CA1320580C - Customer account online servicing system - Google Patents

Abstract

"CUSTOMER ACCOUNT ONLINE SERVICING
SYSTEM "

Abstract A method and an apparatus for direct and immediate updating of customer account information, handling inquiries, and initiating communications is disclosed. A mainframe computer (16) contains customer or potential customer account information such as customer name, customer telephone number, customer account code, customer order status, etc. Mainframe computer (16) sends batches of customer account information to a system controller (11) via a data controller (15). System controller (11) directs trunk interface units (10a-10d) to dial the customer's telephone number and monitor the status of the outgoing calls. The trunk interface units (10a-10d) advise the system controller (11) when an outgoing call has been answered and, if an operator is available at an operator terminal (12a-12j), the system controller (11) directs a switch (13) to connect the answered trunk (T1-T16) to the available operator terminal and sends abbreviated customer account information to the operator terminal. The operator terminal then requests the full customer account information from the mainframe computer (16) via the data controller (15). The operator at the operator terminal 12 then conducts die necessary business with the customer and makes any desired changes in the customer account information in the mainframe computer (16). The changes are sent by the operator terminal (12), via the data controller (15), to the mainframe computer (16) for immediate updating and storage of the updated account information in the main database. The operator at the operator terminal (12) is relieved of the duties of obtaining the telephone number, dialing telephone number, and waiting for the party to answer, and is therefore utilized more efficiently. Furthermore, the customer account information in mainframe computer (16) is continuously updated and made current so that the operator always has the most current customer account information. Also disclosed is a method and an apparatus for processing of incoming calls. Furthermore, a retrofit device is disclosed for use with existing systems.

Description

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"CUSTOMER ACCOUNT ONLINE SERVICING
lo SYSTEM["

TeclhYIical F~eld lhe present invention relates to customer account servicing sys~ems and particularly provides a me~hod and 15 apparatus for placing outgoing calls, routing incoming c~lls, and online servicing of customer accounts.
Background of the Invention Many businesses, especially dlose wi~ large numbers 20 of customer accounts, periodically cvntact the customer by telephone to obtain updated account in~o~nation, remind the customer OI a past due accoun~, collect on delin~quent accounts, or conduct odler business. Also, sonne busulesses are based pnma~ily or e~clusively UpOIl sales conducted via telephone, either in 2s response ~o a pre~ iously mailed eatalog or adver~isement or from direet solicitation by calling the customer. ~ such businesses the customer account information is typically stored in a mainfraIne compu~r and a copy of ~e customer accolmt information is placed upon a storage medium such as a disk or a tape. This copy 30 is then installed in ano~er computer ~or access by operators (custo~er account, sales or se~vice representatives). ~ some installations ~e operator sees a telephone mlrnber UpO~ e screen and ~e number is ei~er manually dialed by ~e operator or dialed by the operator's terminal in response to one or more keystroke 35 inputs by the operator. The operator must then wait to detelmine 1 3 ~

if ~e call is answe~d, the called number is busy, is out of service or has been changed, or ~at ~ere is no aIlswer. There~ore, ~or each call placed, ~ere may be an elapsed time of one to two m~utes wherein ~e operator ls looking at dle screen~ dialing the s number or causing ~e number to be dialed, and waiting for a response from ~e called number. Therefore, dlere is need for a method and an apparatus which automatically dials ~e call widlout operator intervention or control and only connects ~e operator and displays ~e cus~om~r account record, which is resident in ~e 10 mair~rame, if ~e call is answered, dlereby allowing ~e operator's time to be mor~ effectively used.
~ businesses which rely primarily or exclusively upon calls from ~e customer, an operator must answer ~e call, dete~nine whe~er ~e eustomer desires to place an order, check 15 on the stahls of an order or ob~ain account informaeion. The operator must ~en obtain the accour~t number from ~e customer, key in the account number on the terminal, and wait for ~e cus~omer account info~nation to appear on ~e screen before any husiness can be transacted. In this case, ~or each incoming call, ~0 ~ere may be several ~utes of time wherein ~e operator is non-productive or rninimally productive, or if all operators are busy, ~e calling party hears a busy signal or hears repeated ringing but rlo answer. Therefore, ~ere is a need for a method and an apparatus for obtaining preliminary customer account 2~ o~na~ion from the customer or a~omatically de~errnining ~e calling party's telephone number and account information pnor to ~e call beimg serviced by an operator.
Typically, the customer account information for busir~ess transacted is entered on ~e previously made copy or 30 retained in a separate ~lle. Therefore, at the end of the day or business session, the changes made in the copy must be inco~porated into and consolidated with the customer account information in ~e mainframe system. If several calls are made andJor received regarding ~e same customer account during dle 35 period of a single day then the account inforrnation ~e operator 3 132~

sees at any time may be incorrect since the account information provided to the operator's telminal may be the information reside~t within the system controller, which has not ye~ been updated. In this event ~e operator must, if possible, call up ~e ~lles conta~ing information on ~anges made to this account before any business can be correctly ~ansaeted. Again, valuable operator time is wasted in obtaining d~e most current copy of ~e customer's account information from ~e maiIIframe or sys~em contr~ller, aad dlen updatirlg ~e most cu~ t f;le containing ~e changes ~o the customer accountO Therefore, ~ere is a need for a me~od and an apparatus for online or real time updatin~ of ~e customer account ini~olmation in the mainframe so that the operator will have immediate acce~s to ~e current customer account information without having to search between the mainf~ne ~lle and dle changes ~lle, and ~or maintaining a copy of any changes made to the customer account info~mation and the s~tus of each call so ~at, in ~e event of a problem, ~e call resu1ts and any changes can lbe traced or duplicated.

Summary of the Invention The present invention provides a method and apparatus for re1ieving the operator of ~e duty of causing the number to be dialed and waiting for an answer, relieves the aperator of ~e duty of o'otaining pre1i~inary customer account information, and provides for on1ine, direct updating of the customer accolmt iIlformation in ths mainframe, thereby eliminating ~e ~eed for conso1;dation of changes into the customer account file and ~ereby providing ~e operator wi~ the most cur~ent info~mation on ~e customer account.
More par~icu1arly described, ~e present invention provides an apparatus which automatically dials the te1ephone mlmber of a customer or potential customer, ascertains whether the called number is busy, ringing, no al-swer, out of service, changed or answered, and, if the call is answered, routes the call to 3s the next available operator and, automatically, obtains ~he curren~

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customer account information from the mainframe and displays9 at the operators terminal, the current customer account information.
Also more particularly described, the presPnt 5 invention provides an apparatus which automatically answers incoming calls, queries the customer 2S to the nature of his call, obtains preliminary information, such as the customer account code and/or the reason for the call from the caller, obtains ~he current customer accolmt infornlation from the main~rame, routes 10 the incoming call $o the next available operator, and provides, at the operator's terminal, ~e customer account information and ~he nature of the query.
Also more particularly described, the present invention provides an apparatus which automatically answers 15 incoming calls, obtains the calling party's telephone number from e telephone company central office çquipment, retrieves, from the rnain~rame, the current customer account info~nation corresponding to dle calling party's telephone number, routes ~he call to ~he next available operator, and provides, at the operator's 20 teIminal, the current customer account information retrieved from the mainframe.
Also more particularly described, the present invention provides an apparatus for online updating of customer aceount infomlation in the mainf~me file while maintaining a 2s separate ~cord of all changes made to dle customer account and a record of ~e status of each call made or received.
Therefore, the present invention seeks to provide a method and apparatus for immediate and online updating of the customex account information in the mainframe file while also maintai.ning a separate record of changes made to the customer account and, optionally, the status of each call made or received.

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Further, the present invention seeks to provide a method and apparatus whereby the operator is relieved of the time consuming and inefficient duty of determining the nature of the customer's call and the preliminary account informationO

Still further, the present invention seeks to provide a method and apparatus whereby the operator is relieved of the time consuming and inefficient duties of manually dialing the telephone number or causing the telephone number to be dialed and then waiting until the called party answers.

The invention in one claimed aspect comprehends apparatus for continually updating information on customer accounts stored in a computer system, comprising a plurality of dialing means connected to a plurality of telephone trunks, each dialing means being for placing an outgoing call by dialing a predetermined telephone number on a predetermined one of the telephone trunks. A
plurality of call progress monitoring means is connected to the plurality of telephone trunks, each call progress monitoring means being for monitoring the status of a predetermined one of the telephone trunks, the status comprising conditions of ringing, answered, and busy.
There is a plurality of operator terminals, each operator terminal comprising a data 4b terminal for displaying and inputting information on one of the customer accounts and an audio communications means. Trunk switching means selectively connects a selected one of the telephone trunks to a selected one of the audio communications means. Control means is connected to the plurality of dialing means, the plurality of call monitoring means, the data terminals of the plurality of operator terminals, the trunk switching means, and the computer system, for obtaining the information on customer accounts from the computer system, extracting a telephone number for at least a selected one of the customer accounts, provid.ing the telephone number as the predetermined telephone number to a selected one of the dialing means, receiving the status of each outgoing call from the call progress monitoring means and, when the outgoing:call on the telephone trunk is answered, causing the trunk switching means to connect the telephone trunk to the audio communications means at an available operator terminal and providing the information on the selected customer account to the data terminal at the operator terminal, receiving changes on the selected customer account from the data terminal, and providing the changes to the computer system.
Another aspect of the invention comprehends a method for online updating of a plurality of data associated with a correspondi.ng plurality of customer accounts contained in an information storage system, comprising the steps of obtaining the data on a selected one of the customer accounts from the information storage system, extracting a customer telephone number from the data on the selected one of the customer accounts, seizing 4C ~ 3 ~
a selected trunk of a pl.urality of telephone trunks, plac,ing an outgoing call by causing the customer telephone number to be dialed on the selected trunk, monitoring the selected trunk to determine if the outgoing call has been answered, if the outgoing call has been answered, then placing a message on the selected trunk, monitoring the selected trunk for a response to the message, determining whether the response to the message indicates operator assistance is required, and if operator assistance is required then connecting the selected trunk to a selected one of a plurality of operator audio communications devices, sending at least a predetermined portion of the data on the selected one of the customer accounts to a selected one of a plurality of operator data terminals, providing data entries made at the selected one of the operator data terminals to the information storage system, and causing the informati.on storage system to update the data for the selected one of the customer accounts by incorporating the data entries into the data for the selected one of the customer accounts, or if operator assistance is not required then providing the response to the information storage system, and causing the information storage system to update the data for the selected one of the customer accounts by incorporating the response into the data for the selected one of the customer accounts, or if the outgoing call has not been answered then releasing the selected trunk.

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Another broad aspect of the invention pertains to apparatus for online updating of data on customer accounts contained in an information storage system, comprising an operator terminal comprising a data terminal and an audio communications means, trunk switching means for selectively connecting a telephone trunk to the audio communications means, and incoming call detection means for providing a ring detect signal when an incoming call occurs on the telephone trunk. Automatic number identification (ANI) decoder means is responsive to predetermined signals on the telephone trunk for providing a calling party telephone number, and control means is responsive to the ring detect signal for causing the trunk switching means to connect the telephone trunk to the audio communications means and is responsive to the calling party telephone number for causing the information storage system to provide to the data terminal the data on a selected customer account which has a customer telephone number corresponding to the calling party telephone number. Thus, the data terminal provides data entries made at the data terminal to the information storage system, and the information storage system updates the data for the selected customer account by incorporating the data entries into the data for the customer account.
Still further, the invention in another aspect comprehends apparatus for online updating of data on customer accounts contained in an information storage system, comprising dialing means for placing an outgoing call by dialing a telephone number on a telephone trunk, and call progress monitoring means connected to the telephone trunk for monitoring the telephone trunk and providing a status on 4e ~ 3 ~

the telephone trunk. An operator terminal comprises a data terminal and an audio communications means, and there is trunk switching means for selectively connecting the telephone trunk to the audio communications means. Control means is provided for obtaining the data on at least one customer account from the information storage system, extracting a customer telephone number from the data for a selected customer account, providing the customer telephone number to the dialing means monitoring the status of the telephone trunk and, if the outgoing call is answered, causing the trunk switching means to connect the telephone trunk to the audio communications means, and providing at least a predetermined portion oE the data on the selected customer account to the data terminal. Thus, the data terminal provides data entires made at ZO the data terminal to the information storage system, and the information storage system updates the data for the selected customer account by incorporating the data entries into the data for the selected customer account.
Also the invention comprehends apparatus for online updating of data on customer accounts contained in an information storage system, comprising an operator terminal comprising a data terminal and an audio communications means, trunk switching means for selectively connecting a telephone trunk to the audio communicatlons means, incoming call detection means for providing a ring detect signal when an incoming call occurs on the telephone trunk, and message player means for 4f ~32~

placing a predetermined message on the telephone trunk for prompting a calling party to provide a response. Decoder means is responsive to signals placed on the telephone trunk by the calling party for providing a decoded response, and control means is responsive to the ring detect signal for causing the message player means to place a first predeterminecl message on the telephone trunk, and is responsive to the decoded response for determining whether assistance from an operator is required. If assistance is required, the control means causes the trunk switching means to connect the telephone trunk to the audio communications means, whereby the data terminal provides data entries made at the data terminal by the operator to the information storage system, and the information storage system updates the data for the customer account of the calling party by incorporating the data entries into the data for the customer account. If assistance is not required, the control means provides the decoded response as data entries to the information storage system, the information storage system updates the data for the customer account by incorporating the data entires into the data for the customer account, and the control means causes the message player means to place a next predetermined message on the telephone trunk.
Still further, the invention pertains to an automated telephone calling system characterized by first means for 4g ~32~
storing, retrieving, and processing data on a plurality of accounts, second means for initiating outgoing calls on a plurality of telephone trunks, third means for providing telephone numbers corresponding to the accounts, to the second means, fourth means for detecting an answer of the outgoing call, and fifth means for selectively connecting a particular telephone trunk to a particular one of a plurality of audio communlcations means.
A plurality of data terminals is provided for sending and receiving the data, each of the data terminals being associated with a corxesponding audio communications means, and each data terminal being characterized by a keyboard for providing data entries and a display. The improvement to the data terminal comprises first interface means for allowing the data terminal to receive at least a first predetermined portion of the data on a selected one of the accounts from the third means, and second interface means for allowing the data terminal to receive at least a second predetermined portion of the data from the first means and to send the data entries to the first means.
These and other aspects of the present invention will be made clear from the detailed description below.

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Brief Description of the Dr~wings Pigure 1 is a block diagram of the preferred ernbodiment of ~e present invention.
Figure 2 is a bloc~ diagram of a trunk interface unit.
s Figure 3 is an illustration of a tnmk status message.
Figu~s 4A and 4B are a flow chart of the system controller logic.
Figure S is a block diagrarn of an alternative trunk interface unit.
- lO Figure 6 is a block diag~arn of an alterna~ive embodiment of the present invention, retro~ltted to an existing sys$em.
Figure 7 is a flow chart of the operator terminal logic.
Figure 8 is an illus~ration of an altemative trunk s~atus message.

Detailed De~cription Tum now to the drawing in which like numerals represent like components ~roughout the several ~Igures. Figure 1 is a block diagrarn of ~e preferred embodiment of the present invention in its preferred environment. The preferred embodiment comprises four trunk interface units lOa-lOd, a system eontroL~r 11, a 16 trunk-by-10 line cross-point switch 13, a data controller 15, a mainframe computer 16, and 10 operator 6 132~

te~ninals 12a-12j~ Si~teeII trunk lines Tl-T16 are connected to composite trunk inter~ace unit 10 and cross-point switch 13. Each trunk interface unit lOa-lOd accommodates four trunk lirles so ~hat trunk interface unit lOa services trunks Tl-T4, tmnk interface s unit lOb services trunks T5-T8, and so forth. Each trunk interface unit lOa-lOd perforrns the following functions: trurak seizure;
dialing; call progress monitoring; message playing; and message recording. Trunk interface units lOa-lOd are explained in more detail below. Switch 13 need not be a cross-point switch but may be another similar device. For e~arnple, switch 13 may be, or may be part of, ~ telephone system, such as the private branch exchange (PBX~ switch. Xn such a case system controller 11 may communicate with the PBX switch 13 via the parallel port shown, or, if desired, through some other communications means, such as senal port SP15. The use of a serial port or a parallel port will, of course, be dete~nined by the nature of the control port of the PB~
switch 13. Also, switch 13 is not limited to a 16 by lO size, but may ~e larger or smaller, depending upon the number of trunk lines and operator terrr~inals.
In the preferred embodiment, system controller 11 has 16 serial ports SPl-S16 parallel port, and a high $peed serial port. In the preferred embodiment, senal ports S.l-SP16 are RS-232C serial data por~s. Serial port SPlof system controller 11 is connected to the serial ports (SP) of trunlc interface units lOa-lOd 2s ~hrough a standard multiline drop. Each ~unk interface unit lOa-lOd has an address diffe~ent ~rom the other trunk interface units so ~hat system controller 11 may, via port Seland trunk interface units lOa-lOd, monitor the status of tmnk lines T1-T16. System controller 11, via serial port SPl, also corIunands trunk interface 30 units lOa-lOd to perforrn a desired operation on a specified trunk Tl-T16. For example, syst~m controller 11 may command trunk interface unit lOa to seize trun~c Tl and ~egin dialing a desired telephone number, cornmand trunl~ interface unit lOa to begin playing a prerecorded message on trunk T2, and obtain 3s ir~ormation on ~e status of the tmnlcs.

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In the preferred embodiment, ~ere are 10 operator terminals 12a-12;. Operator terminal 12a9 which is representatiw of opera~or terrninals 12b-12j, has a telephone set 12al, and a handset 12a2, and/or a headset 12a3. Typically, a headset 12a3, s and no~ handset 12a2, will be plugged into telephone 12al so as to free the operator's hands. I~ will be appreciated ~hat, in environments in which headset 12a3 is always used, handset 12a2 may be eliminated. It will also ~ appreciated ~at, if t~e ope~a~or has no need to manually place outgoing calls, telephone set 12al 10 may be replaced by a conventional tnmk lin~-to-headset inter~ace.
Operator ~errninal 12a also has a data te~mirlal 12a4, data terminal 12a4 having a display screen 12a3 and a keyboard 12a6. Data terminal 12a4 preferably has at least two ports: an RS232 C port ~B), and a high speed se~al port (C). Data te~nal 15 12a4 may also have o~er types of ports for data ~ransmission and ~etrieval, such as a telephone port for use by an interrlal modem.
In he preferred embod~enti data terminal 12a4 is an IBM-PC or compatible computer equipped with a type IBM 3278 or 3279 emulator, which provides high speed serial port ~C) by means of a 20 coa~ial cormector (not shown).
Serial ports SP~-SP11 of system controller 11 are connected by RS232 C buses S2~Sll, respec~ively, to ~e serial port ~) o~ operator tenninals 12a-12j, ~espectively. Line out~uts C~TLl-OTl,10 ~ cro~s-point switch 13 are connected by telephone 25 ~s Ll-L10, respectively, ~o the telephone inputs (A) of ope~tor te~minals 12a-12j, respectively.
In ~e pre~erred embodiment7 system controller 11 is an IBM-AT or compatible compu~er having a 3278 or 3279 emulaeor, which provides ~e high speed serial port over a coaxial 30 connector (not shown), and ~wo 8-channel multiple RS232 C
boards, which provides serial ports SPl-SP16.
Data controller 15 ;s a type IlBM 3274 controller using ~e IBM 3270 communications protocol. Data con~roller 15 has 12 high speed serial ports, HSP.l-HSP12, which are also 3s provided over coaxial connec~ors (not shown~. The HSPl port of 8 ~ 3 ~

data controller 15 is connected by coaxial cable HS1 to the high speed serial por~ of system controller 11. Ports HSP2-HSPll of data controller 15 are connected by coaxial cables HS2-HS11, respe~tively, to dle high speed serial ports (C) of operator S terrninals 12a-12j, respectively.
In the preferred embodiment, mainfrarne computer 16 is an IBM type 3084 or 3091 mainframe computer. In the preferred embodiment, mainframe computer 16 has one or more disk drive systems (not shown) which contain the customer 10 account information. Main~rarne computer lS has at least one high speed serial port, provided by coaxial co~nector (not shown), which is connected to port HSP12 of data controller 15 by coaxial cabl~ HS12.
Consider now the operation of the prefeFred 15 embodiment. Mainframe computer 16 will provide, by a batch transfer or online transfer, the customer account i~formation ~or a desired number of accounts to data controller 15. I:)ata controller 15 then provides this info~ation via port HSP1 to system controller 11. Altematively, system controller 11 may obtain this 20 information directly from mair~r'ame 16 and its associated disk drive systems. System controller 11 then extracts, i~or each account, the name of the customer, the customer's telephone number, ~he account number, aI~d/or some type of mainframe database index mlmber. Assuming ~at trunk T1 is avail~ble, ~en 25 syst~m controller 11 will direct t~ interface unit lOa to seize trunk Tl, provide ~e customers telephone number to trunk ~nterface unit lOa, and d~rect trunk interface unit lOa to dial ~e customer's t~lephone nu-nber. Trunk interface unit lOa dials ~e customer's telephone number and then monitors trunk Tl for ~e 30 status of the call. If trunk interface unit lOa advises, via port SP, system controller 11 l~at the called number is busy, or is not answered, system controller 11 will mark, in its memory (not shown), ~e account accordingly and place the account in ~e queue to be tried again la$er~ It will be appreciated that ~e memory 9 ~ $~

associated with system controller 11 may be a semiconductor memory, such as RAM9 or a disk memory system.
Assume now ~at the customer answers the call.
Trunk inte~face unit lOa will automatically start a message player (Fig. 2) and advise sys~em controller 11 ~at the call has been answered. If an operator is available3 system controller 11 will send dle abbreviated information (telephone number, customer name, account num~er, andlor database inde~ number~, to, for example, operator terminal 12a over bus S2, direct cross-point lo switch 13, via bus 14, ~o cor~ect ~runk Tl to telephone 12al via line por~ OTLl, and then direct tramk inter~ace unit lOa to release trunk Tl and stop ~e message player (Fig. 2). The message player will then stop dle message currerltly being pl~ed and position itself at ~e beginning of ~e next message~ Tenninal 12a4 will 15 display ~e abbreviated information on screen 12a5. Therefore, as SOOIl as ~e operator at operator te~minal 12a is conn~cted wi~ ~e ~ustomer on trunk Tl, ~e operator has at least ~e abbreviated customer account ~formation. If terminal 12a4 is a semi-smart te~al ~en dle operator may obtain the full account information 20 by pressing one or more keys on keypad 12aG which causes ~ern~inal 12a4 to reqllest ~e full ac:eount infon~ation, via bus HS2 and data controller 15, ~rom malinframe 16. Alternatively, if terminal 12a4 is a semi-smart terrnirlal, dlen system controller 11, via bus HSl and data controller 15, may instruct mainframe 16 to 25 send ~e full account informatioll to te~ninal 12a4 for display on screen 12a5.
If terminal 12a4 i~ a smart terminal then, upon receiving the abbrevia~ed account ini~ormation from systeml con~oller 11, terminal 12a4 may, without prompting from dle 30 operator"mmediately reques~ the full account informatioIl ~rom mainframe 16 t~rough data controller 15. The result is that, widl minimal or no effort by the operator, the cus~omer has been called, ~e customer's answer has been detected, d~e operator has been co~ected to the customer, and ~e operator sees and can 3s manipulate, on screen 12aS, ~e most current customer account lo 132~
info~mation. Therefor~, the operator has not had to perform the inef~lcient and time consuming duties of requesting a telephone number, obtaining a trunk line, dialing the number, waiting for the par~y to answer, and obtaining current information on the s customer account.
C)nce connected, the operator can then discuss the maKer or reason for which the customer was caLled, for example~
discussing a late payment account, collecting on a delinquent account, verifyirlg an order, updating customer account 10 information, etc., while being directly connected, online, to mainframe 16.
Assume now that when the party called on trunk T1 answered, an operator was not available.
Trunk interface unit lOa starts the message player and advises system controller 11 that the called party has answered. After ascertaining that an operator is not available, system controller 11 will allow trunk interface unit lOa to continue playing the desired prerecorded message to the called party.
As soon as system controller 11 determines that an operator is available, system controller 11 will cause cross-point switch 13 to connect thé available operator terminal 12 to trunk Tl t direct trunk interface unit lOa to release trunk Tl, direct unit lOa to stop the message, advance to the next message, and send the abbreviated customer account information to the available operator terminal 12.
Again, the operator will have the customer account information when the customer is connected and can then begin to discuss the reason for which the customer has been called.
In the preferred embodirnent, when the operator at operator terminal 12a has concluded the business with the customer the operator may press a telephone tlunk release key on keyboard 12a6 to indicate that trunk T1 should be released.
TeIminal 12a4 sends the trunk release signal over serial po~ B to system controller 11. System controller 11 ~;en directs cross-point switch 13 to disconnect telephone 12al from trunk Tl.
System controller 11 then sends the next telephone number to .

11 13~

trunk ~terface unit lOa and directs trunk interiace unit lOa to sei~e trunk Tl and dial this next telephone number.
When the operator at operator terrninal 12a has c~mpleted entering any new data for the particular customer s account then dle operator at terminal 12a may press a terrnin,dl release key on keyboard 12a6. Terminal 12a4 sends this in~oImation ~o system controller 11 which advises system controller 11 tha~ the operator at operator ~erminal 12a is available for dle next call. System con~oller 11 ~en causes cross-10 poin~ switch 13 to cormect the next customer to telephone 12al andsends ~e abbreviated customer account information to te~ninal 12a4 for display OIl screën 12a5. Therefore, as soon as the operator at operator tenninal l~a has indicated ~at processing of one customer account is completed system controller 11 connects 15 dle operator with the next ealled party. The result is that the operator's time is more ef~lciently and mo~e eompletely utilized.
Altematively, a single key or single entry on keyboard l?a6 may indicate to system controller 11 ~at ~e eonnec~ed trunk should be released and that ~e operator is ~0 available for ~e next customer.
All entries made by the operator via keyboard 12a6 are sent by tenninal 12a~ to system controller ll and, in ~e online mode, to data co2ltroller 15. In ~e preferred embodin ent, system controlle~ 11 maintains statistics on the number and type of 25 entries, ~e connection time, etc. Data controller 15 send~ dle changes over high speed serial port HSP12 to main~rame computer 16 whereupon mainframe computer 16 updates the customer accolmt information in ~e main database. There~ore, the customer account inforrnation contained in mainframe 16, and 3û available ~o ~e operators, is the most current infonnation.
From ~e a~ove, i~ will be appreciated ~at the present invgntion relieves the operator of the ineffieient and time consuming duties of obtaining ~e telephone rlumber, dialing ~e telephone number, and waiting for the caLled customer to answer.
3s Also, it will be appreciated dlat dle customer account info~nation 12 ~32~

in the main da~abase in mainframe computer 16 is ~mmediately updated so that, at the end of ~e business day, it is not necessary to consolidate changes made by the operator(s) to ~he customer account information and also provides ~e bene~it ~at, at any time s during dle day when the customer calls or is called, the customer account information available to the operator is the curren~, updated cus$omer account in~ormation.
It will also be appreciated ~lhat ~e operation of system controller 11 and data controller lS are transparent to the operator. System controller 11 automatically processes each call and routes the call to ~he firs~ available operator, and data controller 15 provides a direct link ~o mainframe 16. Therefore, any changes to dle customer account imormation made by dle operator are immediately provided to mair~rame 16, which automatically and instantly updates the customer account ~nformation. Fur~e~nore, because of the automatic updating, any information provided to an operator is the most current information. The opera~or therefore appears ~o be direetly conn~cted to ~ame 16.
Although, in the pre~erred embodiment, system controller 11 sends only ~e abbreviated eustomer aecount in~ormation to an operator te~ al 12, if system controller 11 has sufficie~t memory capacity, system controller 11 may retain dle entire ~lle for a customer aceoullt and send ~is entire record to ~e 2s operator terminal, ~ereby eliminating the steps of sending the abbreviated accolmt informa~on to ~e operator tenninal, sending ~e account nwnber, telephone number, and/or data~a~e number to main~rame 16 via data con~roller 15, and ~en sending the full account lnformation from mainframe 16 to ~e operator telminal via data cont~oller 15~
Figure 1 also discloses two 0dl5r embodiments of ~e present inventiorl. In one embodiment, system controller 11 has a local area networlc port and is connected to other system cotltrollers (not shown) by bus LAN. This is particularly useful in 3s large systems where a single system controller 11 camlot 13 ~32~
accornrnodate the number of trunks and/or operator terrninals used. In another embodiment, the SP16 serial port of system controller 11 is connected by bus Sl6 to a serial port of mainframe 16. This allows system controller 11 to comrn-uLicate directly with mainframe 16, as opposed to going through data controller 15.
This connection is useful where data controller 15 is rlot used and/or mainframe 16 does not have an available high speed port.
Tum now to Figure 2 which is a block diagram of an exemplary trunIc interface unit lOa. Trunk interface unit lOa 10 contains four dialers (D) lOal-lOa4, four c~ll progress monitors (CPM) lOa~-lOa89 four message players (MP) lOa9-lOal2, and a tmnk interface control unit lOal3. Dialer lOall call progress monitor lOaS, and message player lOa9 are connected to trunk Ti.
Similarly, dialers lOa2-lOa4, call progress monitors lOa6-lOa8, 15 and message players lOalO-lOal~ art conneeted to trunks T2-T4, respectively. A dialer, such as dialer lOal, can be directed by trunk interface control unit lOal3 to seize tn~nk Tl, dial a nurnber OIl tmnk Tl, hold tn~k Tl, and release trunk Tl. A call progress rnonitor, such as monitor lOa5, reports the status of the signals on 20 tmnk Tl, such as ringing, answered, busy, no ring back, no dial tone, and bad or disconnected telephone number (three tone Lntercept). A message player, such as message player lOa9, can be directed to hold trunlc Tl by providing a DC path for ~unk Tl, play one or more prerecorded messages on trunk Tl and release 25 trunk Tl. An example of a call progress mor~itor is that described in U.S. Patent No. ~,477,698, dated October 16, 1984, by A~leksander Szlarn and Chester P1 Quinn, entitled "Apparatus for Detecting Pick-Up at a Remote Telephone Set", which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
The construction and operation of dialers and message players are now well known to those skilled in the art. A system containing a dialer and message player is disclosed in U.S. Patent of Aleksander Szlam, entitled "Telephone Answering and Call Forwarding Improvement", United States Patent No. 4,677,663, issued June 30, 1987, which is also assigned to the ~3 ' .~

~L32~8~

assignee of the present invention.

Dialer lOal, call progress monitor lOaS~ and message player lOa9 are controlled by ~unlc interface con~rol unit lOal3 5 via its trunk 1 inte~ace port (TlI) via bus lOal4. Dialers lOa2-lOa4, call progress monitors lOa6-lOa8, and message players lOalO-lOal2 are also controlled by trunk inter~ace control unit lOal3 by its T2I, T3I, and T4I ports, respective~y, via buses lOalS-lOal7, respectively. The serial port (SP) of trunk inter~ce 10 control unit lOal3 is colmected to bus Sl. It will ~e recalled ~at bus Sl is used by composite trunk interface unit lO to ~ans~er data and control in~orrnation to/from system coIltroller 11. In the preferred embodiment, each tmnk interface unit lOa-lOd has a dif~erent address which is stored in trunk interface control unit 15 lOal3. System controller 11 can ~refore selectively address a desired one of ~e tnmk interface units lOa-lOd. Tr~ interface control unit lOal3 provides ~e in~er~ace betwcerl ~e individual dialers, call progress monitors, and message players and ~e system controller 11. After addressing trunk interface control ~0 uni~ lOal3, system controller 11 may, for e~ample, direct trunk interface colltrol unit lOal3 to activate dialer lOæl, provide status infonnation obtained from call progress monitor lOa6, and start or continue p~aying messages on message players lOall and lOal2. T~ irlformation control unit lOal3 executes commands 25 from system controller 11 which are addressed to it.
Furthermore, in the pre~erred embodiment, trunk inter~ace control unit lOal3 provides status info~nation ~o system controller 11 only when trunk interface control unit lOal3 is addressed and polled by system controller 11. Means of 30 cons~uctlon of a trunk interface control lmit, such as uI~it lOal3, wlll be apparent to ~hose skilled in ~e ar~ from a reading of ~e operation of unit lOal3 contained herein.
A trunk interface unit, such as unit lOal3, provides trunk status information to system controller 11. Figure 3 is an 35 illustration of ~he preferred ~orm of the trunk status message.

15 :1 ~ 2 ~

Each message has a series (N) of pairs of dynamic 5tatus bytes 102a-102n and static status bytes 103a-103n, and a teImination9 which in ~e preferred embodiment, is ~e ASCll shift in character OF (hex).
s A typical dynamic status byte 102a has a leading logic 1 for the most significant bit 105, the address 1~ of the trunk being reported in ~he ~runk address field 106 (bits 5 and 6), and a dynamic status ~leld 107 (bits 0-3). Bit 4 is no$ currently used.
l'he dynamic s~atus conditions reported are: no dial tone, no lo ringback, bad/changed telephone number, busy, ringing, answer detected, hang-up detected, and no change.
A static status byte 103 always ~ollows a dynamic status byte 102 and indicates ~e ~ollowing eonditions: pickup (or answer for an incoming call) has occurred and message is au~omatically starting, message is be~ played, message is lbeing skipped (for tape-type message players3, dialing, and external speaker (or speakeIphone) is on.
The status of a trunk l~ is reported only if there has been a change in ~e dynamic sta~s and/or ~he s~tic status since ~e ~0 last report for ~at trunk. line. When the status is reported, ~e dynamic status byte 102 identi~les the trunk line being reported for that byte and for the ~ediately following byte, which is ~e static status byte. Note that if ~e only change is in the static corldition, ~e dynamic status will be reported as "no chan~e"
2s (1 ITXOOOO). Trunk inter~ace control ~ lOal3 automatically clears ~e dynamic st~tus af~r each s~atlls report.
If there is no change in t~e status of any of ~e trunks, the trunk interface con~ol uni~ sends a single byte message, ~e ASCII caniage return ("CR") character, OD ~ex).
Tum now to Figures 4A and 4B which are a 10w chart of the logic used by system controlles 11. Upon starting 26, the ~lrst step 27 is to obtain, by batch mode transfer from mainframe 1 6l the account information for a number of customers. This account inforrnation may also contain a 3s main~r~ne database index number or key. AlternatiYely, system controller 11 may obtain, for a number of accounts, abbreviated account information such as name, telephone number, account number and/or an index number. Batch mode transfer is preferred but, ;f desired, system controller 11 can obtain 5 inforrnation on a single customer account from mairlframe 16.
The next step 28 is to calculate ~e need for a new call (or a repea~
call) based upon the projected availability of an operator. If an operator is available9 ~en ~here would be a need for a new call (or ~ repeat call). However, if all ~e operators are busy, d~en, based lo upon ~e statistical probability of an operator becoming available wi~hin a predetermined time, a new call may or may not be n~eded. Decision 29 tests whe~er a new (or repeat) call is needed.
If not, ~en system eon~roller 11 returIls to step 28. If so, ~en system controller 11 proceeds to step 30 whereiIl it extracts the 15 telephone number for ~e next account to be called. Decision 31 tests whe~er it is permissible to dial the extracted telephone number based upon several factors. Typically~ dle several factors would include dle time zone in which the called party is located, whedler the telephone number was previously called, whe~er the 20 telephone number previously called was busy, not answered or out of service, ~e amolmt OI time since the last attempt to con~ac~ that telephone number, info~ation on whether the account should ~e called during daytime hours, nighttime hours, or only during certain hours, and ~e priority desired (larger bills called ~lrst). IiF
2s it is not permissible to dial this $elephone nwnber, based upon ~ese factors, then system controller 11 retu~ns to step 28. If it is peImissible to dial dlis telephone number, ~en system controller 11 procee~s to ssep 32.
It will be appreciated that, since sys~em con~oller 11 30 obtains account informa~ion for a batch of customer accounts at step 27, dlc account infor~tion contained in system controlller 11 may, because of subsequent i~lcoming calls and/or payments and credits to ~he bill, no longer be current by the time a par~icular eustomer account reaehes its turn in the queue. There are several 3s different approaches to handling this problem. C)ne approach is 17 ~ 3 ~

for system controller 11 to obtain account in~ormation for only one account at a t~e at step 27. Another approach is, each time information is entered into mainframe 16, for mainframe 16 to send to system controller 11 updated information on ~at account.
5 Another approach, which is used in the preferred embodimeIlt, is for system controller 11 to request the status of each account from mainfrarne 16 before system controller 11 attempts to place a call for that account. Main~rame 16 would then advise system controller 11 if ~ere has been a change in ~e status ~r ~hat 10 accoLurlt and, if a change has been made, what change to ~he status has occurred. If dlere has ~en no change in ~e status or, if ~e change does not a~fect the need to call ~at particular account, ~en systenn controller 11 will proceed to step 32. If it is no longer appropriate to call that account, ~en system controller 11 will 15 re~urn to step 28.
The next step 32 is to poll the t~ i~iterface units 10 ~or an available trunk T. If a trunk T is not available the step 32 and decision 33 are repeated unti:l a trunk T becomes available.
When a trunk beeomes available the ne~t step 34 is ~o send the 20 telephone number to ~e dialer colmected to ~e trunk T which has been dete~nined to be available. If, at decision 35, a busy signal is detected on the trunk T ~en ~e account is ma~iced 36 to ~ called again later. ~ 2 bùsy signal is not present ~en decision 37 tests whether ~e tlunk T has been answered. If not ~en decision 40 25 tests whether ~ere is a ringing signal present on the trunk T. If a ringing signal is not present dlen decision 41 determines whether a "no nng time-out" has occulTed. If so ~en step 36 is executed. I:f no~ ~en decision 37 is tested again. ~f, at decision 40, a ringing signal is present the next decision 42 is whe~er a "ringing time-30 out" has occur~ed. If so ~en step 3~ is executed. If not thendecision 37 is executed.
If, at deciion 37, an answer has been de$ected the message player starts automatically 44, or at ~he direction of system controller 11. The next decision 43 is to determine 3s whether an operator is available. If not ~e message player 18 132~5~

connected to ~e trunk is allowed to continue playing and decision 43 is executed again. ~ce an operator becomes available then, at s~ep 45, dle message player is muted and advanced ~o dle beg~ing of dle next message, the available operator is connected to the S called par~y, and the name, account nurnber, telephone number ~d/or database index number of the called party is sent ~o ~e operator te~ninal of ~e available operator and/or to mainframe 16. The operator terminal, in tllm, sends, via its high speed se~ial port and data controller 15, ~e telephone nurnber9 account 10 number, and/or database inde~c number, to main~rame 16.
Mainframe 16 sends9 via data colltroller 15, ~e filll customer account information to dle operator termlnal. The operator terminal then overlays, on its sereen, ~e full customer account ir~ormation over the a~breviated customer account information 15 previously provided by system conl:roller 11. The operator can then conduct ~e necessary business with ~e customer and enter any desired or necessary changes ~ia ~e keyboard. All operator entries are sent from ~e operator terminal, via data controller lS, to mainframe 160 Each entry is then used by main~rame 16 to 20 ~ediately update ~e customer account information resident in mainframe 16. Therefore, the customer account information in main~rame 16 is updated online and is always current. In ~e pref~d embodiment, ~e operator may direct ~at some entries be sen~ by ~e operator te~al to system controller 11 which 2s ~hen, under the eontrol OI the operator, temporarily or permanerl~y maintains 48 a record of ~ese entrie~. ~e entries can ~e directed toward either sys~em controller 11 or mainframe 16 by simply toggling a direction key on ~e keyboard prior to m~cing ~le entries. System con~oller 11 also maintains a record 30 of each call such as time of calla lengdl of call, busy, no answer, etc.
Decision 46 tests whe~er dle ope~ator has pressed ~e release key or o~er transaction termination key on the keyboard.
If not ~en step 46 is executed again. If a release is detected a~
3s decision 46, then the next step 50 is to disconnect ~e operator 19 ~32~

from the trunk T. From steps 36 and 50 system controller 11 proceeds to decision 25. Decision 25 tests whether system controller 11 is completed, or almost completed, process~g of ~e accouIlts received in step 27. If not, then system controller 11 s proceeds to step 28. If so, then system controller 11 proceeds to step 27 for ~e ne~t batch transfer.
I~ will be appreciated ~at ~e diagram of Figure 4 is a simpli~led flow chart sinee system controller 11 is simultaneously handling ~he control of 16 trunks T and 10 operator te~als 12.
10 l~erefore, for clarity, the flow chart of Figure 4 illustrates dle ~ypical sequence for handling a single accoun~. Also, other changes in ~e flow cha~ may be desirable depend~ng upon the funclt;ons pe~formed lby ~runk interface lmit 10 and system controller 11. For e~arnple, a erunk in~erface unit 10 could be 15 constmcted or programmed to begin playing ~e message only in response to an inst~uction from system controller 1 l .
The present inventiorl is not ~ited to applicatlon for outgoing calls but is also applicable to incoming calls, or bo~.
The ability to handle incoming calls as well as outgoing calls is 20 determined by ~e structure of composite ~runlc inter~ace unit 10 and programming ~or sy~tem controller 11. lbm now to Figure S
which is a block diagram of a typical t~ interface unit lOa constructed to handle bo~h incoming and outgoing calls. The interface unit lOa preferably contains a dialer lOal, a call prog~ess 25 monitor lOaS, a message player lOa9, an incoming call detector lOa20, an automatic nurnber identi~cation (ANI) decoder lOa24, a dual tone muldple frequency (D~F) decoder lOa28, and a voice reco~nition module 10a32 for each ~unk Tl-T4. Dialer lûal, call progress monitor lOaS9 message player lOa9, incoming call 3û detector lOa20, ANI decoder lOa24, DTMF decoder lOa28, and voice recognition module lOa32 are all conrlected to t~ Tl.
Likewise9 dialer lOal, call progress monitor lOaS, message player lOa9, incoming call detector lOa20, ANI deeoder lOa249 DTMP
decoder lOa28, and voice recognition module lOa32 are all 3s connected by bus lOal4 to ~e TlI port of trun~ interface control 20 ~ 3 ~

unit lOal3. The function of dialer lOal, call progress monitor lOa5, and message player 10a9 have been previously described.
Incoming call detector lOa20 monitors tnmk Tl and advises trunk interface control unit lûal3 when an incoming S ringing signal appe~rs on trunk Tl. In ~e preferred embQdiment, trunk interface control unit lOal3 will report an incoming call on trunk Tl to system con~oller 11 in the static ~tatlls byte for ~runk Tl. Upon detecting an incoming call on trunk Tl ~unk inter~ace control unit lOal3 may direct ANI decoder lOa24 to obta~n the 10 telephone of the calling party, and direct message player lûa9 to seize th~ line and begin playing dle prerecorded message or, al~ernatively, system controller 11 may instruct trunk interface control unit lOal3 to direet ANI decoder lOa24 and message player lOa9 to perfoml ~ese ~uncdons. The message played by 15 message player lOa9 may be a s~ple message advising the party ~at an operator will be cormected as soon as one becomes available or~ in conjunction wi$h DTMF decoder lOa28, may query the customer for mo~e infonnatioII suclh as dle customer's telephone number ~d/or account num~er. TkliS iS expl~ined in more detail 20 below.
Fu~ermore, in some areas of the colmtry, the local telephone o~fice provides a service~ sometimes called automat;c mumber identif~1cation (ANI). ~ areas where ANI is a~railable, the central office will provide, over ~e trunk, tone or other signals 2s which can be decoded to yield ~e ~urnber from whieh the calling party is calling. ~ ~is case, ~ decoder, such as ANI decoder lOa24 would provide ~e calling party's telephone number to trunk inte~face con~ol unit lOal3. Trunk interface control unit lOal3 would ~en provide ~e calling par~ telephone number to 3Q system con~roller 11. System controller 11 via data controller 1~
reguests mainframe 16 to provide the cus~omer account iniFo~na~ion based upon ~e calling party telephone number. If ~e calling pa~ty telephone number does not correspond to the telephone number ~r an exis~ing client ~hen9 when an operator 35 becomes available, system controller 11 will connect the calling 21 1~2~

party to the available operator and also provide the calling party telephone munber to the opeMtor terminal for manual input. ~e operator can then conduct lbusiness with the calling party, obtain o~er information from the callin~ party, such as a name and/or an s account number, enter this information via ~e keyboard to obtain the customer account information frorn mainframe 16, establish an account for a new customer etc.
However, if the calling party telepbone number corresponds to the ~elephone number of an e~isting client in the 10 database, then mainframe computer 16 will provide this infolmation e;~er to system controller 11 via data controller 15 or to the next available operator te~ninal. When an operator becomes available, system controller 11 will provide ~he abbreviated customer account information to the available 15 operator terminal. The operator terminal will then, as previously described, obtain the full customer account in~ormation from mainframe 16. The operator can then conduct the necessary bus~ess with ~e customer.
DTMF decoder lOa28 allows ~e customer to provide 20 certain information via ~e DTMF keypad on his telephone set.
For e~ample, assume ~at ANI service is not available in ~e area.
Upon lbeing advis~d of an incoming call, trunk interf~ce control Ullit lOal3 or system controller 11 will cause message player lOa9 to seize ~e line and begin playing ~e ~Irst prereco~ed message.
2s l~e f;rst prerecorded message may be, for example, a mess~ge ask~g the calli~g par~y to key in the DTMF digit 1 if ~e calling par~ has an established account and the digit 2 if dle calling party does not have an established account. Odler prerecorded messages on message player lOa9 may query ~e customer and ask for an 3n appropnate DTMP keypad response as to whether the customer wishes ~o open a new accouIlt, change an existing account, place, change or cancel an order, etc. Therefore, message player lOa9 may contain more than one message, ~e particular message to be played detemlined by dle numbers which ~e calling keyed in over 3s his DTMF keypad. Also, a message on message player lOa9 may ~32~8~

ask the calling party to key in his telephone number and/or account number. This information would then be provided via trunk interface control UIlit lOal3 to system controller 11. When an operator becomes available, system controller 11 sends the 5 in~ormation collected to the operator te~ninal for display upon the screen. Then, either automatically or in response to an operator keystroke, the oper~tor tem~inal sends the collected in~ormation ~o main~rame 16. Main~rame 16 then provides ~he full customer account in~ormation to the operator terminal l'herefore, ~or incoming calls, the operator has been relieved of the time consurning and ineffic;ent duties of answering the call, ascertaining the customer's account number, and keying in the customer's account number. For established clients, the operator has the customer account information on screen 1S immediately upon being connected to the calling party.
Furthermore, where the orders are placed, changèd or cancelled by the calling party's use of ~e DTMF keypad it may not be necessary for ~e nperator ~o in~ervene at all or, in ~e alternative, the operator may simply be comlected in order to verbally verify - 20 ~e information pro~rided by ~e calling party.
System controller 11 is capable of automatic call distIibution (ACiD) routing of calls. Also, if differen~ operators handle different types of calls~ such as incoming calls, outgoing calls, establish new account, place or change an order, contact 2s regarding a delinquent account, etc., sy~tem controller 11 automatically routes the incoming or outgoing call to the nex~
available operator which handles that particular type of call.
Therefore, the order and/or selection of which operator is connected to a particular call is controlled by sys~em controller 11 30 on an ACD basis.
Voiee recognition module iOa32 allows some transactions to be completely handled without operator intervention and without re~uiring the customers to have a DTMF-type telephone. In the preferred embodiment, module 35 lOa32 is the TeleRec system, manu~actured by Voice Control *Trademark I

23 1 32~5~0 Systerns, Dallas, Texas. Details of operatioll of the TeleRec system are available from the manufacturer upon request. Module lOa32 provides digital output signals corresponding to a predetermined vocabulary, such as the spoken words one through nine, zero (oh), 5 yes, no, help, cancel, and terminate. The TeleRec system also decodes DTMF tones and eliminates ~e need for a separate DTMF
decoder lOa28.
When module lOa32 is used, instead of ~ediately routing an incoming call or an answered outgoing call to an 10 operator at an operator term;nal 12a, ~e initial contact is handled by sys~em controller 11.
When an incoming call or an outgoing call is answered ~unk interface control Wlit lOal3 will cause message player lOa9 to be~in play~ng ~e first prerecorded message. This 15 prerecorded message contains instru~tions for ~e customer to speak d~e appropriate word, or words, at ~e end of ~e message, to indicate the customeF's response ~o ~e message. The response elicited may ~, for e~cample, an account number, a telephone number, a "yes" or a "no", etc. Module lOa32 decodes the 20 customer's response and provides this response to system controller 11. Based upon the customer's response, system co~troller 11 may cause message player lOa9 to play an approp~at~ ne~t message, disconnect trunk Tl, or connect an av~ilable operator and provide ~e customer's responses to ~e 2~ operator's termin~l for display on dle screenO
The particular messages played, and d~e customer's response, such as placing an order, changing an order9 ete., are then stored by system controller 11 andJor mainframe 16. The customer's responses are also used to imrnediately update the 30 customer account information in mainframe 16. Therefore, certain types of transactions can be handled without the interventioa~ of an operator, thereby reducing ~e num~er of operators required and/or more efficiently utilizing t~e operators.
Also, since bo~ DTMF ~ones and spoken words can be recognized 35 and acted upon, ~e use of module lOa32 allows transactions to be ~ 3 ~

automa~ically conducted both wi~ customers who have DTMF
telephones and with customers who have rotary dial (pulse) telephones.
It will ~ appreciated that control of the call and s monitoring of the customer's response need not be done solely by system controller 11 but may also be performed, wholly or partly, by an operator at a data terminal 12. In such an arrangement, system controller 11 would function as a conduit, passing information from trunk interface unit lOal3 to dat:a terminal 12a, 0 and control instructions ~om data telminal 12a to trunk interface unit lOal3, monitoring the status of the call, and disconnecting ~unk Tl upon term nation of the call~
It will also be app~eciated that, in a typical environment, the message played to customer will ~e substantially 15 longer than the customer's response (yes, no, cancel, etc.~ to the message~ Therefore, a voice recognition module, such as lOa32, could be switched, or multiple~ed, between several trunks, instead of being dedicated to a single trunlc.
The construction of incoming call detector lOa20 is 20 now well known to those skilled in ~he art and is also described in United States Patent No. 4,677,663 referenced above.
Likewise, DTMF decoder lOa28 is commercially available as an off ~e shelf item. The use of ~n DTMF decoder is also described U.S~ Patent No. 4,677,663 re~erenced above.
2s ANI decoder lOa24 may be constructed in the same manner as DTMF decoder lOa28, provided d:lat the different tones used in ANI are accounted for. Although not shown, it will be understoo that a similar array of devices is also connected to trunks T2-T4, and that tn~lc interface control unit lOal3 controls this array of 30 similar devioes via its T2I-T4I ports over buses lOalS-lOal7, respectively.
It will be appreciated that ~e devices connected to a erunk used only for outgoing calls need not have an incoming call detector, an ANI decoder, or a DTMF decoder. Likewise, for a 3s trunlc which handles only incoming calls, dialer lOal and call 2s 1 ~

progress monitor lOaS are not required. Furtherrnore, in areas where ANI is not available ~en ~ere will be no need for an ANI
decoder.
It will now be appreciated that ~e present inveneion 5 increases the ef~sciency of the operator by relieving dle operator of time eonsuming and inef~icient duties associa~ed with placing outgoing calls and answering ~ncoming calls as well as o~taining a uniform operator work load by distri~uting calls on an ACD basis, as directed by system controller 11, while providing online lo updating of $he customer account in~orrnation resident in mainframe 16 so ~a~ ~e most current infonnation is always provided to the operator.
Turn now to Figure 6 which is an alternative embodiment of ~e present invention. Fig~re 6 is di~ected toward 15 retrofitting an existing installation which already has a main~rame computer and/or data controller 60, and sèveral operator ter~al~ 12a-12n, and wher~ each operator ter~al 12a-12n is dedicated to a particular trunk TlL-TN, respectively. Mainframe system 60 has a plurality of high speed eoa~ial ports HSP1-HSPN.
20 Operator tenninals 12a-12rl are as described in conjunction with Figure 1. The retrofit comprises a plurality of single trunk interface and control devices 61a-61n. 1~ ~is embodiment7 a devîee 61, ~ush as device 61a, has a dialer 61al, a call progress monitor 61a2, a message player 61a3, a trunk switch 61a4, and a 2s control trunk unit 61a~. Dialer 61al is constructed and operated in dle same manner as dialer lOal of Figure 2, described above~
Likewise, call progress monitor 61a2 and message player 61a3 may be construc~ed and operated in the same manner as call progress monitor lOa5 and message player lûa9, respectively7 of 30 Figure 2. Switch 61a4 selectively connects and disconnects trunk T1 ~o/from line 62a, which is coImected to port A of operator termirlal 12a. Trunk control unit 61aS receives in~o~nation from and controls ~e operation of dialer 61al, call prog~ess monitor 61a2, message player 61a3, and switch 61a4 by rn~ans of bus 61a6.

132~

Trunk control unit 61aS pre~erably has at least two ports: an RS232 C port (SP); and a coa~ial high speed port (HSP).
Ports HSPl-HSPN of main~rame system 60 are connected by coa~ial conductors 64a -64n, respectively, to port HSP of devices 5 61a-61n, respectively, and port C of operator terminals 12a-12n, respectively. Port SP of devices 61a-61n are connected by buses 63a-63n, respectively, to port B of operator tenninal 12a-12n~
~spectively.
Consider now the operation of this embodiment. The 10 operator at9 for e~arnple, operator terminal 12a, will use keyboard 12a6 to advise mainframe system 60 ~at ~e ope~ator is available to service another customer. Mainframe 60 then sends the customer account information ~o operator terminal 12a and/or trunk control uni$ 61a5 of device 61a. Alternatively, trunk 15 control unit 61a5 can receive ~e data via operator terminal 12a.
l'runk control unit 61aS then extracts the customer's telephone raumber from the cus~omer account in~ormation, direc~s dialer 61al to dial the customer's telephone number, and then, via call progress monitor 61a2, monitors ~e status of the outgoirlg call.
20 Trunk control urlit 61a5 then provides, over port SP~ the status of the ou~going call ~o operator te~nal 12a. If ~he telephone of ~e called party is busy or does not answer a~ter a predetermined p~riod ~ control unit ~la~ will advise operator telminal 12a ~at ~e called number is busy or no answer, as appr~priate. Then, 2s ei~er automatically or at ~e instance of the operator, operator terminal 12a or trunk control unit 61aS will advise mainframe system 60 ~at ~e called party could not be reached and request the in~onnation for ~e next customer accountO
If the called party answers, as detected by call 30 progress monitor 61a2, trunk control uni~ 61aS will advise operator telminal 12a dlat ~e called party has answered and also direct switch 61a4 to connect trunk Tl to ~e tel~hone 12al at operator telminal 12a. Therefore, the operator of operator terminal 12a has again been relieved of ~e time consuming and 35 inefficient dutiPs of looking at ~e customer's telephone number on ~2~ ~

