JPH11155020A - Information communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automate access of voice communication or the like between a public communication network and a private communication network. SOLUTION: A call center 4 provided with a voice answering function is arranged between an in-office private line 5 with which an information center 6 in which user information or the like is stored and plural A-branch and B- branch 8 which execute desired tasks are connected, and a public network 3 with which a user telephone 2 of a user 1 is connected. At the time of receiving a call of a user telephone 2 incoming from the public network 3, the information center 6 is retrieved based on the telephone number (transmitted ID information) of the user telephone 2, and for example, the A-branch 7 in charge is automatically judged, and the call is automatically transferred to the telephone of the person in charge of the A-branch 7 of the in-office private line 5. At that time of calling to the in-office private line 5, the transmitted ID information is also transferred. In the terminal of the person in charge, line wire telephone is received, and simultaneously the data of the pertinent user are retrieved from the information center 6, and presented to the person in charge.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to information communication technology, and more particularly to technology effective when applied to cooperative processing between a computer telephony system and a public / private connection system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a computer that integrates a voice network such as an extension telephone network or a public telephone network with a data network such as a LAN by using a telephone function in an information processing terminal such as a personal computer or a workstation. Telephony systems are known. In response to the progress of information and communication technology and the demand for liberalization of markets, the possibility of realizing a public-private connection for connecting a public communication network and a dedicated communication network online has increased.

[0003]

By the way, conventionally, for example, in a user support system using a telephone network, in telephone correspondence, a user needs to give his / her own name every time a call is transferred. On the call center side, after hearing the contents of the inquiry, it is necessary to transfer the information to the corresponding department, or the user has to remember the telephone contact according to the contents of the inquiry. In addition, the department in charge is PBX
If it is inside the PBX, it can be transferred, but if it is outside the PBX, it is necessary for the user to make a call again. Also, PB
Transfers over the public network-public network are possible even outside of X, but have the technical problems of increasing the burden on user telephone charges and limiting the degree of freedom of the transfer destination.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an information communication technology capable of automating access such as voice communication between a public communication network and a dedicated communication network.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an information communication technique capable of reducing communication costs in accessing between a public communication network and a dedicated communication network.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an information communication technology capable of realizing efficient and low cost customer management and customer service by voice communication between a public communication network and a dedicated communication network. To provide.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an information communication technique capable of improving the fault tolerance of an information communication system for realizing access between a public communication network and a dedicated communication network.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a public-private connection interface for interconnecting a public communication network and a private communication network, and an optional access connected to the private communication network and accessed via the public communication network. At least one service execution unit for performing an information communication service with a request source, and access from a public / private connection interface unit and a service execution unit by being connected to a dedicated communication network, and at least an access request source and a service execution Provided is an information communication system including a database unit in which arbitrary attribute information on each of the units and connection identification information in a public communication network and a dedicated communication network are stored in association with each other.

More specifically, as an example, when the present invention is applied to a call answering system, the contents of inquiries by telephone of a user (access request source) via a public communication network are transmitted to a call center (business execution unit) of each branch (business execution unit). The relevant product is classified by the voice response mechanism at the stage of receiving at the public / private connection interface section, and each branch is automatically connected to the department in charge, so that the telephone call is automatically transferred to the responsible section. At the same time, the call center retrieves the user information data of the information center (database section) from the authentication information such as the calling ID information of the user's telephone, and transfers the user information to the department in charge.
Enables a smooth conversation between the department in charge and the user. Further, by distributing each department in charge to a plurality of departments connected to the dedicated communication network, the risk of data loss can be avoided and the load can be distributed.

[0010] In particular, a call center as a point of contact for inquiries from users is provided at the nearest branch office, and telephone calls are automatically transferred to the corresponding departments by using in-house dedicated lines in accordance with the contents of inquiries, so that telephone charges for users can be suppressed and reliable. At the same time as realizing the answer, the responder searches the information database in advance for the user information from the authentication information such as the calling ID information of the user (the telephone number of the caller making the call) and refers to the user information on the display at hand. Accordingly, a call answer method that enables a smooth conversation with the user can be realized.

[0011] Thus, for example, a user can talk to a specialized department simply by calling the nearest branch with whom he or she is in contact, without being conscious of the contents of the inquiry. Leads to a reduction in

[0012] Also, if you want to make an inquiry in an environment where products sold in Japan are used overseas, if the company is expanding globally, there is no need to call Japan directly from overseas. By calling the nearest branch overseas, the call can be automatically forwarded to the corresponding native language operator, eliminating the need to be conscious of telephone charges and inquiries, thus eliminating fuss. .

In a sales office, there is no need to have a dedicated telephone operator, and automatic transfer can be performed even if the transfer destination special department is outside the PBX. Thus, business efficiency can be improved.

[0014] The business staff in the specialized department can extract the user information from the authentication information such as the calling ID information, so that it is possible to have a conversation after grasping the user's use environment and the like in advance. By accumulating similar answers in the past and accumulating similar answers in the past, accurate answers can be given to the contents of the questions, and a friendly relationship with the user can be built.

[0015] For the manager, it is possible to respond not only to the domestic development department but also to the development department that responds to the inquiry, and it is also possible to disperse the function, and to distribute the risk from a natural disaster. Also, in the case of a branch relocation, etc., it is possible to cope by changing only the branch database for each task in the information center, and the operating cost can be reduced.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a configuration of an information communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, as an example of an information communication system, a case where the present invention is applied to a call center system that provides services such as customer support by telephone response will be described.

For example, a call center 4 installed in each regional office or collective inquiry center is connected to a user telephone 2 having a calling ID function of a user 1 via a public network 3. The information center 6 that stores the branch information, user information, and past inquiry information for each task in charge, and the branch A, the branch B 8, and the call center 4, which are the task departments in charge, are connected to the in-house dedicated line 5. Connected and exchange various data.

The in-house dedicated line 5 is not limited to a conventional voice extension telephone network, but also includes a general in-house data communication network such as a LAN, the Internet, and an intranet.

In the example of FIG. 1, only one call center 4 is shown. However, a plurality of call centers 4 are installed in remote places such as a plurality of cities in the same country and a plurality of cities in different countries. Needless to say, the configuration may be such that the components 4 are connected to each other via the company dedicated line 5.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of the configuration of the call center in the call center system of the present embodiment in more detail.

The call center 4 includes a public network connection mechanism 41 for receiving a telephone call from the user 1, a dedicated line connection mechanism 42 for connecting to the information center 6 or the A branch 7 and the B branch 8 via the company dedicated line 5. A voice response mechanism 43 that performs a voice response to classify the content of an inquiry from the user 1;
Voice file 4 registered in advance for use in voice response
4, a public-private connection mechanism 45 for bridging the public network 3 and the private line 5 in the company, and a user telephone 2 And a voice response device 40 having a calling ID transfer mechanism 46 for receiving the calling ID information and transferring it to the information center 6 or the A branch 7 and the B branch 8.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of the configuration of the information center 6 in the call center system according to the present embodiment.

The information center 6 has a dedicated line connection mechanism 61 for connecting to the company dedicated line 5, a branch information database 62 storing branch information for each business, and user information storing user information. A database 63; an information search mechanism 64 for accessing each database;
It comprises a calling ID receiving mechanism 65 for receiving D information.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of the format of the branch information database 62. The branch information database 62 stores the assigned task 6 in which the type of the task content is recorded.
21, the corresponding branch name 622 and the branch contact information 623 such as the telephone number of the branch in the company private line 5 are registered as one record.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of the format of the user information database 63. The user information database 63 includes, for example, a calling ID 631 of a user telephone.
, User name 632, user address 633, used machine 634, used software 635, contents of past inquiries, service history 636 of the person in charge at that time, the nearest location of user 4 (communication cost via public line) The information such as the nearest center contact number 637, which is the dedicated line number of the in-house dedicated line 5 of the call center 4, is registered as one record.

As information in the user information database 63, information such as a language used when a user receives a service may be added as necessary.

Access to each database is performed by using the branch information database 62 as a key and, for the user information database 63, the caller ID as a key.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of each branch in the call center system of the present embodiment.

For example, the branch A 7 has a telephone number 71
And a staff terminal 72. Person in charge terminal 72
Is composed of a dedicated line connection mechanism 721, a database access mechanism 722 for displaying and retrieving user information, and a call transfer mechanism 723 for connecting to the telephone in charge 71 and transferring a call. .

Hereinafter, an example of the operation of the call center system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 illustrates in chronological order an example of an operation from the time when the user 1 makes a call to the call center 4 to make an inquiry to the call center 4 to the time when the user 1 talks with the person in charge of the A branch 7 which is the department in charge of the inquiry. It is a flowchart for the.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, in the call center system according to the present embodiment, when the user 1 makes an inquiry via a public network which is a general telephone line, first,
Call center 4 using user phone 2 corresponding to calling ID
Call (S1).

In the call center 4, when this call is received, the voice response device 4 in the call center 4 shown in FIG.
0 operates, the public network connection mechanism 41 connects the telephone line, and receives a telephone call. Then, the voice response mechanism 43 calls the voice file 44 and, for example, “Japanese or English?” (S
2) Ask "What product is it a question about?" (S4), "Is it a question about operation or a function?" (S6). The user replies to each of these using a touch phone ((S3), (S5), (S7)).

In this way, the contents to be inquired are narrowed down. After that, a message "Please wait" is sent to make the user wait for the telephone (S
8).

During these periods, the caller ID of the user telephone 2 is immediately
The calling ID transfer mechanism 46 receives the information, and the voice response device 40 is connected to the information center 6 in which the user information and the contact information for each product charge are stored via the dedicated line connection mechanism 42. Information retrieval mechanism 64 in the information center 6 shown in FIG.
First, the department in charge is searched from the branch information database 62 based on the contents of the question (S9).

At the same time, the calling party ID is received by the calling party ID receiving mechanism 65, and the user information database 63 is accessed using the calling party number as the key (S1).
0).

The access information has branch information and user information in the format shown in FIG. 4, and transfers these contents to the responsible person terminal 72 for display (S13).

After the dialogue with the user 1, the voice response apparatus 40 receives the information of the branch contact 623 (dedicated line number) of the department corresponding to the inquiry from the information center 6 (S).
11) For example, if the question is about the operation of the product A, a call signal is sent to the telephone 71 in charge of the branch A corresponding to the department in charge of the development, and the public connection mechanism 45 and the caller ID.
The data is transferred by the transfer mechanism 46 (S12). As illustrated in FIG. 6, the development department of the A branch 7 in charge of the A product receives the call signal of the user transferred from the call center 4 by the call transfer mechanism 723 and determines that the call is possible. (S14).

At the same time, a record of the user information transferred from the information center 6 is received by the person in charge terminal 72, and the user information can be displayed. This allows the person in charge to have a conversation with the user while displaying the user information on the person in charge terminal 72. The person in charge can respond via the dedicated line 5 in the company without requiring redundant conversation such as asking a question about the usage environment of the user. Also, the contents related to the inquiry can be immediately answered by accessing the user information database 63 of the remote information center 6 via the company dedicated line 5 from the database access mechanism 722, so that the user can be smoothly answered. Conversations are possible.

Also, contrary to the processing as shown in FIG.
It is also possible for a person in charge of, for example, the A branch 7 to automatically perform a process of making a call to the user telephone 2 connected to the public network 3 by using the person in charge 71 of the extension. Such a case is considered to be executed, for example, when the person in charge cannot immediately answer the question of the user 1 at the time of receiving the support, and the person in charge responds to the telephone call to the user after the investigation. Can be

FIG. 8 is a flow chart exemplifying a process for calling the user telephone 2 from the inside of the company dedicated line 5 via the call center 4 and the public network 3 in chronological order.

That is, the person in charge of the branch A searches the user information database 63 using information such as the user name 632 as a key (S20), and the information center 6 finds the nearest center contact information in the hit record. From 637, the dedicated line number of the call center 4 nearest to the user 1 is returned (S21), and the telephone number (calling ID 631) of the user telephone 2 of the user 1 on the public network 3 is returned (S2).
2).

Next, the person in charge sends information from the information center 6 to S21.
A call is made to the in-house dedicated line 5 using the dedicated line number of the call center 4 nearest to the target user 1 obtained in step (S23).

Upon receiving this, the call center 4 asks the person in charge about the connection destination (public network telephone number) in the public network 3 (S24), and the person in charge asks the public network telephone number obtained from the information center 6 in S22. Is transmitted as a connection destination (S
25).

Upon receiving this, the call center 4 uses the public network telephone number designated by the person in charge in S25 to make the public network 3 available.
(S26).

In this way, after the connection between the telephone number 71 of the person in charge of the company private line 5 and the user telephone 2 in the public network 3 is established, the person in charge starts talking with the user 1 ( S27).

In this case, the person in charge may manually input the information obtained from the information center 6 and transmit it to the call center 4, or the database access mechanism 722 may automatically input a character string such as a telephone number. May be executed.

As described above, the call center 4 connects the public network 3 with the in-house dedicated line 5 to which the business center such as the information center 6 and the plurality of A branches 7 and B branches 8 are connected. It will be possible to combine public-private connection and CTI (computer telephony integration) technology, for example, the user 1 can provide necessary services without being aware of the contact information, communication cost, and locality of the product. Can receive. Also,
On the company side, when calling the user 1, the user 1
By connecting from the nearest call center 4 via the public network 3, it is possible to reduce the cost of telephones and increase the efficiency of the work of making a support response call. In addition, a call answering system can be constructed without having to be conscious of the location of the development base by automating inquiries.

The user telephone 2 is used as user authentication information.
By using the calling ID information from, it is possible to improve the service to the user 1 by eliminating the hassle of the user 1 himself inputting a password for user authentication.

