EP1630761A1 - System and method for automatic calling, alarm engine and activation terminal used in the system - Google Patents

Abstract

This automatic call system of a set of receivers comprises an alert engine (4) able to control calls to the receivers of said set by following an alert procedure, the alert procedure defining at least one conditional transition between steps of calling a list of receivers. The alert procedure is stored in a file (14) that can be modified independently of the alert engine.

Description

The present invention relates to an automatic calling system and method, an alert engine and an activation station implemented in the system.

Known systems comprise an alert engine capable of controlling calls to receivers by following an alert procedure, the alerting procedure defining at least one conditional transition between call stages of a list of receivers.

These systems are particularly useful for alerting people such as, for example, lifeguards in the event of an accident.

In known systems, the alert procedure is integrated into the alert engine code and forms with it a single program. Thus, if a user wishes to modify the alert procedure, the alert engine code must be modified. The known systems are therefore difficult to adapt to the wishes of each user.

The invention aims to remedy this drawback by proposing an automatic call system easily adaptable to the wishes of each user.

The subject of the invention is therefore an automatic call system in which the alert procedure is recorded in an editable file independently of the alert engine.

In the above system, the alert procedure is saved in an editable file independently of the alert engine. Thus, when only the alert procedure needs to be changed there is no need to change the alert engine code.

• le moteur d'alerte est apte à commander l'exécution d'une nouvelle étape d'appel lorsqu'une condition associée à une transition anticipée est évaluée à vraie sans attendre la fin de l'exécution d'une étape d'appel précédente, et le moteur d'appel est également apte, après cette transition anticipée, à exécuter en parallèle l'étape d'appel précédente et la nouvelle étape d'appel sans interrompre l'exécution de cette étape d'appel précédente,
• la transition anticipée est définie dans la procédure d'alerte,
• il comporte un automate d'appel, sous la commande du moteur d'alerte, apte à appeler chacun des récepteurs d'une liste de récepteurs et à envoyer des informations de suivi de l'état d'avancement des appels au moteur d'alerte, et le moteur d'alerte est apte à évaluer les conditions associées à des transitions définies par la procédure d'alerte en fonction de ces informations de suivi,
• la procédure d'alerte est écrite en utilisant un langage de description de contenu à balises dérivé du langage SGML (Standard Generalized Markeup Language),
• le moteur d'alerte est apte à interpréter les balises contenues dans la procédure d'alerte,
• la procédure d'alerte comporte une balise de transition anticipée marquant le début de la définition d'une transition anticipée permettant le déclenchement d'une nouvelle étape d'appel avant même d'avoir terminé une étape d'appel précédente,
• la procédure d'alerte comporte une balise d'attente de commande marquant le début de la définition d'une étape d'attente de commande qui, lorsqu'elle est exécutée par le moteur d'alerte, permet au moteur d'alerte d'attendre qu'une condition soit réalisée avant de procéder à une étape d'appel,
• le moteur d'alerte est apte à exécuter simultanément plusieurs étapes d'appel appartenant à des procédures d'alerte différentes,
• le système comporte :
  • plusieurs procédures d'alerte enregistrées dans des fichiers modifiables indépendamment du moteur d'alerte, et
  • un poste d'activation de l'exécution d'une de ces procédures d'alerte raccordé au moteur par l'intermédiaire d'un réseau grande distance de transmission d'informations, ce poste étant apte à sélectionner la procédure d'alerte à exécuter par le moteur d'alerte,
• le poste est apte à transmettre au moteur d'alerte l'ensemble de la procédure d'alerte ou un identifiant d'une procédure d'alerte préenregistrée à exécuter, et, en réponse à la transmission du poste, le moteur d'alerte est apte à déclencher l'exécution de la procédure d'alerte transmise ou la procédure d'alerte préenregistrée correspondant à l'identifiant transmis.

Embodiments of this system may include one or more of the following features:

• the alert engine is able to command the execution of a new call step when a condition associated with an anticipated transition is evaluated at true without waiting for the end of the execution of a preceding call step, and the call engine is also able, after this anticipated transition, to execute in parallel the preceding call step and the new step of call without interrupting the execution of this previous call step,
• the anticipated transition is defined in the alert procedure,
• it comprises a call controller, under the control of the alert engine, able to call each of the receivers of a list of receivers and send information for monitoring the progress of calls to the alert engine , and the alert engine is able to evaluate the conditions associated with transitions defined by the alert procedure based on this tracking information,
• the alert procedure is written using a tagged content description language derived from Standard Generalized Markeup Language (SGML),
• the warning engine is able to interpret the tags contained in the alert procedure,
• the alert procedure includes an early transition tag marking the beginning of the definition of an anticipated transition allowing the triggering of a new call step even before having completed a previous call step,
• the alert procedure includes a command waiting tag marking the beginning of the definition of a command waiting step which, when executed by the alert engine, allows the alert engine to wait for a condition to be realized before proceeding to a calling stage,
• the alert engine is able to simultaneously execute several call stages belonging to different alerting procedures,
• the system comprises:
  • several alert procedures stored in files that can be modified independently of the alert engine, and
  • an activation station for executing one of these alert procedures connected to the engine via a long-distance information transmission network, this item being able to select the alert procedure to be executed by the warning engine,
• the station is able to transmit to the alert engine the entire alert procedure or an identifier of a prerecorded alert procedure to be executed, and, in response to the transmission of the item, the alert engine is adapted to trigger the execution of the alert procedure transmitted or the prerecorded alert procedure corresponding to the transmitted identifier.

The invention also relates to an alert engine adapted to be used in the automatic call system above.

The subject of the invention is also a method for automatically calling a set of receivers, this method comprising a step of controlling calls to the receivers of said set by following an alert procedure, the alert procedure defining at least a conditional transition between call stages of a list of receivers. The method includes a step of recording an alert procedure in an editable file independently of the alert module. The method may also include a step of writing the alert procedure using a tag content description language derived from SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language).

• la figure 1 est une illustration schématique de l'architecture d'un système d'appel automatique,
• la figure 2 est une illustration du contenu d'un fichier dans lequel est enregistré une procédure d'alerte,
• la figure 3 est un organigramme correspondant au contenu du fichier de la figure 2, et
• la figure 4 est un organigramme d'un procédé d'appel automatique.

The invention will be better understood on reading the description which follows, given solely for example and made with reference to the drawings in which:

• FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of the architecture of an automatic call system,
• FIG. 2 is an illustration of the contents of a file in which an alert procedure is recorded,
• FIG. 3 is a flowchart corresponding to the content of the file of FIG. 2, and
• Figure 4 is a flowchart of an automatic calling method.

FIG. 1 represents an automatic calling system designated by the general reference 2. The system 2 comprises an alert engine 4 associated with a calling automaton 6.

The engine 4 is able to interpret and execute simultaneously one or more alert procedures. The motor 4 is, for example, made from a conventional programmable computer capable of executing instructions recorded on an information recording medium, when these instructions are executed by the computer. For this purpose, the recording medium comprises instructions for executing the method of FIG. 4.

The alert procedures being executed are stored in a database 10 stored in a memory 12. The memory 12 also includes files 14 including pre-recorded alerting procedures, pre-recorded call lists and possibly messages. preregistered. The alert procedures, the call lists and the pre-recorded messages are respectively associated with an alert procedure identifier, a call list identifier and a message identifier.

An alert procedure defines conditional transitions between call stages. Calling steps are steps in which a list of receivers, corresponding, for example, to a prerecorded call list, is called by the automatic calling machine 6. The conditional transitions define the condition or conditions for moving from one call step to the next. These transitions between two call stages are executed or not by the engine 4 as a function of tracking information on the execution state of the current call stage. An example of an alert procedure will be described in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

The controller 6 is able to call, via a long distance information transmission network 20, a set 22 of receivers corresponding to a list of calls. The network 20 is, for example, a PSTN telephone network. The assembly 22 comprises, for example, one or more telephones 24, one or more mobile phones 26 and one or more computers 28.

The list of calls used by the controller 6 comprises for each of the receivers of the set 22 the coordinates that make it possible to contact it via the network 20. For example, the call list contains the telephone number of each fixed telephone 24 or mobile 26 and the e-mail address of the user of each computer 28.

The automaton 6 is able to call one after the other or simultaneously several of the receivers whose coordinates are in the call list.

The controller 6 is also able to return to the engine 4 call tracking information representing the progress of the calls to be made. For example, as call tracking information, the controller 6 returns to the engine 4 the call list in which each receiver coordinate is completed by information on the progress of the call to this receiver. For example, the status takes three values: "in progress,""failure," and "success." The value "in progress" means the call is running. The value "failure" means that the receiver could not be reached and the value "success" means that the receiver has been called successfully.

A station 30 for activating the execution of an alert procedure by the engine 4 is connected to the engine 4 via the network 20. This station 30 allows a user to select the alert procedure that the Engine 4 must run. For this purpose, the station 30 is, for example, able to transmit an identifier of a pre-recorded alert procedure in one of the files 14 to the engine 4. Here, it is also able to transmit to the engine 4 a procedure of locally registered alert. For this purpose, the station 30 is connected to a memory 32 containing one or more alert procedures 34.

Station 30 is also adapted for a user to select a message to be broadcast to all receivers. In a manner similar to that described for the alerting procedure, the station 30 is able to transmit to the engine 4 an identifier of a pre-recorded message in the memory 12 and / or to transmit to the engine 4 the message to be broadcast to the Receivers via the network 20. The message transmitted to the motor 4 is, for example, prerecorded in the memory 32.

The station 30 is, for example, made from a conventional computer equipped with an Internet browser to communicate with the engine 4.

The system 2 also comprises an Internet server 40, a remote consultation station 42 and an input module 44.

The server 40 is adapted to allow remote monitoring of the progress of an alert procedure. For this purpose, it is connected to the automaton 6 so as to receive call tracking information and adapted to make it available for consultation from station 42. Typically, station 42 is a computer equipped with an Internet browser.

The module 44 is intended for entering and saving in the files 14 new call procedures, call lists or messages. The realization of this module 44 is conventional.

As an example to simplify the illustration, the motor 4, the controller 6, the server 40 and the module 44 are located in a single computer server connected to the memory 12.

FIG. 2 represents an example of an alert procedure contained in one of the files 14 and FIG. 3 represents in the form of a flowchart the warning procedure of FIG. 2.

To simplify system configuration 2, call procedures are written using a tagged content description language derived from Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). More specifically, as an example, the calling procedure was written here using the Extensible Markup Language (XML).

Each alert procedure is framed between a <Model> opening tag or marker and a closing </ Model> tag or marker.

<DiffusionStage> and </ DiffusionStage> tags placed between the <Model> and </ Model> tags respectively define the beginning and end of the definition of a calling step.

The <BroadcastStage> tag can have zero, one, or two attributes. The first "entry" attribute means that this call step is an entry point to the alert procedure when set to "True". In this case, the engine 4 begins by performing this call step. The second attribute named after "StageName" defines the name of the step. For example, here five call stages are defined in this alert procedure. They are respectively named "TermBoss", "PersoBoss", "Team member", "PersoMember" and "Rescue Team". These steps are, in order, the reference numerals 66 to 70 in FIG.

signifie que la liste des récepteurs à appeler lors de l'étape d'appel est contenue dans le fichier portant le nom « list1 ».Then, the definition of a call step includes at least one <DiffusionList> tag to identify the call list to use in this step. This <DiffusionList> tag has for this purpose a "name" attribute to define the name of the call list. For example, the following tag: $$<\mathrm{diffusionlist\; name}=\mathrm{«<figure-callout\; id="1"\; label="List"\; filenames="imgf0001.png,imgf0002.png"\; state="\{\{state\}\}">List</figure-callout>}1\mathrm{"}/>$$

means that the list of receivers to be called during the calling stage is contained in the file with the name "list1".

Then, the definition of a call step may include the definition of one or more conditional transitions or not to another call stage. For example here, the alert procedure includes opening tags <BeforeEndDiffusion> and closing tags </ BeforeEndDiffusion> between which are defined early transitions to other call stages. More specifically, these <BeforeEndDiffusion> tags have the particularity of defining an anticipated transition that allows the engine 4 to execute the next step without stopping the execution of the previous step. Such anticipated transitions between two steps are represented by dashed lines in FIG. 3. By way of illustration, the alerting procedure includes an anticipated conditional transition 70 between the steps 66 and 68 and an anticipated conditional transition 71 between steps 67 and 68.

signifie que la transition s'effectuera vers l'étape d'appel 68.The definition of transition 70 and 71 is placed between an opening <Transition> tag and a closing </ Transition> tag. The <Transition> tag has an attribute named "StageName" to indicate to which call step the transition should be performed if a condition is evaluated to true. For example, the following tag: $$<\mathrm{Stage\; Transition}=\mathrm{"Team\; members"}>$$

signifies that the transition will proceed to the calling step 68.

The condition that triggers the crossing of the transition is placed between the <Transition> and </ Transition> tags. Here, this condition is framed by an opening <If> tag and an <If /> closing tag. The tag placed between the <If> and <If /> tags defines the condition for which the conditional transition is enabled. Here, for example, the condition is that at least one call from a call list must have been successfully completed for the transition to the next step to be activated.

This condition corresponds in fig 2 to the sign tag <AfLeastOne nbAppel = "1" typeAppel = "success" fromList = "List1">. This tag has three attributes. The first attribute named "nbCall" specifies the number of calls. The "typeAppel" attribute specifies the progress of the call and the "fromList" attribute specifies the name of the relevant call list.

More specifically, here, the transition 70 is crossed when a receiver of the list "List1" has been successfully called and the transition 71 is crossed when a receiver of the list "List2" has been called successfully.

Alert procedures also include unconditional transitions that are routinely executed during the execution of the alert procedure.

These unconditional transitions are not associated with a condition. Here they are defined by an <AfterDiffusion> opening and </ AfterDiffusion> opening tag. These transitions correspond to a systematic transition to a next call step at the end of the execution of the preceding call step. Between the <AfterDiffusion> and </ AfterDiffusion> tags, the <Transition> tag is used to define the name of the next call step to which the transition is made. Here the alert procedure defines two of these unconditional transitions, represented by solid lines 72, 73 in FIG.

Finally, the alert procedure of FIG. 2 comprises a command waiting step 75 defined between <ControlStage> and </ ControlStage> tags. The <ControlStage> tag has the same attributes as the <BroadcastStage> tag. For example, in the particular case of FIG. 2, step 75 is called "In case of pb" and corresponds to a second entry point of the alert procedure.

In step 75, the engine 4 performs no action and simply waits for the condition associated with the transition 74 to be evaluated to true.

The condition associated with the transition 74 is defined by the tag <MessageEqual messageName = "messageStatus" value = "Intervention"/>. This tag means that the transition is made when a received message whose name is specified by the "messageName" attribute takes the value specified by the "value" attribute. In the alert procedure of Figure 2 described here, the received message must be called "messageState" and take the value "Intervention" for the transition to be made. This transition is represented by the line 74 in FIG.

The operation of the system 2 will now be described with reference to FIG. 4 in the particular case where the alert procedure to be executed is that of FIG. 2.

Initially, an operator of the system 2 writes, during a step 100, using the module 44, the alert procedure of Figure 2 in XML and using the predefined tags. Once the written alert procedure, it is recorded, in a step 102, in a file 14 stored in the memory 12.

In a step 103, the operator enters and stores in the memory 12 one or more call lists and one or more messages to broadcast.

When necessary, an intervention request is sent during a step 104 by the station 30 to the engine 4. During this intervention request, the alert procedure (s) to be executed are selected during the An operation 106. More specifically, the operation 106 is performed either by transmitting from the station 30 to the engine 4 an identifier of a pre-recorded alert procedure or by transmitting to the engine 4 the alert procedure to execute itself. Still in step 104, the message to be broadcast to the different receivers is selected during an operation 108. In a similar manner to the operation 106, the message to be broadcast is selected either by transmitting an identifier of a pre-recorded message to from station 30 to the engine 4 or by transmitting from the station 30 the message to broadcast.

In response to a request for intervention, the engine 4 interprets, during a step 110, the contents of the files 14 corresponding to the alert procedures selected during the step 104. operation 112 of recording in the database 10 steps of the selected alert procedures. The call lists referenced by the selected call procedures are also stored in the database 12 during an operation 114.

