Interactive voice response (IVR) routing system

• US 9,247,055 B2
• Filed: 06/03/2014
• Issued: 01/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Plantronics, Inc.
• Inventors: Benway, Evan Harris, Perotti, Erik
• Primary Examiner(s): BEZUAYEHU, SOLOMON G
• Application Number:
  US14/295,201
• Publication Number:
  US 20150350427A1
• Time in Patent Office: 602 Days
• Field of Search: 379 8801- 8819
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/493 Interactive information services, e.g. directory enquiries ; Arrangements therefor, e.g. interactive voice response [IVR] systems or voice portals
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4936 Speech interaction details speech recognition per se G10L15/00

Abstract

An interactive voice response method and system is described. A computerized IVR dialer signals to an IVR system that it is capable of high speed operations. The IVR system completes the high speed operations handshake with the IVR dialer. The two IVR components then continue processing of the IVR call at speeds higher than likely obtainable in a conventional IVR call, e.g., one in which the IVR dialer is performed by a human caller. The IVR system and the IVR dialer may employ a high speed IVR script that eliminates many of the instructional messages provided to human IVR callers and also eliminates or reduces the duration of pauses between the communication of information.

Claims

1. An accelerated interactive voice response (IVR) system, comprising:

a computerized IVR dialer residing on a user device configured to perform a transaction in one of an automated or semi-automated state by executing a first IVR dialer script on the user device that is remote from a computerized IVR system; and

the computerized IVR system remote from the computerized IVR dialer configured to process transactions from users over a communication link by executing a first IVR system script, wherein the first IVR system script operates at human-accessible speeds,

wherein prior to execution completion of the first IVR dialer script, the computerized IVR dialer signals the computerized IVR system a request to perform the transaction using a second IVR system script that executes at a higher speed than the first IVR system script wherein the second IVR system script has been optimized for enabling automatic exchange of transaction data between the computerized IVR dialer and the computerized IVR system, and in response to the computerized IVR system accepting the request and changing from the first IVR system script to the second IVR system script, the computerized IVR dialer changes from the first IVR dialer script to a second IVR dialer script, wherein the second IVR dialer script has been optimized for automatic exchange of transaction data between the computerized IVR dialer and the computerized IVR system.

2. The accelerated IVR system of claim 1 wherein the computerized IVR system declines the computerized IVR dialer'"'"'s request to use the second IVR system script and the computerized IVR dialer completes the transaction on the computerized IVR using the first IVR system script and the first IVR dialer script.

3. The accelerated IVR system of claim 1 wherein the computerized IVR dialer resides in a mobile device and the computerized IVR dialer and the computerized IVR system communicate over a wireless telephony communication link.

4. The accelerated IVR system of claim 1 wherein the computerized IVR dialer resides in a computer having a softphone application and the computerized IVR dialer using the softphone application and the computerized IVR system communicate over a telephony communication link.

5. The accelerated IVR system of claim 1 wherein the computerized IVR dialer accesses a secure data repository holding personal data of an end user associated with the computerized IVR dialer.

6. The accelerated IVR system of claim 1 wherein the computerized IVR system accepts the computerized IVR dialer request and changes from the first IVR system script to the second IVR system script, wherein the second IVR script has a streamlined menu structure in comparison with the first IVR system script.

7. The accelerated IVR system of claim 1 wherein the computerized IVR system provides updates to the first IVR dialer script to the computerized IVR dialer.

8. The accelerated IVR system of claim 1 wherein the computerized IVR dialer prepares a transaction summary and provides the transaction summary to an end user associated with the computerized IVR dialer.

9. The accelerated IVR system of claim 1 wherein the first IVR dialer script requires end user input and the computerized IVR dialer sends a message to the end user requesting the end user to join the transaction with the computerized IVR system.

10. The accelerated IVR system of claim 1 wherein data used to complete the transaction is sent to the computerized IVR system by the IVR dialer using DTMF tones, and wherein the computerized IVR system further comprises a DTMF analyzer.

11. The accelerated IVR system of claim 1 wherein the computerized IVR system notes a manufacturer type of the IVR dialer and retains a record of the noted manufacturer type.

