Telecommunication network with integrated network-wide automatic call distribution

Claims

The invention claimed is:

1. An automatic call distribution (ACD) network that supports the distribution of incoming calls to a plurality of agent communication terminals (ACTs) coupled to the network, whereby agents using associated ACTs answer incoming calls for which ACD service is provided, the ACD network comprising:

a first telecommunication switch that receives and holds one of said incoming calls;

a plurality of second destination telecommunication switches coupled between said first switch and ACTs for connecting said incoming calls to said ACTs;

an integrated control system coupled to said first and second switches for controlling the distribution of incoming calls among individual ACTs, the system including:

agent queue means for storing agent availability (AA) data indicative of the availability of each individual ACT to accept an incoming call;

call queue means for storing call waiting data for each incoming call that cannot be initially serviced; and

control node means coupled to said agent queue means and call queue means for selecting a specific ACT to accept said one call based on said AA data and call waiting data, said control node means sending routing instructions to the first switch at which the one call is held awaiting said routing instructions, said routing instructions causing said first switch to route the one call to one of said second switches that supports the selected ACT, said control node means also sending routing instructions that identify said selected ACT to the one of the second switches, whereby calls awaiting ACD service are handled on a network wide basis.

2. The network according claim 1 wherein said agent queue means comprises a data storage queue that stores availability data for each ACT coupled to said network so that incoming calls for each ACD subscriber will be handled based on the availability of all agents that support said subscriber.

3. The network according claim 2 wherein said agent queue means comprises a single data storage queue that collects and stores availability data for each ACT coupled to said network.

4. The network according claim 1 wherein said control node means routes incoming calls awaiting ACD service to an available specific ACT on a first in, first out basis so that a call having the longest waiting time is selected to be routed to the next available ACT that can service the call in order to minimize time spent awaiting service.

5. The network according claim 4 wherein said control node means selects one specific ACT from among a plurality of availability ACTs based on said AA data, said control node means selecting said one specific ACT that has been available for the longest time to implement such selecting on a first in, first out basis to equalize the distribution of call to ACTs.

6. The network according claim 1 wherein said control node means selects one specific ACT from among a plurality of availability ACTs based on said AA data, said control node means selecting said one specific ACT that has been available for the longest time to implement such selecting on a first in, first out basis to equalize the distribution of call to ACTs.

7. The network according claim 1 wherein a certain subscriber has first and second groups of ACTs that are associated with first and second subject matter areas, respectively, said control node means comprising means for rerouting a call initially routed to said first group so that said rerouted call is handled as if it had been directed to said second group when said second group of ACTs has a specific ACT that becomes available prior to the availability of an ACT in said first group.

8. The network according claim 1 wherein said control node means further comprises means for sending instructions to a long distance switch, from which a call request for an ACT entered said system, to hold the call associated with said call request pending the availability of an ACT.

9. The network according claim 1 wherein said control node means further comprises means for sending instructions to one of the telecommunication switches associated with the specific ACT to receive an incoming call to hold a corresponding call pending availability of an ACT.

10. The network according claim 1 further comprising means coupled to said control node means for storing subscriber handling instructions, said consol node means selecting one ACT from among a plurality of available ACTs based on said AA data and subscriber handling instructions.

11. The network according claim 10 further comprising means coupled to said control node means for storing subscriber handling instructions, said control node means selecting one incoming call from among a plurality of calls awaiting ACD service based on said call waiting data and subscriber handling instructions.

12. The network according claim 1 further comprising means coupled to said control node means for storing subscriber handling instructions, said control node means selecting one incoming call from among a plurality of calls awaiting ACD service based on said call waiting data and subscriber handling instructions.

13. An automatic call distribution (ACD) control network that supports the distribution of incoming calls to a plurality of agent communication terminals (ACTs) coupled to the network, whereby agents using associated ACTs answer incoming calls for which ACD service is provided, the network comprising:

agent queue means for storing agent availability (AA) data indicative of the availability of each individual ACT to accept an incoming call;

call queue means for storing call waiting data for each incoming call that cannot be initially serviced; and

control node means coupled to said agent queue means and call queue means for selecting a specific ACT to accept a call awaiting ACD service based on said AA data and call waiting data, said control node means sending routing instructions to a first switch at which one of the incoming calls is held awaiting said routing instructions, said routing instructions causing said first switch to route the one call to a destination switch that supports the selected ACT, said control node means also sending routing instructions that identify said selected ACT to the one of the second switches, whereby calls awaiting ACD service are handled on a network wide basis.

14. The network according claim 13 wherein said agent queue means comprises a data storage queue that stores real time availability data for each ACT couple to said network so that incoming calls for each ACD subscriber will be handled based on the availability of all agents that support said subscriber.

15. The network according claim 14 wherein said agent queue means comprises a single data storage queue that collects and stores availability data for each individual ACT coupled to said network.

16. The network according claim 13 wherein said control node means routes incoming calls awaiting ACD service to a specific available ACT on a first in, first out basis so that a call having the longest waiting time is selected to be routed to the next available ACT that can service the call in order to minimize time spent awaiting service.

17. The network according claim 16 wherein said control node means selects one specific ACT from among a plurality of availability ACTs based on said AA data, said control node means selecting said one specific ACT that has been available for the longest time to implement such selecting on a first in, first out basis to equalize the distribution of call to ACTs.

18. The network according claim 13 wherein said control node means selects one specific ACT from among a plurality of availability ACTs based on said AA data, said control node means selecting said one specific ACT that has been available for the longest time to implement such selecting on a first in, first out basis to equalize the distribution of call to ACTs.

19. The network according claim 13 wherein a certain subscriber has first and second groups of ACTs that are associated with first and second subject matter areas, respectively, said control node means comprising means for rerouting a call initially routed to said first group so that said rerouted call is handled as if it had been directed to said second group when said second group of ACTs has a specific ACT that becomes available prior to the availability of an ACT in said first group.

20. The network according claim 13 wherein said control node means further comprises means for sending instructions to a long distance switch, from which a call request for an ACT entered said network, to hold the call associated with said call request pending the availability of a specific ACT.

21. The network according claim 13 wherein said control node means further comprises means for sending instructions to one of the telecommunication switches associated with the specific ACT to receive an incoming call to hold a corresponding call pending availability of the specific ACT.

22. The network according claim 13 further comprising means coupled to said control node means for storing subscriber handling instructions, said control node means selecting one specific ACT from among a plurality of available ACTs based on said AA data and subscriber handling instructions.

23. The network according claim 22 further comprising means coupled to said control node means for storing subscriber handling instructions, said control node means selecting one incoming call from among a plurality of calls awaiting ACD service based on said call waiting data and subscriber handling instructions.

24. The network according claim 13 further comprising means coupled to said control node means for storing subscriber handling instructions, said control node means selecting one incoming call from among a plurality of calls awaiting ACD service based on said call waiting data and subscriber handling instructions.

25. A method for providing network-wide automatic call distribution (ACD) in a network that supports the distribution of incoming calls to a plurality of agent communication terminals (ACTs) coupled to the network, whereby agents using associated ACTs answer incoming calls for which ACD service is provided, the method comprising the steps of:

storing agent availability (AA) data indicative of the availability of each individual ACT to accept an incoming call in an agent queue;

storing call waiting data in a call queue for each incoming call that cannot be initially serviced due to the unavailability of an appropriate ACT to accept the call as determined by said AA data;

selecting a specific ACT to accept a call awaiting ACD service based on said AA data and call waiting data; and

sending routing instructions to a first switch at which one of the incoming calls is held awaiting said routing instructions, said routing instructions causing said first switch to route the one call to a destination switch that supports the selected ACT, said control node means also sending routing instructions that identify said selected ACT to the one of the second switches, whereby calls awaiting ACD service are handled on a network wide basis.

26. The method according claim 25 wherein said step of storing AA data comprises the step of storing real time availability data for each ACT coupled to said network so that incoming calls for each ACD subscriber will be handled based on the availability of all agents that support said subscriber.

27. The method according claim 26 wherein said step of storing AA data comprises the step of storing availability data for each ACT in a single data storage queue that collects and stores availability data for each ACT coupled to said network.

28. The method according claim 25 further comprising the step of routing incoming calls awaiting ACD service to an available ACT on a first in, first out basis so that a call having the longest waiting time is selected to be routed to the next available ACT that can service the call in order to minimize time spent awaiting service.

29. The method according claim 28 further comprising the step of selecting one specific ACT from among a plurality of availability ACTs based on said AA data, said one specific ACT selected being the one with the longest availability time to implement such selecting on a first in, first out basis to equalize the distribution of call to ACTs.

30. The method according claim 25 further comprising the step of selecting one specific ACT from among a plurality of availability ACTs based on said AA data, said one specific ACT selected being the one with the longest availability time to implement such selecting on a first in, first out basis to equalize the distribution of call to ACTs.

31. The method according claim 25 wherein a certain subscriber has first and second groups of ACTs that are associated with first and second subject matter areas, respectively, the method further comprising the step of the rerouted call being handled as if it had been directed to said second group when said second group of ACTs has a specific ACT that becomes available prior to the availability of an ACT in said first group.

