JP4030017B2 - IP voice response method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an IP voice response method and apparatus capable of reducing equipment costs and effectively using equipment by performing processing suitable for an IP (Internet Protocol) network, and a computer / computer related to these methods and equipment. Regarding the program.
[0002]
[Prior art]
It is conceivable to use a conventional voice response device in an IP phone that responds to an incoming call from a customer via a PBX (Private Branch eXchange). However, this does not take advantage of the features of IP phones.
[0003]
Here, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique related to a call recording device and a call recording system that takes advantage of the characteristics of an IP phone, in which voice information of a packet with an IP address is stored.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2003-92632 A
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, Patent Document 1 does not disclose any voice response method or device. At the present time, there is no particular disclosure of a technology relating to a voice response method or device that takes advantage of the features of an IP phone.
[0006]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described conventional problems, and an IP voice response method and apparatus capable of reducing equipment costs and effectively using equipment by performing processing suitable for an IP network. It is another object of the present invention to provide a computer program related to these methods and apparatuses.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
First, the IP voice response method according to the first invention of the present application includes a CTI function for receiving a destination instruction from the outside via an IP network, and a communication for calling and calling the destination as an IP phone. IP phone calls that are received from the IP network and are the source of the customer , Audio information is compressed For voice data packets, Without performing the process of decompressing and decompressing the compression, DTMF tone recognition processing or voice recognition processing is sequentially performed, and voice data packets including customer-facing voice, which are automatically generated according to the result of the recognition processing, are transmitted to the transmission source. Make a response, Above By CTI function , The problem is solved by receiving information for supporting customer service.
[0008]
Further, in the IP voice response method, a customer database that can store both IP addresses and telephone numbers is used as the source address, so that various IP telephones on the customer side can be handled. it can.
[0010]
In the IP voice response method, after the automatic voice response, the voice data packet is relayed and transferred between the customer's IP telephone and the operator's IP telephone to be transmitted to each other. Thus, since the call is transferred to the operator, the call received from the customer can be transferred to the operator's telephone.
[0011]
Further, in the IP voice response method, the address of the transmission source is grasped, and after the automatic voice response, the call is once disconnected, and then the operator calls back to the transmission source address. By responding to the customer, the operator can respond to the customer who has made the call, and the processing capacity of the device for routing the call at the time of the response and the limitation of the accommodation line of the PBX can be restricted. In these respects, it is possible to further reduce the equipment cost and effectively use the equipment.
[0012]
Next, the IP voice response device of the second invention of the present application is: A CTI function for receiving instructions from the outside via an IP network, and a communication function for calling and calling the destination as an IP phone An IP telephone transmission / reception control unit that handles voice data packets of IP telephones that are transmitted / received to / from the IP network; , Audio information is compressed For voice data packets, Without performing the process of decompressing and decompressing the compression, A recognition processing unit that sequentially performs DTMF tone recognition processing or voice recognition processing; An information receiving unit for providing an operator with information for supporting customer service; A voice response control unit that automatically generates voice data for customer service according to the result of the recognition process, and the voice data packet including the voice data is transmitted by the IP telephone transmission / reception control unit to the transmission source. To send an automated voice response to the customer, Receive information to support customer service through the CTI function This solves the problem.
[0013]
Furthermore, a computer program according to a third invention of the present application provides the computer program for realizing the IP voice response method according to the first invention or the IP voice response device according to the second invention. Is a solution.
[0014]
The operation of the present invention will be briefly described below.
[0015]
In the present invention, DTMF tone recognition processing or voice recognition processing is sequentially performed on voice data packets of IP telephone calls that are received from an IP network and whose customers are transmission sources. Further, an automatic voice response is performed by transmitting a voice data packet including voice for customer service, which is automatically generated according to the result of the recognition process, to the transmission source.
[0016]
Therefore, it is not necessary to use PBX when responding to a call from a customer with an automatic voice response. Although the present invention is not limited to this, since the call can be received directly from the IP network, the processing capability of the routing device is not limited. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the equipment cost and effectively use the equipment by performing processing suitable for the IP network.
[0017]
The present invention is not limited to this, but after applying the present invention and responding with an automatic voice response, the call from the customer of the reception may be transferred to the operator's telephone. An IP phone can also be used for the transfer. In this case, the operator's telephone line also transmits information to support the customer service to the operator (operator terminal device) during contact center operation. The data communication line for doing so can also be shared by a network using IP. Therefore, in this case, introduction and maintenance become easy. The network may be, for example, the Internet network, a dedicated line, a WAN (Wide Area Network), or a LAN (Local Area Network).
[0018]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0019]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a contact center system according to a first embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
[0020]
In this embodiment, and in other embodiments described later, contact center operations for inbound operations and outbound operations are provided. In addition, these In the embodiment, CTI (Computer Telephony Integration) technology is utilized, and information for supporting customer service is presented to an operator regardless of inbound business and outbound business. There are various forms such as information, still images, moving images, and sounds.
[0021]
In this embodiment, and in other embodiments to be described later, the IP phone 5, the mobile phone 7, the home agent device 15, and the operator device 16 can all use functions as operator devices. As this function, it has a function of presenting information for supporting customer service. For example, such an operator device includes a CTI command function unit for receiving a destination instruction from the outside via an IP network, and a call function unit for calling and calling the destination as an IP phone. And an information receiving unit for receiving information for supporting customer service from the outside via the IP network. Depending on these operator devices, there are cases where there is a limitation on the type of information presented as described above.
[0022]
In this figure, an IP telephone 5 and a mobile telephone 7 are connected to an IP network 1 by a router device 3. The IP voice response device 2 and the IP control server device 10 are also connected to the IP network 1 by a built-in router device 3 as shown in FIGS.
[0023]
In this embodiment and other embodiments to be described later, the IP telephone 5, the IP telephone 6, and the mobile telephone 7 are used by a contact center operator, and the operator has a function of making a call with a customer using an IP network. And CTI-related functions. For example, a CTI command function unit for receiving a call destination instruction from the outside via an IP network and a call function unit for calling and calling the call destination as an IP phone are provided. As a result, it is possible to receive a destination instruction from the IP control server device 10 by a CTI command message, send the IP telephone to the destination customer, and handle the customer by the outgoing call.
[0024]
In the present embodiment and the embodiments described later, the IP network 1 is not particularly limited as long as it is a communication network capable of data communication by IP. For example, it may be an Internet network, a dedicated line, a WAN or a LAN.
[0025]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the IP voice response device 2 used in the first embodiment and the embodiments described later. In these embodiments, the IP voice response device 2 is also an IP voice recognition device.
[0026]
As shown in the figure, the IP voice response device 2 first has a built-in router device 3 for connection to the IP network 1 as described above. The IP voice response device 2 includes an IP telephone transmission / reception control unit 32, a voice response control unit 35, a voice data storage device 36, a recognition processing unit 37, and a CTI database device 45. The recognition processing unit 37 includes a DTMF (Dial Tone Multi Frequency) tone recognition control device 38 and an IP voice recognition control unit 39.
[0027]
First, the IP telephone transmission / reception control unit 32 performs processing related to transmission, reception, and transfer of IP telephones such as protocol processing related to IP telephones. For example, the CTI command message as shown in FIG. 9 to FIG. 11 and the IP telephone status message as shown in FIG. 12 and FIG.
[0028]
The voice response control unit 35, the voice data storage device 36, the recognition processing unit 37, and the CTI database device 45 provide an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) function. That is, the function of transmitting the announcement voice stored in the voice data storage device 36 to the customer, and the function of recognizing the reply by the customer's voice and the telephone push button operation to the transmission by the customer I will provide a. The recognition result is stored in the CTI database device 45.
[0029]
Recognition processing in the IVR function is performed by the recognition processing unit 37. In the recognition process, in particular, the customer voice recognition is performed by the IP voice recognition control unit 39. Alternatively, the DTMF tone recognition control unit 38 recognizes the telephone push button operation.
[0030]
The above-described recognition result is used in an IP telephone routing control unit 30 described later, presented to an operator corresponding to the customer, or used to control information presented to the operator.
[0031]
Here, in the IP telephone, the voice information included in the voice data packet transmitted through the IP network such as the IP network 1 is compressed based on a predetermined rule. Then, in the process from reception from the IP network to reproduction of voice from the telephone handset, the compression usually needs to be restored, and for this purpose, a predetermined decompression restoration process is performed. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, without performing the decompression / restoration process, or omitting at least a part of the decompression / restoration process, a process for recognizing a customer voice or a process for recognizing a telephone push button operation Like to do. This is so-called pattern recognition for voice information extracted from voice data packets that has not been subjected to decompression / restoration processing or at least part of the decompression / restoration processing and voice information of a telephone push button operation. By performing the process, the recognition process is performed.
[0032]
In the present embodiment, the audio data storage device 36 stores the information of the announcement audio, at least a part of which is completed. Therefore, at the time of generating the voice data packet of the announcement voice of the customer service to be transmitted to the customer side at the customer service, at least a part of the compression processing in the voice response control unit 35 can be omitted, and thereby The processing in the voice response control unit 35 can be reduced.
[0033]
The CTI database device 45 stores information related to the IP voice response device 2 as shown in FIG. In FIG. 7, the left end is the telephone number of the IP voice response device 2, the center is the IP number (IP address) of the IP voice response device 2, and the right end is the IP control related to the IP voice response device 2. This is the IP number (IP address) of the server device 10.
[0034]
Further, the CTI database device 45 stores a management file in which information for each IP phone 5 or mobile phone 7 is written as shown in FIG. In the file, each record has at least data as shown in the figure, that is, “telephone identification”, “phone number”, “IP number”, “previous status”, “previous status time”, It has data of “status”, “status time”, and “transfer data storage area”.
[0035]
First, the “telephone identification” data is for identifying individual IP telephones 5 and mobile telephones 7 and also for identifying individual operators. The data of “telephone number” is the telephone number of the corresponding IP phone 5 or mobile phone 7. The “IP number” data is an IP address for presenting information to the operator.
[0036]
The “Status” data shows the current status of the operator, “Vacant” (no vacancies or no sign-in), “Incoming”, “During a call” (customer service), Indicates a state of “standby” (a state where the user is logged in but is not “incoming” or “busy”). The “status time” data indicates how long the current “status” has continued. The “previous status” data indicates the state immediately before the current state, and the “previous status time” data indicates the time that the previous state has continued.
[0037]
The data in the “transfer data storage area” indicates the type of information presented to the operator for customer support. In the data of the “transfer data storage area”, “character string” indicates character information, “music” indicates audio information, “still image” indicates still image information, and “moving image” indicates moving image information. Thus, in this embodiment, various information can be presented to the operator for customer support support.
[0038]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the IP control server device 10 used in the first embodiment and the embodiments described later.
[0039]
As shown in the figure, first, the IP control server device 10 incorporates the router device 3 for connecting to the IP network 1 as described above. The IP control server apparatus 10 includes an IP telephone transmission / reception control section 32, a CTI control section 40, a predictive transmission control section 42, a transmission database apparatus 46, an IP telephone routing control section 30, and a control information database apparatus 34. A voice response control unit 35, a voice data storage device 36, and a statistical information management control unit 38. Further, the above-described predictive transmission control unit 42 includes a pacing control unit 43 and a database control unit 44.
[0040]
First, the CTI control unit 40 performs processing for presenting information for supporting the correspondence such as information about the corresponding customer to the operator. The CTI control unit 40 provides a function as a so-called CTI device.
[0041]
The predictive transmission control unit 42 reads customer information such as a telephone number of a destination customer stored in the transmission database device 46 via the database control unit 44 at a transmission interval instructed by the pacing control unit 43, and transmits the call. The previous telephone number and an instruction for calling are output to IP telephone transmission / reception control unit 32. As a result, the IP control server device 10 sequentially makes a predictive call to the customer at the above-mentioned call intervals.
[0042]
The voice response control unit 35 and the voice data storage device 36 provide an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) function in the IP control server device 10. That is, it provides a function for transmitting the announcement voice stored in the voice data storage device 36 to the customer, and also provides a function for recognizing an answer by voice or a telephone push button operation to the transmission by the customer. To do. The recognition result is used in the IP telephone routing control unit 30, presented to an operator corresponding to the customer, or used to control information presented to the operator.
[0043]
The IP telephone routing control unit 30 grasps the state of whether or not each operator's IP telephone 5 or mobile telephone 7 is in a call at any time. Further, the IP telephone routing control unit 30 knows the status of each operator, such as whether he is sitting, logging in, or dealing with a customer, as needed. The grasping result is written in the control information database device 34.
[0044]
Note that the control information database device 34 stores a management file in which information for each IP telephone 5 or mobile telephone 7 is written as shown in FIG. In the file, each record has at least data as shown in the figure, that is, “telephone identification”, “phone number”, “IP number”, “previous status”, “previous status time”, It has data of “status”, “status time”, and “transfer data storage area”.
[0045]
The IP telephone routing control unit 30 according to the present embodiment calls an IP telephone call received from a customer in an inbound service based on the status of the IP telephone 5, the mobile telephone 7, or the operator stored in the control information database device 34. In addition, in order to handle an IP telephone call connected to a customer in an outbound service, an instruction is output to the IP telephone transmission / reception control unit 32 so as to handle the above-described CTI command message and IP telephone status message. These calls are controlled by the IP telephone routing control unit 30 and connected to an IVR function realized by the IP telephone 5 of each operator, the mobile phone 7, the voice response control unit 35 and the voice data storage device 36, and processed. Is done. Alternatively, the IP telephone routing control unit 30 disconnects appropriately according to an instruction from the IP telephone transmission / reception control unit 32.
[0046]
Next, FIGS. 4 and 5 are block diagrams showing the overall configuration of the contact center system according to the second embodiment and the third embodiment to which the present invention is applied, respectively.
[0047]
First, the second embodiment is provided with a web server device 11 as compared to the first embodiment described above. A home agent device 15 is provided for each operator. The home agent device 15 includes a router device 3 connected to the IP network 1 connected to each other via a LAN 55, an IP telephone 6 for making a call with a customer, and an operator for presenting customer support information. Terminal device 9.
[0048]
Next, in the third embodiment, the same home agent device 15 as that of the second embodiment is provided for each operator. Alternatively, a contact center device 20 is provided in the contact center, and an operator device 16 is provided for each operator in the contact center.
[0049]
As shown in FIG. 6, the contact center device 20 includes a router device 3 for connecting to the IP network 1, an IP voice response device 2, an IP control server device 10, a web server device 11, a mail server, A server device 12, a database server device 13, and an operator device 16 are provided. The operator device 16 includes an IP telephone 6 and an operator terminal device 9. These are connected to each other by a LAN 55.
[0050]
Note that the IP telephone 6 can make a call using a data communication line via the LAN 55 or the IP network 1. As the operator terminal device 9, a general personal computer is used as hardware. The IP telephone 6 may be built in the operator terminal device 9. In the operator terminal device 9, a web browser program generally used in a personal computer is used.
[0051]
In describing the operation of the first to third embodiments described above, first, the CTI command message of FIGS. 9 to 11 and the IP telephone status message of FIGS. 12 and 13 will be described.
[0052]
9 to 13, individual CTI command messages and IP phone status messages are shown in order from the top in each figure. In these figures, the leftmost data is the head of each message, and is subsequently transmitted in order from the left side to the right side in data communication.
[0053]
In any electronic message, the head data is “IP control server address”, and the IP address of the IP control server device 10 in the IP network 1 is stored. In the figure, the second data from the top, which is shown by a double frame, indicates the type of the message.
[0054]
In the following data, “... phone number” is the phone number of the corresponding IP phone 5, IP phone 6, or mobile phone 7. “... IP number” is an IP address of a device for presenting information to an operator in order to support customer correspondence, such as the IP telephone 5, the mobile telephone 7, and the operator terminal device 9 used for information presentation. The corresponding IP address.
[0055]
First, regarding the CTI command message, in order from the top of each figure, FIG. 9 shows a transmission message, a disconnect message, a response message, and a hold message. FIG. 10 shows a hold cancellation message, an incoming call rejection message, an incoming call rejection cancellation message, and a transfer message. In FIG. 11, a transfer cancellation message, a monitor message, and a monitor cancellation message are illustrated.
[0056]
Next, with respect to the IP telephone status message, in FIG. 12, the incoming status message, the recovery status message, the response status message, and the hold status message are illustrated in order from the top in each figure. FIG. 13 shows an incoming call rejection state message, a away state message, a call state message, and a lost child state message.
[0057]
Note that the lost child status message has a “lost child identifier” as illustrated at the right end in the figure. The “lost child identifier” is indicated by a numerical value. That is, if it is “1”, it is “number transfer” and the telephone number has been used before, but is now transferred to use another telephone number. If it is “2”, it is “customer convenience”, and the use of the telephone number is temporarily suspended due to customer convenience. If it is “3”, it means “no number is used” and the telephone number is not used.
[0058]
Note that the CTI command message in FIGS. 9 to 11 and the IP phone status message in FIGS. 12 and 13 are not particularly limited, and may conform to a standard such as SIP (Session Initiation Protocol).
[0059]
Hereinafter, the operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.
[0060]
In the flowcharts of FIG. 14, FIG. 16, and FIG. 17, the transmission of the corresponding recorded message is indicated by the solid-line arrow labeled “... Further, broken arrows indicate transmission of various information and transmission of various instructions such as transmission, disconnection, and response. In these arrows, the direction of the arrow indicates the transmission direction of a message, information, or instruction. In addition, arrows with ellipses in the figure indicate the operation of each device and the operation of the operator, and these operations and instructions are generated at the tip of the arrow.
[0061]
In the following description of FIGS. 14, 16, and 17, for solid line arrows and broken line arrows, the names illustrated in the telegram, information, and instructions are described by enclosing them with ““ ”and“ ””. In addition, the names shown in the ellipses are described by enclosing them with ““ ”and“ ””.
[0062]
First, FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the transfer of telegrams and processes in the process of inbound work that can appropriately transfer the voice data packet of the call. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing processing in such a case.
[0063]
14 and 15, when a call from a customer received by the IP voice response device 2 is transferred to the IP control server device 10 or the operator's IP telephone 6, the voice data packet of the call is transferred to the IP voice server. The response device 2 and the IP control server device 10 perform relay transfer. That is, after the automatic voice response in the IP voice response device 2, the voice data packet is transmitted between the customer's IP phone and the IP control server device 10 or the operator's IP phone corresponding to the customer. Relay transfer. Then, by the relay transfer, the call with the customer is transferred to the IP control server device 10 and the operator.
[0064]
In the following, the processing flow will be described in order. First, as shown in FIG. 14, the customer dials with the IP telephone (hereinafter referred to as the customer IP telephone), and “calls” to the contact center side (FIG. 14). Then, a “sending message” (FIG. 14) is transmitted from the customer IP phone to the IP voice response device 2. Upon receipt of the “calling message”, the call from the customer arrives at the IP voice response device 2 in step 122 of FIG.
[0065]
In this way, when receiving a “sending message” and receiving an incoming call, in step 124, the voice response control unit 35 activates the processing of the IP voice response program. Then, in step 136, the IP voice response device 2 responds to the customer with the IVR function of the IP voice response device 2 in the voice response control unit 35 as described above (voice response processing).
[0066]
In the voice response processing, the recognition processing unit 37 provides a function for recognizing a telephone push / button operation or voice reply operation from a customer. First, in step 130, it is determined whether the recognition target is a push button operation or a voice. If it is determined that the operation is a push button operation, in step 132, the DTMF tone recognition control unit 38 recognizes the contents of the customer's push button operation. Alternatively, if it is determined to be by voice, the IP voice recognition control unit 39 recognizes the contents transmitted by the customer's voice in step 134.
[0067]
In step 140, it is determined whether the current call from the customer should be transferred to the IP control server device 10 or further transferred to the operator's IP telephone.
[0068]
If it is determined to be transferred, in step 142, the IP control server device 10 and other processes are performed. In step 142, the push button operation and voice recognition content recognized in the current call may be stored in the CTI database device 45.
[0069]
Alternatively, if it is determined not to transfer, in step 144, the IP voice response device 2 stores the push button operation and voice recognition content recognized in the current call in the CTI database device 45.
[0070]
Here, the above-mentioned transfer is to transfer a call with a customer to the IP control server device 10 or an operator by relay transfer of voice data packets. At the time of the transfer, information related to the customer is also transferred, and call transfer with data is performed.
[0071]
Further, as shown in FIG. 14, the customer call once transferred as described above is then transferred back to the IP voice response device 2 so as to be processed by the IP voice response device 2. It is possible.
[0072]
Next, FIG. 16 and FIG. 17 are flowcharts showing the operation of the present embodiment in the case where a callback is performed when a call from a customer is transferred to an operator after an automatic voice response in inbound work. These drawings are divided into two parts for convenience of drawing. FIG. 16 shows the first half of the operation, and FIG. 17 shows the operation following FIG. 16 and 17 partially overlap in the drawing.
[0073]
16 and 17, first, in FIG. 16, the customer dials with the IP telephone (hereinafter referred to as the customer IP telephone) and “calls” to the contact center side. Then, a “transmission message” is transmitted from the customer IP phone to the IP control server device 10.
[0074]
Upon receiving the “transmission message”, the IP control server device 10 responds to the customer by the IVR function of the IP voice response device 2 as described above (voice response processing). The processing of the IVR function is also performed in this embodiment as described above with reference to FIG.
[0075]
In addition, the IP telephone routing control unit 30 performs “routing control” in accordance with the customer's response and reaction during the voice response processing. By this “routing control”, an “incoming message” is transmitted to the operator's telephone in order to connect the customer's outgoing call to the operator's IP telephone 5, IP telephone 6 or mobile telephone 7. The The outgoing call is “incoming” to the telephone of the operator by the “incoming telegram”. When “incoming”, the operator's telephone transmits an “incoming status message” to the IP control server device 10.
[0076]
In the following description, the IP phone 5, the IP phone 6, and the mobile phone 7 that are used by the operator corresponding to the customer are called operator IP phones.
[0077]
The IP control server device 10 that has received the “incoming state message” uses the CTI control unit 40 to send “incoming information” including information for supporting the operator's response to the current customer's outgoing call to the outgoing call. For example, the information is transmitted to the operator terminal device 9 or, in some cases, the IP phone 5 or the mobile phone 7 for presenting information to the receiving operator.
[0078]
In the following description, an operator terminal device 9 used by an operator corresponding to a customer, or an apparatus that presents information for supporting the operator's response to the customer, such as an IP telephone 5 or a mobile telephone 7 in some cases. This is called a response support presentation device.
[0079]
Upon receiving the “incoming information”, the corresponding support presentation device displays a “screen pop-up”, that is, a new window for displaying and displaying basic customer information. After the display, when the response support presentation device “presses the response button”, the response support presentation device returns a “response” signal to the IP control server device 10. Thereafter, the CTI control unit 40 of the IP control server apparatus 10 that has received the “response” performs “CTI control (response)”, and sends the “response message” to the operator IP telephone by the “CTI control (response)”. The telephone returns a “response status message” to the IP control server device 10.
[0080]
When this “response message” is received, a call is established between the customer IP phone and the operator IP phone, and a call is established between the customer IP phone and the operator IP phone.
[0081]
It should be noted that “... button press” in the support support presentation device may be performed by a function key such that a function is set by software in the IP telephone 5, the IP telephone 6, or the mobile telephone 7. Alternatively, in the operator terminal device 9, a software push button displayed on the screen may be pressed with a pointing means such as a mouse.
[0082]
Thereafter, when the operator temporarily disconnects the call for some reason and calls back to the customer IP telephone from the IP control server device 10 side, first press the “disconnect button pressed” on the corresponding support presentation device. Do. With the “pressing the disconnect button”, the support support presentation device transmits a “disconnect” signal to the CTI control unit 40 and the IP telephone routing control unit 30 of the IP control server device 10.
[0083]
Upon receiving the “disconnect”, the CTI control unit 40 performs “CTI control (disconnect)”, and the “CTI control (disconnect)” transmits the “disconnect message” to the operator IP telephone. When the operator IP phone receives the “disconnect message”, the operator IP phone disconnects the call with the customer IP phone that is currently on the call. Further, after the disconnection, the operator IP telephone transmits a “recovery status message” to the CTI control unit 40 and the IP telephone routing control unit 30 of the IP control server device 10.
[0084]
Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 17, after the “recovery status message” is transmitted, the operator performs “call button push” on the response support presentation device in order to call back. When the “send button is pressed”, an instruction of a “send” signal is transmitted from the support support presentation device to the IP control server device 10. The IP control server apparatus 10 that has received the “call” signal transmits a “call message” to the operator IP telephone. The operator IP phone that has received the “calling message (callback)” further transmits the “calling message (callback)” to the customer IP phone in order to establish a call between the operator IP phone and the customer IP phone. To do. When the customer's IP telephone receives the “outgoing telegram (callback)”, the call from the operator IP telephone “receives”. Then, the customer IP phone sends an “incoming status message” to the operator IP phone, and the “incoming status message” is transmitted to the IP control server device 10. Thereafter, when the customer IP phone responds such as picking up the handset for the incoming call, a “response status message” is transmitted from the customer IP phone to the operator IP phone, and the “response status message” is sent to the IP control server device 10. Is transmitted.
[0085]
When the IP control server device 10 receives the “response status message”, a call between the operator IP phone and the customer IP phone is established. That is, a callback call is established.
[0086]
Note that the above callback is based on the operator's “cut button press” operation and “call button press” operation on the support support presentation device. Such a callback may, for example, try to bear the call charge that is borne by the customer by making a call on the contact center side. Alternatively, when the operator has to put the call on hold for work or the like when responding, the call may be temporarily disconnected.
[0087]
In addition to this, the IP control server device 10 may automatically make a callback. For example, after responding to the customer by the above-mentioned IVR function and announcing to the customer that “call back from the contact center side” at the end of the response, the IP telephone routing control unit 30 and the CTI control unit 40 etc. The customer's call may be disconnected and automatically called back. This is especially true when there is no available operator that can handle new customers, or when it is desired to prevent a third party from impersonating a customer who has been registered with the contact center in advance. The callback is valid.
[0088]
According to each embodiment described above, the present invention can be applied effectively.
[0089]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a CTI corresponding to an IP telephone, and it is possible to achieve a contact center operation utilizing the characteristics of the IP telephone.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a contact center system according to a first embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an IP voice response device used in the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an IP control server device according to the embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a contact center system according to a second embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a contact center system according to a third embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the contact center device according to the third embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing information related to the IP voice response device stored in the CTI database device in the first to third embodiments.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a management file according to the first to third embodiments.
FIG. 9 is a first diagram showing a CTI command message used in the first to third embodiments.
FIG. 10 is a second diagram showing a CTI command message used in the first to third embodiments.
FIG. 11 is a third diagram showing a CTI command message used in the first to third embodiments.
FIG. 12 is a first diagram showing an IP telephone status message used in the first to third embodiments.
FIG. 13 is a second diagram showing IP telephone status messages used in the first to third embodiments.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the transfer of telegrams and processes in the inbound business process capable of relaying and transferring voice data packets of calls as appropriate in the first to third embodiments.
FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the flow of the inbound business process.
FIG. 16 is a first flowchart showing the operation of the present embodiment in the case where a callback is made for a call from a customer who has arrived in the inbound business of the first to third embodiments.
FIG. 17 is a second flowchart showing the operation of the present embodiment when a callback is made for a call from a customer who has arrived in the inbound business of the first to third embodiments.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 ... IP network
2 ... IP voice response device
3 ... Router device
5, 6 ... IP phone
7 ... Mobile phone
9 ... Operator terminal device
10 ... IP control server device
11 ... Web server device
12 ... Mail server device
13 ... Database server device
15 ... Home agent device
16 ... Operator device
20 ... Contact center device
30 ... IP telephone routing controller
32 ... IP telephone transmission / reception control unit
34 ... Control information database device
35 ... Voice response control unit
36 ... Audio data storage device
37. Recognition processing unit
38 ... DTMF tone recognition controller
39 ... IP voice recognition control unit
40 ... CTI controller
42 ... Predictive transmission control unit
43 ... Pacing control unit
44 ... Database control unit
45 ... Database device for CTI
46. Database device for transmission
55 ... LAN

Claims (6)

A CTI function for receiving a destination instruction from the outside via an IP network, and a communication function for calling and calling the destination as an IP phone,
DTMF tone recognition processing without performing compression / decompression processing on voice data packets in which voice information is compressed for IP telephone calls received from the IP network and sent by the customer Or perform voice recognition processing sequentially,
An automatic voice response is made by transmitting a voice data packet including voice for customer reception, automatically generated according to the result of the recognition process, to the transmission source,
Wherein the CTI functions, IP voice response method characterized by receiving information to assist customer service. The IP voice response method according to claim 1,
An IP voice response method characterized in that a customer database capable of storing both an IP address and a telephone number is used as the source address. In the IP voice response method according to claim 1 or 2 ,
After the automatic voice response, the call is forwarded to the operator by relaying and forwarding the voice data packet to be transmitted between the customer's IP phone and the operator's IP phone that serves the customer. An IP voice response method characterized in that: In the IP voice response method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
Know the address of the sender,
An IP voice response method characterized in that, after the automatic voice response, the call is once disconnected and then the operator calls back to the source address so that the operator can respond to the customer from the IP telephone. A CTI function for receiving a destination instruction from the outside via an IP network, and a communication function for calling and calling the destination as an IP phone ,
An IP phone transmission / reception control unit for handling voice data packets of the IP phone, which are transmitted to and received from the IP network;
A process of decompressing and decompressing the voice data packet in which the voice information of the IP telephone call that is the transmission source of the customer received from the IP network by the IP telephone transmission / reception control unit is compressed. A recognition processing unit that sequentially performs DTMF tone recognition processing or voice recognition processing;
An information receiving unit for providing an operator with information for supporting customer service;
A voice response control unit that automatically generates voice data for customer service according to the result of the recognition process, and the voice data packet including the voice data is transmitted by the IP telephone transmission / reception control unit to the transmission source. To send an automated voice response to the customer,
An IP voice response device receiving information for supporting customer service by the CTI function . A computer program for implementing the IP voice response method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , or the IP voice response device according to claim 5 .

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