Telephonic communications – Audio message storage – retrieval – or synthesis – Call source identification
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-12
2001-07-17
Smith, Creighton (Department: 2742)
Telephonic communications
Audio message storage, retrieval, or synthesis
Call source identification
C379S354000, C379S020000, C370S396000, C707S793000, C707S793000, C455S414200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06263053
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for processing incoming telephone calls, and particularly to a system and method for providing operator assistance by automatically accessing a number of customer directories.
2. Background and Objects of the Invention
There is a general market requirement for companies and other business entities to provide operator assistance to facilitate the handling of incoming telephone calls. A number of companies, such as companies in the European market, provide operator assistance to their incoming callers both during normal business hours and non-business hours in which the company is closed or otherwise not conducting business. Providing operator assistance seven days a week, 24 hours a day is, for many companies, cost prohibitive.
In existing operator service provider systems, a distinct directory is maintained for each customer (company), with the directories stored in one or more electronic databases. An operator receiving an incoming call for a subscriber of the customer, such as an employee of a customer company, must manually switch to the appropriate customer directory or, in the event all customer directories are maintained in a single database, manually execute a directory search to identify the desired customer group.
Such existing systems, however, present a number of shortcomings. First, operator-initiated directory switching/searching is too slow. In addition, errors are frequently encountered in operator-initiated directory switching/searching due to operator confusion or mistake. Erroneous switching/searching results in the incoming caller being transferred to the incorrect subscriber or even the incorrect customer/company. Further, existing operator service systems require that customer directories be exclusively maintained by the service provider in order to allow for special customer directory functions. As a result, there is a need for a more efficient and error-free operator service.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a telephone call processing system and method for providing an operator service.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an efficient and reliable system and service for managing incoming telephone calls directed to a number of different customers.
Another object of the present invention is to provide substantially error-free searching for subscriber information within the appropriate customer directory.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes the shortcomings in existing call processing systems and services and satisfies a significant need for rapidly managing incoming calls directed to a number of different customer companies.
According to the present invention, there is provided a telephone call processing system and method including a server and at least one workstation coupled thereto. The server preferably maintains a plurality of customer directories in which each customer directory includes information regarding its subscribers and/or employees of the customer. The workstation and server preferably include application software which, upon receiving an incoming telephone call, automatically identifies the desired customer directory from the plurality of customer directories and automatically configures an operator interface to point thereto for accessing the desired directory. The software is preferably then capable of searching the identified, desired customer directory for information pertaining to the particular subscriber. The customer directory search may be by subscriber name, department, keyword, or a field defined by the customer. Upon successfully locating information pertaining to the particular subscriber in the identified customer directory, data pertaining to the subscriber, such as name and telephone extension, are presented to the operator. Thereafter, the data may be provided to the caller by, for example, automatic connecting the caller to the subscriber's telephone extension or verbally communicating the subscriber's extension to the caller.
The architecture of the present system further allows each customer directory to be maintained by the respective customer. The server downloads any customer-maintained directories prior to creating a database of directories to which the operator, via the workstation, has access.
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Kuftedjian Ohaness
Lam Cory
Ericsson Inc.
Jenkens & Gilchrist P.C.
Smith Creighton
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