Patent ID: 7027572
Filing Date: 2006-04-11
Classification: H04M,H04Q

Abstract:
1. A system for providing interactive data exchange between a plurality of outside parties utilizing a plurality of telephone apparatus and a call center including an interactive voice response unit (IVR), at least one operator terminal, and at least one database, said system responsive to telephone signals received from said plurality of telephone apparatus, for converting at least a portion of said received telephone signals into data signals, said data signals facilitating interactive data exchange between each of said plurality of outside parties utilizing said plurality of outside telephone apparatus and said at least one database, said IVR providing human recognizable audio output signals to said plurality of outside parties in response to data provided by said at least one data base and said telephone signals received from said plurality of outside telephone apparatus, and for storing a plurality of interactive data exchange records, each of said interactive data exchange records representing at least a portion of the interactive data exchange between one of said plurality of outside parties and said at least one data base, said system comprising: a voice path switch, responsive to said IVR and to said telephone signals, for selectively connecting said telephone signals received from said plurality of outside parties utilizing said plurality of outside telephone apparatus to at least one of said operator terminals and said IVR dependent upon whether operator assistance is required for each of said plurality of outside parties; means for populating an automatic number identifier (ANI) including generating a populated ANI for each outside call without an associated ANI and associating said populated ANI with a telephone number or extension of a port of said IVR; a voice response unit interface for receiving said populated and said associated ANIs for each outside call handled by said IVR along with at least a portion of said plurality of interactive data exchange records exchanged between said outside party and said IVR, said voice response unit interface including memory for storing said received interactive data exchange records and a lookup table for storing each said received ANI associated with each outside call handled by said IVR; at least one queue, for storing at least calls handled by said IVR; and a data controller, responsive to said queue and said voice response unit interface, for identifying said populated and said associated ANIs for each call identified in said specified queue, for comparing each of said identified populated and associated ANIs with said received populated and associated ANIs stored in the voice response unit interface lookup table, for retrieving said collected data associated with said populated and said associated ANIs stored in said voice response unit interface, and for providing said retrieved data to at least one operator terminal assigned to handle said outside call.