~he screen l~aS, dialing the customer's telephone number and waiting for an answer. Fur~ermore, since ~e number is dialed automatically by dialer 61al, the number of hlcorreetly dialed telephone calls is substantially reduced or eliminated.
Once connected with ~e customer, ~e operator can then transact the necessary business with ~e customer and enter any necessary changes, additiolls or deletions via keyboard 12a6.
liach entry is reported by data terminal 12a4 of ope~ator te~inal 12a to mainrame system ~0 for immediate updating of the 0 customer accour~t infonnatio21, ~ the event t~at ~e called party answers but the operator a~: vperator terminal 1~ is temporarily unavailable, such as when assisting an operator at ano~er operator terminal 12, ~unk control ~t Sla5 will also direct message play 61a3 to begin playing ~e prerecorded message. In ~his embodiment, the oper~or can signal an abscnce and a retuin by entering predete~nined codes over keyboard 1 2a6 which is then ~smitted by data terminal 12a4 to mainframe system 60 and trunk control unit 61aS.
A simpler version of device 61a comprises only dialer 61al, switch 61a4, and trurlk control unit 61a5. In this ~mbod~erlt, ~runk ~otltrol unit 61aS causes switch 61a4 to connect trunk Tl to port A of operator te~inal 12a at a point prior to ~e ~ne at which trunk control uni~ 61a5 directs dial¢r 61al to disconnect from trunk Tl. However, ~is embodiment s~lll relieve~ the operator of ~e du~ies of looking at the telephone numbe~ on ~e screen and dialing dle telephone number.
Based upon the foregoing disclosure, other embodiments and variations of the present invention will be obvious. For example, ~e t~me ~quir~d ~o dial a number is very small and therefore a single dialer could, with m~nimal or no delay, accomplish the dialing for a plurality of trunks. If ~e mlmber of trunks was extremely large ~en, to minin~æ ~e delay, ~vo or more dialers may be used. Therefore, one or more dialers such as dialer lOal could be connected to additional line ports 28 1 32~80 (0~) of cross-point switch 13 and additional serial ports (SP) of system controller 11. System controller 11 would ~en direct cross-point switch 13 to connect ~e dialer to the app~opriate ~k (T) and instruc~ ~e dialer to dial the desired number. Typically, S ~e dialer would only be conrlected to the trunk for a period suf~lcient to dial the desired r~umber and would ~en be connected to ano~er trunk. Therefore, a message player and a trunk interface unit 10 could be instructed by system con~oL~r 11 to seize the appropria~e line prior to disconnection of ~e dialer.
lo Also, if system controller 11 has su~lcient capacity then the individual trunk interface control units could be elimir:lated and system controller 11 could directly access and control ~e individual dialers, call progress moni~ors, message players, etc. Fur~ermore, if su~lcient cornpu~ng capacity ar~d ports are available system controller 11 and data controller lS
could ~ consolidated into a single controlling device. Lilcewise, if mai~rame computer 16 has sufficient capacity and sufficient ports then ~he ~ctlons of data controller lS and system controller 11 could be perfolmed by mainf~e eompllter 16.
A message player, such as message player lOa9, pre~erably contains several indexed messages. The indexing allows trunk interi~ace control unil~ lOal3 or system con~roller 11 to command ~he message player to skip to and being playing a desigllated message. Therefore, dif~erent messages may be played in response to different ~rpes of calls. For e~cample, message 1 may be an announcement of ~e reason ~at ~e customer is called, message 2 may be a sta~ement d~at all operators are temporarily unavailable, message 3 nnay ask whe~her ~e cus~om~r wishes ~o esta~lish an account, place or charlge an order, etc., and message 4 may ask the customer to key in his telephone nu~n~r and/or account nL~nber, and so ~or~. Then, an outgoing call will use, ~or e~ample, messages 1 and 2, whereas an incoming call would use messages 2, 3 and 4. A message player may be either a conventional analog tape playerl or an all digital system wi~ ~e 3s messa~es stor~d in memory or on a disk.

29 ~L 3 2 ~

A message player may also l}e used in conjunction with a message recorder. The message recorder may be a separate component or the message player and message recorder may be a single component having separate tapes and/or memories (e.g., s disk space) for playing and recording. A system using both a message player and a message recorder, and capable of recording and playing both analog and digital messages, is described in U.S.
Pa~ent No. 4, 677, 663.
The message recorder may record Lnformation from 10 customers who have rotary dial telephones instead of DTMF
telephones and record the telephone company message provided - with the three-tone intercept signal ~or bad or disconnected num~ers. At a later time, the message recorded can be played by an operator to retrieve the information in the message and enter 15 ~he inforrnation into mainfrarne 16 via keyboard, such as keyboard 12a5. The information entered is then imrnediately used by main~rame 16 to update the customer account information database.
In some areas there is, or may be, a legal requirement 20 that, for outgoing calls, especially sales solicitation calls, an operator come on line and ask the called party if he or she desires to hear the prerecorded message before a prerecorded solicitation message may be played. In such a case, after the called party's consent has been given, the operator may press a message start key 2s or code on keyboard 12aS to advise system controller 11 that the message may be played. The operator may then stay connected to the called party and enter the called party's response to the prerecorded message. AIternatively, the operator may then disconnect from the called party and allow the message recorder to 30 record responses. l~en, at a later time, an operator retrieves and enters the information provided by the called par~r.
Turn now to Figure 7 which is a flow chart of the operator terminal logic. Upon starting 70 the ~lrst decision 71 detelmines whether an operator is at the ~erminal and ready to 3s accept the ~lrst call. As previously stated, the operator may signal 30 1 3 ~

a presence or an absence by enteling ~e appropriate codes. If ~e operator is not available, as in a temporary absence, decision 71 is repeated continuously. C)nce the operator signals, by the appropriate entry, that the operator is available for a call the S operator terminal proceeds to step 72. ln step 72 ~e te;minal sends the "operator available" signal to system controller 117 accepts the name, account number, telephone number, andJor database index number in~ormation from system controller 11, and displays ~e information received ~rom system controller 11 10 onto screen 12a5. The terminal then sends 73 ~e info~nation r~ceived from system controller 11 to mairlframe 16 (via data controller 15). The terminal then proceeds to step 74.
Alternatively, if system controller 11 sends ~is information to mainfrarne 16 dlen it is unnecessary for ~e operator terminal to 15 execute step 73 and, via bypass 75, showr~ as ~ dash line, the tenninal proceeds to step 74. At step 74, ~e ter~inal accepts the full cus~omer account informa~ion ~rom main~rame 16 ~via data controller 15), and overlays/displays ~e first page of ~he full customer account infolmation on screen 12a5. In some cases, the 20 ~ull customer account in~olmation may coIlveniently ~lt onto a single screen display. However, in some eases, ~e customer account information will reguire more ~an one screen to display it and ~ere~ore ~e ~rst page is displayed and the operator can direct the operator telminal to display the other pages, as 2s required.
In ~e ne~ sltep 76, the operator terminal accepts keyboard entlie3 from the operator, displays ~e entry results on the screen, sends each entry to dle system controller 11, and/or sends each entry to the mainframe 16 for ~ediate updating of 30 the customer aceount infonnation. As previously described, mainframe 16 immediately updates ~he eustomer account information upon ~e receipt of an entry so that the ingormation contained in main~rame 16 is always the most current customer account ir~ormation.

3' ~2~

Decision 77 tests w~er ~e operator has completed ~e transactions with ~e customer and entered a release signal. If a ~elease has not been entered then ~e operator ~erminal re~ums to step 76 for more entries. If a release has been entered ~en"n step 5 '7~, ~e telminal sends the release signal to system con~oller 11 and to mainframe 16. The operator terminal th~n retums to step 71 to determine whether the operator is available to receive another call.
From the above, it will be appreciated that sys~em 10 controller 11 and the ~perator terminal exchange infolmation and signals so ~at ~e operator is automatically coImected wi~ the ne~t call and provided wi~ ~e customer account information for that call, and that the operator terminal and mainframe 16 exchange in~o~nation in sueh a marmer that ~e inforrnation 15 contailled in mainframe 16 and displayed upon ~e screen 12aS are ~he most current customer account infoImation.
A trunk interface control unit, such as unit lOal3, may also provide status ir~o~ation to system controL~r 11 via a 10 byte status message. Figure 8 is an illus~ation of an alternativs 20 status message from a trunk interface control unit to system con~oller 11. The e~ample sho~n in Figure 8 is for a message being sent i~rom trunk interface control unit lOal3 to system contFoller 11. The ~lrst byte 20 is ~e address of the particular trunk interface control unit responding to dle poll. The most 25 SigIlifiC~l'l bit of l~yte 20 is always a logic "1". l~e next four bytes 21a-21d are ~e dynamic status of ~e ~our hunks to which dle trunk interface unit is connected. Fo~ tmDk intefface unit lOa the status of tnmks Tl-T4 are reported, for trunlc interface unit lOb the status of trunks TS-T$ are reported, and so for~. In ~e 30 preferred embodiment, the dynasnic status is reported as: no dial - ~ tone, no ringback, busy, no answer, ringing, answer detected, han~-up detected, and no change. ~e next four bytes 22a-22d are the static status of the same four trunks. In the preferred embodiment, the static status is reported as: pick~up has occulTed;
3s message being played; message being skipped; dialing; and ~ 3 ~

external speaker is on. The last byte 23 is the ASCII shift-in character, OF (hex). l~e status conditions listed are not intended to be all inGlllsive but merely e~empla~y andl depending upon the r~qu;rements of ~he particular business, o~er status conditions s may be included or substi~uted. ~ur~ermore9 although ~e st~tus is repor~ed as a dynamic status and a static status i~n the preferred embodimen~, it will be appreciated that ~e status need not be reported in ~e above manner but may be reported as a status which includes dle conditions listed under bo~ ~le dynamic status 0 and ~e sta~c sta~s.
Trunk inter~ace control unit lOal3 reports ~he precise d~c status of a particular ~runk only if ~ere has been a change in ~e dynamic status of that trunk since ~e last t~me ~e trlmk interface eon~ol unit was polled by system controller 11.
5 Trunk in~er~ace control unit lOal3 automatically clears the dynamic status each time it is polled and, if ~ère has been no change in ~e dynamic statlls since ~e last polling, trunk interface control unit lOal3 will send a "no change" condition.
Since many other embodiments of the presen~
20 invention may suggest ~emselves to ~ose skilled in ~e art based upon the foregoing disclosllre, the present invention is to be limited only by ~e claims below.

Claims (74)

1. Apparatus for continually updating information on customer accounts stored in a computer system, comprising:
a plurality of dialing means connected to a plurality of telephone trunks, each said dialing means being for placing an outgoing call by dialing a predetermined telephone number on a predetermined one of said telephone trunks;
a plurality of call progress monitoring means connected to said plurality of telephone trunks, each said call progress monitoring means being for monitoring the status of a predetermined one of said telephone trunks, said status comprising conditions of ringing, answered, and busy;
a plurality of operator terminals, each operator terminal comprising a data terminal for displaying and inputting information on one of said customer accounts and an audio communications means;
trunk switching means for selectively connecting a selected one of said telephone trunks to a selected one of said audio communications means; and control means connected to said plurality of dialing means, said plurality of call monitoring means, said data terminals of said plurality of operator terminals, said trunk switching means, and said computer system, for obtaining said information on said customer accounts from said computer system, extracting a telephone number for at least a selected one of said customer accounts, providing said telephone number as said predetermined telephone number to a selected one of said dialing means, receiving the status of each said outgoing call from said call progress monitoring means and, when a said outgoing call on a said telephone trunk is answered, causing said trunk switching means to connect said telephone trunk to a said audio communications means at an available said operator terminal and providing said information on said selected customer account to said data terminal at said operator terminal, receiving changes on said selected customer account from said data terminal, and providing said changes to said computer system.

2. The apparatus of Claim 1 wherein said audio communications means comprises a telephone set.

3. The apparatus of Claim 1 wherein said audio communications means comprises a telephone headset.

4. The apparatus of Claim 1 wherein said trunk switching means comprises a cross-point switch.

5. The apparatus of Claim 1 wherein said trunk switching means comprises a telephone switching system.

6. The apparatus of Claim 5 wherein said telephone switching system comprises a private branch exchange (PBX).

7. The apparatus of Claim 1 and further comprising:
a plurality of message player means connected to said plurality of telephone trunks, each said message player means being connected to a predetermined one of said telephone trunks;
wherein said control means, in response to said outgoing call on said telephone trunk being answered and all of said operator terminals being unavailable, causes a said message player means connected to said telephone trunk to begin playing a prerecorded message and, in response to said operator terminal becoming available, causes said trunk switching means to connect said telephone trunk to said audio communications means at said available operator terminal, causes said message player means to stop playing said prerecorded message, provides said customer account information to said data terminal and said available operator terminal, receives changes on said customer account from said data terminal, and provides said changes to said computer system.

8. The apparatus of Claim 1 wherein said control means comprises:
data controller means; and system controller means;
said data controller means being connected to said computer system, said data terminals of said plurality of operator terminals, and said system controller means, for obtaining said information on said customer accounts from said computer system, extracting at least a telephone number for a selected one of said customer accounts, providing said telephone number to said system controller means, providing said information on said selected customer account to said data terminal of an available said operator terminal, receiving changes on said selected customer account from said available data terminal, and providing said changes to said computer system;
and said system controller means being connected to said plurality of dialing means, said switching means, said call progress monitoring means, said data controller means, and said data terminals of said plurality of operator terminals, for receiving said telephone number for said selected customer account, providing said telephone number as said predetermined telephone number to a selected one of said dialing means, receiving the status of each outgoing call from said call progress monitoring means and, when a said outgoing call on a said telephone trunk is answered, causing said trunk switching means to connect said telephone trunk to a said audio communications means at an available operator terminal, and providing a predetermined portion of said information on said selected customer account to said data terminal of said available operator terminal.

9. The apparatus of Claim 8 wherein said predetermined portion of said selected customer account comprises a customer telephone number, an account number, and a customer name.

10. The apparatus of Claim 8 wherein said data controller means provides said information on said selected customer account to said available data terminal in response to said available data terminal providing at least part of said predetermined portion of said information on said selected customer account to said data controller means.

11. The apparatus of Claim 10 wherein said available data terminal provides said part of said predetermined portion of said information on said selected customer account in response to receipt of said predetermined portion of said information from said system controller means.

12. The apparatus of Claim 10 wherein said available data terminal provides said part of said predetermined portion of said information on said selected customer account in response to an operator at said available data terminal entering a predetermined code.

13. A method for online updating of a plurality of data associated with a corresponding plurality of customer accounts contained in an information storage system, comprising the steps of:
(a) obtaining said data on a selected one of said customer accounts from said information storage system;
(b) extracting a customer telephone number from said data on said selected one of said customer accounts;
(c) seizing a selected trunk of a plurality of telephone trunks;
(d) placing an outgoing call by causing said customer telephone number to be dialed on said selected trunk;
(e) monitoring said selected trunk to determine if said outgoing call has been answered;
(f) if said outgoing call has been answered then:
(i) placing a message on said selected trunk;
(ii) monitoring said selected trunk for a response to said message;
(iii) determining whether said response to said message indicates operator assistance is required;
(iv) if said operator assistance is required then:
(A) connecting said selected trunk to a selected one of a plurality of operator audio communications devices;
(B) sending at least a predetermined portion of said data on said selected one of said customer accounts to a selected one of a plurality of operator data terminals;

., (C) providing data entries made at said selected one of said operator data terminals to said information storage system; and (D) causing said information storage system to update said data for said selected one of said customer accounts by incorporating said data entries into said data for said selected one of said customer accounts; or (v) if said operator assistance is not required then:
(A) providing said response to said information storage system; and (B) causing said information storage system to update said data for said selected one of said customer accounts by incorporating said response into said data for said selected one of said customer accounts; or (g) if said outgoing call has not been answered then releasing said selected trunk.

14. The method of Claim 13 wherein said message prompts said response by indicating that said response should be voice words.

15. The method of Claim 14 wherein said message indicates that said response should be from a predetermined group of voice words.

16. The method of Claim 13 wherein said message prompts said response by indicating that said response should be provided using a telephone keypad.

17. The method of Claim 13 wherein a record of said data entries is maintained separately from a record containing said data on said selected one of said customer accounts.

18. The method of Claim 13 wherein, at step (f)(iv)(B), said predetermined portion of said data comprises a complete record of said data on said selected customer account.

19. The method of Claim 13 wherein, at step (f)(iv)(B), said selected one of said operator data terminals requests an additional portion of said data on said selected one of said customer accounts and said additional portion of said data is provided to said selected one of said operator data terminals.

20. The method of Claim 19 wherein said selected one of said operator data terminals requests said additional portion of said data in response to a predetermined key entry by an operator.

21. The method of Claim 19 wherein said selected one of said operator data terminals requests said additional portion of said data in response to receipt of said predetermined portion of said data.

22. The method of Claim 13 wherein step (g) further comprises:
updating said data for said selected one of said customer accounts to indicate that said outgoing call was not answered.

23. The method of Claim 13 wherein:
step (e) further comprises monitoring said selected trunk to determine whether busy signals, unanswered ringing signals, or other call progress signals are present; and step (g) further comprises updating said data for said selected one of said customer accounts to indicate that said busy signals, said unanswered ringing signals, or said other call progress signals are present.

24. The method of Claim 13 wherein:
step (a) comprises obtaining said data for a predetermined number of said customer accounts; and steps (b) through (g) are performed for each said selected one of said customer accounts of said predetermined number of customer accounts.

25. The method of Claim 24 wherein step (g) further comprises:
updating said data for said selected one of said customer accounts to indicate that said outgoing call was not answered.

26. The method of Claim 24 wherein:
step (e) further comprises monitoring said selected trunk to determine whether busy signals, unanswered ringing signals, or other call progress signals are present; and step (g) further comprises updating said data for said selected one of said customer accounts to indicate that said busy signals, said unanswered ringing signals, or said other call progress signals are present.

27. The method of Claim 13 wherein step (f)(v) further comprises:
(C)(I) placing a next message on said selected trunk;
(II) monitoring said selected trunk for a response to said next message;
(III) determining whether said response to said next message indicates operator assistance is required;
(IV) if said operator assistance is required, proceeding to step (f)(iv)(A); and (V) if said operator assistance is not required, proceeding to step (f)(v)(A).

28. The method of Claim 27 and further comprising:
releasing said selected trunk in response to a predetermined response to said next message.

29. The method of Claim 13 and further comprising:
releasing said selected trunk in response to a predetermined response to said message.

30. Apparatus for online updating of data on customer accounts contained in an information storage system, comprising:
dialing means for placing an outgoing call by dialing a telephone number on a telephone trunk;
call progress monitoring means connected to said telephone trunk for monitoring said telephone trunk and providing a status on said telephone trunk;
an operator terminal comprising a data terminal and an audio communications means;
trunk switching means for selectively connecting said telephone trunk to said audio communications means;
control means for obtaining said data on at least one said customer account from said information storage system, extracting a customer telephone member from said data for a selected said customer account, providing said customer telephone number to said dialing means, monitoring said status of said telephone trunk and, if said outgoing call is answered, causing said trunk switching means to connect said telephone trunk to said audio communications means, and providing at least a predetermined portion of said data on said selected said customer account to said data terminal;
whereby said data terminal provides data entries made at said data terminal to said information storage system; and said information storage system updates said data for said selected said customer account by incorporating said data entries into said data for said selected said customer account.

31. The apparatus of Claim 30 wherein said data terminal requests an additional portion of said data on said selected customer account.

32. The apparatus of Claim 31 wherein said data terminal requests said additional portion of said data in response to a predetermined key entry by an operator.

33. The apparatus of Claim 31 wherein said data terminal requests said additional portion of said data in response to receipt of said predetermined portion of said data.

34. The apparatus of Claim 30 wherein said control means provides a complete record of said data on said selected customer account to said data terminal.

35. The apparatus of Claim 30 and further comprising:
message player means for placing a predetermined message on said telephone trunk for prompting a called party to provide a response;
decoder means responsive to signals placed upon said telephone trunk by said called party for providing a decoded response;
wherein said control means is responsive to said status of said telephone trunk indicating that said outgoing call has been answered for causing said message player means to place a first said predetermined message on said telephone trunk, and responsive to said decoded response for determining whether assistance from an operator is required;
wherein, if said assistance is required, said control means causes said trunk switching means to connect said telephone trunk to said audio communications means, and provides at least said predetermined portion of said data on said selected said customer account to said data terminal, and said data terminal provides data entries made at said data terminal by said operator to said information storage system, and said information storage system updates said data for said selected said customer account by incorporating said data entries into said data for said selected said customer account; and if said assistance is not required, said control means provides said decoded response as data entries to said information storage system, said information storage system updates said data for said selected said customer account by incorporating said data entries into said data for said selected said customer account, and said control means causes said message player means to place a next predetermined message on said telephone trunk.

36. The apparatus of Claim 35 wherein said next predetermined message prompts said called party to provide another response.

37. The apparatus of Claim 35 wherein at least one said predetermined message prompts said called party to provide said response using a telephone keypad, and said decoder means comprises a tone decoder.

38. The apparatus of Claim 35 wherein at least one said predetermined message prompts said called party to provide said response using voice words, and said decoder means comprises a voice decoder.

39. The apparatus of Claim 35 wherein said control means comprises:
a data controller;
a system controller; and a trunk interface unit;
said data controller for receiving said data on said customer accounts, providing said decoded response to said information storage system, and providing said data to said system controller and to said data terminal;
said system controller for receiving said data from said data controller, extracting said customer telephone number, sending said extracted customer telephone number to said trunk interface unit, monitoring said status of said trunk via said trunk interface unit.
controlling said trunk switching means, and providing at least said predetermined portion of said data on said selected said customer account to said data terminal; and said trunk interface unit for receiving said extracted customer telephone number, providing said extracted customer telephone number to said dialing means, causing said dialing means to place said extracted customer telephone number on said trunk, receiving said decoded response, activating said message player means, receiving said status from said call progress monitoring means, and providing a combined ring detect status and call progress status as said status to said system controller.

40. The apparatus of Claim 30 wherein said control means causes said information storage system to provide a complete record of said data on said selected customer account to said data terminal.

41. The apparatus of Claim 30 wherein said control means comprises:
a data controller, a system controller; and a trunk interface unit;
said data controller for receiving said data on said customer accounts and providing said data to said system controller and to said data terminal;
said system controller for receiving said data from said data controller, extracting said customer telephone number, sending said extracted customer telephone number to said trunk interface unit, monitoring said status of said trunk via said trunk interface unit.
controlling said trunk switching means, and providing at least said predetermined portion of said data on said selected said customer account to said data terminal; and said trunk interface unit for receiving said extracted customer telephone number, providing said extracted customer telephone number to said dialing means, causing said dialing means to place said extracted customer telephone number on said trunk, receiving said status from said call progress monitoring means, and providing said status to said system controller.

42. The apparatus of Claim 38 wherein at least one said predetermined message prompts said called party to provide a response using a predetermined group of voice words.

43. Apparatus for online updating of data on customer accounts contained in an information storage system, comprising:
an operator terminal comprising a data terminal and an audio communications means;
trunk switching means for selectively connecting a telephone trunk to said audio communications means;
incoming call detection means for providing a ring detect signal when an incoming call occurs on said telephone trunk;
automatic number identification (ANI) decoder means responsive to predetermined signals on said telephone trunk for providing a calling party telephone number;
control means responsive to said ring detect signal for causing said trunk switching means to connect said telephone trunk to said audio communications means, and responsive to said calling party telephone number for causing said information storage system to provide to said data terminal said data on a selected said customer account which has a said customer telephone number corresponding to said calling party telephone number;
whereby said data terminal provides data entries made at said data terminal to said information storage system; and said information storage system updates said data for said selected said customer account by incorporating said data entries into said data for said customer account.

44. The apparatus of Claim 43 wherein said information storage system provides said data directly to said data terminal.

45. The apparatus of Claim 43 wherein said information storage system provides said data to said data terminal by way of said control means.

46. The apparatus of Claim 43 and further comprising:
a plurality of said operator terminals;
a plurality of said incoming call detection means, each of said incoming call detection means for providing a said ring detect signal when a said incoming call occurs on a predetermined trunk of a plurality of telephone trunks; and a plurality of said ANI decoder means, each of said ANI decoder means being responsive to said predetermined signals on a predetermined said trunk for providing a said calling party telephone number;
wherein said trunk switching means selectively connects selected ones of said telephone trunks to selected ones of said audio communications means; and wherein said control means monitors each of said operator terminals to determine whether each said operator terminal is available or not available and, when a said incoming call occurs on one of said telephone trunks, said control means receives said calling party telephone number from said ANI decoder means for said one of said trunks, provides said calling party telephone number to a said data terminal of an available said operator terminal and to said information storage system, causes said information storage system to provide to said data terminal said data on a said customer account which has a said customer telephone number corresponding to said calling party telephone number, and causes said trunk switching means to connect said one of said trunks to a said audio communications means of said available said operator terminal.

47. The apparatus of Claim 46 and further comprising:
message player means for placing a message on a selected one of said telephone trunks;
wherein, when an incoming call occurs on one of said telephone trunks and a said operator terminal is not available, said control means causes said message player means to place said message on said telephone trunk having said incoming call.

48. The apparatus of Claim 47 wherein said message player means comprises:
a plurality of message playing devices, each of said devices being for placing a said message on a predetermined one of said telephone trunks.

49. The apparatus of Claim 43 and further comprising:
message player means for placing a predetermined message on said telephone trunk for prompting a calling party to provide a response; and decoder means responsive to signals placed on said telephone trunk by said calling party for providing a decoded response;
wherein said control means is further responsive to said decoded response for determining whether assistance from an operator is required;
wherein, if said assistance is required, said control means causes said trunk switching means to connect said telephone trunk to said audio communications means, whereby said data terminal provides data entries made at said data terminal by said operator to said information storage system, and said information storage system updates said data for said selected said customer account by incorporating said data entries into said data for said customer account; and if said assistance is not required, said control means provides said decoded response as data entries to said information storage system, said information storage system updates said data for said selected said customer account by incorporating said data entries into said data for said selected said customer account, and said control means causes said message player means to place a next predetermined message on said telephone trunk.

50. The apparatus of Claim 49 wherein said next predetermined message prompts said calling party to provide another response.

51. The apparatus of Claim 49 wherein at least one said predetermined message prompts said calling party to provide said response using a telephone keypad and said decoder means comprises a tone decoder.

52. The apparatus of Claim 49 wherein at least one said predetermined message prompts said calling party to provide said response using voice words and said decoder means comprises a voice decoder.

53. The apparatus of Claim 52 wherein at least one said predetermined message prompts said calling party to provide said response using a predetermined group of voice words.

54. Apparatus for online updating of data on customer accounts contained in an information storage system, comprising:
an operator terminal comprising a data terminal and an audio communications means;
trunk switching means for selectively connecting a telephone trunk to said audio communications means;
incoming call detection means for providing a ring detect signal when an incoming call occurs on said telephone trunk;
message player means for placing a predetermined message on said telephone trunk for prompting a calling party to provide a response;
decoder means responsive to signals placed on said telephone trunk by said calling party for providing a decoded response; and control means responsive to said ring detect signal for causing said message player means to place a first predetermined said message on said telephone trunk, and responsive to said decoded response for determining whether assistance from an operator is required;
wherein, if said assistance is required, said control means causes said trunk switching means to connect said telephone trunk to said audio communications means, whereby said data terminal provides data entries made at said data terminal by said operator to said information storage system, and said information storage system updates said data for said customer account of said calling party by incorporating said data entries into said data for said customer account; and if said assistance is not required, said control means provides said decoded response as data entries to said information storage system, said information storage system updates said data for said customer account by incorporating said data entries into said data for said customer account, and said control means causes said message player means to place a next predetermined message on said telephone trunk.

55. The apparatus of Claim 54 wherein:
said first said predetermined message prompts said calling party to provide a calling party telephone number;
said control means provides said calling party telephone number to said information storage system;
said information storage system advises said control means whether data is available for a said customer account having a customer telephone number corresponding to said calling party telephone member, and if said data is not available, said control means determines that said assistance is required and, further, provides said calling party telephone number to said data terminal.

56. The apparatus of Claim 55 wherein, if said data is available, said control means causes said trunk switching means to connect said telephone trunk to said audio communications means and causes said information storage system to provide at least a predetermined portion of said data for said selected said customer account to said data terminal, said data terminal provides data entries made at said data terminal by said operator to said information storage system, and said information storage system updates said data for said customer account by incorporating said data entries into said data for said customer account.

57 57. The apparatus of Claim 54 wherein:
said first said predetermined message prompts said calling party to provide a calling party customer account number;
said control means provides said calling party customer account number to said information storage system;
said information storage system advises said control means whether data is available for a said customer account having a said customer account number corresponding to said calling party customer account number; and if said data is not available, said control means determines that said assistance is required and, further, provides said calling party customer account number to said data terminal.

58. The apparatus of Claim 57 wherein, if said data is available, said control means causes said trunk switching means to connect said telephone trunk to said audio communications means and causes said information storage system to provide at least a predetermined portion of said data for said selected said customer account to said data terminal, said data terminal provides data entries made at said data terminal by said operator to said information storage system, and said information storage system updates said data for said selected said customer account by incorporating said data entries into said data for said selected said customer account.

59. The apparatus of Claim 54 wherein said next predetermined message prompts said calling party to provide another response.

60. The apparatus of Claim 54 wherein at least one said predetermined message prompts said calling party to provide said response using a telephone keypad and said decoder means comprises a tone decoder.

61. The apparatus of Claim 54 wherein at least one said predetermined message prompts said calling party to provide said response using voice words and said decoder means comprises a voice decoder.

62. The apparatus of Claim 61 wherein at least one said predetermined message prompts said calling party to provide said response using a predetermined group of voice words.

63. The apparatus of Claim 54 and further comprising:
a plurality of said operator terminals;
a plurality of said incoming call detection means, each of said incoming call detection means being for providing a said ring detect signal when a said incoming call occurs on a predetermined trunk of a plurality of said telephone trunks; and a plurality of said decoder means, each of said decoder means being responsive to said signals on a predetermined said trunk for providing said decoded response;
wherein said trunk switching means selectively connects selected ones of said telephone trunks to selected ones of said audio communications means; and wherein said control means monitors each of said operator terminals to determine whether each said operator terminal is available or not available and, if said assistance is required and a said operator terminal is not available causes said message player means to place another predetermined message on said telephone trunk having said incoming call and, when a said operator terminal becomes available, causes said trunk switching means to connect said telephone trunk having said incoming call to said audio communications means of said available operator terminal.

64. The apparatus of Claim 63 wherein said message player means comprises:
a plurality of message playing devices, each of said devices being for placing at least one said predetermined message on a predetermined one of said telephone trunks.

65. The apparatus of Claim 54 wherein said control means evaluates each said decoded response to determine whether said assistance is required; and, if said assistance is not required, said control means provides said decoded response as data entries to said information storage system, said information storage system updates said data for said selected said customer account by incorporating said data entries into said data for said selected said customer account, and said control means causes said message player means to place a next message on said telephone trunk; and, if said assistance is required, said control means causes said trunk switching means to connect said telephone trunk to said audio communications means and causes said information storage system to provide at least a predetermined portion of said data for said selected said customer account to said data terminal, said data terminal provides data entries made at said data terminal by said operator to said information storage system, and said information storage system updates said data for said selected said customer account by incorporating said data entries into said data for said selected said customer account.

66. In an automated telephone calling system characterized by first means for storing, retrieving, and processing data on a plurality of accounts, second means for initiating outgoing calls on a plurality of telephone trunks, third means for providing telephone numbers, corresponding to said accounts, to said second means, fourth means for detecting an answer of a said outgoing call, fifth means for selectively connecting a particular said telephone trunk to a particular one of a plurality of audio communications means, and a plurality of data terminals for sending and receiving said data, each of said data terminals being associated with a corresponding audio communications means, each said data terminal being characterized by a keyboard for providing data entries and a display; the improvement to a said data terminal, comprising:
first interface means for allowing said data terminal to receive at least a first predetermined portion of said data on a selected one of said accounts from said third means; and second interface means for allowing said data terminal to receive at least a second predetermined portion of said data from said first means and to send said data entries to said first means.

67. The improvement of Claim 66 wherein said first interface means comprises a serial data port.

68. The improvement of Claim 66 wherein said second interface means comprises a high speed serial data port.

69. The improvement of Claim 66 wherein, upon receipt of said first predetermined portion of said data from said third means, said data terminal requests at least said second predetermined portion of said data from said first means, and said first means provides at least said second predetermined portion of said data to said data terminal.

70. The improvement of Claim 69 wherein said first predetermined portion comprises a telephone number of said telephone numbers which corresponds to a said outgoing call which has been answered.

71. The improvement of Claim 69 wherein said first predetermined portion comprises an account number corresponding to a said outgoing call which has been answered.

72. The improvement of Claim 69 wherein said first predetermined portion comprises a data base index number corresponding to a said outgoing call which has been answered.

73. The improvement of Claim 69 wherein said data terminal requests at least said second predetermined portion of said data in response to an operator entry on said keyboard.

74. The improvement of Claim 66 wherein said data terminal provides said data entries to both said first means and said third means.