United States Patent
`[19]
`[11] Patent Number:
`5,841,854
`
`Schumacher et al.
`[45] Date of Patent:
`*Nov. 24, 1998
`
`U8005841854A
`
`[54] WIRELESS TELEPHONE INTEGRATION
`SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CALL
`CENTERS AND WORKGROUPS
`
`Inventors: Gregory I)I Schumacher, Holliston;
`Robert F Penfield Ma Hard. Patrick
`'
`’
`y
`’
`J- MELamPy> PCPPCFCIL all Of Ma55~
`_
`_
`.
`[73] ASSlgneei PFIOFW Call Management: Inc-9
`Wllmlngton, Mass.
`
`[*] Notice:
`
`This patent issued on a continued pros-
`ecution application filed under 37 CFR
`1.5301), and is subject to the twenty year
`patent
`term provisions of 35 USC.
`154(a)(2)
`.
`
`[21] Appl. No.2 905,589
`.
`Flledi
`
`[22]
`
`Aug- 4: 1997
`
`_
`_
`REIatEd U-S- Appllcatwn Data
`
`[63] Continuation of Ser. No. 473,674, Jun. 7, 1995, abandoned,
`which is a continuation—in—part of Ser. No. 198,032, Feb. 16,
`1994: abandoned
`Int. Cl.6 .................................................... .. H04M 3/00
`[51]
`[52] US. Cl.
`........................ .. 379/265; 379/207; 379/211;
`379/220; 379/224; 455/403; 455/554
`[58] Field of Search ................................... .. 379/201, 207,
`379/219, 220, 229, 67, 224, 230, 245, 246,
`127, 142, 58, 59, 60, 88, 213, 265, 211,
`154, 82, 212, 266, 309, 270, 271, 455/403,
`554, 555, 370/270, 271
`
`[56]
`
`.
`References Clted
`Us. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`4,685,127
`4,757,526
`4,783,796
`4,887,265
`4,926,462
`
`8/1987 Miller et al.
`.......................... .. 379/221
`7/1988 Foster et al.
`.. 379/201
`
`11/1988 Ladd
`379/67
`
`
`12/1989 Felix . . . . . . .
`. . . .. 379/59
`5/1990 Ladd et al.
`.............................. .. 379/67
`
`4,935,956
`4,972,464
`5,006,983
`5,008,930
`
`379/112
`379/112
`379/266
`379/210
`
`6/1990 Hellwarth et al.
`
`11/1990 Webb et al.
`.... ..
`4/1991 Wayne et al.
`
`4/1991 Gawrys et al.
`Danielsen .............................. ..
`5,090,050
`2/1992 Heffernan ................................ .. 379/60
`5,113,430
`5/1992 Richardson, Jr. et al.
`.. 379/88
`
`5,199,062
`.... .. 379/67
`3/1993 Von Meister et al.
`5,206,903
`379/309
`4/1993 Kohler et al.
`...... ..
`
`5,235,630
`.......................... .. 379/37
`8/1993 Moody etal.
`5,299,260
`3/1994 Shaio .................................... .. 379/265
`5,327,486
`7/1994 Wolff etal.
`379/142
`5,329,578
`7/1994 Brennan et al.
`. . . . . . . . .
`. . . . .. 379/89
`
`5,335,266
`.... .. 379/67
`8/1994 Richardson, Jr. et al.
`5,335,268
`..................... .. 379/112
`8/1994 Kelly, Jr. et al.
`5,335,269
`8/1994 Steinlicht
`.............................. .. 379/266
`
`5,353,331
`.
`...... 379/67
`10/1994 Emery et al.
`5,375,161
`12/1994 Fuller et al.
`..
`379/212
`5,392,345
`2/1995 Otto ............ ..
`379/265
`5,392,346
`2/1995 Hassler et al.
`379/265
`5,400,327
`3/1995 Dezonno ..... ..
`370/271
`
`
`5,440,563
`..
`8/1995 Isidro etal.
`379/219
`5,459,780 10/1995 Sand ............... ..
`379/265
`5,548,636
`8/1996 Bannister et al.
`379/201
`5,566,236
`10/1996 MeLampy et al.
`379/201
`5,590,188 12/1996 Crockett ......... ..
`379/225
`
`5,619,557
`4/1997 Van Berkum
`379/265
`9/1997 Bannister et al.
`.................... .. 379/201
`5,668,862
`
`
`
`
`
`..
`
`Primary Examiner—Scott T. Wolinsky
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Crosby, Heafey, Roach & May
`
`ABSTRACT
`[57]
`A system and method for automatic call distribution target-
`ing users in workgroups wherein the users utilize either
`wired or wireless communications tools. Users are chosen
`Via a rule-based selection
`rocess includin
`access to a
`database of user and caller-Screened informaion. The sys-
`tern is compatible with available and developmental hard-
`ware platforms for call centers and mobile workers includ-
`mg SS7/AIN’ computer telephony interfaces, direct cellular
`~
`_
`network connections, PBX and centreX based systems.
`
`18 Claims, 6 Drawing Sheets
`
`CUSTOMER
`PREMISE
`EQUIPMENT
`CENTRAL OFFlCE/SERVICE PROVIDER
`EQUIPMENT
`34’
`
`
`END USER TELEPHONE
`TERMINALS
`
`no
`IE-
`fig1
`WIRELESS
`HANDSETS
`
`
`
`
`
`YMAX EXHIBIT 1038
`
`000001
`
`|PR2016-01260
`
`YMAX CORP. V. FOCAL IP
`
`A/‘SO
`
`
`CELLULAR
`WIRELESS
`SWITCHING
`HANDSET
`
`
`NETWORK
`INTERFACE
`
`
`
`
`PBXSNITCHING
`
`
`NETWORK
`CENTRAL OFFICE
`
`
`
`SWITCHING
`2%;48Fax PHONES
`
`NETWORK
`
`
`
`
`CUSTOMER
`PREMISE
`PCS PLATFORM
`
`
`
`
`
`50
`>
`
`
`CUSTOMER
`CENTREX ONES
`
`
`so
`OBJECT
`
`RESIST-Mi
`
`
`TION DATA-
`CENTRALOFFICE
`PLATFORM
`BASED PCS
`
`
`WIDE AREA
`
`PAGING
`NETWORK
`
`
`AT”
`
`
`
`140
`
`I50
`E
`PCS HANDSETS
`
`.,
`@380
`SMR HANDSETS
`
`@129
`ONE WAY PAGERS
`
`000001
`
`YMAX EXHIBIT 1038
`YMAX CORP. V. FOCAL IP
`IPR2016-01260
`
`

`

`
`
`US. Patent
`
`Nov. 24, 1998
`
`Sheet 1 0f6
`
`5,841,854
`
`END USER TELEPHONE
`TERMINALS
`
`
`
`I
`flfikgfis
`
`
`
`ass:
`
`CENTREX ONES
`
`O '50
`-
`i
`
`Cfihhgh§§
`
`PCS HANDSETS
`
`,
`
`SMR HANDSETS
`
`CENTRAL OFFICE/SERVICE PROVIDER
`EQUIPMENT
`:5
`
`3O
`
`IO
`
`20
`
`CELLULAR
`SWITCHING
`NETWORK
`
`WIRELESS
`PCS
`NETWORK
`
`WIRELESS
`HANDSET
`INTERFACE
`
`CUSTOMER
`PREMISE
`EQUIPMENT
`
`“w
`"T
`
`AfiIOO
`
`70
`
`80
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`PREMISE
`PCS PLATFORM
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`
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`SWITCHING
`NETWORK
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`
`
`30
`
`
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`CENTREX
`PARTITION
`
`
`
`50
`
`I60
`
`CUSTOMER
`OBJECT
`REGISTRA-
`
`NETWORK
`SMR
`
`CENTRALOFFICE
`
`
`BASED PCS
`PLATFORM
`
`
`PAGING
`
`WIDE AREA
`
`NETWORK
`
`L
`
`ONE WAY PAGERS
`
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`
`
`
`000002
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`

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`
`323%:02.0518mSEmuEiqoq
`
`000003
`
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Nov. 24, 1998
`
`Sheet 3 0f6
`
`5,841,854
`
`CUSTOMER PREMISE
`
`WIRELESS
`SWITCHING
`NETWORK
`
`20
`4IO
`
`