12. The accelerated IVR system of claim 1 wherein the computerized IVR system notes a type for the transaction requested by the computerized IVR dialer and retains a record of the noted transaction type.

25. The accelerated IVR system of claim 9 wherein the end user provides the required input using one of a voice response or a text response.

27. The accelerated IVR system of claim 1 wherein the second IVR system script contains no pauses needed in a human-operated IVR transaction.

13. An accelerated interactive voice response (IVR) method, comprising:

performing a transaction in one of an automated or semi-automated state using a computerized IVR dialer residing on a user device that executes a first IVR dialer script on the user device that is remote from a computerized IVR system;

processing transactions from users on the computerized IVR system remote from the computerized IVR dialer that executes a first IVR system script and is configured to communicate over a communication link wherein the first IVR system script operates at human-accessible speeds;

signaling by the computerized IVR dialer to the computerized IVR system, prior to execution completion of the first IVR dialer script, a request to perform the transaction using a second IVR system script that executes at a higher speed than the first IVR system script and wherein the second IVR system script has been optimized for automatic exchange of transaction data between the computerized IVR dialer and the computerized IVR system;

accepting by the computerized IVR system the computerized IVR dialer request to perform the transaction using the second IVR system script; and

changing by the computerized IVR system from the first IVR system script to the second IVR system script and changing, in response to accepting the computerized IVR dialer request, the computerized IVR dialer from the first IVR dialer script to a second IVR dialer script wherein the second IVR dialer script has been optimized for automatic exchange of transaction data between the computerized IVR dialer and the computerized IVR system.

14. The accelerated IVR method of claim 13, further comprising:

declining by the computerized IVR system the computerized IVR dialer'"'"'s request to use the second IVR system script; and

completing the transaction on the computerized IVR using the first IVR system script and the first IVR dialer script.

15. The accelerated IVR method of claim 13 wherein the computerized IVR dialer resides in a mobile device and the computerized IVR dialer, the method further comprising:

communicating by the computerized IVR system over a wireless telephony communication link with the computerized IVR dialer in the mobile device.

16. The accelerated IVR method of claim 13 wherein the computerized IVR dialer resides in a computer having a softphone application, the method further comprising:

communicating with the computerized IVR system by the computerized IVR dialer using the computerized IVR system.

17. The accelerated IVR method of claim 13, the method further comprising:

accessing by the computerized IVR dialer a secure data repository holding personal data of an end user associated with the computerized IVR dialer.

18. The accelerated IVR method of claim 13, the method further comprising:

accessing by the computerized IVR system a secure data repository holding personal data of an end user associated with the computerized IVR dialer.

19. The accelerated IVR method of claim 13, further comprising:

sending updates to the first IVR dialer script by the computerized IVR system.

20. The accelerated IVR method of claim 13, further comprising:

preparing a transaction summary by the computerized IVR dialer; and

providing the transaction summary to an end user associated with the computerized IVR dialer by the computerized IVR dialer.

21. The accelerated IVR method of claim 13 wherein the first IVR dialer script requires end user input, the method further comprising:

sending a message to the end user by the computerized IVR dialer requesting the end user to join the transaction with the computerized IVR system.

22. The accelerated IVR method of claim 13, further comprising:

sending data used to complete the transaction to the computerized IVR system by the IVR dialer using DTMF tones, wherein the computerized IVR system further comprises a DTMF analyzer.

23. The accelerated IVR method of claim 13, further comprising:

noting by the computerized IVR system a manufacturer type of the IVR dialer; and

retaining a record of the noted manufacturer type by the computerized IVR system.

24. The accelerated IVR method of claim 13, further comprising:

noting by the computerized IVR system a type for the transaction requested by the computerized IVR dialer; and

retaining by the computerized IVR system a record of the noted transaction type.

26. The accelerated IVR method of claim 21, further comprising:

receiving the required end user input by the IVR dialer from one of a voice response or a text response.

28. The accelerated IVR system of claim 13 wherein the second IVR system script contains no pauses needed in a human-operated IVR transaction.