Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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LANGUAGE ACCOMMODATED MESSAGE RELAYING
FOR HEARING IMPAIRED CAT.T.~.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to methods and means for
relaying calls between hearing impaired telephone callers
using TDD (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) or ASCII
(a computer protocol) technology and other users including
voice users, and particularly to calls accommodating such
calls to different languages that a caller may use.
In present systems, a communication assistant (CA)
at a relay station provides telecommunication relay service
(TRS) by translating signals from a hearing-impaired caller
using a TDD or ASCII and another party using voice.
With current technology, a hearing impaired person
initiates a TDD call with a keyboard having an alphanumeric
display or a printer and the call arrives at a relay center.
A PBX (post branch exchange) routes the call to a CA, i.e. a
communication assistant or a communication attendant or
operator, who now stops all other work. A modem at the CA
position auto-answers and attempts to synchronize with the
caller. After synchronization, the modem plays a prompt such
as "TRS HERE CA 1234 GA". The latter identifies the
communication assistant's number such as 1234 and gives a
signal such as GA meaning "go ahead". This process consumes
about ten seconds on the average, and wastes ten seconds of
the communication assistant's time. The caller now supplies
the forward number, i.e. the number to call, plus special
billing information, if any. A typical caller response would
be "PLEASE CALL 708 555-1212 GA". On the average, it takes
20 to 30 seconds for the caller to type this information. The
fastest callers complete this initial transaction in about
five seconds. The slowest can take several minutes. The
communication assistant can do nothing until the caller types
"GA". This involves a waste of the CA's time.
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After the caller types "GA" the CA types the forward
number and billing information into a billing record and then
manually dials the call. This constitutes the first useful
work that the CA has done on this call. A minimum of 15
seconds has been wasted, but on the average about 30 to 40
seconds are wasted waiting for the caller's "GA". This occurs
on every ASCII or TDD originated call. The total accumulated
time wasted in connected calls is substantial.
It is only after the communication assistant
receives the GA signal that communication assistant performs
the useful work of translating between TDD signals and voice
signals.
U.S. Patent No. 5,157,559 discloses a text-to-speech
synthesizer that grammatically parses the text received from
a hearing impaired party after the operator or CA has
connected the call. This system is quite complex and still
requires the operator for connecting the call.
The co-pending Canadian Patent Application Serial
No. 2,134,484, filed October 24, 1994, improves this situation
by automatically prompting a TDD caller for calling
information, grammatically parsing received calling
information to determine a forward number to one of a number
of calling assistants for automatic dialing by the assistant.
According to another aspect of the co-pending
application, the parser program or subroutine looks for a
signal that the grammatical input has been terminated by a go
ahead signal, for example "GA", and when finding one, signals
to route the call to the next available assistant.
Such arrangements operate exceedingly well if all
callers speak one language, i.e. the most common language, as
English. However when a significant number of callers employ
other languages such as Spanish, problems arise. CAs that
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speak the other language or are multilingual are a special
resource that should be used efficiently. An oversupply of
other-language CAs or multilingual CAs is wasteful. On the
other hand, using a scarce resource for English, for routing
callers to the right CA is also wasteful.
An object of the invention is to improve methods and
means for handling such calls.
Another object of the invention is to avoid the
aforementioned problems.
10 SU2~IARY OF THE INVENTION
According to an aspect of the invention, these
objects are attained by automatically prompting a TDD caller
for calling information, automatically analyzing the received
calling information in a language-identifying parsing routine,
selecting a communication assistant capable of using the
identified language; and routing the call to the selected
communication assistant.
In accordance with one aspect of the present
invention there is provided a method of relaying a call
between a telephone device for the deaf (TDD) and other users,
comprising: automatically notifying a TDD caller of readiness
to receive calling information from a caller; receiving caller
entered prose calling information; automatically analyzing the
received prose calling information in a language-identifying
parsing routine for parsing prose; selecting a communication
assistant capable of using a language identified in the
analyzing step; and automatically routing the call to the
selected communication assistant.
In accordance with another aspect of the present
invention there is provided an apparatus for relaying a call
between a telephone device for the deaf (TDD) and other users,
comprising: means for automatically prompting a TDD caller for
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calling information; means for receiving caller entered prose
calling information; means for automatically analyzing the
received prose calling information in a language-identifying
parsing routine for parsing prose; means for automatically
selecting a communication assistant capable of using a
language identified in the analyzing means; and automatically
routing the call to the selected communication assistant.
These and other aspects of the invention are pointed
out in the claims. Other objects and advantages of the
invention will become evident from the following detailed
description when read in light of the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 iS a block diagram of the architecture of a
relay station embodying features of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a flow chart of steps performed by the
structure in FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the
invention.
FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of steps performed by the
system of FIG. 1 for parsing messages from a caller and
embodying the invention.
FIG. 4 shows steps performed in the structure of
FIG. 1 and embodying the invention for automation of voice
originated relay calls.
FIG. 5 iS a flow diagram of steps performed by the
structure of FIG. 1 and embodying the invention for automation
of a forward call.
FIGS. 6 and 7 are flow charts showing details of
steps performed in FIG. 2 and embodying the invention.
FIG. 8 is a variation of FIG. 2 and shows details
of steps embodying the invention.
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DET~TT~Rn DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Fig. 1 illustrates the architecture of a
telecommunications relay system embodying features of the
invention. Here, a PBX Xl receives calls and passes them
along a number of analog lines ALl to a modem pool MPl which
may, for example, have 128 modems. A network communication
platform CPl in the form of a set of processors receives
data from and sends data to the modem pool MPl. After
processing the data, the network communications platform CPl
passes data to the lines LNl of a local area network to a
number of CA positions P01 in the form of processors with
displays DIl and voice sets V01. The platform CPl also
receives data from the PBX Xl through a line LN2.
The network communications platform CPl routes the
calls between the analog lines ALl, the modems of the modem
pool MPl, the line LNl, and the CA positions P01, as well as
back from the positions P01 to the modem pool and the analog
lines. The line LN2 controls th'e PBX and causes it to route
calls. The PBX Xl also connects the voice sets V01 at the
CA positions P01 directly with outside callers' voice sets
V02 for voice communication with voice callers.
In Fig. 1, a TDD or ASCII call arrives at the PBX
Xl. The network communications platform CPl routes the call
to the modem pool MPl. The network communications platform
CPl then automatically answers the line and plays a prompt
such as "TRS here GA". This means that the
telecommunications relay service is answering "please go
ahead". In contrast to existing technology, the network
communications platform CPl does not display a CA
identification because it is not yet known which CA will
receive the call. Moreover, the automatic prompt does not
specifically request particular information. Callers
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already know after the greeting that they should indicate
whom they wish to call. This avoids intimidation of the
caller with questions and interactive computer transactions
which may lead to error and frustration. The system allows
the callers to provide the information about what they want
in their own way. However, this freedom on the part of the
caller results in the information which may not follow any
specific pattern.
In response, the caller types back billing and
forward number information such as "PLS CALL 708 555 1212
GA". Each character enters an input buffer BUl in the
network communications platform CPl. The processor of the
communications platform CPl invokes a parser program or
subroutine which parses the present content of the input
buffer BUl after every character that is typed. The parser
program looks for a "grammatical" input terminated by "GA".
When it finds one it signals the platform CPl and the
platform routes the call to the next available CA position
POl.
If the parser program has successfully parsed the
input, the CA need only press a single "dial" button and the
communications platform CPl automatically dials the forward
number. The platform automatically types the CA
identification number and a dialing message back to the
caller. A typical transaction here reads "CA 1234
DIALING...". After the call is complete, the relay proceeds
in the usual manner with the CA translating between the
calling party and the called party.
A parser program stores a lexicon of words which
the system expects the caller or other user to employ
together with the parts of speech each word or "token"
represents. The parsing program also contains a built-in
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grammar based upon expected use of the word. The parsing
program determines whether a given input conforms to that
grammar, i.e. whether the input is grammatical. It
accomplishes this by matching the cases of the words or
tokens of the input to the grammar. Accordingly, the parser
program must initially store a grammar suited for the
particular expected input text. To accomplish this storage,
we establish a context free grammar that describes the type
of expected input. Parser programs and their use are known
and are described, for example, in "Principles of Compiler
Design" by Alfred V. Aho and Jeffrey D. Ullman, published by
Addison-Wesely, Reading Massachusetts, copyright 1977 by
Bell Laboratories, Inc. An off-the-shelf parsing program is
called "yacc" and is part of the tool distribution that
accompanies the system called UNIX. Another is called
"lex". U.S. patent Nos. 5,157,559; 5,146,405; 5,129,013;
5,056,104; 5,020,112; 4,636,939; and 4,446,341 also disclose
parsing systems. The aforementioned Aho and Ullman
publication, the yacc and lex programs, and the
aforementioned patents are hereby made a part of this
disclosure as if fully recited herein.
Fig. 2 illustrates detailed steps performed by the
platform CP1 in Fig. 1. There, in step 204, the hearing
impaired caller calls the relay center of Fig. 1. In step
207, the call arrives at the PBX. In step 210, the platform
CP1 then routes the call to a modem in the modem pool MP1.
In step 214, the platform CP1 then automatically answers the
phone and plays a prompt such as "TRS here GA". In step
217, the caller then responds by typing a request such as
"PLS CALL 708 713 5260 GA" or "QUEIRO LLAMAR AL 708 713 5260
GA". In step 218 the message goes to the language
determination module which identifies the language as
English, Spanish, etc. Details of language determination
steps appear in Fig. 6. In step 220 the platform CP1 sends
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the message to the particular one of a group of language
parsers which parses the language the caller is using. It
then uses the appropriate one of the group of language-
specific (English, Spanish, etc.) parsers to perform the
appropriate determined parsing subroutine or program for
analysis. Thereafter, in step 224, the platform CPl
determines if a calling attendant CA speaking the language
determined in step 218 is available and routes the call to
an appropriate language speaking calling attendant CA, if
available with billing information automatically supplied by
the parsing program. Details of the determination and
selection of the appropriate language-speaking CA appears in
Fig. 7.
Then, in step 227, the platform CPl through the
analog lines ALl prompts the caller with a message in the
appropriate language. In English a message would be "CA
1234 DIALING...". In step 230, the CA dials with a single
button. In step 234, the call is answered and the CA
performs the usual relay translation.
Details of the parsing operation of step 220
appear in Fig. 3. Details of step 218 for identifying the
language being used appear in Fig. 6. Details of step 224
for the determination and selection of the appropriate
language speaking communication assistant (CA) appear in
Fig. 7.
As shown in Fig. 6, the platform CPl determines
the language being used (step 218) by accessing data from a
previously constructed language table TAl (in the platform
CPl) of all expected keywords from each language being
supported. This occurs in step 604.
For example for English and Spanish the table TAl
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g
includes at least the following words:
Enqlish SPanish
Number Numero
I Yo
My Mi
Our Nuestro
Phone Telefono
Please Por Favor
Call Llamar
In step 607, the platform CPl matches every input
word from the caller against all the words in the language
table. In step 610 the platform CPl constructs a score in
the form a probability table. For example 90% likely to be
English, 40% likely to be Spanish, etc. In step 614, it
compares the score with a threshold such as 85%. In step
617 it asks if any language score exceeds the threshold. If
yes, i.e. a score exceeds the threshold, the platform CPl
identifies the language in step 620 and proceeds to step 220
in Fig. 2. If no, or if more than one language exceeds the
threshold, the platform CPl marks the language as unknown in
step 624, and proceeds to step 224.
Scoring allows for misspelled words. In one
embodiment of the invention, a word is counted as matching
a word in the table if it differs by no more than 3
"differences", e.g. insertions, deletions, or changes of a
letter. However points are deducted from the score for each
difference. The spellings are corrected where possible for
parsing.
The platform CPl contains a parser program for
each language it supports. To construct the parser program
in any language requires creating a corpus of sample input
text based upon expected transactions with customers. Such
program creation involves avoiding actual names and phone
numbers. For example, expected transactions in the English
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language, such as "PLS CALL DAVE AT (708) 713-5260 OK GA~
are rendered as "PLS CALL PNAME AT (XOX) XXX-XXXX OK GA" to
permit the use of any name and number. The corpus is
analyzed to create a context free grammar. The parser
subroutine, such as disclosed in the aforementioned Aho and
Ullman book and the previously mentioned patents, operates
on this context free grammar that accounts for most of the
corpus. The parser subroutine parses the context free
grammar and is in the form of standard compiler tools, such
as lex or yacc. A typical rule in the grammar is:
S ~ CALL_VERB TO_NUMBER GA
TO_NUMBER ~ AREA_CODE-NXX-XXXX
Another embodiment of the invention uses a finite
state grammar instead of a context free grammar to describe
this subset of English or any other language. However, a
context free grammar is intrinsically more powerful or at
least more easily constructed.