`
`I20
`
`DESKTOP
`PHONE
`
`VOICE MAIL
`
`380
`RECEPTIONIST
`
`390
`
`400
`
`340
`
`350
`
`OUTSIDE
`CALLER
`
`VOICE
`PROCESSING
`ELEMENTS
`
`
`
`
`000004
`
`000004
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Nov. 24, 1998
`
`Sheet 4 0f 6
`
`5,841,854
`
`
`
`
`
`mmimmn.mmEOFmDU
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`

`

`
`
`US. Patent
`
`Nov. 24, 1998
`
`Sheet 5 0f6
`
`5,841,854
`
`CUSTOMER PREMISE
`
`20
`
`f}
`
`CELLULAR
`PHONE
`
`I40
`
`
`
`WIRELESS
`SWITCHING
`NETWORK
`
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`
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`
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`
`360
`
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`CENTRAL OFFICE
`
`SWITCH
`
`
`
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`
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`
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`
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`
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`
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`
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`
`9
`3 O
`
`400
`
`OUTSIDE
`CALLER
`
`
`
`4IO
`
`
`
`PCS PLATFORM
`
`740
`
`FIG. 5
`
`000006
`
`
`
`000006
`
`

`

`
`
`US. Patent
`
`Nov. 24, 1998
`
`Sheet 6 0f6
`
`5,841,854
`
`I80
`
`CUSTOMER PREMISE
`
`I50
`
`
`
`SMR, PCS
`OR CELLU-
`
`
`LAR PHONE
`
`
`|4o
`
`WIRELESS
`SWITCHING
`
`NETWORK
`
`CTI LINK
`
`9'0
`
`360
`
`'20
`
`DESKTOP
`PHONE
`
`340
`
`CENTRAL
`OFFICE
`
`
`
`VOICE MAIL
`
`380
`
`390
`
`RECEPTIONIST
`
`SECRETARY 400
`
`-A
`
`
`
`OUTSIDE
`
`CALLER
`
`
` VOICE
`PROCESSING
`
`PCS PLATFORM
`
`
`FIG. 6
`
`000007
`
`
`
`000007
`
`

`

`
`
`5,841,854
`
`1
`WIRELESS TELEPHONE INTEGRATION
`SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CALL
`CENTERS AND WORKGROUPS
`
`RELATED APPLICATIONS
`
`This application is a continuation of application Ser. No.
`08/473,674 filed on Jun. 7, 1995, now abandoned, which is
`a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/198,032
`filed Feb. 16, 1994, now abandoned.
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`
`The present invention relates in general to telecommuni-
`cations equipment, and more particularly relates to methods
`and apparatus for interfacing wireless telecommunications
`terminals into a call center or workgroup environment.
`2. Related Art
`
`The telecommunications industry is currently undergoing
`a massive shift from wired telecommunications devices to
`
`wireless devices. Impetus for this transition is provided by
`wireless mobility and the reduced cost of system reconfigu-
`ration. The invention described herein fits the form and
`
`function of a Personal Communications Service (PCS).
`Automatic Call Distributors (ACD) are specialized phone
`systems used for handling many incoming calls. Once used
`only by airlines, rent-a-car companies, and hotel chains,
`ACDs are now used by numerous companies facing a heavy
`load of incoming calls (e.g., order taking, dispatching of
`service technicians, taxis, railroads, help desks, and answer-
`ing technical questions).
`An ACD performs four functions. First, it will recognize
`and answer an incoming call. Second,
`it will look in its
`database for instructions on what to do with that call. Third,
`based on the instructions found, it will send the caller either
`a recording asking the caller to continue to hold the line, or
`to a voice response unit (VRU). Fourth, it will send the call
`to an agent as soon as that agent has completed his or her
`previous call, and/or the caller has heard a prerecorded hold
`message.
`The term Automatic Call Distributor arose from the
`
`device’s function of distributing incoming calls in some
`logical pattern to a group of operators. That pattern might be
`Uniform (i.e., distribute the work uniformly) or it may be
`Top-Down (i.e., the same agents in the same order get the
`calls and are kept busy—the ones on the top are kept busier
`than the ones on the bottom). Alternatively, the pattern may
`include specialty routing, where the calls are routed to
`answerers who are most likely to be able to help the caller.
`While distributing calls logically is the function most
`commonly associated with an ACD, it is not the ACD’s only
`function. Larger ACDs are used in call centers—a facility
`where calls are answered and made. A call center will
`
`typically have several people (also called agents), an ACD,
`and a computer for order-entry and look up on customers’
`orders. A call center could also have a predictive dialer for
`quickly dialing calls.
`Some call centers are further identified as being in-bound
`call centers and/or out-bound call centers. In-bound call
`centers only process received calls. Typical applications
`include catalog sales, customer service,
`ticket sales, etc.
`Out-bound call centers only process calls initiated within the
`out-bound center. Typical applications include telephone
`sales, fund-raising and general solicitation.
`Agents Are Not Mobile
`Because telephone sets currently used by ACD agents are
`wired telephones, the agents using these sets are not mobile
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
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`
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`
`65
`
`2
`and must be at their desks or workstations to receive and
`
`process calls. The agent is associated (registered) through a
`particular telephone at a particular location. With current
`wire-dependent ACDs, agents can register at other tele-
`phones (change registration,
`that
`is, but not register at
`multiple locations) however, the process is cumbersome and
`must be done at telephones defined as ACD telephones. The
`burden of changing registration is magnified by the fact that
`agents are usually logged into computer workstations which
`are neither portable nor wireless. In order to move to another
`telephone, agents must log out of their workstations, become
`unavailable or log out of the ACD system, log into another
`computer station on the same computer network, and log in
`or become available to the ACD system at their new tele-
`phones.
`All of the information associated with a call being
`handled by an agent must be present in the work area near
`the telephone, either in documented form or in an on-line
`retrievable format. And currently,
`the agent is unable to
`“take the call” with him or her to perform research in other
`work areas, confer with other agents, go to a lab to reproduce
`the caller’s problem on the agent’s own lab setup, or move
`the call to a conference room. Moreover, agents are unable
`to leave their designated ACD work areas, take breaks or go
`to meetings without making themselves unavailable to call-
`ers.
`
`Telephones Must Be Dedicated To ACD Functions
`Because the ACD function is delivered to a particular
`telephone with an agent registered to that telephone, that
`telephone becomes dedicated to the ACD function. Similarly
`to be counted in network traffic measurements, particular
`telephones must be dedicated to the ACD function. An agent
`cannot register with an ACD system from a telephone in a
`public common area like a cafeteria,
`lobby or library.
`Moreover, while some telephones can be set up to share the
`ACD and business functions by having multiple extensions
`appear, these configurations are difficult to reconfigure.
`Off-premise delivery of ACD lines to the home, remote
`office, or other remote location is limited by the need for
`dedicated special access lines between the ACD device and
`the remote telephone. The remote telephone is then dedi-
`cated to the ACD function unless it can handle multiple
`telephone lines, as described above. Moreover, any ACD
`telephone line connected to the multi-line remote telephone
`will only perform the ACD function. Thus, for the off-
`premise remote terminal, an additional
`line or port
`is
`required if any data is needed for the ACD based call.
`Mobile Workforce Not Supported Efficiently
`There are several employment types which qualify as
`mobile. Among these are, for example, sales people travel-
`ing to customer sites, telecommuting workers working at
`home or at a satellite resource center, and workers who must
`perform a portion of their job outside normal working hours.
`Currently, reaching mobile workers entails alerting or con-
`tacting the worker through a personal communication device
`such as a cellular telephone, radio pager, or specialized
`mobile radio device. Currently, a caller cannot dial a generic
`sales department number and reach the first available
`salesman, whether that salesman is in the office or on the
`road. Because of this limitation, ACD users often resort to
`setting up “inside sales” departments which handle the
`initial sales inquiries and then route messages to the appro-
`priate individuals.
`Currently, to receive business calls while away from the
`office, telecommuting workers must “forward” their per-
`sonal extensions through the particular business’ telephone
`
`000008
`
`
`
`000008
`
`

`

`
`
`5,841,854
`
`3
`
`system (PBX or centrex) to some pre-defined dialed number
`which represents the worker’s remote home phone, resource
`center temporary office phone, cellular telephone, or pager.
`However, the ACD function cannot be forwarded in a similar
`fashion to a remote telephone.
`One available solution is for the mobile worker to peri-
`odically check a voice mail system’s mailbox and return
`calls. The efficacy of this solution is limited by the frequency
`of the worker’s mailbox checks.
`
`Workgroups Not Supported Efficiently
`A trend in many organizations is to move away from a
`hierarchical organizational structure to a flattened structure
`made up of many dynamic work groups. These work groups
`are cross-organizational, containing members from many
`different functional or product units. Workgroups can exist
`for short or long time periods, depending upon their func-
`tion. Membership in a workgroup can also change over time
`as the nature of the task changes from, for instance, product
`design to manufacturing. Individuals in an organization may
`be members of more than one workgroup at any particular
`time.
`
`Presently, only portions of workgroup needs are sup-
`ported by available products. For instance, group messaging
`in voice messaging systems supports distributing messages
`to all members of a group. However, an ideal group mes-
`saging capability would be consistently available to all
`workgroup members rather than only to individual work-
`group members who have access to their voice messaging
`system and personal group distribution lists.
`Computer software products supporting workgroup
`behavior, such as Lotus NOTES (TM), support data and
`information communication needs of the workgroup.
`However, there is a particular class of workgroup behaviors,
`outlined below, which are not served by these tools or by the
`systems described above. Existing ACDs can partially sup-
`port
`these behaviors by distributing workgroup calls to
`members of the workgroups. However, the requirements of
`particular telephone configurations and the difficulty of
`configuring ACDs into groups does not promote the rapid
`and dynamic nature of workgroup creation, restructure and
`dissolution.
`
`A first unique need of the workgroup is providing the
`caller the ability to contact any group member without
`specifying the particular group member reached. This need
`exists for both intra-group communication and outside
`access.
`
`In contrast, some spoken communication with a group
`requires reaching a particular member possessing some
`specialized skill or knowledge. For example, a financial
`questions may call
`for an accounting-based workgroup
`member. Other spoken communication with the group may
`be urgent, such as a status report request, but subject to
`proper handling by any (i.e.,
`the first available) group
`member since all members are to be up to date in their
`knowledge of the group’s focus. If the member of the group
`contacted can’t support the call, he or she needs to be able
`to pass the call off to the most appropriate group member.
`Likewise, for spoken communication within a group,
`there will be some communication which has to target a
`particular member of the group and other calls for which any
`workgroup member will suffice. Either the member reached
`can resolve the issue or any number of workgroup members
`could decide that more members of the workgroup need to
`get involved. In the latter event, the members could either
`select a conference call capability where the workgroup
`members are automatically contacted or alerted and asked to
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
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`
`60
`
`65
`
`4
`join the workgroup conference call, or a face-to-face meet-
`ing could be scheduled with workgroup members, or the
`issue could be moved to an electronic data and information
`
`forum using computer tools such as Lotus NOTES (TM).
