Multiplex communications – Pathfinding or routing – Combined circuit switching and packet switching
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-21
2004-03-30
Hsu, Alpus H. (Department: 2665)
Multiplex communications
Pathfinding or routing
Combined circuit switching and packet switching
C370S493000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06714536
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the integration of telephone and internet services and protocols. More particularly, the invention relates to a system whereby an internet co-socket may be associated with a standard telephone call.
2. Description of the Related Art
Call set-up technology used to establish telephone connections across the public switched telephone network (PSTN) is well known; several call set-up strategies for Internet telephony are emerging. Multimedia telephony is also emerging whereby various types of multimedia calls may be established to carry voice, video, and data. Multimedia calls are traditionally expensive and often consume large amounts of bandwidth, especially if real-time video is involved. Multimedia calls are also traditionally more complex to establish and often require technical support personnel to run specialized multimedia telephony equipment. One form of multimedia call which does not require extra telephone bandwidth is a voice-over-data modem link. Voice-over-data modems allow voice to be compressed and routed across a modem connection along with data. While being economical, these types of calls are still much more tedious to set up than an ordinary direct-dial telephone call. Simple multimedia call set-up strategies are provided on mixed-media packet networks such as those employing asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) and internet protocol (IP) technologies. Methods and apparatus are still needed to provide simple and economical forms of multimedia telephony which allow users to transparently set up multimedia calls involving both the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and mixed-media packet switched networks.
Computer telephony integration (CTI) is also a well known and rapidly advancing technology. Examples of CTI systems include interactive voice response (IVR) call centers whereby callers call in on a phone line and respond to digitized voice menu prompts with dual tone multifrequency (DTMF) signals (i.e., “touch tones”). The call center's IVR computer decodes the touch tone values and either provides information or routes a call accordingly. Some call centers use speech recognition in lieu of, or in addition to, touch tones. In many systems a caller can be identified using call line identification (CLID) information which is commonly known as “Caller-ID.” CLID information may be derived from automatic number identification (ANI) information used to track billing in a central office switch. Signaling system number seven (SS7) links carry CLID and/or ANI information across a PSTN. SS7 call set-up information is carried on a common signaling channel separate from channels used to carry voice traffic.
The PSTN is the traditional telephone network made up of local-exchange carriers (LECs), competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) and long distance inter-exchange carriers (IXCs). With the recent advent of internet telephony gateway servers, some PSTN calls may be partially carried over an internet to avoid tolls. For the purposes of the discussion herein, calls originating or terminating in the PSTN but partially routing over an internet via a gateway server are still considered to be PSTN calls. It is recognized that certain elements of the PSTN network may adopt packet switched techniques similar to an internet. For the purposes of the discussion herein, calls which represent plain old telephone service (POTS) and integrated services digital network (ISDN) but are carried across a packet switched IXC or LEC are also considered PSTN calls. For the purpose of brevity, a campus call which uses POTS or ISDN over standard telephone wiring and is switched by a PBX is considered a PSTN call. A call which originates using a packet switched protocol such as H.323 or other form of native multimedia packetized call is not considered to be a PSTN call.
In the present disclosure, a distinction is made between “an internet” and “the Internet”. The term “internet” (lower case) is meant to apply broadly to any type of mixed media packet switched network. For example, an internet may be a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), an enterprise network or a modernized public network. In most present day situations, networks of different types are joined by what is properly termed an internet. Hence an internet is a network of two or more networks joined together, normally by a bridge, router, or switch. Within the present disclosure, an “internet” refers to a network which may be joined to another network using a properly selected bridge, router, or switch. A network which is in fact isolated, for the purposes of the discussion herein, may also be defined as an internet. Conversely, the term “Internet” (upper case) refers to the ubiquitous world wide web (WWW). In most cases, a given internet is connected to and hence is a part of the Internet. Some other types of internets which may not be connected to the Internet include, for example, various enterprise WANs and some cable television (CATV) networks. Hence, “the Internet” is but one example of “an internet”, and thus all uses of the word “internet” herein shall apply directly to, but are not limited to, “the Internet.”
There are a wide variety of known CTI systems. One system is called “screen pop.” Screen pop systems recognize incoming phone numbers using CLID type information and display a screen containing information about the caller to an agent. For example, screen pop may provide an agent with a screen of information including the caller's name, personal data, buying habits, and needs. The CLID information may also be used by CTI switching apparatus to route an incoming call to an appropriate agent based on the caller's profile. These features enhance customer satisfaction and eliminate the need to ask the caller for information which may already be in an available database. Another CTI system is called screen transfer. When a call needs to be transferred from a first agent to a second agent, the CTI information screens and data associated with the call may be transferred to the second agent. Another form of CTI involves outbound dialing. An outbound dialer is a computer telephony device which dials telephone numbers to initiate telephone calls.
In call center applications, a caller navigates the IVR menu system to select an area of interest so the call can be routed to an appropriate agent. Calls to call center oriented IVRs often require the caller to wait in a waiting queue until an agent becomes available to accept the call. In most cases the caller may wait several minutes before an agent becomes available. In more extreme cases the caller may need to wait as many as fifteen minutes, for example. An average call to an IVR call center typically involves too long of a wait in a queue. Beside offering poor customer service, long waiting queues cost companies with IVR call centers significant amounts of money. If a company has a 1-800/888 number, the company will often pay on the order of twenty cents per minute for the caller to wait in the queue. Also, the longer the queue, the more active calls the call center will need to support at a given time. This means the call center must purchase more local loop telephone lines each month from the LEC. For example, a relatively small call center with ten to twenty operators may require the equivalent of 200 or more phone lines to be able to accommodate peak traffic loads without returning busy signals. Aggregated over the United states, millions of dollars per day are spent by call centers to pay for the toll charges of callers navigating IVR systems and waiting in queues. Millions of more dollars are spent each month on the local lines needed to accommodate these callers waiting in the queues.
Another related problem is faced by organizations not having 1-800/888 numbers. If a caller makes an out-of-pocket toll call and has to wait in a queue more than a few minutes, the caller will often terminate the call. Hence the recipi
Gazdzinski & Associates
Hsu Alpus H.
Tran Thien
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