JP2009130673A - Call center management server, speech communication control method and speech communication control program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the occurrence of the disturbance of video images and sound of a video telephone when resources such as the communication band of a network and a processing performance of the conference server of the video telephone get tight. <P>SOLUTION: Reference data 313 determine the amount of the resources to be allocated to a terminal, and shift data 314 determine an amount smaller than the reference data 313 as the amount of the resources to be allocated to the terminal. When the free resources of a call center are less than the amount of the resources to be allocated from then by a resource allocation part 304, a resource reallocation part 305 releases the resources already allocated to the other terminal, which are the resources of the amount determined by the pertinent reference data 313, so that the free resources of the call center 200 become more than the amount, and allocates the resources of the amount determined by the pertinent shift data 314 to the other terminal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a call center management server, a call control method, and a call control program. The present invention particularly relates to a TV (telephone) telephone control system according to resource restrictions.

  In a TV (television) conference system using packet communication, when the network is congested and the communication bandwidth is reduced, the loss and fluctuation of communication packets increase. For this reason, there is a technique for detecting the video phone terminal side and adjusting the communication band so that the video and audio are not disturbed. However, if the communication bandwidth is uniformly adjusted for all TV telephones, it will hinder the work if it is necessary to use a high quality (high resolution, high frame rate, low delay) TV telephone. .

In the prior art, the communication control device calculates the priority according to the communication form (meeting, lecture, etc.) and the attributes of the users participating in the communication (number of people, job titles, etc.). Band control according to the degree was performed (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP 2006-324986 A

  In the prior art, since the communication control device discards a communication packet whose bandwidth is limited, there is a problem that the video or audio is disturbed until the TV (television) telephone terminal detects the packet loss. It was.

  An object of the present invention is to prevent the occurrence of disturbances in video and audio of a TV phone when resources such as a network communication band and a processing performance (processing capability) of a video phone conference server are tight. . It is another object of the present invention to allow an operator who is executing the corresponding TV phone to determine whether or not the band can be limited.

A call center management server according to one aspect of the present invention is provided.
A call center management server that allocates call center resources for calls between operators and user terminals to a plurality of terminals used by a plurality of call center operators and a plurality of terminals used by a plurality of call center users. And
First storage data that defines the amount of resources to be allocated to each terminal, and second allocation data that defines an amount of resources to be allocated to each terminal that is smaller than the first allocation data A setting storage unit for storing
A connection request receiving unit for receiving connection request data for requesting connection of a call between an operator and a user terminal;
When the free resources of the call center are equal to or greater than the amount of resources determined by the first allocation data, the operator and the user terminal that are requested to connect the call with the connection request data received by the connection request receiver A resource allocation unit that allocates an amount of resources defined by the first allocation data among the free resources of the call center by the processing device;
If the free resources of the call center are less than the amount of resources allocated by the resource allocation unit, the first allocation is a resource that has already been allocated to at least one terminal so that the free resources of the call center are equal to or greater than the amount. A resource reassignment unit that releases an amount of resources determined by the data and allocates the amount of resources determined by the second allocation data to the at least one terminal by the processing device;

According to one aspect of the present invention, in a call center management server,
First allocation data in which the setting storage unit determines the amount of resources to be allocated to each terminal, and second allocation data in which a smaller amount than the first allocation data is determined as the amount of resources to be allocated to each terminal Is stored in advance,
If the call center free resources are less than the amount of resources allocated by the resource allocator, the resource reallocator is resources that have been allocated to at least one terminal so that the call center free resources are equal to or greater than the amount. Releasing the amount of resources determined by the first allocation data, and allocating the amount of resources determined by the second allocation data to the at least one terminal,
The resource allocation unit allocates the amount of resources determined by the first allocation data among the free resources of the call center to the operator and user terminals for which connection of the call is requested by the connection request data,
For example, when resources such as the communication band of the network and the processing performance (processing capacity) of the conference server of the TV (TV) phone are tight, it is possible to prevent the disturbance of the video and audio of the TV phone.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the entire system according to the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, a customer terminal 100 is a terminal used by a customer who is a user of the call center 200. The customer terminal 100 may be installed in a public area, a branch, a sales office, etc. by a company (service provider) that provides the service of the call center 200, or software on a PC (personal computer) owned by the customer. It may be distributed and installed. The customer terminal 100 is equipped with, for example, an IP (Internet Protocol) telephone function, and the customer performs various consultation services by making a TV (TV) telephone (TV conference) with an operator of the call center 200 using this function. Get procedural services. The configuration of the customer terminal 100 will be described later.

  In the call center 200, a plurality of operator terminals 210, a plurality of conference servers 220, and a call center management server 300 are installed.

  The customer terminal 100 and the call center 200 are connected via a network 230 such as an IP network. In the call center 200, a plurality of operator terminals 210, a plurality of conference servers 220, and a call center management server 300 are connected via a network 240 such as a LAN (local area network).

  The operator terminal 210 is a terminal used by an operator of the call center 200. The operator terminal 210 is, for example, a PC equipped with an IP telephone function, and an operator provides various consultation services and procedural services by making a videophone call with a customer using this function. The configuration of the operator terminal 210 will be described later.

  The conference server 220 holds a TV conference. Specifically, the conference server 220 relays video packets and audio packets for videophone calls performed between the customer terminal 100 and the operator terminal 210. In addition, the conference server 220 has additional functions of a TV phone such as an application sharing function. In the call center 200, each conference server 220 supports different videophone types. The type of TV phone is, for example, TV phone software (S / W), hardware (H / W) used for the TV phone, or a combination thereof. Assume that at least one of the supported video resolution, video frame rate, video codec (CODEC), and audio codec (CODEC) is different depending on W or H / W.

  The call center management server 300 allocates the resources of the call center 200 for videophone (call) between the customer terminal 100 and the operator terminal 210 to the plurality of customer terminals 100 and the plurality of operator terminals 210. The configuration of the call center management server 300 will be described later. The resource of the call center 200 is, for example, a resource of the network 230 or a resource of the conference server 220. The resource of the network 230 is, for example, a communication band reserved for the call center 200 in the network 230 by a contract between a service provider of the call center 200 and a provider of the network 230. The resource of the conference server 220 is, for example, the processing capability of the conference server 220 determined by the processing speed of the CPU (Central Processing Unit) of the conference server 220, the memory capacity, and the like. Is a videophone communication band that can be processed.

  Below, the structure of the customer terminal 100 is demonstrated.

  The customer terminal 100 includes a TV phone unit 101, a receiving unit 102, and a setting unit 103.

  The TV phone unit 101 makes a TV phone call with the operator terminal 210. The receiving unit 102 receives, from the call center management server 300, TV phone data that designates the type of TV phone, the communication band used for the TV phone, and the like. Setting unit 103 sets a videophone call made by videophone unit 101 according to the videophone data received by receiving unit 102.

  Below, the structure of the operator terminal 210 is demonstrated.

  The operator terminal 210 includes an operator data notifying unit 211, a receiving unit 212, a setting unit 213, a TV phone unit 214, and a display unit 215. The operator terminal 210 includes a storage device 216 such as a memory or a hard disk, and stores operator data 217 in the storage device 216.

  The operator data 217 includes the type of service provided by the operator to the customer using the operator terminal 210, the type of TV phone performed by the customer terminal 100 of the customer and the operator terminal 210, and an ID ( Customer ID) and data including items such as a communication band and codec used by the operator terminal 210 for the TV phone.

  The operator data notification unit 211 transmits the operator data 217 stored in the storage device 216 to the call center management server 300. The receiving unit 212 receives, from the call center management server 300, TV phone data for setting a new TV phone with the customer terminal 100 or changing the type of the already connected TV phone. The TV phone data is data for designating the type of TV phone, the communication band used for the TV phone, and the like, similar to the data sent to the customer terminal 100. The setting unit 213 sets the type of the TV phone with the customer terminal 100 to the type specified by the TV phone data received by the receiving unit 212. The setting unit 213 sets the communication band used for the TV phone call with the customer terminal 100 to the communication band specified by the TV phone data received by the receiving unit 212. The TV phone unit 214 makes a TV phone call with the customer terminal 100 according to the setting by the setting unit 213. Display unit 215 displays the TV phone data received by receiving unit 212 on the screen.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the call center management server 300 will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the call center management server 300.

  2, the call center management server 300 includes a setting storage unit 301, an operator data receiving unit 302, a connection request receiving unit 303, a resource allocating unit 304, and a resource reallocating unit 305. The resource reallocation unit 305 includes a use resource determination unit 306, a resource data transmission unit 307, a TV phone type determination unit 308, and a TV phone type transmission unit 309. The call center management server 300 includes hardware devices such as a storage device 351, a processing device 352, an input device 353, and an output device 354. The hardware device is used by each unit of the call center management server 300. For example, the processing device 352 is used to calculate, process, read, and write data and information in each unit of the call center management server 300. The storage device 351 is used for storing the data and information. The input device 353 is used to input the data and information, and the output device 354 is used to output the data and information.

  The call center management server 300 stores operator data 311, resource data 312, reference data 313, migration data 314, support data 315, and customer attribute data 316 in the storage device 351.

  A configuration example of the operator data 311 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, operator data 311 includes an ID (operator ID) for identifying an operator, and a type of service provided by the operator to the customer using the operator terminal 210 for each operator (the type of business being performed). ), The type of TV phone (TV phone type) performed by the customer terminal 100 and the operator terminal 210 of the customer, the ID for identifying the customer (customer ID of the TV phone partner), and the operator terminal 210 used for the TV phone. Communication band (transmission video communication band, reception video communication band, transmission audio communication band, reception audio communication band) and codec (transmission video codec, reception video codec, transmission audio codec, reception audio codec Codec) and other items. Examples of business types being implemented include home loan consultation business and address change business.

  A configuration example of the resource data 312 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, resource data 312 includes an upper limit value and a current value of a communication band that can be used in the network 230, an upper limit value and a current value of processing capacity for each conference server 220, and an upper limit value of the number of simultaneous calls for each TV phone type. This data contains the current value. The upper limit of the number of simultaneous calls for each TV phone type is the number of licenses that can be simultaneously called for each TV phone S / W.

  The reference data 313 is an example of first allocation data that defines the amount of resources allocated to each of the customer terminal 100 and the operator terminal 210. More specifically, the reference data 313 defines the setting conditions for at least one of video resolution, video frame rate, video codec, and audio codec to be applied to each of the customer terminal 100 and the operator terminal 210. It is an example of 1 allocation data. The reference data 313 is an example of first allocation data that defines a communication band to be allocated to each of the customer terminal 100 and the operator terminal 210. The reference data 313 is obtained for each combination of the type of service (business type) provided by the operator via the TV phone between the customer terminal 100 and the operator terminal 210 and the attribute of the customer who uses the service (customer attribute). It is stored in the storage device 351.

  A configuration example of the reference data 313 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, the reference data 313 includes settings made for video and audio communication received by the customer terminal 100 for each combination of business type and customer attribute when resources are not tight, and the operator terminal 210. This is data indicating settings made with respect to video and audio communication received by the mobile phone. Specifically, settings for video and audio communication include video resolution, video frame rate, video codec, audio codec, and communication band settings.

  The migration data 314 is an example of second allocation data in which an amount smaller than the first allocation data is determined as the amount of resources allocated to each terminal of the customer terminal 100 and the operator terminal 210. More specifically, the migration data 314 is the first as a setting condition of at least one of the video resolution, the video frame rate, the video codec, and the audio codec applied to each terminal of the customer terminal 100 or the operator terminal 210. It is an example of the 2nd allocation data which defined the setting conditions whose communication quality is lower than allocation data. The migration data 314 is an example of second allocation data in which a communication band narrower than the first allocation data is determined as a communication band to be allocated to each of the customer terminal 100 and the operator terminal 210. Similar to the reference data 313, the migration data 314 includes a service type (business type) provided by the operator via a TV phone between the customer terminal 100 and the operator terminal 210 and a customer attribute (customer attribute) using the service. ) Are stored in the storage device 351 for each combination. A plurality of types of data may be used as the migration data 314. In this case, one type of migration data 314 corresponds to the second allocation data. Another type of migration data 314 corresponds to third allocation data in which an amount of resources allocated to each terminal of the customer terminal 100 and the operator terminal 210 is set smaller than the second allocation data. . Similarly, it is assumed that the migration data 314 corresponding to the fourth allocation data that defines a smaller amount than the third allocation data, the fifth allocation data that defines a smaller amount than the fourth allocation data,... Also good.

  A configuration example of the migration data 314 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, the migration data 314 is data indicating settings to be migrated from the settings indicated by the reference data 313 when resources are tight. Similar to the reference data 313, the migration data 314 includes settings made for video and audio communication received by the customer terminal 100, video received by the operator terminal 210, and for each combination of business type and customer attribute. Although it is data indicating settings performed for voice communication, the settings indicate that the amount of resources used is reduced compared to the reference data 313. In other words, the migration data 314 is data indicating a setting such that the communication quality is lower than that of the reference data 313. The migration data 314 further includes migration level data. The migration level data is an example of priority data that defines the priority of the second allocation data. The migration level data has a value indicating the ease of migration of settings. This value is arbitrarily determined for each setting, and a larger value indicates that the setting is easily transferred. In the example of FIG. 6, when the settings having the same business type are compared, the value of the new customer is determined to be larger than the value of the normal customer, and the value of the normal customer is larger than the value of the VIP (Very / Important / Person) customer. It has been established. This is because, when resources are tight, the new customer's video phone takes precedence over the normal customer's video phone, and the setting is lowered to a lower quality setting, and the normal customer's video phone takes precedence over the VIP customer's video phone. , Indicating a transition to a lower quality setting.

  A configuration example of the support data 315 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 7, support data 315 is data indicating supported video resolution, video maximum frame rate, video codec, and audio codec for each TV phone type.

  A configuration example of the customer attribute data 316 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 8, customer attribute data 316 is data including a customer ID and a customer attribute value set for each customer.

  The setting storage unit 301 stores the reference data 313 and the migration data 314 in the storage device 351 in advance.

  When the operator data receiving unit 302 receives the operator data 217 from the operator terminal 210, the operator data receiving unit 302 stores the operator data 311 assigned with the corresponding operator ID in the storage device 351.

  The connection request receiving unit 303 receives connection request data for requesting a TV phone connection between the customer terminal 100 and the operator terminal 210 and specifying a service from the customer terminal 100.

  The resource allocation unit 304 determines that the free resource of the call center 200 is the service type (business type related to the connection request) specified by the connection request data received by the connection request receiving unit 303 and the customer who is the transmission source of the connection request data The processing device 352 determines whether or not the amount of resources is equal to or greater than the amount of resources defined in the reference data 313 corresponding to the combination with the customer attribute of the terminal 100 (customer attribute related to the connection request). When the resource allocation unit 304 determines that the free resource of the call center 200 is equal to or greater than the amount of the resource determined by the reference data 313, the connection request data received by the connection request reception unit 303 is used to connect the TV phone. For the customer terminal 100 (the customer terminal 100 related to the connection request) and the operator terminal 210 (the operator terminal 210 related to the connection request) requested by the reference data 313 among the free resources of the call center 200 A quantity of resources are allocated by the processing unit 352.

  Specifically, the resource allocating unit 304 sets the setting conditions (video resolution, video frame rate, etc.) defined in the reference data 313 corresponding to the business type and the customer attribute related to the connection request among the plurality of conference servers 220. And the processing device 352 determines whether or not the free resource of the conference server 220 is equal to or greater than the amount of resources for applying the setting condition defined in the reference data 313. To do. When the resource allocation unit 304 determines that the free resource of the conference server 220 is equal to or greater than the amount of resources for applying the setting condition defined in the reference data 313, the customer terminal 100 related to the connection request Among the available resources of the conference server 220, resources for applying the setting conditions defined by the reference data 313 are allocated to the operator terminal 210. When the resource allocation unit 304 selects the conference server 220, the number of terminals to which the resource of the conference server 220 has been allocated (the number of simultaneous calls) is a predetermined number (simultaneous for each TV phone type included in the resource data 312). If the maximum number of calls has been reached, among the plurality of conference servers 220, other conference servers that can correspond to the setting conditions defined in the reference data 313 corresponding to the business type and customer attributes related to the connection request 220 is selected, and the processing device 352 determines whether or not the free resources of the other conference server 220 are equal to or larger than the amount of resources for applying the setting condition defined in the reference data 313.

  Further, the resource allocation unit 304 allocates a communication band determined by the reference data 313 among the unused communication bands of the call center 200 to the customer terminal 100 and the operator terminal 210 related to the connection request.

  The resource reallocation unit 305 determines that the resource allocation unit 304 determines that the free resources of the call center 200 are less than the amount of resources defined in the reference data 313 corresponding to the business type and the customer attribute related to the connection request, that is, When the free resources of the call center 200 are less than the amount of resources to be allocated by the resource allocation unit 304, predetermined processing is performed so that the free resources of the call center 200 become equal to or larger than the amount. As a predetermined process, the resource reallocation unit 305 includes at least one terminal in the corresponding migration data 314 (migration data 314 corresponding to the business type and customer attribute related to the videophone of the at least one terminal). Select the migration level data in descending order. Then, the resource reallocation unit 305 is a resource that has been allocated to the at least one terminal and corresponds to the reference data 313 (standard corresponding to the business type and the customer attribute relating to the videophone of the at least one terminal) The amount of resources determined by the data 313) is released, and the amount of resources determined by the corresponding migration data 314 is allocated by the processing device 352 to the at least one terminal.

  Specifically, the resource reallocation unit 305 determines the setting conditions defined by the reference data 313 corresponding to the business type and customer attribute related to the connection request for the free resource of the selected conference server 220 by the resource allocation unit 304. When it is determined that the amount of resources to be applied is smaller than the amount of resources to be applied, that is, when the free resources of the conference server 220 selected by the resource allocation unit 304 are smaller than the amount of resources to be allocated by the resource allocation unit 304, Predetermined processing is performed so that the free resources are equal to or greater than the amount. As a predetermined process, the resource reallocation unit 305 is a resource of the conference server 220 that has been allocated to at least one terminal, and the corresponding reference data 313 (the business type related to the videophone of the at least one terminal and Release resources for applying the setting condition defined in the reference data 313 corresponding to the customer attribute, and transfer data 314 corresponding to the at least one terminal (related to the video phone of the at least one terminal) Allocate resources for applying the setting conditions defined in the migration data 314) corresponding to the business type and customer attributes. When multiple types of data are used as the migration data 314, the resource reallocation unit 305 sets the free resource of the conference server 220 selected by the resource allocation unit 304 to be equal to or greater than the amount of resources that the resource allocation unit 304 will allocate from now on. Therefore, it is determined which type of migration data 314 needs to be used, and the predetermined processing is performed using the type of migration data 314.

  Further, the resource reallocation unit 305 indicates that the terminal to which the resource of the amount determined by the corresponding migration data 314 is allocated is the operator terminal 210, and indicates that the resource of the amount is allocated to the screen of the operator terminal 210. Only when the information is displayed and the operator inputs an agreement to the information, the resource is allocated to the operator terminal 210 and the corresponding reference data 313 (to the TV phone of the operator terminal 210). The amount of resources defined in the reference data 313 corresponding to the business type and customer attribute is released, and the migration data 314 corresponding to the operator terminal 210 (the business type related to the videophone of the operator terminal 210 and Allocate the amount of resources defined in the migration data 314) corresponding to customer attributes . Further, the resource reallocation unit 305 displays the amount of resources to the screen of the operator terminal 210 in communication with the customer terminal 100 when the terminal to which the amount of resources determined by the corresponding migration data 314 is allocated is the customer terminal 100. The information indicating that the resource is allocated to the customer terminal 100 is displayed, and the resource that has been allocated to the customer terminal 100 only when the operator inputs that the information is agreed. The amount of resources determined by the corresponding reference data 313 (reference data 313 corresponding to the business type and customer attribute related to the TV phone of the customer terminal 100) is released, and the corresponding migration data for the customer terminal 100 is released. 314 (the migration data 314 corresponding to the business type and customer attribute related to the TV phone of the customer terminal 100) Allocate resources. That is, the resource reallocation unit 305, if the corresponding migration data 314 is “operator terminal side received” data, displays information indicating that an amount of resources determined by the data item is allocated to the operator terminal 210. If it is displayed on the screen of the operator terminal 210 and the corresponding transition data 314 is “customer terminal side reception” data, information indicating that the amount of resources determined by the data item is allocated to the customer terminal 100 is The information is displayed on the screen of the operator terminal 210 that is making a TV phone call with the customer terminal 100. Then, only when the operator agrees to the information, the resources allocated to the respective terminals and the amount of resources determined by the corresponding reference data 313 are released, and are applicable to the respective terminals. The amount of resources determined by the migration data 314 is allocated.

  Within the resource reallocation unit 305, the used resource determination unit 306 is a TV phone that relays when one communication server 220 relays when the communication bandwidth used in the entire system exceeds the upper limit of the usable communication bandwidth. When the communication bandwidth of the conference server 220 exceeds the upper limit value of the processing capacity of the conference server 220, the operator terminal 210 that lowers the communication bandwidth is selected according to the business type and customer attribute, and the type of TV phone, the communication bandwidth, Determine the codec. The resource data transmission unit 307 notifies the operator terminal 210 of this. When the number of simultaneous calls when the connection request receiving unit 303 receives the connection request data from the customer terminal 100 has reached the number of licenses, the TV phone type determining unit 308 determines the license according to the business type and the customer attribute. The operator terminal 210 to be switched to another TV phone type having a space is selected. The TV phone type transmission unit 309 transmits TV phone data indicating the TV phone type to be switched from the current TV phone type to the selected operator terminal 210.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of hardware resources of the call center management server 300.

  In FIG. 9, a call center management server 300 includes a display device 901 having a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) or LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) display screen, a keyboard 902 (K / B), a mouse 903, an FDD 904 (Flexible Disk, (Drive), CDD 905 (Compact Disc Drive), and printer device 906, etc., which are connected by cables and signal lines. The call center management server 300 is a computer and is connected to a LAN.

  The call center management server 300 includes a CPU 911 that executes a program. The CPU 911 is an example of a processing device 352. The CPU 911 includes a ROM 913 (Read / Only / Memory), a RAM 914 (Random / Access / Memory), a communication board 915, a display device 901, a keyboard 902, a mouse 903, an FDD904, a CDD905, a printer device 906, and a magnetic disk. It is connected to the device 920 and controls these hardware devices. Instead of the magnetic disk device 920, a storage medium such as an optical disk device or a memory card reader / writer may be used.

  The RAM 914 is an example of a volatile memory. The storage media of the ROM 913, the FDD 904, the CDD 905, and the magnetic disk device 920 are an example of a nonvolatile memory. These are examples of the storage device 351. The communication board 915, the keyboard 902, the mouse 903, the FDD 904, the CDD 905, and the like are examples of the input device 353. Further, the communication board 915, the display device 901, the printer device 906, and the like are examples of the output device 354.

  The communication board 915 is connected to the LAN. The communication board 915 is not limited to a LAN, but is the Internet, or an IP-VPN (Internet, Protocol, Private, Network), a wide area LAN, a WAN (Wide Area Network) such as an ATM (Asynchronous, Transfer, Mode) network, or the like. It does not matter if it is connected to. LAN, the Internet, WAN, etc. are examples of the networks 230 and 240.

  The magnetic disk device 920 stores an operating system 921 (OS), a window system 922, a program group 923, and a file group 924. The programs in the program group 923 are executed by the CPU 911, the operating system 921, and the window system 922. The program group 923 stores a program for executing a function described as “˜unit” in the description of the present embodiment. The program is read and executed by the CPU 911. The file group 924 includes data and information described as “˜data”, “˜information”, “˜ID (identifier)”, “˜flag”, and “˜result” in the description of this embodiment. Signal values, variable values, and parameters are stored as items of “˜file”, “˜database”, and “˜table”. The “˜file”, “˜database”, and “˜table” are stored in a storage medium such as a disk or a memory. Data, information, signal values, variable values, and parameters stored in a storage medium such as a disk or memory are read out to the main memory or cache memory by the CPU 911 via a read / write circuit, and extracted, searched, referenced, compared, and calculated. Used for processing (operation) of the CPU 911 such as calculation / control / output / printing / display. Data, information, signal values, variable values, and parameters are temporarily stored in the main memory, cache memory, and buffer memory during processing of the CPU 911 such as extraction, search, reference, comparison, calculation, control, output, printing, and display. Is remembered.

  In addition, the arrows in the block diagrams and flowcharts used in the description of this embodiment mainly indicate input / output of data and signals, and the data and signals are the memory such as the RAM 914, the flexible disk (FD) of the FDD 904, and the compact of the CDD 905. Recording is performed on a recording medium such as a disk (CD), a magnetic disk of the magnetic disk device 920, another optical disk, a mini disk (MD), or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc). Data and signals are transmitted by a bus 912, a signal line, a cable, and other transmission media.

  In addition, what is described as “˜unit” in the description of this embodiment may be “˜circuit”, “˜device”, “˜device”, and “˜step”, “˜process”. , “˜procedure”, and “˜processing”. That is, what is described as “˜unit” may be realized by firmware stored in the ROM 913. Alternatively, it may be realized only by software, or only by hardware such as an element, a device, a board, and wiring, or a combination of software and hardware, and further by a combination of firmware. Firmware and software are stored as programs in a recording medium such as a magnetic disk, flexible disk, optical disk, compact disk, minidisk, or DVD. This program is read by the CPU 911 and executed by the CPU 911. That is, the program causes the computer to function as “to part” described in the description of the present embodiment. Alternatively, it causes the computer to execute the procedures and methods described in the description of the present embodiment.

  10 and 11 are flowcharts showing the operation of the call center management server 300 according to the present embodiment (call control method using the call center management server 300). The flow shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 10 and 11 corresponds to a processing procedure of a program (call control program) executed on a computer that implements the call center management server 300.

  When a customer selects a business to receive a service from a customer terminal 100 installed in a company branch or sales office, the call center management server 300 is notified of connection request data. In the call center management server 300, the connection request receiving unit 303 receives connection request data from the customer terminal 100 (step S101: connection request receiving process).

  The resource allocation unit 304 selects an operator to be allocated to the customer of the customer terminal 100 that is the transmission source of the connection request data received by the connection request reception unit 303. The resource allocation unit 304 refers to the reference data 313 according to the business type and the customer attribute, supports the corresponding video / audio codec, resolution, frame rate, and communication band, and processes the free TV phone type. Selection is made at 352 (step S102: part of resource allocation processing).

  The resource allocation unit 304 refers to the resource data 312 and determines whether the value obtained by increasing the number of simultaneous calls (current value) of the TV phone type selected in step S102 by one exceeds the upper limit value or selected in step S102. The processing device 352 determines whether the value obtained by adding the communication bandwidth of the reference data 313 referred to in step S102 to the processing capacity (current value) of the conference server for the TV phone type exceeds the upper limit (step S103: resource allocation) Part of processing).

  If the resource allocation unit 304 determines in step S103 that the number of simultaneous calls or the processing capacity of the conference server exceeds the upper limit value, the video / audio codec, resolution, frame rate, communication bandwidth of the reference data 313 referred to in step S102 It is determined by the processing device 352 whether another TV phone type that supports is free (step S104: part of resource allocation processing).

  If resource allocation unit 304 determines in step S104 that another TV phone type is available, resource allocation unit 312 increases the number of simultaneous calls (current value) of the TV phone type selected in step S102 by one in resource data 312. At the same time, the processing device 352 adds the communication band of the reference data 313 referred to in step S104 to the processing capability (current value) of the conference server for the TV phone type selected in step S102 (step S105: one of resource allocation processes). Part). If the resource allocation unit 304 determines in step S103 that the number of simultaneous calls and the processing capacity of the conference server do not exceed the upper limit values, the number of simultaneous calls of the TV phone type selected in step S102 in the resource data 312 ( (Current value) is increased by 1, and the processing device 352 adds the communication band of the reference data 313 referred to in step S102 to the processing capacity (current value) of the conference server for the TV phone type selected in step S102 ( Step S105: Part of the resource allocation process).

  In step S104, the resource reallocation unit 305 refers to the migration data 314 according to the business type and the customer attribute when the resource allocation unit 304 determines that another TV phone type is not available. Select the operator with the largest value and the longest talk time. Then, the resource reallocation unit 305 supports the corresponding video / audio codec, resolution, frame rate, and communication band, and selects a free TV phone type by the processing device 352 (step S106: resource reallocation processing). Part of). At this time, if there is no vacant TV phone type, the resource reallocation unit 305 performs processing such as holding the connection request from the customer or disconnecting the call.

  The resource reallocation unit 305 refers to the resource data 312 and starts communication or can use the communication band of the reference data 313 or the transfer data 314 referred to for the TV phone whose settings are to be changed in the network 230. Add to the bandwidth (current value). Then, the resource reallocation unit 305 determines whether the value exceeds the upper limit value in the processing device 352 (step S107: part of the resource reallocation process).

  If the resource reallocation unit 305 determines in step S107 that the communication band exceeds the upper limit value, the resource reallocation unit 305 refers to the migration data 314 according to the business type and the customer attribute, and the value of the migration level data is the largest, and the call time Select the longest operator. The resource reallocation unit 305 supports the corresponding video / audio codec, resolution, frame rate, and communication band, selects a free videophone type, and selects the video / audio codec, resolution, frame rate, The communication band or the like is notified to the corresponding operator terminal 210 (step S108: part of the resource reallocation process). Note that the resource reallocation unit 305 notifies the customer terminal 100 and the operator terminal 210 of the bandwidth used by the network 230 for videophone communication instead of the video / audio codec, resolution, frame rate, and communication bandwidth, and the customer terminal 100 and the TV phone units 101 and 214 of the operator terminal 210 may determine the video / audio codec, resolution, frame rate, and communication band in accordance with the notified use band of the network 230.

  If the resource reallocation unit 305 determines in step S107 that the communication band does not exceed the upper limit value, or after step S108, all the operator terminals 210 selected to be shifted in step S106 or step S108 The operator notifies the operator by displaying the TV phone type, resolution, frame rate, and the like when the transition is made on the screen (step S109: part of the resource reallocation process).

  When the operator agrees to shift the setting of the TV phone, that is, to lower the communication band (step S110: a part of the resource reassignment process), the resource reallocation unit 305 establishes a connection between the customer terminal 100 and the operator terminal 210. Then, the TV phone in the designated TV phone type, video / audio codec and communication band is resumed. If the operator does not agree to lower the communication band (step S110: part of the resource reallocation process), another operator to lower the communication band is selected again (step S111: part of the resource reallocation process). ).

  When the operator manually changes the videophone, video / audio codec, and communication band, or when the videophone is terminated, the operator terminal 210 notifies the call center management server 300 of the operator data 217. Thereby, when the current resource usage value falls below the set value, the value of the migration level data is the smallest according to the business type and customer attribute based on the migration data 314 for each business type and customer attribute. The operator with a short call time is selected, the video / audio codec and communication band at that time are notified to the corresponding operator terminal 210, and the operator performs an agreement operation, so that the quality of the video phone that has been shifted to low quality can be reduced. Restore normal quality (standard value).

  According to the present embodiment, when the resources such as the network communication band and the processing performance (processing capacity) of the videophone conference server are tight, it is possible to smoothly restrict the use of resources by controlling the videophone terminal. It is. Further, even when the number of simultaneous telephone calls of the videophone has reached the number of simultaneous telephone licenses of the videophone software, another videophone software can be effectively used by controlling the videophone terminal. Furthermore, since the operator can decide whether or not to restrict resources, for example, for elderly customers or customers who may become VIPs depending on the contents of calls, the use of resources even when the system resources are tight It is possible to make a videophone call without restriction.

  In addition, by deciding the TV phone that recommends resource restrictions according to the resource usage priority for each call center operation or customer attribute, for example, with general customers who are engaged in procedural operations with less profit from financial institutions It is possible to lower the quality of the videophone and maintain the quality of the videophone in the consultation work with VIP customers who make a lot of money.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the TV phone control method for determining the TV phone S / W, the video / audio codec, the resolution, and the frame rate used in the TV phone according to the business type and the customer attribute has been described.

  The videophone control system is characterized in that the video / audio codec, resolution, and frame rate used for reception are determined to be different values on the operator reception side and the customer reception side, respectively.

  The TV phone control system is characterized in that the TV phone type used for the TV phone is determined to be different on the operator side and on the customer side.

  The above-mentioned TV phone control method is an operator, TV phone type, video / audio, which lowers the communication band according to business type and customer when the communication band of the entire system exceeds the upper limit of the usable communication band. The codec and the communication band are determined, and the operator terminal or the customer terminal controls the TV telephone unit so as to make a TV call with the determined value.

  The above-mentioned TV phone control method selects an operator that lowers the communication band according to the business type and the customer when the upper limit value of the processing capacity of the conference server that holds the TV conference is exceeded, and the TV phone S / W, video The voice codec and the communication band are determined, and the operator terminal or the customer terminal controls the TV phone unit so as to make a TV call with the determined value.

  When the current number of calls has reached the number of licenses, the above TV phone control method selects an operator to switch to using another TV phone type with a license available according to the business type and customer attributes, and the operator terminal Alternatively, the customer terminal controls the TV phone unit to make a TV phone call with the determined value.

  The TV phone control method is characterized in that the determined value is displayed on the operator terminal, and only when the operator agrees, the operator terminal controls the TV phone unit to make a TV phone call with the determined value. .

  The TV phone control system is characterized in that, when resources are tight, an operator to be transferred is determined according to the value of ease of transfer.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a system according to a first embodiment. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a call center management server according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of hardware resources of a call center management server according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the operator data which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of resource data according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of reference data according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of migration data according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of support data according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the customer attribute data which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of the call center management server according to the first embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of the call center management server according to the first embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Customer terminal, 101 TV telephone part, 102 Receiving part, 103 Setting part, 200 Call center, 210 Operator terminal, 211 Operator data notification part, 212 Receiving part, 213 Setting part, 214 TV telephone part, 215 Display part, 216 Storage device 217 operator data, 220 conference server, 230 network, 240 network, 300 call center management server, 301 setting storage unit, 302 operator data reception unit, 303 connection request reception unit, 304 resource allocation unit, 305 resource reallocation unit, 306 use Resource determination unit, 307 Resource data transmission unit, 308 TV phone type determination unit, 309 TV phone type transmission unit, 311 operator data, 312 resource data, 313 reference data, 314 migration data 315 support data, 316 customer attribute data, 351 storage device, 352 processing device, 353 input device, 354 output device, 901 display device, 902 keyboard, 903 mouse, 904 FDD, 905 CDD, 906 printer device, 910 system unit, 911 CPU, 912 bus, 913 ROM, 914 RAM, 915 communication board, 920 magnetic disk device, 921 operating system, 922 window system, 923 program group, 924 file group.

Claims (10)

A call center management server that allocates call center resources for calls between operators and user terminals to a plurality of terminals used by a plurality of call center operators and a plurality of terminals used by a plurality of call center users. And
First storage data that defines the amount of resources to be allocated to each terminal, and second allocation data that defines an amount of resources to be allocated to each terminal that is smaller than the first allocation data A setting storage unit for storing
A connection request receiving unit for receiving connection request data for requesting connection of a call between an operator and a user terminal;
When the free resources of the call center are equal to or greater than the amount of resources determined by the first allocation data, the operator and the user terminal that are requested to connect the call with the connection request data received by the connection request receiver A resource allocation unit that allocates an amount of resources defined by the first allocation data among the free resources of the call center by the processing device;
If the free resources of the call center are less than the amount of resources allocated by the resource allocation unit, the first allocation is a resource that has already been allocated to at least one terminal so that the free resources of the call center are equal to or greater than the amount. A call center comprising: a resource reallocation unit that releases a resource defined by data and allocates a resource defined by second allocation data to the at least one terminal by a processing device Management server. The setting storage unit includes first allocation data and second allocation for each combination of a type of service provided by an operator and an attribute of a user using the service through a call between the operator and the user's terminal. Remember the data,
The connection request receiving unit receives connection request data specifying a service from the user's terminal as connection request data,
The resource allocation unit is designated by the connection request data among the free resources of the call center for the operator and user terminals that are requested to connect the call by the connection request data received by the connection request reception unit. The call center management server according to claim 1, wherein an amount of resources determined by the first allocation data corresponding to a combination of a service type and a user attribute is allocated. The setting storage unit stores, in a storage device, priority data that defines the priority of second allocation data for each combination of service type and user attribute,
The resource reallocation unit, when the free resource of the call center is less than the amount of the resource allocated by the resource allocation unit, sets at least one terminal to the corresponding priority data so that the free resource of the call center is equal to or greater than the amount. In order from the highest priority determined in step (1), the resources allocated to the at least one terminal and the amount of resources determined by the corresponding first allocation data are released, and the at least one terminal The call center management server according to claim 2, wherein an amount of resources determined by the corresponding second allocation data is allocated to the call center management server. The call center management server is a plurality of conference servers installed in a call center as resources for each terminal, and a plurality of supported video resolutions, video frame rates, video codecs, and audio codecs are different. Allocate resources for each conference server in
The setting storage unit defines, as first allocation data and second allocation data, at least one setting condition of a video resolution, a video frame rate, a video codec, and an audio codec to be applied to each terminal. 1 allocation data and 2nd allocation data which defined the setting condition whose communication quality is lower than the 1st allocation data as a setting condition,
The resource allocation unit selects a conference server that can correspond to the setting condition defined in the first allocation data from the plurality of conference servers, and connects the call using the connection request data received by the connection request reception unit. Allocating a resource for applying the setting condition defined in the first allocation data among the free resources of the conference server to the operator and user terminals requested by
The resource reallocation unit, when the free resource of the conference server selected by the resource allocation unit is smaller than the amount of the resource allocated by the resource allocation unit, at least so that the free resource of the conference server becomes equal to or more than the amount Release the resource of the conference server allocated to one terminal for applying the setting condition defined by the first allocation data, and the second allocation to the at least one terminal 4. The call center management server according to claim 1, wherein resources for applying setting conditions defined by data are allocated.   The resource allocation unit corresponds to a setting condition defined by first allocation data among the plurality of conference servers when the number of terminals to which resources of the selected conference server have been allocated has reached a predetermined number. Select other possible conference servers, and for the terminals of the operator and the user who are requested to connect the call with the connection request data received by the connection request receiving unit, among the free resources of the other conference servers, 5. The call center management server according to claim 4, wherein a resource for applying the setting condition defined by the first allocation data is allocated. The setting storage unit includes, as first allocation data and second allocation data, first allocation data that defines a communication band allocated to each terminal, and a first allocation as a communication band allocated to each terminal. Storing second allocation data defining a communication band narrower than the data;
The resource allocation unit uses the first allocation data of the unused communication band of the call center to an operator and a user terminal for which connection of a call is requested by the connection request data received by the connection request reception unit. 6. The call center management server according to claim 1, wherein a predetermined communication band is allocated.   The resource reallocation unit displays information indicating that the terminal to which the amount of resources determined by the second allocation data is allocated is an operator's terminal and that the amount of resources is allocated to the screen of the terminal. Only when the operator inputs an agreement to the information, the resource allocated to the terminal and the amount of resources defined by the first allocation data is released, and the terminal The call center management server according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein an amount of resources determined by the second allocation data is allocated.   The resource reallocation unit is a case where a terminal to which an amount of resources determined by the second allocation data is allocated is a user's terminal, and the amount is transferred to the screen of the operator's terminal in communication with the user's terminal. Information indicating that the user's terminal is allocated to the user's terminal, and only if the operator inputs that the user agrees to the information, the resource allocated to the user's terminal 7. An amount of resources determined by the first allocation data is released, and an amount of resources determined by the second allocation data is allocated to the user terminal. The call center management server described in any of the above. Use a call center management server that allocates call center resources for calls between operators and user terminals to multiple terminals used by multiple call center operators and multiple terminals used by multiple call center users. The call control method
The call center management server sets first allocation data that determines the amount of resources allocated to each terminal, and second allocation that determines an amount of resources allocated to each terminal that is less than the first allocation data Store data in a storage device in advance,
The call center management server receives connection request data for requesting connection of a call between an operator and a user terminal;
When the free resources of the call center are equal to or larger than the amount of resources determined by the first allocation data, the call center management server sends the call request connection to the operator and user terminals that are requested to connect the call. , Among the free resources of the call center, the amount of resources determined by the first allocation data is allocated by the processing device,
When the free resources of the call center are less than the amount of resources to be allocated from now on, the call center management server is a resource that has been allocated to at least one terminal so that the free resources of the call center are equal to or greater than the amount. A call control method, comprising: releasing an amount of resources determined by the allocation data of the second allocation data, and allocating an amount of resources determined by the second allocation data to the at least one terminal by the processing device. A call center management server that allocates call center resources for calls between operators and user terminals to a plurality of terminals used by a plurality of call center operators and a plurality of terminals used by a plurality of call center users. First storage data that defines the amount of resources to be allocated to each terminal, and second allocation data that defines a smaller amount of resources to be allocated to each terminal than the first allocation data are stored in advance A call control program executed by a call center management server stored in a device,
A connection request reception process for receiving connection request data for requesting connection of a call between an operator and a user terminal;
When the free resources of the call center are equal to or greater than the amount of resources determined by the first allocation data, the operator and the user terminal that are requested to connect the call with the connection request data received by the connection request reception process A resource allocation process in which the processing device allocates an amount of resources determined by the first allocation data among the free resources in the call center;
When free resources in the call center are less than the amount of resources allocated by the resource allocation process, the first allocation is a resource that has been allocated to at least one terminal so that the free resources in the call center are equal to or greater than the amount. A resource amount determined by data is released, and a computer performs a resource reassignment process in which a processing device allocates an amount resource determined by the second allocation data to the at least one terminal. Call control program.

Images