Telephonic communications – Centralized switching system – Call distribution to operator
Reexamination Certificate
1998-02-27
2001-09-18
Smith, Creighton (Department: 2642)
Telephonic communications
Centralized switching system
Call distribution to operator
C379S309000, C379S127030
Reexamination Certificate
active
06292555
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system wherein a telephone call from a customer is automatically connected to an operator. More particularly, it relates to a system and a method in which, when a call from a customer has been received, calling-subscriber information on the calling customer is acquired using the CTI (Computer Telephony Integration) facility, and in which, using the calling-subscriber information, a database is searched for an operator having ever served the specific customer, so as to automatically connect the customer's call to a telephone set allocated to the specific operator. It relates also to a storage medium which stores therein a program for implementing such automatic connection.
2 . Description of the Related Art
Nowadays, there are a large number of services wherein telephone calls from many and unspecified customers are received so as to take proper measures complying with the customers' needs, such as mail-order sale, a credit service, a service for consulting about products, and a telephone call center. (Here in this specification, all kinds of users, including the users of services in each of which a charge or a substantial equivalent is not involved, shall be termed “customers”.) In such services, persons termed “operators” serve the calls received from the customers, respectively. In recent years, automatic response systems have been introduced for offering parts of the services instead of the operators (persons). An example of the systems is a computerized automatic response system intended to improve efficiency, wherein information items are communicated as substitutes for the operators or wherein, before the operators respond, the customers' calls are distributed to sections appropriate for the service contents of the calls, in accordance with inputs entered by the customers after the calls have been received.
Such a system is really suited to communicate information items to the customers unidirectionally in case of, e.g., the notice of the prices of products or the presentation of the specifications of products. Finally, however, the operators must deal with the services of the mail-order sale, the credit service, the service for consulting about products, and the telephone call center as mentioned before, each of which is difficult to be dealt with in “reference manual” fashion or each of which requires delicate dealings.
There has also been introduced an operator connection system wherein, in the situation stated before, the customer's call the service content of which requires the operator's response is automatically connected to the operator. The operator connection system in the prior art operates as follows. When the telephone call from the customer has come in, the telephone number of the customer being a calling source is acquired in a telephone exchange, and it is sent to a computer by the CTI facility.
This CTI facility contains an interface function which, when the telephone exchange has received the customer's call, notifies the computer of the acquired information of the customer side, such as the telephone number, and an interface function which, when the computer requests the telephone exchange to report a line connection or a line connection situation, sends a command therefor to the telephone exchange.
Besides, as disclosed in the official gazette of Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication (Tokkaihei) No. 05-165862 (entitled “Customer-Information Registration Apparatus”) filed by the same assignee as that of the present application, the above computer can be so constructed that customer information items such as a name and an address corresponding to the telephone number of the customer are stored in a database. According to the construction, when the telephone call from a customer having called at sometime is to be connected to an operator, the customer information corresponding to the calling customer, a transaction input form containing the customer information, or the like can be displayed on the display screen of the client computer allocated to the particular operator. Thus, the operator can readily refer to the customer information of the customer having ever called. Moreover, in entering the inputs (transaction inputs) of an order or the like, such customer information need not be entered each time. These facts lighten a burden on the operator, and improve the efficiency of the dealings with the customer.
Furthermore, the computer can be so constructed that, when the particular operator is to ask for and receive instructions etc. from another veteran or skilled operator, the display of the customer information, the transaction input form containing the customer information, or the like as presented to the particular operator can be collectively transferred to a display device allocated to the veteran or the skilled operator.
Here, the schematic flow of data in the prior-art operator connection system will be explained with reference to FIG.
1
.
The operator connection system
1100
illustrated in
FIG. 1
is configured of an exchange
1110
, a server
1120
, a customer database
1130
, a network
1140
, a plurality of client computers
1150
(
1150
A,
1150
B, . . . ), and a plurality of telephone sets
1160
(
1160
A,
1160
B, . . . ).
The exchange
1110
is connected to a public network
1180
, the server
1120
and the plurality of telephone sets
1160
(
1160
A,
1160
B, . . . ). The server
1120
is connected to the exchange
1110
and the customer database
1130
. The exchange
1110
, the server
1120
and the plurality of client computers
1150
(
1150
A,
1150
B, . . . ) are interconnected through the network
1140
.
A customer
1200
gives a telephone call to a predetermined telephone number by the use of his/her telephone set
1190
, whereby the telephone set
1190
is connected to the exchange
1110
through the public network
1180
. The call given by the customer
1200
is first received by the exchange
1110
, in which the calling subscriber number of the customer
1200
is acquired. The calling subscriber number is the telephone number of the telephone set
1190
in the public network
1180
for which the customer
1200
has subscribed. This calling subscriber number is acquirable in the exchange
1110
by the use of, for example, Calling Line Identification Presentation Service for general subscription telephone lines as is experimentally introduced within part of the State of Japan at present by NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Kabushiki-Kaisha). The service is scheduled to be introduced in all parts of Japan in future, and such services have already been introduced in the United States of America, etc.
The calling subscriber number or the like acquired by the exchange
1110
is obtained from this exchange
1110
through a CTI link
1115
by the server
1120
.
Subsequently, on condition that the calling subscriber number obtained by the server
1120
exists in the customer database
1130
(in other words, that the particular customer has ever called to the specific service), customer information items (for example, the address and name of the customer, including the calling subscriber number) which correspond to the calling subscriber number within the customer database
1130
are sent to the display device of the client computers
1150
A allocated to one (for example, operator-A
1170
A) of operators
1170
(
1170
A,
1170
B, . . . ) who are free or not busy, together with a transaction input form or the like and through the network
1140
. Simultaneously, the telephone set
1190
of the customer
1200
and the telephone set-A
1160
A of the operator-A
1170
A are brought into line connection by the exchange
1110
in compliance with a command issued by the server
1120
. As a result, the operator-A
1170
A can talk with the customer
1200
while watching the customer information of the customer
1200
and the transaction input form or the like.
The customer information items (the data of the address, name etc
Fujitsu Limited
Smith Creighton
Staas & Halsey , LLP
LandOfFree
System, method and storage medium for connection to operator does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with System, method and storage medium for connection to operator, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and System, method and storage medium for connection to operator will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2463682