US6453341B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
System for routing electronic mails
Assignee: Alcatel Lucent SAS
•
Filing: 2000-06-21
•
Granted: 2002-09-17
•
Expires: 2020-06-21
Abstract
Abstract A system for routing electronic mails to one of a plurality of support persons in a processing center is disclosed. Each person has a skill set that is suitable for responding to a certain type of e-mails. The system comprises an e-mail server for receiving the e-mail from a sender, an information extractor for extracting relevant information from the e-mail, and a router for routing the e-mail. The system contains a database for storing information related to all persons who can answer e-mails. The system also contains a server for storing the history of all activities in the system. The router can make routing decisions and perform load-balancing and alert functions based on the information stored in the database and the server.
Inventors
- 👤 Alec Miloslavsky
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 20:20
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N7/00; H04N7/14; H04N7/141; H04N7/148; G; G06; G06Q; G06Q10/00; G06Q10/10; G06Q10/107; H04L; H04L45/00; H04L45/302; H04L45/306; H04L51/00; H04L51/21; H04L51/214; H04N7/15; H04M; H04M2201/00; H04M2201/50; H04M2242/00; H04M2242/22; H04M3/00; H04M3/42; H04M3/42025; H04M3/42034; H04M3/42059; H04M3/42085; H04M3/42102; H04M3/42314; H04M3/42323; H04M3/50; H04M3/51; H04M3/5183; H04M3/53; H04M3/5307; H04M7/00; H04M7/0024; H04M7/0054
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 58
Claim 1
Independent Claim
131 words
A system for routing an electronic mail (e-mail) to one of a plurality of support persons in a processing center, each of said support persons having a specific skill set from a variety of possible skill sets, the system comprising: an e-mail server adapted to receive said e-mail from a sender; an information extractor for extracting information from said e-mail; a router; and a database accessible to the router and storing skill sets of said support persons; wherein the received email and the sender are non-proprietary to the system, and said router selects said one of a plurality of support persons by matching stored information about said specific skill sets with portions of extracted information from said e-mail and routes said e-mail to one of the plurality of said support persons.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
131 words
A system for routing an electronic mail (e-mail) to one of a plurality of support persons in a processing center, each of said support persons having a specific skill set from a variety of possible skill sets, the system comprising: an e-mail server adapted to receive said e-mail from a sender; an information extractor for extracting information from said e-mail; a router; and a database accessible to the router and storing skill sets of said support persons; wherein the received email and the sender are non-proprietary to the system, and said router selects said one of a plurality of support persons by matching stored information about said specific skill sets with portions of extracted information from said e-mail and routes said e-mail to one of the plurality of said support persons.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
33 words
The system of claim 1 further comprising a statistics server (stat-server) recording activities of said processing center, and wherein said routing performed by said router further uses said recorded activity in said stat-server.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
23 words
The system of claim 2 wherein routing of e-mails to selected support persons is load-balanced based on recorded activity stored in said stat-server.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
33 words
The system of claim 1 wherein an overload threshold is set for number of e-mails to be routed, and senders of e-mails are notified of a possible delay when the threshold is exceeded.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
30 words
The system of claim 1 wherein said database further stores information on senders of e-mails, and routing performed by said router further uses said stored information on senders of e-mails.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
29 words
The system of claim 5 wherein said database stores information about prior relationships of support persons and e-mail senders, and said router uses said relationship information in routing decisions.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
34 words
The system of claim 1 wherein a time limit for response to e-mails by said support persons is set, and wherein e-mails not answered within said time limit are rerouted to other support persons.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
15 words
The system of claim 1 wherein said information extractor comprises plural and selectable extraction algorithms.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
32 words
The system of claim 8 wherein one of the extraction algorithms includes a parser, and wherein said one of the extraction algorithms uses the parser to search for keywords in said e-mail.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
75 words
A method for routing non-proprietary electronic mails (e-mails) in a processing center having a plurality of support persons, comprising steps of: (a) receiving e-mails at an e-mail server in the processing center; (b) extracting information from the e-mails; (c) matching extracted information with skill sets of support persons; (d) selecting specific support persons to receive said e-mails based on results of the matching step (c); and (e) sending said e-mails to said selected support persons.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
75 words
A method for routing non-proprietary electronic mails (e-mails) in a processing center having a plurality of support persons, comprising steps of: (a) receiving e-mails at an e-mail server in the processing center; (b) extracting information from the e-mails; (c) matching extracted information with skill sets of support persons; (d) selecting specific support persons to receive said e-mails based on results of the matching step (c); and (e) sending said e-mails to said selected support persons.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
113 words
A system for routing and re-routing an electronic mail (e-mail) to a selected one of support persons in a processing center, comprising: an e-mail server adapted to receive said e-mail from a sender; and a router adapted to select the one of said support persons to receive said e-mail, said router imposing a predetermined time for response to the e-mail by the selected support person; wherein the received email and the sender are non-proprietary to the system, and said router sends said e-mail to a selected support person, and, in the event a response is not made in the predetermined time, sends the same e-mail to a different one of the support persons.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
113 words
A system for routing and re-routing an electronic mail (e-mail) to a selected one of support persons in a processing center, comprising: an e-mail server adapted to receive said e-mail from a sender; and a router adapted to select the one of said support persons to receive said e-mail, said router imposing a predetermined time for response to the e-mail by the selected support person; wherein the received email and the sender are non-proprietary to the system, and said router sends said e-mail to a selected support person, and, in the event a response is not made in the predetermined time, sends the same e-mail to a different one of the support persons.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
40 words
The system of claim 11 further comprising a statistics server (stat-server) recording activities of said processing center, and wherein said routing performed by said router further uses said recorded activity in said stat-server in selecting support persons to receive e-mails.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
23 words
The system of claim 12 wherein routing of e-mails to selected support persons is load-balanced based on recorded activity stored in said stat-server.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
33 words
The system of claim 11 wherein an overload threshold is set for number of e-mails to be routed, and senders of e-mails are notified of a possible delay when the threshold is exceeded.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
40 words
The system of claim 11 further comprising a database adapted for storing information on senders of e-mails, and routing performed by said router further uses said stored information on senders of e-mails in selecting support persons to receive said e-mails.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
29 words
The system of claim 15 wherein said database stores information about prior relationships of support persons and e-mail senders, and said router uses said relationship information in routing decisions.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
57 words
The system of claim 15 wherein the database stores data relating to skill sets of support persons, further comprising an extractor adapted to extract information from e-mails, and wherein support persons are selected to receive e-mails based on matches between said stored data relating to skill sets of support persons and said information extracted from said e-mails.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
15 words
The system of claim 17 wherein said information extractor comprises plural and selectable extraction algorithms.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
32 words
The system of claim 18 wherein one of the extraction algorithms includes a parser, and wherein said one of the extraction algorithms uses the parser to search for keywords in said e-mail.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
80 words
A method for routing non-proprietary electronic mails (e-mails) in a processing center having a plurality of support persons, comprising steps of: (a) receiving e-mails at an e-mail server in the processing center; (b) selecting specific support persons to receive said e-mails; (c) monitoring time for response to said e-mails by said selected support persons against a preset time-for-response limit; and (d) sending an e-mail for which a response is not made in the time-for-response limit to a different support person.
Claim 24
Independent Claim
80 words
A method for routing non-proprietary electronic mails (e-mails) in a processing center having a plurality of support persons, comprising steps of: (a) receiving e-mails at an e-mail server in the processing center; (b) selecting specific support persons to receive said e-mails; (c) monitoring time for response to said e-mails by said selected support persons against a preset time-for-response limit; and (d) sending an e-mail for which a response is not made in the time-for-response limit to a different support person.
Claim 25
Independent Claim
96 words
A system for routing electronic mails (e-mails) to individual ones of a plurality of support persons in a processing center, comprising: an e-mail server adapted to receive said e-mail from a sender; a router; and a database accessible to the router; wherein the received email and the sender are non-proprietary to the system, and said database stores statistical information about the activities of the processing center, including numbers of e-mails routed to each support person in the processing center, and said router adjusts numbers of e-mails sent to said support persons according to a load-balancing algorithm.
