EP1126731A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Customer controlled network routing to automatic call distribution systems
Assignee: Nokia of America Corp
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Filing: 2000-08-29
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2020-08-29
Abstract
Abstract An entity of a private communications network (24, 26, 28), such as a controller of an ACD system (24), controls the operation of a network router (30) of a public communications network (12, 14, 16), thereby eliminating the need in a network-routing system to send sensitive event or status information of the private network to the network router. The entity collects and processes locally the status information about the private network, and whenever it detects that the workload balance in the private network needs readjusting, it sends a new routing sequence message to the network router. These messages specify the routing scheme to the network router. A routing sequence message contains a pair of routing sequences. Each is an ordered sequence of destination route points. The first establishes a load balance and the second maintains the load balance. The first is executed by the network router once upon receipt, and the second is executed repeatedly in a cycle until a new routing sequence message is received.
Inventors
- 👤 Andrew D. Flockhart
- 👤 Eugene P. Mathews
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-10 02:18
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04M; H04M3/00; H04M3/42; H04M3/50; H04M3/51; H04M3/523; H04M3/5237; H04L; H04L12/00; H04L12/28; H04Q; H04Q3/00; H04Q3/0016; H04M3/5232; H04M3/5234; H04Q2213/00; H04Q2213/13072; H04Q2213/13104; H04Q2213/13107; H04Q2213/13141; H04Q2213/13164; H04Q2213/13166; H04Q2213/13342; H04Q2213/13353
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
142 words
A communications entity (24) for use with a communications
network (10) that has a network router (30) connected to the network for
routing communications to or from the entity over ones of a plurality of
routes through the network, the entity comprising: means (24-28) connected to the network for processing
communications routed to or from the entity by the router; means (70:302) coupled to the processing means for determining a
status of the processing means, CHARACTERISED BY means (70:312,314) coupled to the determining means and
responsive to the determined status for selecting ones of the routes to or
from the entity; and means (70:710) coupled to the selecting means and responsive to
the selection for specifying (404,406) the selected routes to the network
router to cause the network router to route the communications to or from
the entity over the specified routes.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
83 words
The communications entity of claim 1 wherein: the processing means comprise a plurality of communications
endpoints (24-28:74-76); the determining means are adapted to determine status of the
plurality of endpoints; the selecting means are adapted to select ones of the endpoints to
or from which the communications should be routed; and the specifying means are adapted to specify the selected endpoints
(408) to the network router to cause the network router to route the
communications over routes to or from the specified endpoints.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
80 words
The communications entity of claim 2 wherein: the selecting means are adapted to select a sequence (406) of
ones of the endpoints in which sequence the communications are to be
routed to or from the ones of the endpoints; and the selecting means are further adapted to select a new said
sequence (406) and the specifying means are adapted to specify the new
sequence to the network router whenever (704) a balance between the
endpoints falls below a predetermined threshold.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
135 words
The communications entity of claim 2 wherein: the selecting means comprise means (70:802-834) responsive to the balance between the
endpoints falling below a predetermined threshold, for repeatedly
determining an endpoint whose sum of its estimated wait time and its
advance time is lowest among the endpoints and improves the balance
between the endpoints, and including each said determined endpoint in a
first said sequence (404) to establish a balance between the endpoints,
and further repeatedly determining an endpoint whose product of its
advance time and a number of times that said endpoint appears in a
second said sequence (406) is lowest among the endpoints, and including
each said determined endpoint in said second sequence until each
endpoint appears at least once in the new second sequence to maintain
the balance established by the first sequence.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
54 words
The communications entity of claim 4 wherein: the selecting means further include each said determined endpoint
in the second sequence until at least one of (a) the products of all the
endpoints become balanced (830) to within a predetermined threshold and
(b) a length of the second sequence reaches (832) a predetermined
maximum length.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
41 words
The communications entity of claim 1 for use with a public
communications network (12-16), wherein: the private communications network comprises at least one
automatic communications distribution (ACD) system (24); and the determining means comprise a controller (70) of the ACD
system.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
75 words
A router (30) for a communications network (10) that has a
communications entity (24) connected to the network for processing
communications, CHARACTERISED BY: means (30:500-506) for receiving from the entity a specification
(404,406) of ones of a plurality of routes through the network to or from
the entity; and means (30:600-612) responsive to receipt of the specification for
routing communications through the network to or from the entity over the
specified ones of the routes.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
97 words
The router of claim 7 wherein: the receiving means are adapted to receive from the entity a
specification of a first sequence (404) of ones of a plurality of
communications endpoints of the entity for the routing means to establish
a balance between the endpoints and receive a second said sequence
(406) for the routing means to maintain the balance established by the first
sequence; and the routing means are adapted to route communications through
the network over routes to or from endpoints in a specified sequence in
response to receipt of the specification of said sequence.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
58 words
The router of claim 7 for a public communications network (12-16)
that has an entity (24) comprising a private communications network
(24-28) connected thereto, wherein: the receiving means are adapted to receive the specification from
the private network, and the routing means are adapted to route the communications
through the public network to or from the private network.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
116 words
A method of routing communications in a communications
network (10) having a communications entity (24-28) connected to the
network for processing the communications and further having a network
router (30) connected to the network for routing the communications to or
from the entity through the network, CHARACTERISED BY: the entity (24:702-704) determining a status of the entity; the entity selecting (24:800-834) ones of a plurality of routes to or
from the entity in response to the determined status; the entity specifying (24:708-710) the selected routes to the
network router; and the network router being responsive (30:500-506) to the specifying
by routing (30:600-612) the communications through the network to or
from the entity over the specified routes.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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