`Limitations With Current Wireless Solutions
`
`As discussed above, because ACD telephones must be
`dedicated to the ACD function, mobile workers cannot
`easily move from phone to phone while performing call
`center functions. Cellular telephone systems do not cure this
`flaw because they do not offer the workgroup approach
`provided by ACD devices which associate particular sets of
`people with particular telephone numbers. Cellular tele-
`phone systems treat all subscribers as individuals with no
`special functional relationship between them. Moreover,
`cellular telephone systems do not provide integration with
`an enterprise’s own PBX or communication system to
`provide a wireless function to the enterprise’s ACD device.
`Similarly, wireless PBXs currently do not have the radio
`range required for a truly mobile ACD function.
`Radio paging systems do provide some support to work-
`groups. However, radio paging systems only provide the
`alerting function for a telephony voice communication.
`These one-way paging systems do not support two-way
`conversations. Radio paging systems can alert a group of
`people that a call arrived, but cannot control who answers
`the call, and cannot determine in real time who is available
`and not available to answer the call.
`
`Specialized mobile radio (SMR) systems provide some
`primitive group communication and alerting. However,
`SMRs fail to provide full ACD functionality. Using SMR, a
`voice call can reach a particular group of people, but the
`group cannot be easily reconfigured and the availability of
`individuals in the group cannot be used to selectively control
`the alerting and transmission functions.
`The invention disclosed herein will support any radio
`communication and transmission media or method (either
`one-way, two-way or multi-way communication) in an inte-
`grated fashion, taking advantage of the best features of each
`while concealing their respective limitations from the user.
`Existing ACD systems distribute calls only to telephones
`120 or to off premise telephones such as a home telephone
`or remote regional office. Referring to FIG. 1, calls which
`arrive at PBX 80 or centrex partition 50 are routed to the
`correct directly connected terminal. The coverage plan for
`the call
`is programmable, and the call may forward to
`additional telephone terminals 120, voicemail, or a recep-
`tionist.
`
`Existing ACD systems provide for specialized call distri-
`bution capability beyond the individual extension call dis-
`tribution capability typically found on PBX Switching Net-
`work 80 or centrex partition 50. For example, a caller to an
`existing ACD system can specify an extension number just
`as he or she would if calling a PBX Switching Network 80,
`or a centrex partition 50.
`the extension number is
`In an existing ACD system,
`associated with a group or pool of telephones as opposed to
`an individual line, circuit or telephone of PBX 80 or centrex
`50. The telephones in an existing ACD telephone pool all
`share the same extension but do not share (i.e., simulta-
`neously communicate with) calls to the ACD extension.
`Calls which arrive at an existing ACD are routed to tele-
`phones within selected groups or pools according to simple
`criteria such as the telephone which has been idle longest.
`Existing ACD systems keep track of the status of the
`telephones within a group or a pool
`to determine if a
`particular ACD telephone is available to take a call. Existing
`
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`5
`ACD systems allow rules to be used to influence call
`distribution. One rule might be the language capabilities of
`the agent assigned to each telephone and compatibility with
`the caller’s preferred language.
`Existing ACD systems provide status reports and real time
`monitors to provide management and maintenance of call
`handling, call duration and call resource capabilities, and
`provide supervisor monitoring capability. Monitoring allows
`a group supervisor to listen in on conversations to check for
`correct implementation of procedures. Existing ACD sys-
`tems provide for links via data communication channels to
`customers’ Management Information Systems to select
`caller related data and to assist in delivering calls to agents.
`However, all existing ACD systems known to the inventor
`fail
`to provide call distribution to agents,
`in a manner
`independent of their “assigned” telephone, whether wired or
`wireless, flexible or dedicated, data-integrated or voice-
`dedicated. There is therefore a need in the art
`for an
`
`improved ACD system capable of integrating all available
`hardware types into a workgroup environment wherein the
`workgroup members, not assigned telephones or computer
`terminals, are the distribution target.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`It is therefore a primary goal of the present invention to
`provide a system and method for automatic distribution of a
`telephone communication from a caller to a user, wherein
`the user is one of a first plurality of members of a group of
`potential communication recipients,
`including a matrix
`switch, a first telephone line carrying a call from the caller,
`a second telephone line accessible by the plurality of
`members, a plurality of criteria, for determining which one
`of the first plurality of members will be the user, and a call
`control means connectable to the matrix switch and to the
`
`first and second telephone lines, for accessing the plurality
`of criteria, selecting the user from the first plurality of
`members in a manner based at least in part upon the criteria,
`and controlling the matrix switch to initiate and maintain a
`connection between the matrix switch and each of the first
`
`and second telephone lines.
`The present invention further provides a system (and a
`related method) for automatic distribution of a telephone
`communication from a caller to a selected one of a plurality
`of agents having respective wireless telephone terminals
`registered in a wireless telephone network, wherein the
`selected agent is not predetermined by the caller and is a
`member of at least one of a plurality of groups of agents,
`each member of each of said groups being capable of
`performing at
`least one of a plurality of agent services
`needed by the caller, the system comprising a matrix switch,
`call control means for controlling the matrix switch and
`connecting the matrix switch to a first telephone line in
`response to a first telephone call from the caller via the first
`telephone line, and, in further response to the first call, for
`connecting the matrix switch to a second telephone line
`accessible by the plurality of agents across the wireless
`telephone network, selection means for gathering and ana-
`lyzing a plurality of caller criteria and determining whether
`the first call is directed to one of the plurality of groups, and,
`if so, determining which of the plurality of agent services
`provided by the agents within the group is needed by the
`caller, and for selecting at least one of the agents within said
`group as the agent to be connected to the caller in a manner
`based at least in part upon which of the agents within said
`group can provide the needed agent service at the time of the
`call from the caller, the call control means being connected
`
`6
`to the selection means to access information identifying the
`selected agent, and to the matrix switch to connect the first
`telephone line to a communication path interconnecting the
`matrix switch and the wireless telephone network via the
`second telephone line,
`thereby establishing a telephone
`communication link between the caller and the selected
`
`agent’s wireless telephone terminal via the wireless tele-
`phone network.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1 provides a functional block diagram of the envi-
`ronment in which the method and system of the invention
`can be implemented.
`FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the inventive PCS system.
`FIG. 3 incorporates a wireless subscriber into an ACD
`system.
`FIG. 4 provides an example of a wireless subscriber to an
`ACD system incorporating an intelligent network.
`FIG. 5 provides an example of a wireless subscriber to an
`ACD system incorporating a cellular network direct con-
`nection.
`
`FIG. 6 provides an example of a wireless subscriber to an
`ACD system incorporating a computer telephony interface.
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`INVENTION
`
`The present invention provides intelligent and automatic
`call distribution targeting an individual person via wireless
`or wired communication media,
`instead of targeting a
`device.
`
`The invention provides for group membership by indi-
`viduals and/or groups. The caller, either from within or
`without the call center, specifies the group to contact and
`reaches a member of that group. The caller does not have to
`specify a particular member of the group to reach a qualified
`user to answer the caller’s questions or perform a task
`required by the caller.
`Membership in a particular group is not an exclusive
`attribute. A member of a group can concurrently be a
`member of other groups. A group member’s relationship to
`the group is determined by the membership type. A group
`member can have more than one relationship to a group,
`each relationship determined by a unique membership type.
`The membership type contributes to the preferred method of
`intelligent call distribution and can be changed dynamically
`by any qualified subscriber or statically by a single system
`technician.
`
`The invention allows for individuals within a group to be
`mobile and associated with any set or type of telephony
`devices, whether wired or wireless, and allows individual
`users within a group to change their telephony devices
`dynamically. Calls can be delivered to an individual at a
`telephony device, or an individual can call into the system
`from a telephony device and connect to the caller.
`RULE-BASED CALL DISTRIBUTION
`
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`Calls are intelligently distributed to group members based
`on a number of criteria referred to herein as rules. The rules
`
`may be changed in a dynamic fashion by users or system
`administrators, as desired, and multiple sets of rules for
`multiple groups, settings and situations are allowable. The
`following list describes the items (i.e., the rules structure)
`used by the intelligent call distribution method and system
`of the present
`invention in arriving at call distribution
`decisions.
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`7
`Membership Type: This rule represents the member’s role
`within a group, such as group supervisor, group
`member, or voice message handler. The membership
`type is extensible to reflect development and change in
`group roles.
`Member Registration: This database is used to determine
`which subscribers are members of which particular
`groups. Subscribers not appearing in the member reg-
`istration database are not members of any group.
`Device Registration: This database tracks information
`specific to various wired and wireless devices, deter-
`mines which wired or wireless devices are available,
`their current status, current location, who is using each
`device, and routing information.
`User Registration: This database tracks information spe-
`cific to subscribers in the groups, determines which
`device to use to reach them, their availability status,
`their location from a network and a geographic view.
`This database can also retain personal profiles of sub-
`scriber preferences relating to wireless ACD functions.
`Current Group Status: This is the information about the
`function of the group as a whole. It describes how
`members in the group relate to each other—for
`example how members contact other group members. It
`also describes how calls are handled within the groups.
`For example calls may be distributed evenly to all
`members or delivered only to the next free agent. The
`database also contains a group profile of preferences
`relating to wireless ACD functions.
`Call Status: This call-related information can help in
`determining how the call is processed and in what
`order. For example the call waiting for an agent the
`longest will be delivered to the next available agent, or
`calls from customers with priority contracts can be
`moved up to the beginning of the waiting queue.
`Call State: This is information about a call at a particular
`instance. For example, the caller could have waited for
`an agent longer than some specified time. The call
`status would then change from a wait in queue state to
`a leave voice message state and would no longer be
`deliverable to an agent.
`User Defined Registration: This is a customer defined or
`supplied database which contains objects to track for
`registration. The objects could be customer accounts
`and contain information about the sales representative,
`order status and receivables. For example, if an account
`is overdue, the call could be delivered to the group
`member who is responsible for collecting overdue
`accounts. This database can also contain user-defined
`
`object status information which can be changed accord-
`ing to the object’s definition.
`DATABASE INTERACTION AND
`INTEGRATION
`
`The invention extends the prior art wired telephone ACD
`function to mobile and geographically dispersed groups or
`users. There are a number of ACD enhancements described
`
`below to address unique characteristics and requirements of
`a group whose members may be mobile and geographically
`dispersed.
`The invention involves integrating the following tele-
`phone call attribute databases and mechanisms into both a
`wired and wireless setting:
`Individual Registration in a Group: Describes whether an
`individual is a member of a group and the individual’s
`relationship with that group.
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`8
`Device Registration: Tracks the devices available for
`intelligent call distribution. The device registration can
`be set either dynamically or statically, and can be
`addressed in a number of forms. This database also
`
`keeps track of the current status of the device, such as
`busy, not responding, etc., for use as one of the intel-
`ligent call delivery criteria.
`User Registration: Tracks the individuals in a real time
`dynamic fashion and contains the association between
`individuals and their currently assigned devices,
`to
`which calls can be intelligently delivered. This data-
`base also keeps track of the current status of the
`individual such as busy or unavailable, to use as part of
`the intelligent call delivery.
`Alerting: Indicates to one or more individuals within the
`group that a call event which is meaningful to the group
`has occurred. Example events include call arrival, call
`abandonment and call pickup by a member of the
`group. The intelligent call distribution mechanism will
`determine what subset of the group will receive an
`alerting indicator. This subset can be either the entire
`group, some particular subset, a single individual in the
`group, or a null group, leading to no alert.
`Call Connect: Allows the individual within a group to
`communicate and talk with the caller via a number of
`
`telephone devices. Example devices include cellular
`telephones, wired telephones, and 2-way SMR. The
`calls can actually be moved from one device to another
`as