Claim 26
Independent Claim
96 words
A system for routing electronic mails (e-mails) to individual ones of a plurality of support persons in a processing center, comprising: an e-mail server adapted to receive said e-mail from a sender; a router; and a database accessible to the router; wherein the received email and the sender are non-proprietary to the system, and said database stores statistical information about the activities of the processing center, including numbers of e-mails routed to each support person in the processing center, and said router adjusts numbers of e-mails sent to said support persons according to a load-balancing algorithm.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
33 words
The system of claim 21 wherein an overload threshold is set for number of e-mails to be routed, and senders of e-mails are notified of a possible delay when the threshold is exceeded.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
53 words
The system of claim 21 further comprising a database storing data regarding skill sets of said support persons and a data extractor adapted to extract data from incoming e-mails, and the router is adapted to match skill-set data with extracted data and to use the results to select support persons to receive e-mails.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
15 words
The system of claim 23 wherein said data extractor comprises plural and selectable extraction algorithms.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
32 words
The system of claim 24 wherein one of the extraction algorithms includes a parser, and wherein said one of the extraction algorithms uses the parser to search for keywords in said e-mail.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
33 words
The system of claim 21 wherein said database stores information about e-mail senders and prior relationships of support persons and e-mail senders, and said router uses said relationship information in making routing decisions.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
34 words
The system of claim 21 wherein a time limit for response to e-mails by said support persons is set, and wherein e-mails not answered within said time limit are rerouted to other support persons.
Claim 33
Independent Claim
74 words
A method for routing non-proprietary electronic mails (e-mails) in a processing center having a plurality of support persons, comprising steps of: (a) receiving e-mails at an e-mail server in the processing center; (b) selecting support persons to receive said e-mails; (c) storing statistical information regarding numbers of e-mails routed to each support person; and (d) using the statistical information in a balancing algorithm to adjust the number of e-mails sent to each support person.
Claim 34
Independent Claim
74 words
A method for routing non-proprietary electronic mails (e-mails) in a processing center having a plurality of support persons, comprising steps of: (a) receiving e-mails at an e-mail server in the processing center; (b) selecting support persons to receive said e-mails; (c) storing statistical information regarding numbers of e-mails routed to each support person; and (d) using the statistical information in a balancing algorithm to adjust the number of e-mails sent to each support person.
Claim 35
Independent Claim
69 words
A system for routing a electronic mails (e-mails) to support persons in a processing center, comprising: an e-mail server adapted to receive said e-mail from a sender; and a router adapted to select support persons to receive e-mails; wherein the received email and the sender are non-proprietary to the system, and the system notifies senders of a possible delay in processing e-mails if a preset load threshold is exceeded.
Claim 36
Independent Claim
69 words
A system for routing a electronic mails (e-mails) to support persons in a processing center, comprising: an e-mail server adapted to receive said e-mail from a sender; and a router adapted to select support persons to receive e-mails; wherein the received email and the sender are non-proprietary to the system, and the system notifies senders of a possible delay in processing e-mails if a preset load threshold is exceeded.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
35 words
The system of claim 29 further comprising a statistics server (stat-server) recording activities of said processing center, and wherein said router is adapted to use said recorded data in selecting support persons to receive e-mails.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
23 words
The system of claim 30 wherein routing of e-mails to selected support persons is load-balanced based on recorded activity stored in said stat-server.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
41 words
The system of claim 29 further comprising a database wherein said database further stores information on senders of e-mails, and routing performed by said router further uses said stored information on senders of e-mails in selecting support persons to receive e-mails.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
29 words
The system of claim 32 wherein said database stores information about prior relationships of support persons and e-mail senders, and said router uses said relationship information in routing decisions.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
37 words
The system of claim 29 wherein a time limit for response to e-mails by said support persons is set, and wherein e-mails not answered by support persons within said time limit are rerouted to other support persons.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
47 words
The system of claim 32 further comprising a data extractor adapted to extract data from e-mails received and wherein said database stores data regarding skill sets of support persons, and wherein said router matches skill set data with extracted data in selecting support persons to receive e-mails.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
15 words
The system of claim 35 wherein said information extractor comprises plural and selectable extraction algorithms.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
32 words
The system of claim 36 wherein one of the extraction algorithms includes a parser, and wherein said one of the extraction algorithms uses the parser to search for keywords in said e-mail.
Claim 45
Independent Claim
63 words
A method for routing non-proprietary electronic mails (e-mails) in a processing center having a plurality of support persons, comprising steps of: (a) receiving e-mails at an e-mail server in said processing center; (b) routing e-mails to selected ones of said support persons; (c) tracking numbers of e-mails received and routed; and (d) notifying senders of possible delays if preset load thresholds are exceeded.
Claim 46
Independent Claim
63 words
A method for routing non-proprietary electronic mails (e-mails) in a processing center having a plurality of support persons, comprising steps of: (a) receiving e-mails at an e-mail server in said processing center; (b) routing e-mails to selected ones of said support persons; (c) tracking numbers of e-mails received and routed; and (d) notifying senders of possible delays if preset load thresholds are exceeded.
Claim 47
Independent Claim
92 words
A system for routing an electronic mail (e-mail) to one of a plurality of support persons in a processing center, the system comprising: an e-mail server adapted to receive said e-mail from a sender; a router; and a database accessible to the router and storing data regarding availability of said support persons; wherein the received email and the sender are non-proprietary to the system, and said router selects said one of said plurality of support persons by consulting the database for availability data and sends said e-mail to the selected support person.
Claim 48
Independent Claim
92 words
A system for routing an electronic mail (e-mail) to one of a plurality of support persons in a processing center, the system comprising: an e-mail server adapted to receive said e-mail from a sender; a router; and a database accessible to the router and storing data regarding availability of said support persons; wherein the received email and the sender are non-proprietary to the system, and said router selects said one of said plurality of support persons by consulting the database for availability data and sends said e-mail to the selected support person.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
32 words
The system of claim 39 further comprising a statistics server (stat-server) recording activities of said processing center, and wherein routing performed by said router further uses said recorded activity in said stat-server.
Claim 50
Dependent Claim
23 words
The system of claim 40 wherein routing of e-mails to selected support persons is load-balanced based on recorded activity stored in said stat-server.
Claim 51
Dependent Claim
33 words
The system of claim 39 wherein an overload threshold is set for number of e-mails to be routed, and senders of e-mails are notified of a possible delay when the threshold is exceeded.
Claim 52
Dependent Claim
30 words
The system of claim 39 wherein said database further stores information on senders of e-mails, and routing performed by said router further uses said stored information on senders of e-mails.
Claim 53
Dependent Claim
29 words
The system of claim 43 wherein said database stores information about prior relationships of support persons and e-mail senders, and said router uses said relationship information in routing decisions.
Claim 54
Dependent Claim
36 words
The system of claim 39 wherein a time limit for response to an e-mail by said support persons is set, and wherein e-mails not answered within said time limit are rerouted to other available support persons.
Claim 55
Dependent Claim
28 words
The system of claim 39 further comprising an information extractor adapted to extract information from said e-mail, and wherein said information extractor comprises plural and selectable extraction algorithms.
Claim 56
Dependent Claim
32 words
The system of claim 46 wherein one of the extraction algorithms includes a parser, and wherein said one of the extraction algorithms uses the parser to search for keywords in said e-mail.
Claim 57
Independent Claim
77 words
A method for routing non-proprietary electronic mails (e-mails) in a processing center having a plurality of support persons, comprising steps of: (a) receiving e-mails at an e-mail server in the processing center; (b) checking a database for availability of support persons to which e-mails may be routed; and (c) selecting a specific support person to receive a specific e-mail based on results of the checking step (b); and sending said e-mail to the specific support person selected.
Claim 58
Independent Claim
77 words
A method for routing non-proprietary electronic mails (e-mails) in a processing center having a plurality of support persons, comprising steps of: (a) receiving e-mails at an e-mail server in the processing center; (b) checking a database for availability of support persons to which e-mails may be routed; and (c) selecting a specific support person to receive a specific e-mail based on results of the checking step (b); and sending said e-mail to the specific support person selected.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US5862223A
Cited
US5790789A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2005-09-16 | 2006-03-18 | 2006-09-17 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2009-09-16 | 2010-03-18 | 2010-09-17 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2013-09-16 | 2014-03-18 | 2014-09-17 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |