Methods and apparatus for automating the telephone operator services

A system for processing telephone calls received by a telephone switch, comprising;

• a function node coupled to the telephone switch for receiving data associated with a telephone call from the switch, the function node including a human operator I/O device and means for detecting the presence of a human operator;
• a speech processing device, separate from the function node, for processing received speech;
• and
• a switching device coupled to the telephone switch, the function node and the speech processing device for receiving the audio portion of the telephone call from the telephone switch and for routing the audio portion of the call to the function node when the presence of a human operator is detected and for routing the audio portion of the call to the speech processing device when the presence of a human operator is not detected.

A method of servicing telephone calls, comprising the steps of:

• using an unmanned automated apparatus to automatically login to a telephone switch using a first operator position identifier that identifies an operator position provided by the automated apparatus;
• operating the automated apparatus to receive a call from the telephone switch;
• operating the automated apparatus service the call by performing a call processing operation;
• and
• operating the automated apparatus to transmit a call processing command to the telephone switch.

A method of servicing telephone calls, comprising the steps of:

• using an unmanned automated apparatus to login to a telephone switch using a plurality of operator position identifiers, each operator position identifier identifying one of a plurality of operator positions provided by the automated apparatus;
• operating the automated apparatus to receive a call from the telephone switch;
• operating the automated apparatus to perform a call processing operation;
• and
• operating the automated apparatus to transmit a call processing command to the telephone switch.