Telephony intelligence in a data packet network

• US 7,415,009 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2004
• Issued: 08/19/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Incorporated (Genesys Cloud Services Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Incorporated (Genesys Cloud Services Incorporated)
• Inventors: Neyman, Igor
• Primary Examiner(s): LEE, CHI HO A
• Application Number:
  US10/812,610
• Publication Number:
  US 20040179516A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,604 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4604 LAN interconnection over a backbone network, e.g. Internet, Frame Relay
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/04 Interdomain routing, e.g. hierarchical routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/24 Traffic characterised by specific attributes, e.g. priority or QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1043 Gateway controllers, e.g. media gateway control protocol [MGCP] controllers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1096 Supplementary features, e.g. call forwarding or call holding systems providing special services or facilities to telephony subscribers H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• 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: H04M 2207/12 intelligent networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5191 interacting with the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/1205 where the types of switching equipement comprises PSTN/ISDN equipment and switching equipment of networks other than PSTN/ISDN, e.g. Internet Protocol networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13034 A/D conversion, code compression/expansion
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13072 Sequence circuits for call signaling, ACD systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13093 Personal computer, PC
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/1322 PBX
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13345 Intelligent networks, SCP
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13377 Recorded announcement
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13389 LAN, internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0045 involving hybrid, i.e. a mixture of public and private, or multi-vendor systems

Abstract

A packet-data network is made intelligent in the sense of a connection-oriented, switched telephony (COST) network by enhancing one or more interconnected IP routers in the network with computer-telephony integration (CTI) processors executing CTI applications. No-charge-to-calling-party IP addresses are assigned and sponsored by various enterprises, who may also maintain call centers having at least one CTI-enhanced IP router connected to the network, and agent stations having IP telephones connected to the call-center-located IP router. With appropriate software and the CTI link to IP routers the performance of well-known conventional telephone systems may be provided in packet networks like the Internet.

Claims

1. An intelligent data-network telephony (DNT) service control point (SCP), comprising:

a DNT-protocol router (DPR) node coupled to the DPN for receiving and routing DNT calls from callers to and through other DNT nodes;

one or more telephony applications executing in a computerized control system integrated with or coupled to the DPR, the one or more applications providing a service control point (SCP) preprocessing and further routing the DNT calls at the DPR; and

a DNT-capable interactive voice response (IVR) unit connected to the DPR;

wherein the SCP connects individual ones of the incoming DNT calls to the IVR, which elicits information from the callers, and the SCP uses the elicited information to further route the calls to destinations other than the original call destinations.

2. The SCP of claim 1 wherein the computerized control system is a computer-telephony integration (CTI) server coupled to the DPR node by a data link.

3. The SCP of claim 1 wherein one or more calls travel over the Internet network.

4. The SCP of claim 1 further comprising functions for converting a call between conventional connection-oriented telephony (COST) protocol and DNT protocol, wherein one leg of a call is a COST call and another is a DNT call.

5. The SCP of claim 1 further comprising functions for routing an incoming call to a conventional connection-oriented telephony (COST) destination number, by routing the incoming DNT call to a bridge unit elsewhere in the network.

6. The SCP of claim 1 comprising a function for using one or more of real-time data network conditions, knowledge of quality-of-service (QoS) routes, routines for error routing, or skills-based routing rules in further routing of an incoming call.

7. A method for providing a service control point (SCP) in a data-network telephony (DNT) network, comprising steps of:

(a) establishing a DNT-protocol router (DPR) node in the DPN for receiving and routing DNT calls from callers to and through other DNT nodes;

(b) executing one or more telephony applications in a computerized control system integrated with or coupled to the DPR, the one or more applications providing a service control point (SCP) preprocessing and further routing the DNT calls at the DPR; and

(c) coupling a DNT-capable interactive voice response (IVR) unit to the DPR, the IVR eliciting information from the callers, and using the elicited information to further route the calls to destinations other than the original call destinations.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the computerized control system is a computer-telephony integration (CTI) server coupled to the DPR node by a data link.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein one or more calls travel over the Internet network.

10. The method of claim 7 further comprising functions for converting a call between conventional connection-oriented telephony (COST) protocol and DNT protocol, wherein one leg of a call is a COST call and another is a DNT call.

11. The method of claim 7 further comprising functions for routing an incoming call to a conventional connection-oriented telephony (COST) destination number, by routing the incoming DNT call to a bridge unit elsewhere in the network.

12. The method of claim 7 comprising a function for using one or more of real-time data network conditions, knowledge of quality-of-service (QoS) routes, routines for error routing, or skills-based routing rules in further routing of an incoming call.

13. An intelligent data-packet network (DPN), comprising:

at least one intelligent data-network telephony (DNT) service control point (SCP), comprising a DNT-protocol router (DPR) node coupled to the DPN for receiving and routing DNT calls from callers to and through other DNT nodes, one or more telephony applications executing in a computerized control system integrated with or coupled to the DPR, the one or more applications providing a service control point (SCP) preprocessing and further routing the DNT calls at the DPR, and a DNT-capable interactive voice response (IVR) unit connected to the DPR;

wherein the at least one SCP connects individual ones of the incoming DNT calls to the IVR, which elicits information from the callers, and the SCP uses the elicited information to further route the calls to destinations other than the original call destinations.

14. The DPN of claim 13 wherein the computerized control system is a computer-telephony integration (CTI) server coupled to the DPR node by a data link.

15. The DPN of claim 13 wherein one or more calls travel over the Internet network.

16. The DPN of claim 13 further comprising functions for converting a call between conventional connection-oriented telephony (COST) protocol and DNT protocol, wherein one leg of a call is a COST call and another is a DNT call.

17. The DPN of claim 13 further comprising functions for routing an incoming call to a conventional connection-oriented telephony (COST) destination number, by routing the incoming DNT call to a bridge unit elsewhere in the network.

18. The DPN of claim 13 comprising a function for using one or more of real-time data network conditions, knowledge of quality-of-service (QoS) routes, routines for error routing, or skills-based routing rules in further routing of an incoming call.