatively coupled to the plurality of communication channels via a plurality of channel drivers, each communication channel of the plurality of communication channels has a media type, at least two communication channels of the plurality of communication channels have different media types, each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is external to the communication server, the each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is designed to communicate with the communication server according to a communication application program interface (API), the communication API allows communications occurring between the each channel driver and the communication server to be media-independent; a command parameter table, wherein the command parameter table specifies a command, and the command is associated with the activation of the user interface object; a communication channel table, wherein the communication channel table comprises information regarding the communication channel associated with the user interface object; first instructions configured to access the command table, the command parameter table, and the communication channel table to communicate with the communication channel; second instructions configured to cause a channel driver to issue the command to the communication channel; and a physical computer readable storage medium, configured to store the computer program product. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54, 55, 56)
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57. A computer program product comprising:
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a single user interface comprising at least one user interface object configured to be activated by an agent, wherein activation of one of the at least one user interface object is associated with issuing a command to a communication channel of a plurality of communication channels, the activation of the user interface object is received at a communication server from the communication channel, the communication server is communicatively coupled to the plurality of communication channels via a plurality of channel drivers, each communication channel of the plurality of communication channels has a media type, at least two communication channels of the plurality of communication channels have different media types, each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is external to the communication server, the each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is designed to communicate with the communication server according to a communication application program interface (API), the communication API allows communications occurring between the each channel driver and the communication server to be media-independent, the single user interface is configured to simultaneously present a plurality of work items by virtue of the single user interface being configured to communicate with the communication server that is configured to communicate with the plurality of communication channels independent of the media type of the plurality of communication channels, the single user interface is further configured to allow the agent to communicate using the plurality of communication channels, an accessing module configured to access a command table comprising information regarding the at least one user interface object, wherein the information regarding the at least one user interface object comprises a respective command associated with activation of each user interface object; a second accessing module configured to access a command parameter table, wherein the command parameter table specifies one or more parameters for a command; a channel driver module configured to cause a channel driver to issue the command to the communication channel to which the channel driver is coupled; and a physical computer readable storage medium storing the computer program product. - View Dependent Claims (58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64)
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65. An apparatus for communicating comprising:
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obtaining means for obtaining an event at a communication server, wherein the event is obtained from a channel driver, the event originates from a communication channel that is communicatively coupled to the channel driver, the communication channel is of a first media type, the communication server is communicatively coupled to a plurality of communication channels via a plurality of channel drivers, the plurality of communication channels comprises the communication channel, the plurality of channel drivers comprises the channel driver, each communication channel of the plurality of communication channels has a media type, at least two communication channels of the plurality of communication channels have different media types, each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is external to the communication server, the each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is designed to communicate with the communication server according to a communication application program interface (API), the communication API allows communications occurring between the each channel driver and the communication server to be media-independent, and the event corresponds to a work item available to an agent; notifying means for providing a notification of the work item to the agent via a single user interface, in response to obtaining the event, wherein the single user interface is configured to be presented by a web browser, the single user interface is further configured to simultaneously present a plurality of work items by virtue of the single user interface being configured to communicate with the communication server that is configured to communicate with the plurality of communication channels independent of the media type of the plurality of communication channels, and the single user interface is further configured to allow the agent to communicate using the plurality of communication channels; receiving means for receiving an activation of a work item object of the single user interface, wherein the work item object is associated with the work item; identifying means for identifying a command to be issued, wherein the command is associated with the activation of the work item object; and causing means for causing the channel driver to issue the command to the communication channel. - View Dependent Claims (66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79)
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80. A computer program product comprising:
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obtaining instructions to obtain an event at a communication server, wherein the event is obtained from a channel driver, the event originates from a communication channel that is communicatively coupled to the channel driver, the communication channel is of a first media type, the communication server is communicatively coupled to a plurality of communication channels via a plurality of channel drivers, the plurality of communication channels comprises the communication channel, the plurality of channel drivers comprises the channel driver, each communication channel of the plurality of communication channels has a media type, at least two communication channels of the plurality of communication channels have different media types, each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is external to the communication server, the each channel driver of the plurality of channel drivers is designed to communicate with the communication server according to a communication application program interface (API), the communication API allows communications occurring between the each channel driver and the communication server to be media-independent, and the event corresponds to a work item available to an agent; notifying instructions to provide a notification of the work item to the agent via a single user interface, in response to obtaining the event, wherein the single user interface is configured to be presented by a web browser; the single user interface is further configured to simultaneously present a plurality of work items by virtue of the single user interface being configured to communicate with the communication server that is configured to communicate with the plurality of communication channels independent of the media type of the plurality of communication channels, and the single user interface is further configured to allow the agent to communicate using the plurality of communication channels; receiving instructions to receive an activation of a work item object from the single user interface, wherein the work item object is associated with the work item; identifying instructions to identify a command; causing instructions to cause the channel driver to issue the command to the communication channel; and a computer-readable storage medium, configured to store the computer program product. - View Dependent Claims (81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87)
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Specification