32. The method according claim 25 further comprising the step of sending instructions to a long distance switch, from which a call request for an ACT entered said network, to hold the call associated with said call request pending the availability of a specific ACT.

33. The method according claim 25 further comprising the step of sending instructions to one of the telecommunication switches associated with an ACT to receive an incoming call to hold a corresponding call pending availability of an ACT.

34. The method according claim 25 further comprising the step of storing subscriber handling instructions, said selecting step selecting one specific ACT from among a plurality of availability ACTs based on said AA data and subscriber handling instructions.

35. The method according claim 34 further comprising the step of storing subscriber handling instructions, said selecting step selecting one incoming call from among a plurality of calls awaiting ACD service based on said call waiting data and subscriber handling instructions.

36. The method according claim 25 further comprising the step of storing subscriber handling instructions, said selecting step selecting one incoming call from among a plurality of calls awaiting ACD service based on said call waiting data and subscriber handling instructions.

37. A method for providing automatic call distribution (ACD) for incoming calls to a plurality of agent communication terminals (ACTs) connected to a first network, another network carries the incoming calls to the first network, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving one of the incoming calls at a first switch in the another network, the ACTs from which service is sought by said one call is supported by a second switch in the first network;

holding said one call at the first switch and not routing the call to said second switch until routing instructions for the one call are received at the first switch;

determining if one of the ACTs is available to receive the one call based on ACT availability; and

sending said routing instructions to the first switch only after the availability of the one ACT is determined, whereby incoming calls are routed through the another network only after an ACT availability determination has been made.

38. The method according to claim 37 wherein said sending step further comprises the step of sending said routing instructions to the first switch only after a specific one of the ACTs is determined to be available to handle the one call.

39. The method according to claim 37 wherein said determining step is implemented by the another network based on ACT availability data received and stored by the another network.

40. An automatic call distribution (ACD) control apparatus that controls the routing of incoming calls to a plurality of agent communication terminals (ACTs) supported by a first network, another network carries the incoming calls to the first network, the control apparatus comprising:

first means coupled to the another network for receiving and storing agent availability data indicative of the availability of each ACT to accept the incoming calls;

second means, coupled to the another network and first means, for receiving a call request associated with one of the incoming calls;

means, coupled to said first and second means, for determining if one of the ACTs is available to receive the one incoming call based on ACT availability; and

means coupled to said determining means for sending routing instructions to a first switch in the another network which received said call request, said sending means sending the routing instructions when said determining means has determined the one ACT to handle the one call so that the one incoming call is not routed through the another network until an available ACT has been determined.

41. The control apparatus according to claim 40 wherein said sending means sends said routing instructions to the first switch only after a specific one of the ACTs is determined to be available to handle the one call.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention is generally directed to the automatic distribution of incoming telephone calls and more specifically, addresses a telecommunication network which integrates the control of such calls as part of the general call routing function.

Various types of conventional automatic distributors (ACDs) are available to distribute incoming calls to a subsist. Reservation and information services may be provided by large companies, such as major airlines, and may consist of geographically separated groups of agents which answer incoming calls distributed to the agents by separate ACDs. Agent communication terminals (ACTs) which are connected to an ACD are utilized by the agents to process incoming calls routed to a particular ACT by the ACD.

A public branch exchange (PBX) type ACD such as a Definity.RTM. ACD available from AT&T functions as a conventional PBX and further functions as an ACD to distribute incoming calls to local agents connected to the PBX. Another type of ACD consists of the utilization of an electronic telecommunication switch such as a 5ESS.RTM. switch available from AT&T which is capable of providing ACD service when supposed by ACTs coupled to the switch. Both types of ACD typically function as independent systems which handle incoming calls and make internal decisions concerning which agent will receive a given call. Both types of ACD systems are capable of generating statistical reports which can be monitored by a work station coupled to the ACD system to allow a supervisor to monitor call handling statistics. Such data typically represents an average of statistics for a given system.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,983 to Frauenthal et al. addresses a method of balancing traffic loads to a plurality of customer ACDs. Each ACD periodically transmits call congestion data representing an accumulation of data for the ACD to a central database. Based on this data, the database determines a preferred ACD to which to route an incoming call. Although this technique may be generally sufficient for balancing certain traffic loads, it relies on accumulated or aggregate data on which to base decisions and, hence does not permit specific agents, i.e. ACTs, to be identified to receive a call.

