Patent US6678718B1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6678718B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for establishing connections
Assignee: Aspect Communications Corp
•
Filing: 1997-08-29
•
Granted: 2004-01-13
•
Expires: 2017-08-29
Abstract
Abstract A system is provided for establishing a connection between a telephone agent and a computer user. A request is received from the user requesting a return call by an agent. The request is received through a web server and includes an identifier associated with the web page being viewed by the user. The identifier associated with the web page is transmitted to an agent that will contact the user. This allows the agent to view the web page that was being viewed by the user when the request was entered. A telephone connection is then established between the user and the agent. An agent can be selected based on the content of the web page being viewed by the user at the time the request for agent contact is entered. Additionally, for an incoming call, a web page can be generated that contains information about the incoming call. An identifier associated with the generated web page is transmitted to an agent that will answer the call. The agent then accesses the web page using the received identifier.
Inventors
- 👤 Joseph F. Khouri
- 👤 Michael L. Mack
- 👤 Gautam Sinha
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 17:58
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04M; H04M7/00; H04M7/0024; H04M7/003; H04M3/00; H04M3/42; H04M3/50; H04M3/51; H04M3/5183; H04M3/5191; H04M3/523; H04M3/5231
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 23
Claim 1
Independent Claim
109 words
A method including: receiving a request for agent contact from a user, wherein the request includes an identifier associated with a first web page being viewed by the user, wherein content of the first web page is retrieved from a server, and is not authored by the user; selecting an agent to respond to the request, the selection of the agent being based on the content of the first web page; transmitting the identifier associated with the first web page to the selected agent; retrieving information associated with the user from a database; and generating code for a second web page that contains the information associated with the user.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
109 words
A method including: receiving a request for agent contact from a user, wherein the request includes an identifier associated with a first web page being viewed by the user, wherein content of the first web page is retrieved from a server, and is not authored by the user; selecting an agent to respond to the request, the selection of the agent being based on the content of the first web page; transmitting the identifier associated with the first web page to the selected agent; retrieving information associated with the user from a database; and generating code for a second web page that contains the information associated with the user.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
23 words
A method as claimed in claim 1 , which includes displaying the first web page associated with the identifier to the selected agent.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
18 words
A method as claimed in claim 1 , which includes displaying the second web page to the agent.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
41 words
A method as claimed in claim 1 , further including establishing a connection between the user and the selected agent, wherein the establishing the connection includes initiating a voice connection across a telephone network between the user and the selected agent.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
13 words
A method as claimed in claim 4 , which includes performing a verification.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
18 words
A method as claimed in claim 1 , in which the request is received through a web server.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
34 words
A method as claimed in claim 1 , in which the identifier associated with the web page is the uniform resource locator (URL) of the first web page currently being viewed by the user.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
19 words
A method as claimed in claim 1 , in which the method is implemented in a call processing environment.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
126 words
A system including: a receiving mechanism to receive a request for agent contact from a user, wherein the received request includes an identifier associated with a first web page being viewed by the user, wherein content of the first web page is retrieved from a server, and is not authored by the user; a selection mechanism to select an agent to respond to the request, the selection being based on the content of the first web page; a communications mechanism to transmit the identifier associated with the web page to the selected agent; a retrieval mechanism to retrieve information about the user from a database; and a web page generator to generate code for a second web page that contains the information associated with the user.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
126 words
A system including: a receiving mechanism to receive a request for agent contact from a user, wherein the received request includes an identifier associated with a first web page being viewed by the user, wherein content of the first web page is retrieved from a server, and is not authored by the user; a selection mechanism to select an agent to respond to the request, the selection being based on the content of the first web page; a communications mechanism to transmit the identifier associated with the web page to the selected agent; a retrieval mechanism to retrieve information about the user from a database; and a web page generator to generate code for a second web page that contains the information associated with the user.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
27 words
A system as claimed in claim 9 , which includes a display mechanism to display the first web page associated with the identifier to the selected agent.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
19 words
A system as claimed in claim 9 , which includes the second web page displayed by the retrieval mechanism.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
35 words
A system as claimed in claim 9 , further including a connection device that is a voice connection device which initiates a voice connection across a telephone network between the user and the selected agent.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
27 words
A system, as claimed in claim 12 , which includes a verification mechanism to verify that the voice connection is to the user who requested agent contact.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
16 words
A system as claimed in claim 9 , in which the receiving mechanism is web server.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
129 words
A system including: means for receiving a request for agent contact from a user, wherein the request includes an identifier associated with a first web page being viewed by the user, wherein content of the first web page is retrieved from a server, and is not authored by the user; means for selecting an agent to respond to the request for agent contact by contacting the user, the selection of the agent being based on the content of the first web page; means for communicating the identifier associated with the first web page to the agent selected to contact the user; means for retrieving information about the user from a database; and means for generating code for a second web page that contains the information associated with the user.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
129 words
A system including: means for receiving a request for agent contact from a user, wherein the request includes an identifier associated with a first web page being viewed by the user, wherein content of the first web page is retrieved from a server, and is not authored by the user; means for selecting an agent to respond to the request for agent contact by contacting the user, the selection of the agent being based on the content of the first web page; means for communicating the identifier associated with the first web page to the agent selected to contact the user; means for retrieving information about the user from a database; and means for generating code for a second web page that contains the information associated with the user.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
144 words
A computer software product including a medium readable by a machine, the medium having stored thereon a sequence of instructions which, when executed by the machine, causes the machine to: receive a request for agent contact from a user, wherein the request includes an identifier associated with a first web page being viewed by the user, wherein content of the first web page is retrieved from a server, and is not authored by the user; select an agent to respond to the request for agent contact by contacting the user, said selection being based on the content of the first web page; transmit the identifier associated with the first web page to the agent selected to contact the user; retrieve information associated with the user from a database; and generate code for a second web page that contains the information associated with the user.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
144 words
A computer software product including a medium readable by a machine, the medium having stored thereon a sequence of instructions which, when executed by the machine, causes the machine to: receive a request for agent contact from a user, wherein the request includes an identifier associated with a first web page being viewed by the user, wherein content of the first web page is retrieved from a server, and is not authored by the user; select an agent to respond to the request for agent contact by contacting the user, said selection being based on the content of the first web page; transmit the identifier associated with the first web page to the agent selected to contact the user; retrieve information associated with the user from a database; and generate code for a second web page that contains the information associated with the user.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
16 words
A method as claimed in claim 5 wherein verification is performed by a telephone answering system.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
16 words
A method as in claim 5 wherein verification is performed by an integrated voice response system.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
21 words
A method as in claim 5 wherein verification determines that a voice connection is to the user who requested agent contact.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US4964077A
Cited
US5001710A
Cited
US5239617A
Cited
US5940614A
Cited
US5799292A
Cited
US5619648A
Cited
US5703880A
Cited
US6219551B1
Cited
US5884032A
Cited
US5778178A
Cited
US6259774B1
Cited
US6130933A
Cited
US5948054A
Cited
US5953392A
Cited
US5884262A
Cited
US5727129A
Cited
US5870769A
Cited
US5890164A
Cited
US5950173A
Cited
US5915001A
Cited
US5875296A
Cited
US5765033A
Cited
US5796952A
Cited
US5945989A
Cited
US6208728B1
Cited
US6101472A
Cited
US5877757A
Cited
US6101473A
Cited
US5960411A
Cited
US6226289B1
Cited
US5951652A
Cited
US5953503A
Cited
US6047261A
Cited
US6178185B1
Cited
US6157705A
Cited
US6185288B1
Cited
US6151357A
Cited
US6094673A
Cited
US6256309B1
Cited
US6272129B1
Cited
US6141413A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2007-01-12 | 2007-07-14 | 2008-01-13 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2011-01-12 | 2011-07-14 | 2012-01-13 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2015-01-12 | 2015-07-14 | 2016-01-13 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |