US 6,584,193 B1 · System, method, and computer program product for network telephone queuing

Abstract

A network telephone queuing system including a network telephone switch 108 and a queue server 114 associated with switch 108. Switch 108 receives all calls to a SOHO queuing system subscriber 110 regardless of the point of origin of a call. Calls are routed to queue server 114. If no calls are currently queued for subscriber 110, queue server 114 rings SOHO subscriber 110 and instructs switch 108 to establish a connection with subscriber 110 upon answer. Otherwise, queue server 114 places the call in a queue and connects queued calls to an IVR broadcast music trunk 118 while on hold. Queue server 114 attempts to call subscriber 110 periodically and instructs switch 108 to connect the caller at the top of the queue with subscriber 110 when subscriber 110 finally answers the call. Queue server 114 then drops out of the call.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A network telephone queuing system comprising:

a network telephone queuing system switch;
and
a queue server associated with said queuing system switch, wherein
said queuing system switch receives all calls to a queuing system subscriber regardless of the network telephone switch of origin;
said queuing system switch routes all calls intended for a queuing system subscriber to said queue server;
and
said queue server manages all calls for a queuing system subscriber;
wherein said queuing system switch receives all calls as a result of:
receiving a telephone call into an original switch made to a directory number in a zone of portability as determined by NPA-NXX digits of the directory number called;
in the original switch, querying an Local Number Portability (LNP) SCP for a location routing number for said queuing system switch;
in the LNP SCP, performing an internal database search for the location routing number of said queuing system switch and returning the location routing number to the original switch;
and
in the original switch, routing the call including the directory number called, via the location routing number, to the queuing system switch.

10 more elements

A computer program product having a medium with a computer program embodied thereon for queuing callers in a telephone network on behalf of a subscriber, said computer program product comprising:

computer program code for routing a call intended for said subscriber to a specially equipped network telephone switch and associated queue server;
computer program code for giving control of the call to said queue server;
computer program code for having said queue server instruct said switch to attempt to establish a connection with the subscriber;
and
computer program code for placing the call into a queue if a connection with the subscriber cannot be established;
wherein said computer program code for routing a call comprises:
computer program code for receiving a telephone call into an original switch made to a directory number in a zone of portability as determined by NPA-NXX digits of the directory number called;
in the original switch, computer program code for querying an Local Number Portability (LNP) SCP for a location routing number for said specially equipped network telephone switch;
in the LNP SCP, computer program code for performing an internal database search for the location routing number of said specially equipped network telephone switch and returning the location routing number to the original switch;
and
in the original switch, computer program code for routing the call including the directory number called, via the location routing number, to the specially equipped network telephone switch.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

System, method, and computer program product for network telephone queuing

Life of this patent

System, method, and computer program product for network telephone queuing

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims18