JP6740804B2 - Call connection control device and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a call connection control device and a program.

There is a service that manages and maintains the equipment installed in the customer's facility. Some services of this type centrally manage the operating state of a device group by periodically notifying the server of a service provider of the operating state of the device via the Internet. In this method, the trader takes appropriate action according to the notified operating status of the device. For example, it is possible to detect a malfunction of a device before the customer recognizes it and perform repair or to replenish a near-consumable consumable product in advance. Such services are sometimes called managed services.

In equipment operation/maintenance management services, not only maintenance management based on such automatic notifications from equipment but also customer support via telephone is important. The service provider installs a call center and receives various inquiries and requests from customers by telephone. In the call center, if an operator receives a call while all the customers are available, the incoming call is put on hold and connected to the operator who becomes available later. From the viewpoint of improving customer satisfaction, a method of controlling the priority when connecting to an operator in consideration of a customer attribute, the number of redials, a holding time, and the like is also used.

For example, in Patent Document 1, for example, it is presumed that the priority of incoming calls from a good customer is increased, the priority of a customer who repeatedly attempts to make a call is increased, and a customer who is in an urgent situation ( Roadside services, such as repeated calls from areas experiencing bad weather) are given higher priority.

Further, in the method disclosed in Patent Document 2, when an incoming call becomes a waiting call, waiting calls are sequentially added to the queue, and when a telephone device becomes available, a waiting call located at the head of the queue is taken out. In addition to making a call connection with a vacant telephone device, if the total waiting time and/or the number of redials of the caller involved in this waiting call exceeds the threshold value during the waiting call, priority is given. Sort into.

In the method disclosed in Patent Document 3, a telephone used by a customer for calling a call center is provided with an IC tag read/write function. After the reception, the urgency of the subsequent response and the information of the operator who responded are recorded in the IC tag, and the next time the power is turned on, preferential handling is performed based on the information, or a specific operator is reconnected.

According to the method disclosed in Patent Document 4, various pieces of information are dynamically collected and stored in a calling side information device such as a telephone, a computer, and a set top box. Types of information include items such as personal data, credit information, purchase history, market study data or map information. When a caller places a call to a call center, the information record stored on the caller's information device is accessed and used at the call center to send the call to the appropriate agent.

JP, 9-149137, A JP, 2007-306424, A JP, 2007-329765, A JP 2000-115378 A

At call centers that support equipment, it is not enough to determine the priority of connection to the operator based on the number of redials and the hold time of the call. For example, a call from a customer with a serious equipment failure is more likely to require an operator connection than a call from a customer inquiring about the usage of the equipment that is normally operating. The number of repairs and the length of holding time cannot identify such differences in customer circumstances.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention makes it easier for a call to be connected to an operator terminal, which has a higher need for device support, than a method of controlling the order in which calls are connected to the operator terminal according to the customer's attributes, the number of redial calls, the hold time, etc. Provide a scheme.

The invention according to claim 1 connects the call to the operator terminal based on the acquisition means for acquiring the operation status information of the device corresponding to the incoming call and the operation status information acquired by the acquisition means for each call. A call connection control device including:

In the invention according to claim 2, the control means does not correspond to the first call in which the operating state of the corresponding device corresponds to a predetermined use inhibiting state, and the operating state of the corresponding device does not correspond to the use inhibiting state. 2. The call is connected to the operator terminal earlier than other calls that are the same as the first call except the condition of whether or not the usage inhibition state is applicable. Is a call connection control device.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a group information storage unit that stores information indicating which group each device belongs to, and which group the customer corresponds to is the call is determined. Further comprising means, the obtaining means obtains each device belonging to the group determined to correspond to the call from the information stored in the group information storage means, and obtains the operating state of each obtained device, The control means performs a first call in which one or more devices in the corresponding group are in the working state corresponding to the usage-inhibited state, and the devices in the corresponding group are in operation in the operating state corresponding to the usage-inhibited state. There is no status and the other conditions are the same as those of the first call except the condition that there is a device belonging to the corresponding group that is in the operating state corresponding to the usage inhibition state. 3. The call connection control device according to claim 2, wherein the call is connected to the operator terminal earlier than other calls.

In the invention according to claim 4, the control means determines the order of connection to the operator terminal between calls having one or more devices in operation status corresponding to the usage inhibition state among devices belonging to the corresponding group. The control is performed so that a call having a larger number or ratio of operating devices corresponding to the usage inhibition state among the devices belonging to the corresponding group is connected to the operator terminal earlier. Is a call connection control device.

In the invention according to claim 5, the control means sets a priority to the call according to an operating state indicated by the information acquired by the acquisition means for the call, and calls having the same condition other than the priority The call connection control device according to claim 1, wherein the calls are connected to the operator terminal in descending order of priority.

The invention according to claim 6 further includes instruction means for instructing the device corresponding to the incoming call to transmit the latest operating state, and the acquisition means is responsive to the instruction of the instruction means. The call connection control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the latest operating state transmitted by the device is acquired.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the first storage means for storing the proficiency level of the operator corresponding to each operator terminal, and the proficiency level necessary for customer service regarding the equipment in the operating state are stored in association with the operating state. And a second storage unit for connecting the incoming call to an operator terminal corresponding to an operator having a proficiency level equal to or higher than the proficiency level corresponding to the operating state acquired by the acquisition unit. The call connection control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein:

The invention according to claim 8 is characterized in that the control means provides the operator terminal with information for specifying an operating state of a device corresponding to a call connected to the operator terminal. 7. The call connection control device according to any one of 7 above.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, a computer is provided with an acquisition unit that acquires information on an operating state of a device corresponding to an incoming call, and based on the information on the operating state acquired by the acquisition unit for each call, the operator terminal makes those calls. Is a program for functioning as control means for controlling the order of connecting to.

According to the invention according to claim 1 or 9, a call with a higher need for device support than a method of controlling the order of connecting the call to the operator terminal according to the attribute of the customer, the number of redial calls, the holding time, etc. Can be easily connected to the operator terminal.

According to the invention of claim 2, it is possible to easily connect a call for a device in a state where the use is blocked to the operator terminal.

According to the invention of claim 3, even if the device corresponding to the call cannot be specified, if the group to which the device belongs can be specified, and if there is a device with high necessity of support in the group, the call Can be easily connected to the operator terminal.

According to the invention of claim 4, a call from a group having a large number of devices that are highly required to be supported in group units can be more easily connected to the operator terminal.

According to the invention of claim 5, it is necessary to support the call target device rather than the method of controlling the order of connecting the call to the operator terminal according to the attribute of the customer, the number of redials, the holding time, and the like. The higher the operating state, the easier the call can be connected to the operator terminal.

According to the invention of claim 6, the connection of the call can be controlled based on the latest operating state of the device at the time when the call is received.

According to the invention of claim 7, it is possible to connect the call to an operator having a proficiency level necessary for supporting a device corresponding to the call.

According to the invention of claim 8, the operator can respond to the call by knowing the operating state of the device of the call target.

It is a figure showing an example of a system configuration of an embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of functional composition of an automatic response device. It is a figure which shows the example of the procedure which notifies a call center of the operating state of an apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example of the data content in a device operating state holding part. It is a figure which shows the meaning of an operating state and an example of setting of whether each operating state corresponds to a use inhibition state. It is a figure which shows the example of the process which the call reception process part of an automatic response device performs. It is a figure which shows the example of the process which the call connection process part of an automatic response device performs. It is a figure which shows the specific example of a mode that the hold call information in a hold call management part changes according to an incoming call or connection of a telephone call. It is a figure which shows the example of a function structure of the automatic response device in a 1st modification. It is a figure showing an example of functional composition of an automatic response device in a 2nd modification. It is a figure which shows the example of the information which a required skill holding part has. It is a figure which shows the example of the information which a terminal information holding part has. It is a figure which shows the example of a processing procedure of the telephone call connection processing part in a 2nd modification. It is a figure which shows the example of a function structure of the automatic response device in a 3rd modification. It is a figure which shows the example of the information which a group information holding part has. It is a figure which shows the example of a processing procedure of the call reception processing part in a 2nd modification.

<Example of system configuration>
FIG. 1 illustrates the system configuration of this embodiment.

The customer-side facility 100 is a facility, such as an office or a factory, in which the equipment of the customer who receives the operation/maintenance service is installed. In the customer facility 100, a device 110 and a telephone 120, which are the objects of service, are installed. Although only one device 110 is shown in the figure, a plurality of target devices 110 may be installed in the customer facility 100. The type of device 110 is not particularly limited. Examples of the device 110 are a printer, a scanner, a copier, a facsimile, or a multi-function peripheral having the functions of these devices, a personal computer, a network device such as a router, and the like. In the following, in order to make the description easy to understand, a case where the device 110 is a multi-function peripheral will be described as a typical example.

The device 110 has an operation state detection unit 112 and an operation state transmission unit 114 in addition to the main functions (for example, printing and scanning) provided by the device 110 to the user.

The operating state detection unit 112 has a function of detecting the operating state of the device 110. Several operating states are defined in the device 110, and the operating state detection unit 112 detects one or more operating states corresponding to the current device 110 from the signals of various sensors provided in the device 110. To do. For example, in the case of a multi-function peripheral, the operating state detection unit 112 determines the type and remaining amount of the paper set in the paper feed unit, the remaining amount of toner/ink, the remaining amount of other consumables, the presence or absence of paper jam, and the self-diagnosis The diagnostic result and the like obtained by are examples of the operating state. The operating state detection unit 112 periodically checks the operating state of the device 110, for example.

The operating state transmitting unit 114 associates the operating state detected by the operating state detecting unit 112 with the identification information of the device 110 (referred to as device ID), and associates the operating state with the server of the call center 200 (operating state receiving unit 210) via the network 450. ) To. What kind of identification information is used as the device ID is not particularly limited. For example, a unique number of the device 110 itself such as the manufacturing number (serial number) of the device 110 may be used as the device ID, or a contract number uniquely assigned to each unit such as a customer and a contract number within the customer. The device ID may be a combination with the identification information of the device 110. In addition, a device ID may be obtained by adding an error detection code to the identification number such as the manufacturing number. The service provider, for example, attaches a label displaying the device ID to a predetermined location of the device 110, and the customer recognizes the device ID of the device 110 when making an inquiry to the call center 200 and the like. 200 so that it can be transmitted.
The transmission of the operating state may be performed each time the operating state detection unit 112 detects the operating state, or may be performed only when the detected operating state changes. The network 450 used for transmitting the operating state is, for example, the Internet or a closed network (dedicated line or virtual closed network) using the Internet technology.

The telephone 120 is connected to the public line network 400, and the customer uses the telephone 120 when making a call to the call center 200, for example.

The call center 200 is a facility of a company that provides operation management/maintenance services for devices. In the call center 200, the operating state receiving unit 210 receives the operating state information transmitted from each device 110 that is a service target, and registers the received information in the device operating state holding unit 212. The device operating state holding unit 212 is a database that holds information on the operating state of each device 110.

Further, the call center 200 is provided with a private branch exchange 220, an automatic answering device 222, and a plurality of operator terminals 226.

The private branch exchange 220 performs exchange processing for connecting a call received from the public line network 400 to the automatic response device 222 and the operator terminal 226 in the call center 200.

The automatic response device 222 makes a voice response to a call from a customer. Further, the automatic response device 222 has a function of recognizing a dial tone signal transmitted from the customer's telephone 120 and performing processing indicated by the signal. In addition, the automatic response device 222 registers the call that has been put on hold because there is no available operator terminal 226 in the hold call management unit 224. The hold call management unit 224 holds and manages hold call information, which is management information of a call that has been put on hold. When any of the operator terminals 226 becomes available, the automatic response device 222 selects one of the held calls managed by the hold call management unit 224 and assigns it to the operator terminal 226.

The operator terminal 226 is a terminal device arranged for each operator and has a telephone call function via the public line network 400. Further, the operator terminal 226 may have a screen for displaying information on the operating state of the device 110 held in the device operating state holding unit 212, and a device (computer or software) for controlling the screen display or the like. Good.

Next, an example of a functional configuration of the automatic response device 222 will be described with reference to FIG.

The automatic response device 222 includes the call reception processing unit 300, the call connection processing unit 330, and the hold call management unit 224 described above.

The call acceptance processing unit 300 is responsible for accepting a call coming from the public line network 400. The call reception processing unit 300 includes a device ID acquisition unit 302, an operating state acquisition unit 304, a priority setting unit 306, a hold processing unit 308, and a hold information maintenance unit 310.

The device ID acquisition unit 302 acquires the device ID of the device 110 that is the target of the incoming call. For example, the device ID acquisition unit 302 asks the customer who originated the call to input the device ID of the device 110 with the push button of the telephone 120, and receives the notification of the device ID from the telephone 120 with a dial tone signal. ..

The operating status acquisition unit 304 acquires the operating status of the device corresponding to the device ID acquired by the device ID acquisition unit 302 from the device operating status holding unit 212.

The priority setting unit 306 sets the priority regarding the viewpoint of the operating state for the incoming call based on the operating state acquired by the operating state acquiring unit 304. This priority is used as one condition for selecting a call to be connected to the operator terminal 226 that is available from the received call and the call that is on hold at the time of the call.

The hold processing unit 308 performs processing for holding the received call when, for example, there is no operator terminal 226 available when the call is received. In this processing, hold call information, which is management information of the call to be held, is generated and this information is registered in the hold call management unit 224. The hold call information includes information such as the time at which the call is received (received), the line received, the priority set by the priority setting unit 306, and the like.

The hold information maintenance unit 310 maintains the hold call information held by the hold call management unit 224. Specifically, of the held call information, the information related to the call assigned to the available operator terminal 226 is found and deleted from the held call management unit 224.

When the operator terminal 226 capable of answering a new call appears from the group of operator terminals 226 in the call center 200, the call connection processing unit 330 selects one of the held calls and selects the operator. Connect to the terminal 226.
<Collecting device operating status>

Next, with reference to FIG. 3, an example of a process of collecting the operating state of the device 110 in the device operating state holding unit 212 of the call center 200 will be described. This processing is composed of the processing of the operating status transmitting unit 114 of the device 110 and the processing of the operating status receiving unit 210 of the call center 200.

When the device 110 is activated, the operating state transmitting unit 114 causes the operating state detecting unit 112 to detect the operating state of the device 110, and acquires the detection result (S10). Next, the operating status transmitting unit 114 transmits the acquired operating status and the device ID information of the device 110 to the operating status receiving unit 210 of the call center 200 (S12).

The operating status receiving unit 210 of the call center 200 registers the information received from the device 110 side in the device operating status holding unit 212 (S22). That is, if the record of the device ID included in the received information does not exist in the device operating state holding unit 212, the operating state receiving unit 210 generates a record corresponding to the device ID in the device operating state holding unit 212. , The value of the operating status included in the information received this time is registered in that record.

The latest operating state of the device 110 is transmitted to the call center 200 (S12), and when this transmission is successful, the operating state transmission unit 114 sets the operating state transmitted in S12 to the "last operating state" corresponding to the device ID of the device 110. It is stored as "state" (S14).

After that, when the next detection timing comes, the operating state transmitting unit 114 causes the operating state detecting unit 112 to detect the operating state of the device 110, and acquires the detection result (S16). Then, the operating status transmission unit 114 determines whether the operating status acquired in S16 is the same as the "immediately preceding operating status" (S18), and if it is determined that they are not the same, the operation status transmitting unit 114 returns to S12 and acquires the operating status acquired in S16. (Or, only the items different from the “immediately preceding operating state”) are transmitted to the call center 200. When it is determined to be “same” in S18, the operation state transmission unit 114 returns to S16, and causes the operation state detection unit 112 to detect the operation state of the device 110 at the next detection timing, and the processing described above. The same process as is repeated.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of the operating state information of each device 110 held in the device operating state holding unit 212. In this example, the device 110 is a multifunction peripheral. In the example of FIG. 4, in the device operating state holding unit 212, the operating state value of the device 110 having the device ID is registered in association with the device ID. For example, at the time point shown in FIG. 4A, the operating states of the devices 110 having the device IDs “10100001” and “10100002” are “normal”, but the operating state of the device 110 having the device ID “10200001” is “a small amount of toner”. It is. Further, after the time point (a), when the device 110 having the device ID “10100002” has a failure and the call center 200 is notified of that, the information held by the device operating state holding unit 212 is the time point (b) in FIG. ) The state becomes as shown in the example.

FIG. 5 exemplifies possible operating state values and their meanings when the device 110 is a multi-function peripheral. In the table shown in FIG. 5, for each value of the operating state, "explanation" indicating the meaning of the value (state) and whether or not the value (state) corresponds to the usage inhibition state (item "inhibition?") Is shown. The use inhibition state is a state of inhibiting the use of the service provided by the device 110. The usage inhibition state includes not only a failure state in which the device 110 does not function, but also a state in which a user cannot use a service such as printing due to a failure such as a toner exhaustion or a paper exhaustion.

FIG. 5 illustrates six operating states of the device 110: “normal”, “device failure”, “out of toner”, “small amount of toner”, “out of paper”, and “power saving”. Of these, the three states of “device failure”, “out of toner”, and “out of paper” correspond to the usage inhibition state (Y), and the remaining three states are not defined as the usage inhibition state (N). The device operating state holding unit 212 has a function of determining whether each operating state corresponds to a usage inhibition state (or information for the determination).

The operating state detection unit 112 obtains a state to which the current device 110 corresponds from among the states illustrated in FIG. 5 according to the signals of various sensors and the execution result of the self-diagnosis program. In the example of FIG. 4 described above, the value of the operating state of each device 110 is one, but one device 110 may be used so that, for example, “paper out” and “device failure” may occur at the same time. May correspond to multiple operating states at the same time.

Next, with reference to FIG. 6, an example of a processing procedure at the time of receiving an incoming call, which is executed by the call reception processing unit 300 of the automatic response device 222 of the call center 200, will be described.

As a premise of the processing of FIG. 6, when the customer makes an inquiry to the service provider regarding the device 110 in the customer facility 100, the customer calls the telephone number of the call center 200 from the telephone 120.

When a call from this customer comes in through the public line network 400, the private branch exchange 220 connects the call to the automatic response device 222 (S30). The subsequent processes of S32 and thereafter are executed by the automatic response device 222.

In the automatic response device 222 to which the call from the customer is connected, the call reception processing unit 300 transmits a preset automatic guidance voice. This guidance voice includes an announcement prompting the user to input the device ID of the device 110 to be inquired using the push button (dial tone) of the telephone 120 (S32). The customer listens to this announcement and inputs the device ID displayed on the label of the target device 110, for example, using the push button of the telephone 120. As a result, the telephone 120 transmits a dial tone signal indicating the device ID to the automatic response device 222.

The device ID acquisition unit 302 of the call reception processing unit 300 receives the dial tone signal and recognizes the device ID indicated by the signal (S34). The operating status acquisition unit 304 acquires the operating status corresponding to the device ID from the device operating status holding unit 212 (S36). Then, the priority setting unit 306 determines whether or not the operating state acquired in S36 corresponds to the usage inhibition state (S38). When it is determined that the call is in the usage inhibition state, the priority setting unit 306 sets the priority of the call to "high" (S40). On the other hand, when it is determined that the call does not fall into the usage inhibition state, the priority of the call is set to "low" (S42). In this example, two levels of priority, “high” and “low”, are assigned to the call (however, this is only an example).

Next, the hold processing unit 308 holds the call, generates hold call information used to manage the held call, and stores the hold call information in the hold call management unit 224 (S44). As illustrated in FIG. 8, the hold call information includes identification information (referred to as a call ID) of the call, the time at which the call was received, the state of the call, the priority set in S40 or S42, and the line of the call. Including the number and. Here, the "state" of the call in the hold call information has two stages, "waiting for connection" and "connected". “Waiting for connection” is a state waiting for a connection to the operator terminal 226, and “connected” is a state where the call is connected to the operator terminal 226. The "state" of the hold call information registered in the hold call management unit 224 in S44 is set to "waiting for connection".

After that, the automatic response device 222 periodically checks whether or not the “state” of the held call information stored in the held call management unit 224 is “connected” (S46), and is not “connected” (that is, “connected”). In the case of "waiting for connection"), an on-hold announcement is transmitted to the line number indicated by the on-hold call information (S48). On the other hand, when the "state" of the hold call information is "connected", the hold information maintenance unit 310 deletes the hold call information from the hold call management unit 224 (S49).

Next, with reference to FIG. 7, an example of the connection control processing of the held call performed by the call connection processing unit 330 of the automatic response device 222 will be described.

In this processing, the call connection processing unit 330 causes the operator terminal 226 in the call center 200 to be a terminal that can respond to the customer (that is, a terminal that is not in communication with the customer, or a communication with the current customer is about to end). It is periodically checked whether there is a terminal) (S50). When one of the operator terminals becomes available, the call connection processing section 330 checks whether the hold call management section 224 has hold call information (for "waiting for connection") (S52). If there is no hold call information, the process returns to S50.

When the hold call management unit 224 has the hold call information waiting for the connection in S52, the call connection processing unit 330 selects one hold call information based on the incoming call time and the priority from the hold call information waiting for the connection. It is selected and acquired (S54). Qualitatively speaking, in S54, the hold call information having a higher priority and an earlier power-in time is preferentially selected. For example, a score may be calculated from the priority and the elapsed time from the power-on time to the present, and the held call information having the highest score may be selected. Also, if there is held call information with priority "high", the one with the earliest incoming time is selected, and if there is no held call information with priority "high", the priority "low" is selected. It is also possible to use a method of selecting the hold call information of "the earliest incoming call time. Various methods have been conventionally used to select a held call to be connected to an operator from the priority determined from some parameter and the incoming time, and the present embodiment may also use such a conventional method.

Next, the call connection processing unit 330 instructs the private branch exchange 220 to connect the held call line indicated by the hold call information extracted in S54 to one terminal selected from the available operator terminals 226 (S56). ). This connects the selected pending call line to its operator terminal 226, which allows the customer to talk to the operator. At this time, the call connection processing unit 330 may notify the operator terminal 226 of the device ID of the device 110 corresponding to the call connected to the operator terminal 226 or the operating state information of the device 110. Thereby, the operator terminal 226 displays the notified operating status of the device 110 (obtained from the device operating status holding unit 212, if necessary) on the screen. The operator provides telephone support to the customer while viewing the operating status of the connected device 110, which is the target of the call, on the screen.

Then, the call connection processing unit 330 updates the "state" of the hold call information selected in S54 in the hold call management unit 224 from "waiting for connection" to "connected" (S58). Then, the process returns to S50.

Next, as the processing of the automatic response device 222 (see FIG. 6 and FIG. 7) progresses, how the information stored in the hold call managing unit 224 transits is shown in FIG. A specific example will be described.

At a certain time point (for example, 10:30:33), as shown in (1), hold call information about two calls having call IDs “1” and “2” is stored in the hold call management unit 224. It has been done. It is assumed that both of the hold call information have a state of "waiting for connection" and a priority of "low".

After that, it is assumed that a customer who uses the device "10100002" enters the line "5" at 10:30:40, without seeing the available operator terminal 226. Here, it is assumed that the information held by the device operating state holding unit 212 at this point is as shown in FIG. In this case, the operating state of the device 110 corresponding to the device ID “10100002” input by the customer is “device failure”, which corresponds to the usage inhibition state. Therefore, as shown in (2), the held call information (call ID "3") in the "waiting for connection" state with the priority "high" is added to the held call management unit 224.

After a short time, when the available operator terminal 226 appears, the automatic response device 222 selects the call ID "3" whose priority is "high" among the held call information waiting for connection. In this example, it is assumed that a call having a priority of "high" is prioritized over a call of "low" regardless of the incoming time. Then, the private branch exchange 220 is instructed to connect the line "5" of the selected call with the call ID "3" to the operator terminal 226. As a result, the state of the call ID “3” in the hold call management unit 224 is changed to “connected” (see (3) in FIG. 8).

The hold call information of the call ID “3” that has become “connected” is deleted from the hold call management unit 224 soon by the maintenance process of the automatic response device 222 (S46 and S48 of FIG. 6). As a result, the information in the hold call management unit 224 becomes the state shown in (4) of FIG. In this state, it is assumed that a newly available operator terminal 226 appears. At this time, since all the held call information in the held call management unit 224 has the priority "low", the automatic response device 222 allows the operator who can respond to the line "3" having the call ID "1" having the earliest incoming time. The private branch exchange 220 is instructed to connect to the terminal 226. As a result, the state of the call ID “1” is changed to “connected” (see (5) in FIG. 8).

As described above, the automatic response device 222 of this embodiment connects the call to the operator terminal 226 that can handle the call, taking into consideration the operating state of the device 110 targeted for the call received from the customer. Determine the priority of.

In the above-described embodiment, in order to determine the priority order of connecting the call to the operator terminal 226, the parameter (condition) to be combined with the priority based on whether the operating state of the device 110 that is the call is the usage inhibition state or not. Was used as the call arrival time, but this is only an example. As a parameter to be combined with the priority, in addition to the power-on time, other parameters such as the attribute of the calling customer (for example, whether or not the customer is a good customer) and the number of redials may be used. In the present embodiment, even if any parameter is combined with the priority based on the operating state of the device 110, if there are a plurality of calls having the same parameters other than the priority, the call with the higher priority is selected first. The operator terminals 226 are sequentially assigned.
<First Modification>

Hereinafter, some modified examples will be described.

FIG. 9 shows the configuration of the automatic response device 22 in the first modification. The automatic response device 222 of FIG. 9 is obtained by adding an operating state transmission instruction unit 312 to the call reception processing unit 300 of the automatic response device 222 of the embodiment illustrated in FIG.

When the device ID acquisition unit 302 acquires the device ID from the sender of the incoming call, the operating state transmission instruction unit 312 instructs the device 110 corresponding to the device ID to transmit the latest operating state. In the device 110 that has received this instruction, the operating state transmitting unit 114 causes the operating state detecting unit 112 to detect the operating state of the device 110, and sends the detected operating state information to the call center 200. In response to this, the operating state of the device 110 in the device operating state holding unit 212 is updated.

The operating state acquisition unit 304 acquires the operating state of the device 110 updated in response to the transmission instruction of the operating state transmission instruction unit 312 from the device operating state storage unit 212. For example, wait until the time stamp of the operating state (the acquisition time of the operating state) corresponding to the device ID in the device operating state holding unit 212 is after the time when the operating state transmission instructing unit 312 gives an instruction. Get its operating status.

The process after the acquisition of the operating state is the same as in the above embodiment.

As described above, in the first modified example, a priority corresponding to the latest operating state of the device 110 that is the target of the call is assigned to the incoming call.
<Second Modification>

A second modification will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 13.

FIG. 10 shows an example of the functional configuration of the automatic response device 222 in the second modified example. The automatic response device 222 of FIG. 10 is obtained by adding a necessary proficiency level holding unit 332 and a terminal information holding unit 334 to the automatic response device 222 shown in FIG. Further, the process performed by the call connection processing unit 330a in the automatic response device 222 in FIG. 10 is partially different from the process performed by the call connection processing unit 330 in the device in FIG.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, the necessary skill level holding unit 332 holds the skill level of the operator required for telephone support of the device 110 in the operating status for each operating status. In the example of FIG. 11, in order to deal with “device failure”, it is necessary to be able to interpret the diagnosis result, present appropriate workarounds, and be familiar with internal procedures such as arrangements with the repair department. The proficiency level was set to "high". In addition, the required proficiency level is set to "medium" for the operating state in which it is estimated that it is necessary to guide the operation inside the device. In addition, regarding the operating state in which it is estimated that there is no problem with the device and only general operating procedures are required, the level of proficiency may be “low”. The assignment of the proficiency level to each operating state illustrated in FIG. 11 is merely an example. Further, in the illustrated example, the proficiency level has three levels of “high”, “medium”, and “low”, but this is merely an example.

Support for a certain operating state can be appropriately provided by an operator having a required level of proficiency or higher corresponding to the operating state.

As illustrated in FIG. 12, the terminal information holding unit 334 associates the identification information (terminal ID) of each operator terminal 226 with the identification information (operator ID) of the operator arranged in the operator terminal 226, and Includes the operator's proficiency with equipment support.

An example of the processing procedure performed by the call connection processing unit 330a will be described with reference to FIG. Of the steps of the procedure of FIG. 13, steps similar to those of the procedure of FIG. 7 are designated by the same reference numerals.

When the available operator terminal 226 appears (Yes in S50), the call connection processing unit 330a acquires the proficiency level of the operator arranged in the available operator terminal 226 from the terminal information holding unit 334 (S60). ). If there are a plurality of available operator terminals 226, the proficiency level of the operator of each operator terminal 226 is acquired. Next, it is determined whether or not there is pending call information waiting for connection in the pending call management unit 224 (S52), and if there is, the pending call information waiting for connection is based on the priority and the incoming time. With the same determination method as in S54 of the procedure of FIG. 7, the one to be connected with the highest priority this time is selected (S62). Next, the operating status of the device 110 corresponding to the selected held call information (the working status may be stored in the held call management unit 224 including the held call information) is obtained, and necessary learning corresponding to the operating status is performed. The degree is acquired from the required proficiency level holding unit 332 (S64).

Next, the call connection processing unit 330a determines whether or not the proficiency level of each available operator acquired in S62 is equal to or higher than the required proficiency level acquired in S64 (S66). If the determination result is No, the call connection processing unit 330a removes the currently held call information from the consideration and repeats the processing from S52. If the determination result in S66 is Yes, the call connection processing unit 330a selects one operator from the operators who are available and have a proficiency level higher than the required proficiency level, and the S62 is selected for the operator terminal 226 corresponding to the selected operator. The private branch exchange 220 is instructed to connect the line corresponding to the hold call information selected in step S68. Then, the state of the held call information of the call, which has been connected to the operator terminal 226 and is held in the held call management unit 224, is updated to "connected" (S58).

In this modification, the held call is assigned to an operator having a proficiency level capable of coping with the operating state of the device 110 that is the target of the call. Note that the procedure shown in FIG. 13 is merely an example.
<Third Modification>

Next, a third modification will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 14 shows an example of the functional configuration of the automatic response device 222 in the third modified example. The automatic response device 222 of FIG. 14 has a group information holding unit 340 added to the automatic response device 222 shown in FIG. 2 and a source determination unit 314 instead of the device ID acquisition unit 302. ..

In this modification, it is assumed that the group of devices 110 is grouped by a unit such as a customer (for example, a company) or a department within a customer. This unit is, for example, a unit of a service contract made between a customer and a device maintenance service provider. One or more devices 110 that are the targets of this service contract form one group. The device 110 is given a unique device ID, but in addition to this, a group ID is given for each group. As the group ID, for example, a contract number unique to the service contract related to the group is used.

The group information holding unit 340 holds information about each group. FIG. 15 shows an example thereof. In the example of FIG. 15, the group information holding unit 340 holds a called number assigned to each group in association with the group ID of each group and a list of device IDs of the devices 110 belonging to the group. .. The called number is a dedicated telephone number used to receive a support call from the group. In this example, the service provider prepares a dedicated called number for each group. For example, an administrator who manages the device 110 in a certain department of a certain customer makes a call to the dedicated incoming call number known from the service provider when inquiring about the device 110 in the department.

The call reception processing unit 300 of the automatic response device 222 of this modification executes, for example, the processing shown in FIG. 16, those steps which are the same as the steps shown in FIG. 6 are designated by the same reference numerals.

In the procedure of FIG. 16, in the automatic response device 222 to which a new call is connected (S30) from the private branch exchange 220, the originator determination unit 314 causes the group information holding unit 340 to obtain the group ID corresponding to the called number of the call. Search (S70). This identifies the originating group of the call. Next, the transmission source determination unit 314 reads out the device ID group of each device 110 belonging to the group having the group ID obtained in S70 from the group information holding unit 340 (S72). Then, the operating state acquisition unit 304 is instructed to acquire the operating state corresponding to each read device ID. The operating state acquisition unit 304 acquires the operating state corresponding to each instructed device ID from the device operating state holding unit 212 (S74). The priority setting unit 306 examines the operating states corresponding to the device IDs acquired in S74 to determine whether one or more of the devices 110 belonging to the transmission source group are in the usage inhibition state. It is determined (S76). If there is one or more (determination result is Yes), the priority setting unit 306 sets the priority of the call received in S50 to "high" (S40), and otherwise, sets the priority of the call to "high". "Low" (S42). Subsequent processing is the same as that of the example of FIG. Further, the process of assigning the held call to the available operator terminal 226 may be the same as that shown in FIG. 7.

As described above, in the third modified example, if there is a device 110 in the usage inhibition state in the group of the call originator of the call to the call center 200, the priority of the call is set to be high and the call is It facilitates connection to the operator terminal 226 (which can respond newly).

In the third modified example illustrated above, the group of the sender is determined based on the called number of the call center 200, but this is merely an example. Instead of this, for example, the telephone number of the caller when making an inquiry about the device 110 of the group to the call center 200 is fixed, and the caller determination unit 314 determines the caller's telephone number from the callee's group. The ID may be determined. Further, as in the above-described embodiment, the customer may input the group ID by a dial tone signal or the like, and the transmission source determination unit 314 may recognize the group ID from the input.

Further, as a further modification of the third modification, the priority order of connection to the operator terminal 226 between calls in which the device 110 in the usage-inhibited state exists in the group corresponding to the call is defined by the group of the call originator. It may be determined by the number or ratio of the devices 110 in the usage inhibition state.

For example, when there are a plurality of calls from the group including the device 110 in the usage-inhibited state in the held call, the priority setting unit 306 determines that the group having a larger number of the devices 110 in the usage-inhibited state is based on the device state. Set the priority to a high value. The call connection processing unit 330a preferentially connects to the available operator terminal 226 from a call having a high priority based on the device state. Alternatively, the priority based on the device state and other parameter groups such as the power-on time are input to a function to obtain a score, and the operator terminal 226 that is available is connected in order from the call with the highest score. In this example, the priority is determined based on the number of devices 110 in the group that are in the usage inhibition state, but the ratio of the devices 110 in the usage inhibition state to the total number of the devices 110 in the group 110 or the devices in the usage inhibition state The priority may be determined based on the score obtained from the combination of the number of 110 and the ratio.
<Fourth Modification>

In each of the above examples, two levels of priority, high or low, are assigned to the call based on whether or not the operating state of the device 110 corresponding to the call is the usage inhibition state. However, the priority based on the operating state of the device 110 may be three or more levels. The priority setting unit 306 has information (see FIG. 5) indicating whether or not each operating state corresponds to the usage inhibition state in the above-described embodiment, but in this modification, instead of that, for example, the operating state is It suffices to have information indicating the priority of each. That is, the priority setting unit 306 may obtain the priority corresponding to the operating state of the device 110 corresponding to the incoming call from the information, and set the obtained priority for the call. The priority associated with the operating state may be set to a higher value as the operating state causes more inconvenience to the customer.

Although the embodiment and some modifications have been described above, two or more technical features shown in the embodiments and modifications may be combined.

The information processing mechanism of the automatic response device 222 illustrated above is realized by causing a computer to execute a program representing the above-described functions for each of those devices. Here, the computer is, for example, as a hardware, a microprocessor such as a CPU, a memory (primary storage) such as a random access memory (RAM) and a read only memory (ROM), a flash memory, an SSD (solid state drive), an HDD. A controller for controlling a fixed storage device such as (hard disk drive), etc., various I/O (input/output) interfaces, a network interface for controlling connection with a network such as a local area network, etc. Has a circuit configuration that is connected by. A program in which the processing content of each function is described is saved in a fixed storage device such as a flash memory via a network or the like, and installed in a computer. The program stored in the fixed storage device is read into the RAM and executed by a microprocessor such as a CPU, whereby the functional module group illustrated above is realized.

100 customer side facility, 110 equipment, 112 working state detecting section, 114 working state transmitting section, 120 telephone, 200 call center, 210 working state receiving section, 212 equipment working state holding section, 220 private branch exchange, 222 automatic response device, 224 hold Call management unit, 226 operator terminal, 300 call reception processing unit, 302 device ID acquisition unit, 304 operation status acquisition unit, 306 priority setting unit, 308 hold processing unit, 310 hold information maintenance unit, 312 operation status transmission instruction unit, 314 Source determination unit, 330, 330a Call connection processing unit, 332 Required proficiency holding unit, 334 Terminal information holding unit, 340 Group information holding unit, 400 Public line network, 450 network.

Claims (9)

Acquisition means for acquiring information on the operating state of the device corresponding to the incoming call,
Control means for controlling the order of connecting the calls to the operator terminal based on the information on the operating state acquired by the acquisition means for each call,
A call connection control device including. The control means performs the first call in which the operating state of the corresponding device corresponds to a predetermined use inhibiting state, and determines whether the operating state of the corresponding device does not correspond to the use inhibiting state and corresponds to the use inhibiting state. The call connection control device according to claim 1, wherein the call connection control device connects to the operator terminal earlier than other calls that are the same as the first call except for the condition that the call is not present. Group information storage means for storing information indicating to which group each device belongs,
Means for determining which of the groups the call corresponds to from the customer;
Further including,
The acquisition unit obtains each device belonging to the group determined to correspond to the call from the information stored in the group information storage unit, and obtains the operating state of each obtained device,
The control means performs a first call in which one or more devices in the corresponding group are in the working state corresponding to the usage-inhibited state, and the devices in the corresponding group are in operation in the operation-disabled state. There is no status and the other conditions are the same as those of the first call except the condition that there is a device belonging to the corresponding group that is in the operating status corresponding to the usage inhibition status. Connect to the operator terminal faster than other calls,
The call connection control device according to claim 2, wherein The control means determines the order of connection to the operator terminal between calls having one or more operating states corresponding to the usage inhibition state among the devices belonging to the corresponding group. 4. The call connection control device according to claim 3, wherein the call connection control device is controlled so that a call having a larger number or percentage of operating devices corresponding to the usage inhibition state is connected to the operator terminal earlier. The control unit sets a priority for the call according to an operating state indicated by the information acquired by the acquisition unit for the call, and a high priority is given between the calls having the same condition other than the priority. The call connection control device according to claim 1, wherein the calls are sequentially connected to an operator terminal. The device corresponding to the received call, further includes an instruction means for instructing to transmit the latest operating state,
The acquisition unit acquires the latest operating state transmitted by the device according to an instruction from the instruction unit,
The call connection control device according to claim 1, wherein the call connection control device is a call connection control device. First storage means for storing an operator's proficiency level corresponding to each operator terminal;
A second storage unit that stores the level of proficiency required for customer service regarding the equipment in the operating state in association with the operating state;
Further including,
The control means connects the received call to an operator terminal corresponding to an operator having a proficiency level or higher corresponding to the operating state acquired by the acquisition means,
The call connection control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that. The control means provides the operator terminal with information for specifying an operating state of a device corresponding to a call connected to the operator terminal,
The call connection control device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that. Computer,
Acquiring means for acquiring information on the operating state of the device corresponding to the incoming call,
Control means for controlling the order of connecting the calls to the operator terminal based on the information on the operating state acquired by the acquisition means for each call,
Program to function as.