In U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,204 to Cuschleg, Jr. et al. a method is described for queuing calls to a multi-location service provider having a plurality of ACDs. Decisions on routing a call to the ACD is based on the availability of a non-busy voice channel to the ACD. If all channels (circuits) are busy, a call is queued until an ACD becomes available to take the call as determined by a non-busy circuit to the respective ACD. However, the number of agents associated with a given ACD does not necessarily equal the number of circuits provided to the ACD. Thus, the monitoring of available circuits as the basis for queue management and the routing of calls does not correspond to actual agent availability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an integrated network-wide ACD network and corresponding method for managing the distribution of calls to ACTs based on current availability of individual agents.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a network supports the distribution of incoming calls to a plurality of ACTs coupled to the network. The network includes a plurality of telecommunication switches which connect incoming calls requiting ACD service to an ACT. A control system which is an integrated part of the network controls the distribution of incoming calls among the ACTs. An agent queue stores data, preferably real-time updated data, indicative of the availability of each ACT to accept an incoming call. A call queue stores call-waiting data for each incoming call that is held due to the unavailability of an appropriate ACT to accept the call. A control node which is coupled to the agent queue and call queue determines the availability of an ACT to accept a call being held based on data stored in the agent queue. The node then selects a call to be routed to an available ACT based on the call-waiting data in the call queue and subscriber handling instructions. The node then sends routing instructions to the switch associated with the ACT selected to handle the call. Thus, call-waiting time is minimized by efficiently matching individual ACTs with calls awaiting ACD service. Waiting calls can be handled on a first in, first out basis or other subscriber desired methods, and ACTs can be assigned calls based on the ACT which has been available for the longest time period.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING'S

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a telecommunication system which incorporates an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an ACD network control point as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an intelligent control point as shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a telecommunication network which incorporates the integrated ACD service in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. A conventional customer premises equipment 10 such as a telephone set is supported by a local exchange carder 12 which provides conventional central office facilities to its customers. The local exchange carrier 12 is connected by communication channels 14 to long distance switch 16 which forms part of the long distance telecommunication network. The long distance switch 16 may comprise an AT&T 4ESS.TM. switch. In the illustrated example, long distance switch 16 is connected to additional long distance switches 18 and 20 which may serve as relay nodes in the long distance network and support additional incoming traffic from other local exchange carriers (not shown).

The long distance switches are connected directly or indirectly through other long distance switches to illustrative switches 22, 24, and 26 which support ACD groups 28A, 28B, and 28C, respectively. Each of switches 22, 24, and 26 provide capability of switching incoming calls to the respective ACD group and in the illustrative embodiment provide integrated ACD functionality. For example, these switches may comprise an AT&T 5ESS.RTM. switch equipped with an ACD/MIS option known as the Pinnacle ACD system.

Each of the illustrative ACD groups 28A, 28B and 28C are shown as comprising similar elements which are labeled with the same reference numbers and differentiated by a corresponding suffix letter. Each ACD group is capable of supporting a plurality of concurrent incoming calls which are forwarded to the ACD group from the supporting switch and received by an interface line unit 34 which couples the respective lines/calls to corresponding agent communication terminals (ACTs) 36 (only one exemplary ACT is shown for each group). The maximum number of ACTs supported by an ACD group determines the maximum number of concurrent calls that can be handled, assuming sufficient agents are available to staff each of the ACTs and enough voice channels are available between the switch and line unit. A computer 38 may be associated with each ACD group and is coupled to the respective supporting switch in order to provide locally entered commands that affect the operation of the ACD system and to receive status data for monitoring the operational parameters of the ACD system, such as call-waiting times and other parameters, available from the switch.

The three types of drawing lines utilized in FIG. 1 identify different types of communication channels among the respective elements. The solid lines represent communication channels which are capable of supporting voice communication paths but may also support data communications. The intermittent dashed lines represent high-speed data communication channels which are utilized to transfer messages, commands, and data among the connected elements. The dashed lines represent relatively lower speed data communication lines which facilitate the transmission of commands, messages, and data among the connected elements. An explanation of utilization of these communication channels is described below with regard to an example of operation.

The switches 22, 24, and 26 are also capable of supporting conventional telephone traffic. For example, switch 26 is illustrated as supporting a local exchange carrier 42 which supports a plurality of conventional telephone customers as represented by CPE 40. Thus, the ACD groups may receive incoming calls either from the long distance switches or from local exchange carriers coupled directly to the supporting switch. The switches 22, 24, and 26 are each coupled to the other in order to facilitate the transfer or rerouting of calls between these switches.

A work station 44 is coupled via the relatively low-speed communication channels to the computers in the respective ACD groups and the supporting switches. The work station permits a network-wide