EP0177218A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for sharing operators among assistance systems
Assignee: AT&T Inc
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Filing: 1985-09-18
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2005-09-18
Abstract
Abstract An arrangement for serving an operator assistance request detected, in a first operator assistance system (1) from an operator position in a second operator assistance system (2). If a first operator assistance system (1) is overloaded or has no attended operator positions, the two operator assistance systems cooperate to establish a connection between the customer requesting operator assistance and the operator position in the second system (2). The attending operator at that operator position in system (2) keys information into the operator position for transmission to the first system (1). Responsive to this data, the first system enters data, such as billing data, into its records, and sets up connections, such as a connection for a person-to-person call, in its switching network. The arrangement can be used to transfer operator assistance requests at night, during overload, or to specialized operators not available at the first office. The arrangement can also be used on a permanent basis, to transfer all operator assistance requests when a serving team of operators cannot be economically justified for the first office.
Inventors
- 👤 William Jackson Bushnell
- 👤 Richard Warren Hemmeter
- 👤 Palanichamy Raghavan
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 23:48
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04M; H04M3/00; H04M3/60; H04M3/42; H04M3/50; H04M3/51; H04Q; H04Q11/00; H04Q11/04; H04Q11/0428; H04Q11/0435
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
232 words
A method of serving an operator assistance request from a specific line or trunk served by a first operator assistance system, in a communications network comprising a first and a second operator assistance system, the first operator assistance system adapted to serve a set of lines or trunks connected thereto, each of the operator assistance systems comprising an operator position, comprising the steps of: detecting an operator assistance request from the specific line or trunk; generating a first indication if the operator assistance request is to be served by the operator position of the first system and generating a second indication if the operator assistance request is to be served by the operator position of the second system; connecting the specific line or trunk to the operator position of the first system if the first indication has been generated; executing the following steps if the second indication has been generated: a. connecting the specific line or trunk to the operator position of the second operator assistance system; b. keying call related data into the operator position of the second system; c. transmitting data messages corresponding to the data keyed into the operator position from the second system to the first system; and d. responding, in the first system, to the data messages by establishing a connection from the specific line or trunk to an other of the set of lines or trunks.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
232 words
A method of serving an operator assistance request from a specific line or trunk served by a first operator assistance system, in a communications network comprising a first and a second operator assistance system, the first operator assistance system adapted to serve a set of lines or trunks connected thereto, each of the operator assistance systems comprising an operator position, comprising the steps of: detecting an operator assistance request from the specific line or trunk; generating a first indication if the operator assistance request is to be served by the operator position of the first system and generating a second indication if the operator assistance request is to be served by the operator position of the second system; connecting the specific line or trunk to the operator position of the first system if the first indication has been generated; executing the following steps if the second indication has been generated: a. connecting the specific line or trunk to the operator position of the second operator assistance system; b. keying call related data into the operator position of the second system; c. transmitting data messages corresponding to the data keyed into the operator position from the second system to the first system; and d. responding, in the first system, to the data messages by establishing a connection from the specific line or trunk to an other of the set of lines or trunks.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method of claim 1 in which the connecting step further comprises the steps of connecting the specific line or trunk to the first operator assistance system; and connecting the first operator assistance system to communication circuits to the second operator assistance system.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
370 words
A communication network comprising: a first operator assistance system (1) adapted to be connected to a plurality of lines or trunks (120, 121) and comprising an operator position (110), a second operator assistance system (2) comprising an operator position (160); communication circuits (125, 126, 140) interconnecting the first (1) and the second (2) operator assistance systems; the first operator assistance system comprising: a processor (101) for detecting an operator assistance request on one of the plurality of lines or trunks (120, 121) and for generatisng a first indication if the operator assistance request is to be served by the operator position (110) of the first operator assistance system and for generating a second indication if the operator assistance request is to be served by the operator position of the second operator assistance system; the processor (101) responsive to detection of the operator assistance request and to the first indication for establishing a connection between the one or the plurality of lines of trunks and the operator (110) position of the first operator assistance system; the processor (101) responsive to the second indication and to detection of a request for establishing a connection between the one of the plurality of lines of trunks (120, 121) and the communication circuits (125, 126, 140) and for generating and transmitting a first data message over the communication circuits to the second operator assistance system; the second operator assistance system comprising: a processor (151) for establishing a connection between the communication circuits (125, 126,140) and the operator position (160) of the second operator assistance system in response to the first data message, the operator position (160) of the second operator assistance system responsive to data keyed by an operator to generate response data signals relating to the operator assistance request; the second operator assistance system further comprising: means for transmitting second data messages, representing the response data signals, to the first operator assistance system over the communication circuits (125, 126); and the first operator assistance system further comprising: means, responsive to the second data messages, for establishing a connection between the one of the plurality of lines or trunks (120, 121) and a selected other one of the plurality of lines or trunks (130, 131).
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
370 words
A communication network comprising: a first operator assistance system (1) adapted to be connected to a plurality of lines or trunks (120, 121) and comprising an operator position (110), a second operator assistance system (2) comprising an operator position (160); communication circuits (125, 126, 140) interconnecting the first (1) and the second (2) operator assistance systems; the first operator assistance system comprising: a processor (101) for detecting an operator assistance request on one of the plurality of lines or trunks (120, 121) and for generatisng a first indication if the operator assistance request is to be served by the operator position (110) of the first operator assistance system and for generating a second indication if the operator assistance request is to be served by the operator position of the second operator assistance system; the processor (101) responsive to detection of the operator assistance request and to the first indication for establishing a connection between the one or the plurality of lines of trunks and the operator (110) position of the first operator assistance system; the processor (101) responsive to the second indication and to detection of a request for establishing a connection between the one of the plurality of lines of trunks (120, 121) and the communication circuits (125, 126, 140) and for generating and transmitting a first data message over the communication circuits to the second operator assistance system; the second operator assistance system comprising: a processor (151) for establishing a connection between the communication circuits (125, 126,140) and the operator position (160) of the second operator assistance system in response to the first data message, the operator position (160) of the second operator assistance system responsive to data keyed by an operator to generate response data signals relating to the operator assistance request; the second operator assistance system further comprising: means for transmitting second data messages, representing the response data signals, to the first operator assistance system over the communication circuits (125, 126); and the first operator assistance system further comprising: means, responsive to the second data messages, for establishing a connection between the one of the plurality of lines or trunks (120, 121) and a selected other one of the plurality of lines or trunks (130, 131).
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
46 words
A communication network in accordance with claim 3 CHARACTERIZED IN THAT the processor (101) comprises: a memory (103) for storing a flag indicator, the flag indicator is reset when the first indication is generated, and the flag indicator is set when the second indication is generated.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
48 words
A communication network in accordance with claim 4 CHARACTERIZED IN THAT the second operator assistance system transmits third data messages to the first operator assistance system; and the processor (101) of the first operator assistance system in response to the third data message sets and resets the flag.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
77 words
A communication network in accordance with claim 5 CHARACTERIZED IN THAT the second operator assistance system calculates traffic data representing the amount of operator request traffic which can be accepted in the second operator assistance system; and the third data messages corprises the traffic control data; the processor (101) of the first operator assistance system in response to the traffic control data received in the third data message adjusts the generation of the first and second indications-
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
78 words
A communication network in accordance with claim 6 CHARACTERIZED IN THAT the processor (101) of the first operator assistance system detects the level of unserved operator assistance requests and generates ard transmits request data messages over the communication circuits to the second operator assistance system in response to the detection of a level of unserved operator assistance requests above a threshold; and the second operator assistance system is responsive to the reception of the transfer request data messages.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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