The company side disperses the customer information database possessed by the company by setting the information division such as the distribution of the information center 6 without being aware of the user 1, so that the failure due to the communication load or the system down due to the natural disaster can be prevented. Danger can be distributed.

Further, since the transfer destinations from the call center 4 in the sales office to the branches 7 and 8 for each assigned work are centrally managed by the information center 6, the transfer destinations due to the transfer of the branches 7 and 8 for each assigned work and the like are provided. Is changed without changing the settings of the voice response devices 40 in all the call centers 4.
This can be dealt with by changing only the database in the information center 6, and the operating cost can be reduced.

Further, by using a LAN as a communication path for searching for a branch transfer destination from the call center 4 to the information center 6 and transferring the user information data from the information center 6 to the branch for each task, the existing in-house LAN is utilized. In addition, it is possible to facilitate cooperation with other tasks.

The invention made by the inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments. However, the invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the invention. Needless to say, there is.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, as an example, a case has been described in which information communication is performed between a user of a public communication network and a person in charge in a dedicated communication network, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it goes without saying that the present invention may be applied to the transfer of information communication between any information processing device connected to a public communication network and any information processing device connected to a dedicated communication network. In that case,
For example, identification information of a connection request source in a public communication network or a dedicated communication network included in a communication protocol between information processing devices (for example, a telephone number of a caller and other registration information)
Based on the above, it is possible to automatically select a specific information processing device in a dedicated communication network or a public communication network as a connection destination and perform an operation of relaying a connection.

[0055]

According to the information communication system of the present invention, there is obtained an effect that access such as voice communication between a public communication network and a dedicated communication network can be automated.

According to the information communication system of the present invention, there is obtained an effect that the communication cost for access between the public communication network and the dedicated communication network can be reduced.

According to the information communication system of the present invention, it is possible to realize efficient and low cost customer management and customer service by voice communication between a public communication network and a dedicated communication network. Is obtained.

According to the information communication system of the present invention, it is possible to improve the fault tolerance of the information communication system for realizing access between the public communication network and the dedicated communication network.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a configuration of an information communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of the configuration of a call center in a call center system according to an embodiment of the present invention in more detail.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an information center in a call center system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a format of a branch information database in a call center system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a format of a user information database in a call center system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of each branch in a call center system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining in chronological order an example of an operation of the call center system according to the embodiment of the present invention when receiving an outside line.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining in chronological order an example of the operation of the call center system according to the embodiment of the present invention when an outgoing line is transmitted.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... User, 2 ... User telephone, 3 ... Public network, 4 ... Call center, 40 ... Voice response device, 41 ... Public network connection mechanism,
42, a dedicated line connection mechanism, 43, a voice response mechanism, 44, a voice file, 45, a public exclusive connection mechanism, 46, a calling ID transfer mechanism, 5, a company dedicated line, 6, an information center, 61, a dedicated line connection mechanism, 62 ... branch information database, 621 ... assigned business, 622 ... assigned branch name, 623 ... branch contact information, 63
... User information database, 631 Call ID, 632 ...
User name, 633: User address, 634: Machine used,
635: Software used, 636: Service history, 637:
Contact information of nearest center, 64: Information search mechanism, 65: Departure I
D receiving mechanism, 7 ... A branch, 8 ... B branch, 71 ... Person in charge, 72 ... Person in charge terminal, 721 ... Dedicated line connection mechanism, 72
2 ... Database access mechanism, 723 ... Call transfer mechanism.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification symbol FI H04M 3/42 H04L 11/02 D 11/00 303 (72) Inventor Kazuko Mimura 810 Shimoimaizumi, Ebina-shi, Kanagawa Hitachi, Ltd. Within the Office System Division of the Works (72) Yasushi Hori Inventor 810 Shimo-Imaizumi, Ebina-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside the Office Systems Division of Hitachi, Ltd. Office Systems Division

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A public / private connection interface unit for interconnecting a public communication network and a dedicated communication network, and an arbitrary access request source connected to the dedicated communication network and accessed via the public communication network. At least one service execution unit for performing an information communication service; and an access from the public / private connection interface unit and the service execution unit by being connected to the dedicated communication network, at least the access request source and the service execution unit. And a database unit in which arbitrary attribute information relating to each of the above and connection identification information in the public communication network and the dedicated communication network are stored in association with each other. Identification information in the public communication network, contents of an inquiry from the access request source, and the access request Based on at least one of the original attribute information,
A first automatically transferring a connection request from the public communication network to any of the task execution units connected to the dedicated communication network;
When an access request to the public communication network is generated from any of the business execution units in the dedicated communication network, selecting the public-only connection interface unit nearest to the access request destination in the public communication network An information communication system, wherein at least one of a second operation for automatically transferring the access request is performed.