EP0539104A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Home agent telecommunication technique
Assignee: AT&T Inc
•
Filing: 1992-10-16
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2012-10-16
Abstract
Abstract An agent at home (12) is enabled to receive a call from a customer (14), originally directed to a transaction-processing center (16), by first identifying, at an exchange (20) of a public switched telephone network (22), the identity of the transaction-processing center and the agent(s) designated to receive calls directed to that center. Once the agent (12) has been identified, the call is routed from a first local exchange carrier central office (18) serving the customer to a local exchange carrier central office (26) serving the agent and then to the agent across a combined voice and data line (44). Upon receipt of the call, the agent simultaneously establishes a data link with the transaction-processing center so as to complete a transaction for the customer.
Inventors
- 👤 Gerard Conn
- 👤 Margaret Helen Redberg
- 👤 Steven David Simon
- 👤 Roger Kent Simonson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 01:04
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04M; H04M3/00; H04M3/42; H04M3/50; H04M3/51; H04M3/5125; H04Q; H04Q3/00; H04Q3/0016; H04Q3/0029; H04M3/5183; H04Q2213/00; H04Q2213/13072; H04Q2213/13103; H04Q2213/1313; H04Q2213/13385; H04Q2213/13516
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
16 words
A method for allowing an agent at home (12) to communicate with a remotely situated customer
Claim 2
Independent Claim
16 words
A method for allowing an agent at home (12) to communicate with a remotely situated customer
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
161 words
(14) and to simultaneously complete a transaction for such customer using a data base at a transaction-processing center (16) remote from the agent, comprising the steps of: receiving, at a customer-servicing Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) central office (18), a customer-initiated telephone call originally directed to a transaction-processing center (16) CHARACTERIZED BY: identifying at least one agent (12) at home designated to receive the customer-iniriated telephone call originally directed to the transaction-processing center (16); routing the customer-initiated call to an agent-servicing LEC central office (26) serving the designated agent at home; transmitting the call from the agent-servicing LEC (26) to the designated agent at home (12) across a combined voice and data communications channel (44) to establish a voice link between the customer and the agent at home; and simultaneously communicating data between the agent at home and the transaction-processing center across the voice and data communications channel once a voice link between the agent at home and the customer is established.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
161 words
(14) and to simultaneously complete a transaction for such customer using a data base at a transaction-processing center (16) remote from the agent, comprising the steps of: receiving, at a customer-servicing Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) central office (18), a customer-initiated telephone call originally directed to a transaction-processing center (16) CHARACTERIZED BY: identifying at least one agent (12) at home designated to receive the customer-iniriated telephone call originally directed to the transaction-processing center (16); routing the customer-initiated call to an agent-servicing LEC central office (26) serving the designated agent at home; transmitting the call from the agent-servicing LEC (26) to the designated agent at home (12) across a combined voice and data communications channel (44) to establish a voice link between the customer and the agent at home; and simultaneously communicating data between the agent at home and the transaction-processing center across the voice and data communications channel once a voice link between the agent at home and the customer is established.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
97 words
The method according to claim 1 wherein the identifying step is CHARACTERIZED BY: accessing a first set of records (28) containing all possible numbers dialed by the customer to identify the transaction-processing center the customer intended to call; accessing a second set of records (29) containing a list of agents at home which are to receive a call originally directed to the transaction-processing center identified from the first data base; and accessing a third set of records (30) containing call status information concerning the availability of each of the agents identified in the second set of records.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
79 words
The method according to claim 1 wherein the routing step is CHARACTERIZED BY: routing the call from the customer-servicing LEC central office (18) to a first exchange (22) of a public switched telephone communications network (20); transmitting the call across the public switched telephone communications network to a second exchange proximate the LEC central office serving the agent at home; and routing the call from the second exchange to the LEC central office (26) serving the agent at home.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
51 words
The method according to claim 1 CHARACTERIZED IN THATthe step of simultaneously communicating data between the agent at home and the transaction-processing center includes the step of routing a data path connection between the agent at home and the transaction-processing center through an LEC central office (26) serving the transaction-processing center.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
162 words
A system for allowing an agent at home to communicate with a remotely situated customer and to simultaneously complete a transaction for such customer using a data base at a transaction-processing center remote from the agent, comprising: a first Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) central office (18) for receiving a customer-initiated call originally directed to a transaction-processing center; and a first exchange (22) of a public switched telephone network (20) coupled to the first LEC central office CHARACTERIZED BY: means (28,29,30) located at, and associated with, the first exchange for identifying at least one of a plurality of agents at home designated to receive the customer-initiated call; means (34) for routing the customer-initiated call from the first LEC central office (18) to a second LEC (26) serving the agent at home; and a combined voice and signal data path (44) for carrying the customer-initiated call from the second LEC to the agent and for carrying data from the agent to a transaction-processing center.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
162 words
A system for allowing an agent at home to communicate with a remotely situated customer and to simultaneously complete a transaction for such customer using a data base at a transaction-processing center remote from the agent, comprising: a first Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) central office (18) for receiving a customer-initiated call originally directed to a transaction-processing center; and a first exchange (22) of a public switched telephone network (20) coupled to the first LEC central office CHARACTERIZED BY: means (28,29,30) located at, and associated with, the first exchange for identifying at least one of a plurality of agents at home designated to receive the customer-initiated call; means (34) for routing the customer-initiated call from the first LEC central office (18) to a second LEC (26) serving the agent at home; and a combined voice and signal data path (44) for carrying the customer-initiated call from the second LEC to the agent and for carrying data from the agent to a transaction-processing center.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
103 words
The system according to claim 5 CHARACTERIZED IN THAT said means for identifying at least one agent to receive the customer-initiated call comprises: a first set of records (28) for identifying the transaction-processing center to which the customer-initiated call was originally directed; a second set of records (29) for identifying at least one agent at home to receive the customer-initiated call directed to the transaction-processing center identified by the first set of records; and a third set of records (30) for identifying the current call status of each home-agent identified by the second set of records to determine the availability of such home-agents.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
17 words
The system according to claim 6 further including means (72,76) for updating the second set of records.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
35 words
The system according to claim 7 CHARACTERIZED IN THAT the updating means comprises: at least one data entry terminal (72); and a communications channel (76) for coupling each data entry terminal to the first exchange.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.