AU5400799A - A call handling system - Google Patents

Description

P/00/011 28/5/91 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT

(ORIGINAL)

a a..

a Name of Applicant: TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED, A.C.N. 051 775 556, of 242 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: DAVIES COLLISON CAVE, Patent Attorneys, of 1 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia Invention Title: "A CALL HANDLING SYSTEM" Details of Associated Provisional Application No: PP6665/98 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: -1- P:\OPER\DBW\PP6665.98 14/10/99 2- A CALL HANDLING SYSTEM The present invention relates to a call handling process and system.

Mobile telecommunications networks, whilst being extremely popular, have always suffered the disadvantage that a high percentage of calls cannot be completed due to mobile terminals being either out of range of the network or inactive, in the sense. that they are 10 powered off or turned off. This is extremely frustrating for calling parties, and is not a .o problem which affects terminals permanently connected to and powered by a fixed network, such as the PSTN. At present, in a GSM mobile network, the mobile switching centres (MSCs) determine whether a called mobile terminal is inactive or out of range, and if so, connect the calling party to a recorded voice announcement (RVA) platform. The RVA 15 platform plays a message advising the calling party that the call cannot be completed because the terminal is inactive or out of range. The call is then terminated, and as the call has not been completed no party is charged for the call.

S"In accordance with the present invention there is provided a call handling process, including: connecting a calling party to a messaging system when a call cannot be completed to a called party; sending an offer message from said messaging system to said calling party offering to forward return call identifying data to said called party; obtaining acceptance of said offer from said calling party; storing return call identifying data; and forwarding said return call identifying data to said called party.

Preferably said return call identifying data is selected by said calling party.

Preferably said return call identifying data represents the calling party. Preferably said return call identifying data represents a telephone number or communications data identifying and enabling connection to said calling party.

P:\OPER\DB\PP666598 14/10/99 -3- Preferably said storing step includes selecting the telephone number or communications data of the terminal originating said call as said return call identifying data or entering another telephone number or communications data as said return call identifying data. Preferably said storing step includes sending a message to said calling party advising the calling party that the return call identifying data will be forwarded to said called party.

Preferably said forwarding step includes sending said return call identifying data to a terminal of said called party in a signalling message. Advantageously, the return call identifying data may be sent in a Short Message Service (SMS) message to a mobile terminal 10 of said called party.

Advantageously, said connecting step may occur when the called terminal of said call party is inactive or out of range.

15 Preferably the call handling process is executed using a mobile network, such as a GSM network. Preferably the messaging system is an interactive voice response (IVR) platform.

Advantageously, said acceptance receiving step may include charging said calling party for said call.

The present invention also provides a call handling system, including: means for connecting a calling party to a messaging system when a call cannot be completed to a called party; means for sending an offer message from said messaging system to said calling party offering to forward return call identifying data to said called party; means for obtaining acceptance of said offer from said calling party; means for storing return call identifying data; and means for forwarding said return call identifying data to said called party.

Preferably said return call identifying data is selected by said calling party Preferably at least one switching centre includes said means for connecting, and a P:\OPER\DBW\PP666S.98 14/10/99 -4messaging platform, such as an IVR platform, includes said means for sending, means for storing and means for forwarding. The messaging platform may be incorporated in said at least one switching centre, such as a mobile switching centre.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention is hereinafter described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of a call handling system; Figure 2 is a flow diagram of steps executed by the call handling system; and Figure 3 is a flow diagram of steps executed by a messaging platform of the call o handling system.

A call handling system 2, as shown in Figure 1, includes a telecommunications network 6, at least one mobile switching centre 8, an interactive voice response platform and a short messaging service processing centre (SMS-C) 12. The telecommunications 15 network 6 is a standard network which comprises a number of telecommunications networks, such as the PSTN and the GSM mobile network owned by the applicant. The MSC 8 and the SMS-C 12 are part of the GSM mobile network and are components produced by telecommunications equipment suppliers. For calls to be placed to a mobile terminal 14 of the S"GSM network, the network maintains a home location register (HLR) 16 for each mobile terminal which stores data as to whether a terminal is switched on or out of range of the network. The data in the HLR is copied to a visitor location register (VLR) 18 maintained in the MSC 8 which last communicated with the terminal 14. When a calling party places a call using a terminal 4 connected to the network 6 to a mobile terminal 14 of a called party, an MSC 8 uses the data in the HLR 16 or the VLR 18 to determine whether the terminal 14 is active and in range. If the terminal 14 is inactive or out of range of the mobile network, the call cannot be completed, and instead the calling party is connected to an RVA to advise the calling party using the terminal 4 that the called party is out of range or the terminal 14 is switched off.

In the preferred embodiment, the control software in the MSCs 8 is adjusted to execute the network procedure 20 shown in Figure 2. If the mobile terminal 14 is detected to be inactive or out of range at step 22 of the procedure 20, then a check of the HLR 16 or the VLR 18 is made to determine whether the called party has asked for calls to the mobile P:\OPER\DBWNPP6665.98 -14/10/99 terminal 14 to be diverted at step 24. If call diversion is detected as being active at step 24, the call is diverted to the divert number at step 26. If call diversion is not active, the procedure 20 proceeds to step 28 where calling party category (CPC) data is obtained on the calling party to indicate the type of customer associated with the originating terminal 4. For certain CPC data the procedure proceeds to step 29, whereas for other CPC data the procedure 20 proceeds to step 30. For CPC data which indicates the calling party is a customer which can be billed, such as a mobile customer, a fixed network customer or an ISDN customer, the procedure proceeds to step 30. Otherwise for other CPC data, which may indicate that the customer or calling party is a national operator, or that the terminal 4 relates i: 10 to a public pay phone, the procedure 20 proceeds to step 29 to play the standard RVAs for .inactive or out of range calls to the calling party. At step 30, the MSC 8 of the mobile network which is handling the call connects the call to the IVR platform 10. The IVR platform then executes an IVR platform procedure 32, as shown in Figure 3.

15 The IVR platform 10 includes control software to execute the platform procedure 32.

The platform 10 may be a separate network component or incorporated in the MSC 18. The procedure 32 begins execution at step 34 where the IVR platform 10 receives the call connected by the MSC 8, returns an address complete message (ACM) to the MSC 8 and *oooe plays an announcement for the calling party 4 to offer the calling party the facility to leave 20 a return telephone number for the called party, for which the calling party will be charged.

If the calling party or caller hangs up by placing the terminal 4 on a hook, the call is disconnected by the network 6 at step 50. If the IVR 10 detects that the calling terminal 4 is a decadic phone, which cannot emit DTMF tones, the IVR 10 disconnects the call at step 36.

The caller is advised at step 34 to wait for a tone if the caller wishes to leave a return number for the called party. After a predetermined period of time, say 2 to 4 seconds, from issuing the offer, the IVR plays a tone at step 38 for the caller. If the-caller does not hang up before completion of the tone at step 38, the IVR proceeds to step 40 where it returns an answer message (ANS) to the MSC 8 which causes the network 6 to establish connection of a duplex speech path between the originating terminal 4 and the VR 10 to carry DTMF tones from the terminal 4. Also charging of the caller starts at step 40 and pulse tones can be generated to be heard by the caller to indicate the passage of time and the fact that the caller is now bearing the charge for the call.

P:\OPER\DB\PP6665.98 14/10/99 -6- The IVR 10 then plays at step 42 a message which is sent to the caller to advise the caller to enter the return number or press another key, such as the key to request that the call be returned to the originating terminal 4. At step 44, the IVR 10 then looks for DTMF data entry from the terminal 4. If numeric digits are dialled these are simply stored by the IVR 10, whereas if the key is dialled, the IVR stores the calling line identification (CLI) data identifying the terminal number for the terminal 4, which has already been passed to it by the MSC 8. Once data has been successfully entered at step 44 the caller can hang up and the return number will be delivered. Entry of data at the terminal 4 is monitored at step 44, and if a predetermined time expires, as detected at step 46, operation returns to-step-42. If at step 10 44 a second expiry of the predetermined time is detected at step 46, then the IVR disconnects the call at step 36. If data is successfully entered at step 44 and the caller has not hung up, the IVR sends a message at step 48 advising the caller that the return number will be the data entered or the CLI obtained and if correct, the caller is to press 1 on the terminal 4 and if not, the caller is to press 2. If the digit 2 is pressed, operation returns to step 42, 15 whereas if the digit 1 is pressed, operation proceeds to step 52. At step 52, the IVR sends a message to the caller that the return number will be forwarded to the mobile terminal 14. The IVR then at step 54 sends data representative of the return number to the SMS-C 12, together with data identifying the mobile terminal 14, the date and the time, and data instructing the SMS-C 12 to forward an SMS message with the return number to the terminal 14. The IVR 20 10 then disconnects the call at the step 36, thereby causing the network 6 to disconnect the call at step The SMS-C 12 on receiving the instructing message from the IVR 10 generates and forwards an SMS message to the terminal 14, when the terminal 14 is on and in range of the mobile network, to advise the called party to place a call to the return number. SMS messages use the signalling bandwidth of the GSM network and accordingly have the advantage that a call traffic channel does not need to be established with the mobile terminal in order to forward the message. The called party of the mobile terminal 14 therefore is able to receive the SMS message even when the terminal 14 is busy being used on a call to another party.

The call handling system 2 described above has the significant advantage that allows a caller to send a return number, as selected by the caller, to a mobile terminal using SMS of the mobile network, without the intervention of an operator or another party. The called party P:\OPER\DBW\PP6665.98 14/10/99 -7of the mobile terminal 14 does not need to subscribe to any return number notification service and the cost of the service is borne by the caller. The caller also does not need to subscribe to any notification service and can simply opt out from providing the return number when the call is diverted to the IVR Many modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

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Claims (4)

1. A call handling process, including: connecting a calling party to a messaging system when a call cannot be completed to a called party; sending an offer message from said messaging system to said calling party offering to forward return call identifying data to said called party; obtaining acceptance of said offer from said calling party; storing return call identifying data; and 4 see, 0 10 forwarding said return call identifying data to said called party.

2. A call handling system, including: means for connecting a calling party to a messaging system when a call cannot be completed to a called party; 15 means for sending an offer message from said messaging system to said calling party offering to forward return call identifying data to said called party; means for obtaining acceptance of said offer from said calling party; means for storing return call identifying data; and means for forwarding said return call identifying data to said called party.

3. A call handling process substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the 0 accompanying drawings.

4. A call handling system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The steps, features, compositions and compounds disclosed herein or referred to or indicated in the specification and/or claims of this application, individually or collectively, and any and all combinations of any two or more of said steps or features. DATED this 14th day of October, 1999 TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED By its Patent Attorneys DAVIES COLLISON CAVE