United States Patent
`
`[191
`
`Gawrys et a1.
`
`[11] Patent Number:
`
`5,008,930
`
`[45] Date of Patent:
`
`Apr. 16, 1991
`
`[54] CUSTOMER DEFINABLE INTEGRATED
`VOICE/DATA CALL TRANSFER
`TECHNIQUE
`Inventors: George W. Gawrys, Bridgewater,
`N.J.; Richard A. Oberman, Park
`Ridge, 111.; William T. Willcock,
`Rumson, NJ.
`
`[75]
`
`[73]
`
`[21]
`[22]
`
`[51]
`[52]
`
`[58]
`
`[56]
`
`Assignee: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray
`Hill, NJ.
`
`Appl. No.: 426,384
`Filed:
`Oct. 24, 1989
`Int. Cl.5 .............................................. H04M 3/58
`US. Cl. .................................... 379/210; 379/211;
`379/212; 379/96
`Field of Search ................. 379/96, 210, 211, 212,
`379/213, 214, 201, 265, 266, 309
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`11/1971
`3,624,307
`2/1974
`3,790,717
`7/1985
`4,532,377
`8/1985
`4,535,199
`4/1987
`4,656,623
`4/1987
`4,656,624
`2/1989
`4,805,209
`
`Sikorsky ............................. 179/27
`Abramson et al.
`179/ 15
`
`.. 179/2
`Zink ...............
`
`.. 179/2
`Zink
`
`370/60
`Dalby, Jr. eta. .
`370/60
`Collins et a1.
`
`.................... 379/96
`Baker, Jr. et al.
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`No Author, Comm. News, vol. 23, No. 7, Jul. 1986, pp.
`31—33.
`
`Falconer et al., Proc. IEEE, vol. 74, No. 9, Sep. 1986,
`pp. 1246—1261.
`Keeney, Telephoney, vol. 214, No. 12, Mar. 21, 1988, pp.
`28—30.
`.
`Page, The Office, vol. 107, No. 5, May 1988, pp. 69-70.
`Borton, Proceeding ISDN’SS, London, England, Jun.
`1988, Pp. 155—162.
`Canavan etal.,1EEE Global Telecomm. Conf. & Exhibi-
`tion, Hollywood, Fla, Nov./Dec. 1988, vol. 2, pp.
`883—887.
`
`Primary Examiner—James L. Dwyer
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Erwin W. Pfeifle; Barry H.
`Freedman
`
`[57]
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`In the present invention, a first agent terminal, of a
`group of multi-windowing agent terminals, answers an
`integrated voice/data call by (1) directly receiving and
`displaying call-related information from a communica-
`tion system in a “Phone” window, and (ii) retrieving
`data information from a host database system, and then
`transferring the voice portion and either (a) predeter-
`mined received call-related information, or (b) a current
`data display status indication directly to a second agent
`terminal of a second group of agent terminals. The
`second agent terminal uses the received data to access a
`same or other host database system for automatically
`displaying the pertinent data at the second agent termi-
`nal to continue the voice and data call.
`
`11 Claims, 6 Drawing Sheets
`
`COMPUTER
`
`SYSTEM
`
`
`CALLER'S
`
`
`RECORDS
`
`
` C—LLER
`1-aoo—c0NSUME
`
`VOICE CALL
`TRANSLATION
`
`0.
`BR!
`DATABASE
`CALLER DATA
`
`CALLING No.(201-I49—5732)
`
`DIALED No.(aoo—255—7364)
`TOUCH TONE INPUT
`(12011-1200)
`H.5..
`
`V
`
`Il’“"“"‘
`
`800-266-7363
`
`
`
`12041-1200
`
`201-949-5752
`
`
`201-949-5752
`INDEX-A213
`
`
`
`
`CONFERENCE
`(era)
`CONFERENCE
`(91:3)
`
`
`
`
`TRANSFER
`[PF4)
`
`
`TRANSFER
`(PFQ)
`
`
`
`
`
`HOLD
`(ass)
`HOLD
`(PFs)
`DROP (PF-'6)
`
`
`DROP
`(pips)
`
`
`120-11-1200
`
`12041-1200
`
`
`
`HOST
`JOHN DOE
`
`JOHN DOE
`
`
`
`
`
`CRAWFORDS CORNER RD
`CRAWFORDS CORNER RD
`
`
`
`HOLMDEL, N.J, 07733
`
`
`HOLMDEL, NJ. 07733
`
`ACCOUNT NO, 222111
`ACCOUNT NO. 222111
`
`
`12041-1200
` HOST
`120-11-1200
`
`
`ACCOUNT NO, 222111
`ACCOUNT NO. 222111
`WINDO
`9-22-59 DEPOSIT
`$800.00
`9-22-39 DEPOSIT
`$300.00
`
`
`9—22-59 CHECK NO. 823 3 64.62
`
`
`942-39 CHECK No. 323 S 64 52
`9—22-89 CHECK NO. 324 $119.00
`9-22-89 CHECK No. 824 $119.00
`$22-82 CLOSING EAL. 5925.32
`9-22-59 CLOSING EAL. $925.52
`
`
`
`
`
`Unified Patents |nc., Ex. 1002, pg. 1
`
`Unified Patents Inc., Ex. 1002, pg. 1
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Apr. 16, 1991
`
`Sheet 1 of 6
`
`5,008,930
`
`CALLER
`
`FIG.1
`
`-1
`
`_
`
`.mHw
`
`C
`
`NEm
`
`NwTAmNUMMoC
`NETWORK
`
`.XnnB..Pnnnruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.n.........................L_IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIL8\mmoA
`
`_
`
`.C
`
`“me“"Rm”_S.____.u“9..1-.3u
`C.umC._M__un..0.Es..To..OH.
`
`.YOE..SHT..A5.—VI—.s"
`
`"NuM“
` H.llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllJ_.-_.m“
`
`Unified Patents |nc., Ex. 1002, pg. 2
`
`Unified Patents Inc., Ex. 1002, pg. 2
`
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Apr. 16,1991
`
`Sheet 2 of 6
`
`5,008,930
`
`FIG.2
`
`
`TERMINAL
`
`CONTROLLER
`
`
`SHARED
`
`RAM
`
`40
` PROTOCOL
`
`PBX
`CONTROL
`
`
` 36
`
`
`Unified Patents |nc., Ex. 1002, pg. 3
`
`Unified Patents Inc., Ex. 1002, pg. 3
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Apr. 16, 1991
`
`Sheet 3 of 6
`
`5,008,930
`
`PBX 13
`
`FIG.3
`
`MAIN CARD 50 K
`
`OPIN DRIVER (KEYBOARD DRIVER) 58
`- DCP mm 51 ----
`
`
`
`DCP AND
`
`
`INTERFACE
`TELEPHONY
` CARD
`
`PROCESS
`30
`
`
`
`5_2
`
`
`
`800-266-7863
`
`120414200
`INDEX-A218
`201-949-5752
`(PFa)
`CONFERENCE
`(PF4)
`TRANSFER
`(PFs)
`HOLD
`DROP
`(PFs)
`
`120-11-1200
`
`JOHN DOE
`
`
`
`
`’1—1‘
`, B
`\
`“a
`_ __
`
`22
`
`PHONE
`WINDOW
`
`HOST '
`
`WINDOW A
`
`5‘“
`HOST
`WINDOW B
`57
`
`
`
`
`
`CRAWFORDS CORNER RD
`HOLMDEL, NJ, 07733
`ACCOUNT NO. 222111
`120-11-1200
`ACCOUNT NO. 222111
`
`$800.00
`922—89 DEPOSIT
`9-22-89 CHECK NO. 823 3 64.62
`
`9-22-89 CHECK NO. 824 $119.00
`
` 9-22-89 CLOSING BAL. $925.82
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Unified Patents |nc., Ex. 1002, pg. 4
`
`Unified Patents Inc., Ex. 1002, pg. 4
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Apr. 16, 1991
`
`Sheet 4 of 6
`
`5,008,930
`
`FIG . 4
`
`1s
`
`12
`
`11
`
`f—Ir‘
`I
`\
`an
`__
`CALLER
`
`a
`CALLER DATA
`
`PE”(/ACD
`L3
`
`1-aoo-CONSUMEVOICE CALL/
`
`
`CALLING No (201- 949-5732)
`DIALED No (800455-7364)
`TOUCH TONE INPUT
`
`
`
`(120-11-1200)
`
`141
`
`I
`
`COMPUTER
`SYSTEM
`CALLER'S
`RECORDS
`
`DATABASE
`
`TRANSLATION
`
`23
`
`
`
`—~ .......... A,
`:.\ .............é
`
`i
`22 l
`.
`.
`.
`.
`2
`:
`i
`’ BBB 5
`'2
`,L ...........Zz—L.-J
`
`800-266-7863
`
`
`
`
`201-949-5752
`
`
`
`
`(PF3)
`CONFERENCE
`
`CONFERENCE
`
`
`(PF4)
`TRANSFER
`TRANSFER
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`HOLD
`(PFs)
`HOLD
`
`
`
`
`
`DROP
`(PFs)
`DROP
`
`
`120-11-1200
`120-11-1200
`
`
`
`HOST
`JOHN DOE
`JOHN DOE
`
`
`WINDO
`
`
`
`
`CRAWFORDS CORNER RD
`
`
`HOLMDEL, NJ. 07733
`56
`HOLMDEL, N.J. 07733
`
`
`ACCOUNT No. 222111
`ACCOUNT No. 222111
`
`
`
`
`
`H051-
`120-11-1200
`120.11-1200
`ACCOUNT No. 222111
`WINDOW ACCOUNT NO 222111
`
`
`
`
`$800.00
`B
`9-22-89 DEPOSIT
`9-22-39 DEPOSIT '
`$800 on
`
`
`
`
`57
`9-22-89 CHECK NO. 823 3 64.62
`9-22-89 CHECK NO. 823 3 54152
`
`
`
`
`9-22-89 CHECK NO. 824 $119.00
`9-22-89 CHECK NO. 824 $119.00
`
`
`
`
`9-22-89 CLOSING BAL. $925.82
`9-22-89 CLOSING BAL. $925.82
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`CRAWFORDS CORNER RD
`
`
`120- 1 1-1200
`
`IN DEX-A213
`
`
`201- 949.5752
`
`
`(PFs)
`
`
`(PF4)
`
`
`(PFS)
`
`
`(PFS)
`
`
`Unified Patents |nc., Ex. 1002, pg. 5
`
`Unified Patents Inc., Ex. 1002, pg. 5
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Apr. 16, 1991
`
`Sheet 5 of 6
`
`5,008,930
`
`
`COMMUNICATION
`SYSTEM
`
`
`
`
`BRIDGE
`
`
`
`. VOICE
` 8LUUI
`CALL
`
`
`11
`
`
`
`13,
`
`
`HOST
`
`
`_ Pf‘l’iEifig-
`
`
`CALLER'S
`RECORDS
`
`\
`TRANSLATION
`
`\
`DATABASE
`
`PBX/AcD
`
`
`
`HOST
`DATABASE
`
`
`
`CALLER'S
`
`RECORDS
`
`
`‘
`
`
`
`201-949-5752
`
`
`
`CONFERENCE
`
`TRANSFER
`
`HOLD
`
`DROP
`120-11-1200
`JOHN DOE
`
`CRAWFORDS CORNER RD
`
`
`
`800-266-7863
`800-266-7863
`
`
`120-11-1200
`12041-1200
`
`
`
`INDEX-A218
`PHONE
`INDEX-A218
`
`
`WINDOW 201—949-5752
`
`
`(PF3)
`
`CONFERENCE
`(PFa)
`
`
`
`
`(PF-'4)
`TRANSFER
`(PF4)
`
`
`
`
`
`(PFs)
`HOLD
`(PFs)
`
`(PFs)
`
`DROP
`(PF6)
`120-11-1200
`
`
`
`
`
`
`JOHN DOE
`
`
`
`CRAWFORDS CORNER RD
`
`
`
`
`6
`
`HOLMDEL, NJ. 07733
`HOLMDEL, NJ. 07733
`
`
`
`
`ACCOUNT NO. 222111
`ACCOUNT NO. 222111
`
`
`
`
`120-11-1200
`120-11-1200
`
`
`
`
`Wfifggw ACCOUNT NO. 222111
`ACCOUNT NO. 222111
`
`
`
`9-22-89 DEPOSIT
`$800.00
`
`B
`9-22-89 DEPOSIT
`$80000
`
`
`
`9-22-89 CHECK No. 823 9 64.62
`9-22-89 CHECK No. 923 3 54.52
`‘
`
`
`
`9-22-89 CHECK No. 524 $119.00
`9-22-89 CHECK NO. 824 $119.00
`
`
`
`9-22-89 CLOSING BAL. $925.82
`942-89 CLOSING BAL. $925.82
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Unified Patents |nc., Ex. 1002, pg. 6
`
`HOST
`WINDOW
`
`A5
`
`Unified Patents Inc., Ex. 1002, pg. 6
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Apt. 16, 1991
`
`Sheet 6 of 6
`
`5,008,930
`
`FIG.6
`
`CALLER
`
` 612
`
`ISDN
`DEVICE
`
`60
`
`HOST
`
`DATABASE
`
`SYSTEM
`
`
`
`ISDN
`DEVICE
`
`511
`
`
`
`\
`
`\
`
`I
`
`I
`
`
`
`
`
`CALL SET
`
`TRANSFER
`
`UUI
`62
`
`
`
`
`
`Unified Patents |nc., Ex. 1002, pg. 7
`
`Unified Patents Inc., Ex. 1002, pg. 7
`
`

`

`1
`
`5,008,930
`
`CUSTOMER DEFINABLE INTEGRATED
`
`VOICE/DATA CALL TRANSFER TECHNIQUE
`TECHNICAL FIELD
`
`The present invention relates to a customer definable
`automated integrated voice/data call transfer technique
`which is usable, for example, in ISDN systems or infor-
`mation management services that enable an agent an-
`s'wering a call to obtain caller related information from
`a communication system, automatically send it to a host
`database computer system application software,
`re-
`trieve caller records without requiring a caller to pro-
`vide verbal information and then transfer the voice and
`collected data information to a preferred agent terminal
`for continuing the call.
`DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
`
`The use of information management services has been
`increasing in recent years and is projected to be a 25
`billion dollar market by 1990. Many of these services
`are called "telemarketing”, a broad term that can be
`used to label anything from sales, to customer account-
`ing services, to order processing, to conducting sur-
`veys, and to many other services that all use telecom-
`munications. One prior art technique used for such
`information management services requires that an agent
`verbally query a caller for pertinent information, then
`manually type such information into a host database
`computer system, whereby pertinent caller records are
`stored and retrieved.
`A second technique retrieves caller records automati~
`cally from a host database computer system, but re-
`quires that the caller data first be routed to the host
`database computer system application software prior to
`the delivery of such caller data to the agent terminal. In
`this regard see, for example, the article entitled “AT&T
`Customer Trial of the ISDN Primary Rate Interface”
`by G. Canavan et al. in the Conference Record of the
`IEEE GlobaI Telecommunications Conference and Exhi-
`bition, Hollywood, Florida, Nov/Dec. 1988, Volume 2,
`at pages 883—887. There, individual agents of a “Shared
`Group” of agents handle incoming calls for several
`campaigns simultaneously, where calls for each cam—
`paign are associated with separate telephone numbers.
`With Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), the
`called number, calling party number, and agent identity
`are sent from the network switch to the host database
`computer application software so that the host database
`computer system can bring up the appropriate cam-
`paign and script automatically at the correct agent’s
`display terminal.
`In many instances, however, an agent initially an-
`swering a call may not be able to provide the appropri-
`» ate answers for the caller, and such call may require a
`transfer to a preferred or supervising agent. US. Pat.
`No. 4,805,209 issued to W. T. Baker, Jr. et. al. describes
`a system for the transfer of voice and data information
`through a digital switch. There, the voice sets associ-
`ated with the agent terminals are connected to a Com-
`puterized Branch Exchange (CBX), while the associ-
`ated data terminals of the agent terminals are connected
`to a Host database system, with a Logical Unit (LU) 6.2
`interface connection coupling the CBX and Host for
`signal transfer. After a call has been received at a first
`voice phone, and the call is to be transferred from a first
`voice phone to a second voice phone, the first voice set
`initiates a standard voice call transfer by providing the
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`4.5
`
`50
`
`55
`
`65
`
`2
`extension of the second voice set, where the call is to be
`transferred to, to the CBX. Software in the CBX trans-
`fers the voice call directly to the second voice set and
`disconnects the first voice set, and also sends the exten-
`sion of the transferred to second voice set via the data
`interface to the Host which causes software to perform
`a tablelook-up in order to identify the second data
`terminal from the extension number of the second voice
`set. Having identified the second data terminal associ-
`ated with the second voice set, the host causes the dis-
`play from the first data terminal to be displayed at the
`second data, terminal. This system requires a CBX, a
`link’between the CBX and the host, software at both the
`CBX and the host, and table look-up procedures and
`maintenance of such table, which may be costly and
`limited to specific equipments. The Baker, Jr. system is
`also limited to the single network shown in FIG.
`1
`thereof, and does not provide for transferring integrated
`voice and data calls between networks not having a
`common PBX and host. Additionally, a standard CBX
`is used in Baker, Jr. for all data actions in sending infor-
`mation to the host, and such standard CBX was not
`contemplated for use with Integrated Services Digital
`Networks. Also, the second agent’s extension must be
`known, which does not allow for the second agent to be
`part of a pool of agents.
`The problem remaining in the prior art is to stream-
`line the initial interaction of an incoming information
`management services call, and the (l) transferring of a
`call from one agent to another agent or supervisor when
`necessary, without knowing the specific extension of
`the second agent, a priori, (2) providing of a solution
`that
`is independent of actions initiated at a Private
`Branch Exchange (PBX) so that a Host database just
`sees actions of the terminals and not the PBX, (3) work-
`ing across ISDN or other networks, (4) avoiding the
`administration of a table of extension numbers to Logic
`Unit mapping, and (5) avoiding possible interruption of
`the second agent’s data session with the incoming call.
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`The foregoing problem in the prior art has been
`solved in accordance with the present invention which
`relates to customer definable integrated voice/data call
`transfer techniques which include (1) a first agent termi-
`nal with a multi-window display, and (2) processing
`equipment that directs caller-related incoming voice
`and data information from a communications network
`to the first agent terminal and routing commands from
`the agent terminal to an appropriate host database com-
`puter system to automatically retrieve customer-desired
`data. In accordance with the present invention, once an
`agent terminal'receives call-related data information,
`and any other further data, and finds the need to trans-
`fer the call to a preferred agent or supervisor, the opera-
`tion of a programmable function key at the agent termi-
`nal causes the transfer of the voice call and associated
`data to the preferred second agent or supervisor termi-
`nal. More particularly,
`in a preferred embodiment, a
`host database system currently associated with an agent
`terminal maintains an updated index number for any
`most recent data transaction of the first agent terminal.
`In the transfer of a call from one agent terminal to an-
`other agent terminal associated with the same host com-
`puter system, either the index number, or the call-
`related information received from a communication
`network, is transferred to the second agent terminal and
`
`Unified Patents |nc., Ex. 1002, pg. 8
`
`Unified Patents Inc., Ex. 1002, pg. 8
`
`

`

`5,008,930
`
`3
`used for accessing the host database to retrieve the same
`data for the second agent terminal. Where the original
`agent terminal and the preferred agent terminal are not
`colocated and use different host computers, then, for
`example, the calling and called number is transferred to 5
`automatically retrieve the appropriate data from the
`second host computer for display at the preferred agent
`terminal screen.
`Other and further aspects of the present invention
`will become apparent during the course of the follow-
`ing description and by reference to the accompanying
`drawings.
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS -
`
`10
`
`15
`
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary customer-
`programmable integrated voice/data system for use
`with the present invention;
`-
`FIG. 2 is a hardware block diagram of an interface
`card of an agent terminal in the system of FIG. 1;
`FIG. 3 is a software block diagram of a main card of 20
`an agent terminal in the system of FIG. 1;
`FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the call transfer process
`between agent terminals coupled to the same host data-
`base computer system in accordance with the preferred
`embodiment of the present invention;
`FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a call transfer process
`between remote agent terminals coupled to separate
`host database computer systems in accordance with the
`preferred embodiment of the present invention; and
`FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a generalized system in
`which the present call transfer invention can be used.
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`The present invention relates a customer programma-
`ble integrated voice/data call transfer capability which
`is described hereinafter relative to the telecommunica-
`tions information management services market, such as
`telemarketing, but it should be understood that the pres-
`ent invention could be used for other telecommunica-
`tions markets where calling party information is dis-
`played at a terminal and may be transferred to another
`terminal. FIG. 1 illustrates a preferred embodiment of
`an exemplary telemarketing system 10 arrangement for
`practicing the present invention, but it is to be under-
`stood that such exemplary system arrangement could be
`modified to comprise other suitable equipments which
`provide the functions described hereinafter, and still fall
`within the Spirit and scope of the present invention.
`In FIG. 1 is an exemplary telemarketing system 10 for
`practicing the present invention, a description of which 50
`is provided here for completeness. System 10 is con-
`nected for bidirectional communication with a national
`communications network 11, such as the AT&T net-
`work in the United States, to provide communications
`with many telephones, such as telephone 12, being ser- 55
`viced within the large geographical service area of
`communications network 11. It is to be understood that
`communications network 11 is arranged for transmit-
`ting caller related infonnation, such as the calling num-
`ber and called number and any other caller supplied
`information such as a social security or account number,
`over a signaling channel 20 to system 10 while transmit-
`ting bidirectional voice/data information over channels
`21 as may be found with any Integrated Services Digital
`Network (ISDN). System 10 is shown as comprising a
`Private Branch Exchange (PBX) 13, such as an AT&T
`DEFINITY TM communication system, (System 85 or
`75 PBX) with Automatic Call Distribution (ACD), that
`
`65
`
`4
`functions to provide the interface and call distribution
`capability for voice and data between communications
`network 11 and the components of system 10.
`PBX 13 is shown connected to (a) a plurality of N
`agent terminals 141 to 14M such as the AT&T 6500
`series Multifunction Communication System (MCS)
`terminals with multi-windowing capability and a tele—
`phone 22, for answering incoming, or initiating-outgo-
`ing, telemarketing voice/data calls, (b) a printer con-
`troller 15 (e.g., AT&T Model 6561 printer controller)
`and printer 16 for providing print-outs of data for pur-
`poses of system administration, etc., and (c) a Multi-
`Function Communications Controller (MCC) 17 as, for
`example, an AT&T model 6544 MCC. Communications
`between these components can comprise any suitable
`protocol as, for example, the Digital Communications
`Protocol (DCP) for use between a System 75 or 85 PBX
`and the agent terminals 14 and printer controller 15,
`which protocol uses two information channels operat-
`ing at 64 kb/s and a channel for signaling information
`running at 8 kb/s or the comparable ISDN Basic Rate
`Interface with 2 B (bearer) 64 kb/s Channels and one D
`(message oriented signaling) 16 kb/s channel; and the
`ISDN Primary Rate Interface (PR1) protocol providing
`23 B (bearer) 64 kb/s channels and a single 64 kb/s D
`channel between PBX 13 and MCC 17.
`MCC 17 functions as an interface between PBX 13
`and one or more host application database computer
`systems 18 and 19, where for purposes of illustration a -
`first asynchronous host application database computer
`system 18 is shown and understood to be co-located
`with MCC 17, and a second synchronous host applica-
`tion database computer system 19. Such second host
`application database computer system 19 can be located
`remote from MCC 17, as in another building. For pur-
`poses of discussion hereinafter, it will be assumed that a
`separate host application database computer system is
`used for storing data related to each different campaign
`or service an agent might handle, and caller-related data
`and associated transactions.
`
`In operation, for an incoming customer service appli-
`cation such as catalog sales, airline reservations, com-
`pany health or stock plan or banking information, infor-
`mation of a nearest dealer location, etc., the exemplary
`caller 12 inputs, for example, a designated Service num-
`ber, e.g., an 800 service number, reserved by communi-
`cations netWork 11 for a specific service provider deal-
`ing with the specific service that the caller desires. The
`voice call, along with caller related data information
`such as the telephone number of the caller telephone
`(calling party number) as may be provided by Auto-
`matic Number Identification (ANI) in communications
`network 11, the identity of the dialed telephone number
`(called party number), as may be provided by Dialed
`Number Identification Service (DNIS) for 800 service
`calls in communications network 11, and any caller
`provided keyed information as, for example, an account
`or social security number,
`traverses network 11 and
`arrives at an Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) fortn-
`ing a part of PBX 13. For purposes of illustration, it will
`be assumed that agent terminal 141 is logged onto sys-
`tem 10, and is presently idle and not handling a call. The
`ACD functions to choose an appropriate idle agent
`terminal, which in this case is assumed to be agent ter-
`minal 141, and alerts that agent terminal for the incom-
`ing voice call at agent terminal telephone 22.
`Logic circuitry in agent terminal 141 receives the
`ANI and DNIS information, and any other caller pro-
`
`Unified Patents |nc., Ex. 1002, pg. 9
`
`Unified Patents Inc., Ex. 1002, pg. 9
`
`

`

`5,008,930
`
`5
`vided data, and displays such information in a “Phone"
`window 53 of agent terminal 141 as shown in FIG. 3.
`Agent terminal then transmits all or part of this informa-
`tion via a predetermined channel through PBX 13 and
`MCC 17 to automatically query the appropriate host
`application database computer system, e.g., host com-
`puter system 18, for retrieving customer or other appro-
`priate records relative to the campaign or Service to be
`provided. For example, the called party number can be
`used by agent terminal 14.- to automatically access the
`host application database computer system associated
`with the service denoted by that called number. Addi-
`tionally,
`the calling party telephone number, social
`security number or account number can be used to
`obtain the appropriate file record for that service, e.g.,
`the area code can be used to provide a list dealers within
`that area code, or the whole calling number, social
`security number or account number can be used to
`extract that customer’s records from the host database
`computer system and have the relevant information
`displayed as shown in Host computer system windows
`56 and 57 of FIG. 3 for a bank account.
`More particularly, as the agent answers the call at
`agent terminal 141, the appropriate call-related informa-
`tion (ANI, DNIS, etc.) originally received by the agent
`terminal 141 from communications system 11 is auto-
`matically displayed in a first “Phone" window 53 on
`terminal screen 23 in accordance with the present in-
`vention. Agent terminal 141 also provides service re-
`lated functions and/or records that can be automati-
`cally obtained by terminal 141 or requested by the agent,
`e. g., based on the received calling number, for display in
`one or more concurrent “Host” windows 56 or 57 asso-
`ciated with a queried host application database com-
`puter, e.g., host 18. The agent terminal 141 responds to
`the service requested by the calling party by using the
`received and displayed information automatically, or by
`the agent using programmable function keys at
`the
`agent terminal, to retrieve other needed information
`from the host database computer system, and the agent
`concludes the call to await the next call.
`Relative to the above example, FIG. 2 illustrates a
`block diagram of an exemplary interface card 30, lo-
`cated in each agent terminal 14,; that functions to pro-
`cess and direct the voice, data and signaling information
`between PBX 13 and other portions of agent terminal
`14,-during the handling of a call. For purposes of discus-
`sion hereinafter, and not for purposes of limitation, it
`will be assumed that the protocol used between PBX 13
`and agent terminal 14,- will be the ISDN BRI protocol,
`as defined hereinbefore, which is used, for example,
`with an AT&T DEFINITY communication system. It
`is to be understood that interface card 30 effectively
`functions as a gateway for signals propagating between
`' PBX 13 and agent terminal 14,-, and is shown as com-
`prising an interface transformer 31, such as an AT&T
`Code 257 AT device which is also known as a Cost
`Reduced Data Link interface (CRDLI), that interfaces
`with PBX l3 and the rest of both interface card 30 and
`agent terminal 14,- to bidirectionally receive and direct
`the voice, data and signaling information relating to a
`call in the proper direction and with the appropriate
`protocols. The voice portion of the signals (Bl channel
`in the BRI protocol) propagating between PBX 13 and
`agent terminal 141 is directed between interface trans-
`former 31 and a codec 32 which includes a device 33
`that functions with the telephone keyed signals to be
`used as, for example, a Dial Tone Multi—Frequency
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`6
`(DTMF) device for agent initiated outgoing calls. The
`voice signals themselves propagate between codec 32
`and agent terminal telephone 22 to permit the agent to
`converse with a caller.
`A Protocol Controller 34 functions to interact with
`interface transformer 31 and each ofa first microproces-
`sor 35, disposed on interface card 30, and a second
`microprocessor 36, disposed at the agent terminal con-
`troller 37, to provide the appropriate protocol for each
`of the signaling (51 and $2) and data (12) channel infor-
`mation, such as the ANI, DNIS information and the
`commands to be transmitted to or received from other
`portions of agent terminal 14,-. The first and second
`microprocessors 35 and 36 have associated therewith a
`first and second Read Only Memory (ROM) 38 and 39,
`respectively,
`to' provide the necessary firmware for
`each microprocessor. A shared Random Access Mem-
`ory (RAM) 40 provides for the queuing and transfer of
`data control and status signals between microprocessors
`35 and 36 and protocol controller 34. Therefore, any
`signaling or data channel signals that are received from
`PBX 13 are sent through interface transformer 31 and
`protocol controller 34 and temporarily stored in shared
`RAM 40. Microprocessors 35 and 36 then access the
`stored S and 12 channel information and function as
`directed by the firmware in associated ROMS 38 and 39,
`respectively, as will be explained in greater detail here-
`inafter.
`FIG. 3 is a diagram to aid in explaining the function-
`ing of agent terminal 14,‘ in conjunction with the prior
`discussion of FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 3 illustrates the inter-
`connection of PBX 13 with Interface card 30, and, in
`turn, agent terminal telephone 22 and a Main Card 50 in
`the agent terminal 14; to provide (1) the necessary pro-
`cessing of the received 12 and S signals of the exemplary
`DCP protocol, and (2) produce the necessary signaling
`commands and window displays at the agent terminal
`for processing a call. For purposes of explanation, it will
`be assumed that telemarketing system 10 is used to pro-
`vide service relative to, for example, a bank when a
`caller dials 800-266-7863.
`When a caller 12 inputs the calling telephone number
`800-266-7863, communications network 11, e.g., an
`Integrated Services Digital Network, accumulates the
`calling and called numbers, and any caller supplied
`data, and directs the voice call with the call-related
`information to system 10. When the voice call, and the
`associated call-related information which may include a
`caller provided social security or bank account number,
`is received by PBX 13, the automatic call distribution of
`PBX 13 finds an idle logged-on agent terminal 14,- and
`transmits the (1) voice, and (2) associated signaling
`information via the exemplary DCP 11 and S channels
`to interface card 30. Protocol controller 34 receives and
`decodes the II and S channel messages, and the firm-
`ware in ROM 38 of interface card 30 queues the incom-
`ing call message(s) in shared RAM 40 and interrupts
`second microprocessor 36 in terminal controller 37,
`while the agent telephone 22 is alerted via codec 32 to
`the reception of a call. A DCP Driver 51 (FIG. 3), in
`the firmware of main card 50 for second microproces-
`sor 36, services the interrupt and routes the message to
`an exemplary DCP process 52 which also controls a
`novel “Phone” window 53 on the screen of agent termi-
`nal 14,; Phone window 53 functions to initially display,
`for example, the functional use of each of the Program-
`mable Function keys, e.g., all or part of the function
`keys 1 to 10 of the agent terminal keyboard, For pur-
`
`Unified Patents |nc., Ex. 1002, pg. 10
`
`Unified Patents Inc., Ex. 1002, pg. 10
`
`

`

`7
`poses of discussion Phone Window 53 of FIG. 3 is
`shown as displaying the purpose of function keys
`PF3—PF6, but it is to be understood that all programma-
`. ble functions of an agent terminal can also be displayed
`along with any other pertinent start-up information
`needed by an agent.
`’
`The DCP process 52 parses the message(s) received
`on a call and updates Phone window 53 accordingly by
`adding, for example,
`the called number,
`the calling
`number, and any other signaling data provided by the
`caller over the S signaling channel as, for example, a
`social security or account number which may be neces-
`sary for servicing a caller, e.g., in a bank, etc. The DCP
`process 52 then communicates with a Terminal Control
`Process Driver (TCPD) 54 through a keyboard driver
`58, which emulates an agent depressing a corresponding
`pre—recorded playback key on the agent’s keyboard.
`TCPD 54 functions as terminal controller 37 for con-
`trolling the special terminal features, such as Command .
`Mode processing, and Workstation Control Mode pro-
`cessing in conjuction with keyboard Driver (Opin) 58
`which also serves to route messages between TCPD 54
`and (1) Synchronous Data Process Device (SDPD) or
`Asynchronous Process Device (APD) 55 or (2) DCP
`process 52. SDPD or APD 55 work with the host data-
`base application computer systems 19 and ’18, respec-
`tively, to provide normal agent terminal functions as
`'found in other systems. Therefore, TCPD 54 provides
`control for moving information around both agent ter-
`minal 141' and system 10 by looking at, for example, ANI
`and/or DNIS information received from a caller to see
`what is occurring at that instant of time, and sending
`needed information (1) between windows automatically
`or (2) via programmed simulated keyboard key strokes
`automatically back through PBX 13 using the 12 chan-
`nel to MCC 17 to retrieve information from host appli-
`cation database computer systems 18 and/or 19.
`As a result, once window 53 has displayed the call
`related data, the DCP process automatically transmits a
`message of pre-recorded keystrokes to TCPD 54 for a
`first step to access the appropriate Host computer data-
`base system 18 or 19 associated with providing the
`service indicated by the 800 service number call by
`caller 12. TCPD 54 receives the message from DCP
`process 52, and invokes the playback of the correspond-
`ing pre—recorded keystroke(s), which commands associ-
`ated with such keystrokes may be stored in ROM 39 or
`Shared Ram 40 of interface card 30, or other RAM
`memory, for the programmable functions. Such pre-
`recorded keystrokes may be programmed to automati-
`cally make a main menu selection based on the received
`called number (DNIS) 266-7863 relating to a banking
`service, and move the caller provided social security
`number to Host window 56. Once such selection has
`been made, TCPD 54 may request SDPD or APD 55 to
`display host window 56 indicating the identity of the
`caller from his telephone number, or provided social
`security or account number. Such window could also
`include a listing of programmed function key assign-
`ments (not shown) for bringing up any available ser—
`vices that may be requested by a caller relating to such
`service, as, for example, a movement of funds between
`accounts, stopping a check payment, or information
`about recent transactions and a closing balance on a
`specific account.
`In the present example, caller 12 wishes information
`about a a closing balance, and TCPD 54 would cause
`the automati