Switchless automatic call distribution system

• US 5,168,515 A
• Filed: 03/25/1991
• Issued: 12/01/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: MPL Applications LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Unifi Communications Corporation
• Inventors: Gechter, Jerry, Fried, Jeffrey A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dwyer, James L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hong, Harry S.
• Application Number:
  US07/674,576
• Time in Patent Office: 617 Days
• Field of Search: 379/266, 379/265, 379/210, 379/211, 379/212, 379/201, 379/309
• US Class Current: 379/265.04
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/6018 Subscriber or terminal logon/logoff
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42059 Making use of the calling party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42102 Making use of the called party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42348 Location-based services which utilize the location information of a target
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5125 with remote located operators
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5158 in combination with automated outdialling systems devices for signalling identity of wanted subscriber H04M1/26
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5175 Call or contact centers supervision arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/523 with call distribution or queueing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5235 Dependent on call type or called number [DNIS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5237 Interconnection arrangements between ACD systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/00 Arrangements for interconnection between switching centres
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0428 Integrated services digital network, i.e. systems for transmission of different types of digitised signals, e.g. speech, data, telecentral, television signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13072 Sequence circuits for call signaling, ACD systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13091 CLI, identification of calling line
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13103 Memory
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13141 Hunting for free outlet, circuit or channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13209 ISDN
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13337 Picturephone, videotelephony
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13385 Off-net subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13389 LAN, internet

Abstract

An automatic call distributing system for automatically distributing telephone calls placed over a network to one of a plurality of agent stations connecting the network via network service interfaces and providing agent status messages to the network, the system including receiving circuit connected via a network service interface to the network for receiving the agent status messages and a call arrival message from the network indicating that an incoming call has been made on the network, and routing circuit responsive to the receiving means for generating a routing signal provided to the network to connect the incoming call to an agent station through the network. Also disclosed are handling transitions of agent stations using transition notifications, transition requests and forced response signals.

Claims

1. An automatic call distributing system for automatically distributing telephone calls placed over a telephone network to one of a plurality of agent stations, said system comprising

a call router device for directing incoming telephone calls to agent stations,

a plurality of agent stations connected to communicate with said call router device, said agent stations having autonomous state machines defined by a plurality of agent states and state transitions that determine the operation of said agent stations, said agent stations providing agent state status messages to said call router, said agent state status messages including transition notifications indicating transitions from one state to another state that do not require approval from said call router and transition requests indicating requests for transition from one state to another state for transitions that do require approval from said call router, each said agent station being responsive to a forced response signal which causes said state machine to make a transition to one of its defined states,

said call router device including an agent station state manager connected to receive said transition notifications and said transition requests and to provide said forced response signals to said agent stations.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said agent stations include means to wait for a forced response signal from said state manager before changing in state when a transition request is sent and to not wait for a forced response signal to change in state when a transition notification is sent.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein said agent stations have an active state in which incoming telephone calls are connected, a ready state in which the agent station is ready to receive an incoming telephone call, and one or more other states in which the station is not ready to receive an incoming telephone call, and wherein said agent station has one or more input devices to initiate a transition in state from the ready state to said one or more other particular states, and wherein said agent station has means to provide a transition request upon activation of a particular input device of said one or more input devices, and said station manager has means for sending a forced response signal to cause said agent station to change from said ready state to a particular state of said one or more other states.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein said other states include a setup state in which said agent station can initiate an outgoing telephone call and an idle state.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein said agent stations have a plurality of said agent states that are associated with a sign-off condition in which the agent stations do not transmit said agent status messages to said call router device and a plurality of states that are associated with a sign-on condition in which said agent stations provide said agent status messages to said call router device.

6. The system of claim 1 further comprising means for programmably changing which transitions in state have associated transition notifications and which transitions in state have associated transition requests.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein said agent stations include means for maintaining a transition table determining which transitions in state have associated transition notifications and which transitions in state have associated transition requests, said agent stations also including input devices to initiate transitions in agent state and means to refer to said transition table upon receiving an input from a said input device.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein said transition table includes an error entry for a transition between two agent states, and wherein said means for programmably changing includes means for placing an error entry in said transition table of an agent station, said error entry indicating an absence of ability to make a transition between two agent states, thereby defining the functionality of said agent station.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein said means for programmably changing includes means for changing the entries in said transition table as a function of the number of incoming calls placed to the automatic call distributing system.

10. The system of claim 1 further comprising means for maintaining a response table in said call router device listing particular forced response signals for particular transition requests.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein said means for programmably changing includes means for changing the entries in said response table as a function of the number of incoming calls placed to the automatic call distributing system.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein said call router device and said agent stations are connected to said telephone network via network service interfaces, and wherein said status messages and forced response signals are transmitted via said network service interfaces over said telephone network.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein said telephone network is a combination of networks.

14. An automatic call distributing system for automatically distributing telephone calls placed over a telephone network to one of a plurality of agent stations, said system comprising

a call router device for directing incoming telephone calls to agent stations, and

a plurality of agent stations connected to communicate with said call router device, said agent stations having autonomous state machine defined by a plurality of agent states and state transitions that determine the operation of said agent stations, said agent stations providing agent state status messages to said call router indicating said agent states,

said call router device including means for programmably changing said agent states and state transitions that define said autonomous state machines as a function of the number of incoming calls placed to the automatic call distributing system.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein said call router device and said agent stations are connected to said telephone network via network service interfaces, and wherein said status messages are transmitted via said network service interfaces over said telephone network.

16. The system of claim 14 wherein said telephone network is a combination of networks.