Data processing: structural design – modeling – simulation – and em – Simulating electronic device or electrical system
Reexamination Certificate
1997-09-09
2001-03-20
Teska, Kevin J. (Department: 2763)
Data processing: structural design, modeling, simulation, and em
Simulating electronic device or electrical system
C709S226000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06205412
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is in the area of telephone call processing and switching, including intelligent call center systems, and pertains more particularly to Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) with such systems, and to equipment and methods for computer simulation of new developments for such systems, allowing testing, demonstration and debugging to be done without resort to real systems.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Telephone call processing and switching systems, including call centers of many sorts and having varied architecture, are, at the time of the present patent application, relatively sophisticated, computerized systems. Development and introduction of new systems continues at a rapid pace in an attempt to keep pace with heated demand. Much information on the nature of such telephony hardware and software is available in a number of publications accessible to the present inventor and to those with skill in the art in general. For this reason, much minute detail of known systems is not reproduced here, as to do so would obscure the descriptions of the inventive subject matter.
One document which provides considerable information on intelligent networks is “ITU-T Recommendation Q.1219, Intelligent Network User's Guide for Capability Set 1”, dated April, 1994. This document is incorporated herein by reference.
At the time of filing the present patent application there continues to be remarkable growth in telephone routing and call center systems, and in computer integration applied to such systems. Many such systems are known to the present inventor and many have been patented. More and better systems are being developed at the time of the present application, and the present patent application pertains most particularly to methods for simulating telephony systems and CTI with such systems as an aid in development and testing of systems with new and enhanced functionality.
There are many, many different arrangements of equipment for providing telephony and call center functions, and many more functions that may be provided by CTI. There are also, however, a number of commonalties among such systems. For example, all call centers employ some sort of telephony switch for receiving and routing telephone calls. Such switches are made by a number of manufacturers, and, generally speaking, all such switches can function at some level with telephone communication from one to another. That is, a switch from one manufacturer at one location will function with a switch from another manufacturer at another location.
Even though different types and manufacture of switches may operate in conjunction with one another, it is also true that enhanced functionality provided with one switch from one manufacturer may not be operable through a switch from another manufacturer. For this reason, CTI has taken on added importance as a means to provide greatly enhanced functionality, and also, in some instances as a means to integrate different types of switches in advanced systems.
In CTI, typically, given a switch in a system of interest, integration is accomplished by connecting a relatively powerful processor by what is known as a CTI link to the switch, and executing applications on the added processor. The applications can be of many and varied sorts, providing enhanced agent-level routing, for example, and the use of relatively sophisticated databases with telephone switching. Typically, data received with a telephone call at a CTI-enhanced switch may be provided to the CTI processor, and used in a variety of ways. Also typically, after functional manipulation, the CTI processor may command the switch in its various functions, such as routing incoming calls to agents at stations connected by lines having directory numbers. Calls may also be queued, rerouted, routed to remote destinations through dialing functions, and so forth.
Given the relative sophistication of telephony systems, particularly with CTI, the proliferation of switches and other hardware from different manufacturers, and a great demand presently experienced for faster and better systems with new functions, there is a serious impediment to rapid development. This impediment is the need to test new systems, which are in the main software enhancements, in many and varied situations. For example, having developed a new application to run on a CTI processor to serve and command a telephony switch, the developer needs to test and debug the new application in widely varied circumstances. Given the nature of hardware for such systems testing and debugging can become an expensive nightmare requiring arranging and rearranging hardware platforms and software applications to provide the extreme range of conditions that must be tested to be sure a new application may be released with a reasonable expectation of success.
What is clearly needed is method and apparatus which allows a developer to simulate switching and call center systems over a broad range of variables, and to simulate as well a CTI interface for connecting the CTI processor with the simulated system. Such a simulation ability needs to be provided in a way that variables may be easily and conveniently manipulated for thorough testing and debugging of CTI applications.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention a computer simulation system adapted for simulating a telephony call center is provided, comprising individual software modules simulating separate entities of the call center in the simulated call center; and a graphical user interface (GUI). In the GUI the individual software modules are presented as icons movable and connectable on the screen to alter characteristics of the simulated call center.
The computer simulation system in embodiments of the invention may be used for testing computer telephony integration (CTI) applications wherein one of the software module icons comprises a (CTI) link interface library adapted to provide communication between the simulated call center and the CTI application in a manner that the simulated call center will behave as a specific switch type in a specific instance. In this aspect one of the individual software modules is a telephony objects module representing a telephony switch and connected telephony devices, agents, and associated behavior. Individual telephony objects are represented in the GUI as icons that may be selected and added to or subtracted from the telephony objects module to alter the behavior repertoire of the module. The telephony objects may comprise any features of telephony switches.
In preferred embodiments telephony objects are associated with one or more editing fields allowing a user to edit parameters for the object module. In this aspect a multiplicity parameter may be edited to provide for multiple instances of a selected module in a simulation. Also, the behavior of multiple instances of a single object module may be randomized in operation.
The system of the present invention provides for the first time an ability, by object-oriented programming, to simulate a broad variety of telephony equipment and to test enhancing computer applications against such simulated equipment, and the variety and configuration of switches and other characteristics of call centers can be quickly and easily changed.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5359649 (1994-10-01), Rosu et al.
patent: 5384771 (1995-01-01), Isidoro et al.
patent: 5440719 (1995-08-01), Hanes et al.
patent: 5598532 (1997-01-01), Liron
patent: 5706453 (1998-01-01), Cheng et al.
patent: 5715432 (1998-02-01), Xu et al.
patent: 5809282 (1998-09-01), Cooper et al.
patent: 5838768 (2000-01-01), Sumar et al.
patent: 5870464 (1999-02-01), Brewster et al.
patent: 5892764 (1999-04-01), Riemann et al.
patent: 5917898 (1999-06-01), Bassa et al.
patent: 6012152 (2000-01-01), Douik et al.
OPNET; numbered pp. 1-11 (obtained from www.mil3.com)—package ordered, 1993.*
van Zijl et al: A tool for graphical network modeling and analysis; IEEE Software; pp. 47-54, 1992.*
COMNET III: product description; (obtained fro
Barskiy Michail D.
Dadgar Hamid R.
Livshits Boris
Ostapchuk Yuri
Boys Donald R.
Central Coast Patent Agency
Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories , Inc.
Jones Hugh
Teska Kevin J.
LandOfFree
Methods in computer simulation of telephony systems does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Methods in computer simulation of telephony systems, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Methods in computer simulation of telephony systems will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2452385