The parser subroutine in the English language
takes the form of lex, yacc, or other C codes and takes as
input a buffer of text and produces as output a "success" or
"failure" indication. In the case of success, it populates
a billing record with all the information it extracted. The
grammar looks for forward and back numbers, although back
numbers hardly ever occur. It looks for key words such as
"collect", "person-to-person", "credit card", etc. It looks
for credit card numbers. The formats of all credit cards
normally accepted are known. A valid credit card number
always permits determination of the issuer, e.g. Visa, Amex,
Diners, etc. of card. Phone numbers which exist have seven
digits, ten digits, (seven plus area code), eleven digits
(seven plus area code plus 1) or multi-digit international
numbers which start with 011. The parser subroutine accepts
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all methods of presentation such as combinations of spaces,
dashes, parentheses, etc. The grammar is easily updated to
cover cases that have been missed or to add new
applications.
Fig. 3 illustrates the steps of the parsing
process in step 220 of Fig. 2. Here, in step 300, the
platform CPl first selects the parser for the identified
language. In step 304 the selected parser matches the input
against the stored lexicon. This is called "tokenization".
In step 307 it determines whether the token or word is
valid, i.e. in the lexicon. If not, the parsing stops and
the program routes the call to the CA. If valid, in step
310, it asks whether the token fits into the syntactic rules
of the grammar. If not, the parsing stops and the call is
routed to the CA; if it fits, the program goes to step 314.
Here, the subroutine looks for and tags a forward number.
The number may be seven, ten, or eleven digits, or may be
international. All valid combinations are accepted such as
555-1212, 555 1212, 1 708 5551212, 1 (708) 555 1212, etc.
In step 314, the parser subroutine also looks for and tags
an alternate billing number and looks for and tags a credit
card, collect, person-to-person, and third number. The
parser subroutine in step 314 also looks for and tags a
~calling from" number which is usually supplied by the PBX,
and looks for a terminator such as "GA".
In step 314, when the parser subroutine looks for
the "calling from" number which originated the call, the
latter is usually supplied automatically by the PBX. In
step 317, the parser subroutine de,termines if this is a
complete sentence as decided by the grammar. If not it
returns to step 304 for the next entry. If it is a complete
sentence, it goes to step 320 and retrieves all tagged
items. It then populates a billing record with the forward
number, the billing method, the credit card number, and
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calling number if present. The process then continues with
step 224 which selects the language appropriate CA and
routes the call. If the parsing is unsuccessful, step 224
also selects the language appropriate CA and routes it for
attention.
Details of step 224 for finding and routing to a
language appropriate CA appear in Fig. 7. Here, in step
704, the platform CPl inquires to determine if any
communication assistant (CA) is available. If no, the
platform CPl in step 707 plays the language based
announcement and returns to step 704. If yes, the platform
CPl in step 710 inquires if a multilingual communication
assistant (M-CA) is required. If no, the platform CPl in
step 714 completes the call to a non-multilingual (non-M) CA
or to an M-CA that has been idle the longest. It then
proceeds to step 227. If yes, the platform CPl asks, in
step 717, if an M-CA is available. If yes, in step 720, the
platform completes the call to an available M-CA that has
been idle the longest. It then proceeds to step 227. If
the answer in step 717 is no, the platform CPl proceeds to
step 724 to determine if an M-CA is occupied with a non-M
call. If no, the platform CPl passes back to step 707. If
yes the platform CPl, in step 727 transfers the existing
non-M call to a non-M CA; and completes the M-call to the M-
CA. The process now goes to step 227.
In steps 714, 720, and 727, billing information is
automatically supplied by the parser.
According to another embodiment of the invention,
in step 224, the program automatically places the call by
dialling the forward number. Then, instead of continuing
with steps 224 to 234 of Fig. 2, the platform CPl proceeds
as shown in Fig. 4. In step 404, the platform CPl automati-
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cally dials the number in the billing record. Thereafter,
in step 407, the platform CPl monitors the call progress
tones automatically for ringing, busy, reorder, etc.
In step 410, the platform CPl then asks whether
the call has been answered. If yes, the call proceeds to
step 414 and the platform CPl bridges a CA at one of the
positions POl onto the call to perform the relay in
accordance with Fig. 7. If the answer is no, that is, the
line is busy, out of order, or gives no answer, the platform
CPl in step 417 informs the caller automatically and no CA
is needed unless requested. Because a large number of calls
are either busy or give no answer, the use of the steps in
Fig. 4 reduces the overall ~iork time by avoiding use of the
CA' s for calls that cannot be completed.
In Fig. 4, when the operation is successful, the
system automatically dials the forward number and places a
"call progress tone detector" on the line. In the case of
a busy, the platform automatically informs the caller that
the line is busy. This is also so, in the case of no
answer. In the case of an answer, the platform CPl
recognizes the answer and method of answer, e.g. voice or
baudot or ASCII. Baudot is a communication protocol used by
TDD's and constitutes a series of tones with no carrier.
ASCII is a modem to modem communication protocol. In the
case of a baudot or ASCII answer, the platform CPl plays a
greeting to the forward party and then connects a
communication assistant to the line. In the case of voice
answer, the platform will connect a CA to the line
immediately.
The system according to the invention is
completely invisible to subscribers as long as the parsing
works correctly. The arrangement requires no explicit
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cooperation or concession on the part of subscribers. If
the system is loaded to the point that there are no CA's
available but there are available modems, the connection
will take place, but after the caller types "GA" a delay
occurs in getting an operator. If this delay exceeds a
certain threshold, the platform CPl plays a "please hold"
message.
Fig. 5 illustrates the steps when a voice caller
calls the relay center. Here, in step 504, the caller calls
the relay center. Thereafter, in step 507, the call is
routed to the PBX. Then, in step 510, the PBX routes the
call to the platform CPl which answers the call and plays a
prompt. The latter may be a dial tone or a voice prompt.
Then, in step 514, the customer dials or speaks
the number. In step 515 the customer is asked if he or she
wants to communicate in a language other than the default
language, e.g. English, and he or she identifies such a
language, e.g. by pressing a DTMF (dual-tone multiple-
frequency) key, or saying the name of the language for
detection by a speech recognition system. Thereafter, the
platform CPl collects the number and populates the billing
record in step 517. Then, in step 520, the platform CPl,
using the routine in Fig. 7, selects the appropriate-
language CA and routes the call to the appropriate-language
CA who identifies himself or herself and dials the number
with a single button push.
Another embodiment of the invention appears in
Fig. 8. This is a variation of Fig. 2 in which all the
steps of Fig. 2 but steps 218 and 220 are the same. Here,
in step 804 (instead of steps 218 and 220) the platform CPl
sends the message to a group of different language parsers
which parse the message in different languages. In step
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807, the platform CP1 identifies the language by selecting
the one of the group of language-specific (English, Spanish,
etc.) parsers which succeeds in performing the parsing
subroutine or program. Thereafter, the platform CP1
proceeds with steps 224 to 234 in Fig. 2.
The following are a number of variations of the
arrangements available for use according to the invention.
Here, the CA or communications attendant may also
be referred to as a communication assistant, call attendant,
or a call agent. The relay may also be called a relay
center.
Up-front Automation to Relay Center for TDD users:
Method:
1) User dials into center.
2) User is prompted to type.
3) User types into buffer, completes with "GA".
4) Language is identified as in Fig. 6. Buffer is parsed
in identified language as in Fig. 3, forward number and
additional information determined.
5) Call is routed to appropriate non-M CA (agent) or M-CA
as in Fig. 7, with forward number pre-identified for
agent.
6) Agent handles the call.
Up-front Automation to Relay Center for TDD users:
Method:
1) User dials into center.
2) User is prompted for calling information.
3) User types into buffer, completes with "GA".
4) Language is identified as in Fig. 6. Buffer is parsed
in identified language as in Fig. 3, forward number
determined.
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5) Call is routed to appropriate non-M CA (agent) or M-CA
as in Fig. 7, with forward number pre-identified for
agent.
6) Agent confirms that forward number is correct, floats
the call.
7) System dials forward number.
8) When call is answered, call is directed to appropriate
agent.
9) Second agent handles the actual call.
Up-front Automation to Relay Center for TDD users:
Method:
1) User dials into center.
2) User is prompted for calling information.
3) User types into buffer, completes with "GA~.
4) Language is identified as in Fig. 6. Buffer is parsed
in identified language as in Fig. 3, forward number
determined.
5) Forward number played to caller for confirmation.
6) Caller confirms or corrects forward number.
7) System dials forward number.
8) When call is answered, call is directed to appropriate
non-M CA (agent or M-CA as in Fig. 7.
9) Agent handles the actual call.
Up-front Automation to Relay Center for TDD users:
Method:
1) User dials into center.
2) User is prompted for typing by user; Language is
identified as in Fig. 6.
prompt allows for special billing (Credit Card, CCC,
3rd party, collect, etc.);
prompt is interactive in identified language, one
question at a time input is via TDD.
Text is parsed in identified language as in Fig. 3,
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billing record prepared, forward number determined.
3) System dials forward number.
4) When call is answered, call is directed to an
appropriate non-M CA (agent) or M-CA as in Fig. 7.
5) Agent handles the call.
Up-front Automation to Relay Center for TDD users:
Method:
1) User dials into center.
2) User is prompted for calling information. Language is
identified as in Fig. 6.
Prompt allows for special billing (Credit Card, CCC,
3rd party, collect, etc.)
prompt is interactive in identified language, one
question at a time input is via DTMF (Dual tone,
multiple frequency)
text is parsed in identified language as in Fig. 3,
billing record prepared, forward number determined.
3) System dials forward number.
4) When call is answered, call is directed to appropriate
non-M CA (agent) or M-CA as in Fig. 7.
5) Agent handles the call.
Up-front Automation to Relay Center for VOICE
users:
Method:
1) User dials into center.
2) User is prompted by system for forward number.
Language is identified
3) User enters number using DTMF.
4) Forward number determined.
5) Call is routed to appropriate non-M CA (agent) or M-CA
as in Fig. 7, with forward number pre-identified for
agent.
6) Agent handles the call.
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Up-front Automation to Relay Center for VOICE
users:
Method:
1) User dials into center.
2) User is prompted for call information. Language is
identified.
Prompt allows for special billing (Credit Card, CCC,
3rd party, collect, etc.)
prompt is interactive, one question at a time
input is via DTMF
text is parsed in identified language as in Fig. 3,
billing record prepared, forward number determined.
3) System dials forward number.
4) When call is answered, call is directed to appropriate
non-M CA (agent) or M-CA as in Fig. 7 .
5) Agent handles the call.
Up-front Automation to Relay Center for Voice
users:
Method:
1) User dials in to center.
2) User is prompted (via recording) for calling
information.
3) User speaks response - forward number collected by ASR
(automatic speech recognition). Language is
identified.
4) Forward number dialed.
Up-front Automation to Relay Center for both
Baudot and Voice callers:
Method:
1) Request language by voice to identify language. Play
announcement to caller in voice in identified language
that also has Baudot embedded in the announcement.
2) System listens for response (announcement may be barge-
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in-able).
3) If response is DTMF, assume that caller is voice, and
collect digits.
4) If response is Baudot, collect text.
5) If response is voice (speaker independent, connected
digit recognizer) collect voice.
6) Dial forward number.
Automation for Relay Calls (general) using an
automated operator: Callers who dial 0 are prompted to say
"English", Espanol", ...etc., to identify the language and
in that language, prompted to say "operator", "collect~
"third party', "person" etc. The recognizer recognizes the
call type, then places the call. The recognizer must
recognize call progress signals (ringing, reorder, busy,
dead line, and even answering machines and fax lines, etc.).
A call is routed to appropriate non-M CA (agent) or M-CA as
in Fig. 7 as soon as ringing or answer occurs.
Another embodiment of the invention involves
"back-end" automation. For Data calls, the system prompts
the called party with a modem even before we have an
operator on the line. This back-end automation is the flip
of front end automation. In front end automation, voice in
is harder but the back end automation is easier, since a
call occurs to a data device, whereas when the front end
automation is for data call in, the call to the forward
party is to voice.
Dialing Plan for Relay Center for all users:
Method:
1) Collect digits by one of various methods outlined
above.
2) If 7 digits entered, assume call is local to caller
area code.
2154~Q4
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3) If forward number is 10 digits, assume 1+.
4) If forward number is 11 digits, scan first digit
- if 1, treat as 1+
- if 0, assume special billing, user gets
additional prompts
Name-announce feature for TDD to Voice relay calls
(used with back-end automation):
Method:
- when TDD user calls into center, one of optional
prompts is to type in name of calling, and/or called
party.
- when call is answered, answering party hears TTS voice
announcing who the call is from, and who the call is
for.
- live agent comes on line to handle the call.
Name-announce feature for TDD to Voice relay calls
with answer response feature:
Method:
1) when TDD user calls into center, one of optional
prompts is to type in name of calling, and/or called
party.
- when call is answered, answering party hears TTS voice
announcing who the call is from, and who the call is
for.
- answering party has options via DTMF or voice
recognition.
1 = I am that party.
2 = that party is not here.
3 = hold please, I will get that party.
- live agent comes on line to handle the call, based on
response by answering party.
While embodiments of the invention have been
~S~3~
- 21 -
described in detail, it will be evident to those skilled in
the art that the invention may be embodied otherwise without
departing from its spirit and scope.