Then, the engine 4 executes in parallel, during a step 120, all the call procedures recorded in the database 10. For example, in the particular case of the alert procedure of FIG. the motor 4 starts by performing steps 66 and 75 simultaneously.

More specifically, during step 66, according to what is indicated in the alert procedure, the engine 4 transmits, during an operation 122, the call list "list1" to the controller 6 and command this automaton 6 so that it begins to call the different receivers whose coordinates are contained in this list.

At regular intervals, during an operation 124, the engine 4 interrogates the automaton 6 and the automaton 6 returns the call tracking information to the engine 4.

The engine 4 evaluates, during an operation 126, the various conditional transitions taking into account the most recently received tracking information. If the condition associated with one of these conditional transitions is evaluated to "true" then the engine 4 begins to execute the next step in the alert procedure. For example, as soon as the engine 4 is informed by the controller 6 that one of the receivers of the list "list1" has been successfully called, it begins to execute the call step 68 while continuing to execute the calling stage 66.

When a calling step is completed, the engine 4 begins to execute, if it exists, the next call step designated by the <AfterDiffusion> tag. By for example, at the end of step 66, the engine 4 automatically executes the call step 67.

The engine 4 also evaluates during an operation 130 the conditional transitions to exit a command waiting step.

For example, in the case of the warning procedure of Figure 2, the engine 4 tests at regular intervals if a message named "messageStatus" has taken the value "Intervention". If so, the engine 4 immediately begins to perform step 70. If not, the engine 4 continues to wait. The value of the message named "messageState" is, for example, modifiable from the station 30.

Thus, the engine 4 follows step by step the alert procedure defined in a file 14 by regularly testing the conditions associated with the conditional transitions and crossing these transitions only when the associated condition is evaluated to "true".

More precisely, the warning engine simultaneously tests the conditions of the conditional transitions of all the alert procedures currently executed in parallel and also simultaneously controls the execution of all the currently active call stages, irrespective of the procedure of the procedure. alert to which these transitions and / or steps belong. Thus, the engine 4 alone is able to perform several alert procedures simultaneously.

Note that it is possible to modify an alert procedure without changing the operation of the engine 4. The adaptation of the operation of the engine 4 to the wishes of customers is facilitated.

Thanks to the anticipated transitions, it is possible to speed up the execution of an alert procedure since It is possible to start the execution of a new step of this alert procedure without waiting for a previous call step to be finished.

The use of a tag content description language simplifies the configuration of the system 2 as this avoids the need for programming steps of writing and then compiling a program. These tags being predefined, the user does not need to know in detail the operation of the engine 4. Furthermore, the use of tags for defining call stages and command waiting steps simplifies the operation of the engine. write alert procedures.

The system 2 has been described here in the particular case where it comprises only one alert engine. In a variant, it comprises several identical warning engines located in the same or in respective servers.

The receivers may be machines or be incorporated into any machines. In this case, the alert message may be accompanied by command instructions from this machine. Thus, for example, the system can be used to trigger the start-up of cameras, sensors (for example temperature, pressure, level sensors or even chemical detectors, etc.), or decontamination system. The system can also be used to trigger the shutdown of sensitive machines, to trigger the disconnection of non-vital elements of a network, such as a power distribution network or to trigger the isolation of dangerous objects or sensitive.

Claims (23)

System for automatically calling a set of receivers, this system comprising an alert engine (4) able to control calls to the receivers of said set by following an alert procedure, the alerting procedure defining at least one conditional transition between steps of calling a list of receivers, characterized in that the alert procedure is stored in a file (14) modifiable independently of the alert engine. System according to Claim 1, characterized in that the warning engine (4) is able to control the execution of a new call stage when a condition associated with an anticipated transition is evaluated to true without waiting for the end. of the execution of a preceding call step, and in that the call engine is also able, after this anticipated transition, to execute in parallel the preceding call step and the new call step without interrupt the execution of this previous call step. System according to claim 2, characterized in that the anticipated transition (70, 71) is defined in the alert procedure. System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises an automatic call machine (6), under the control of the warning engine (4), able to call each of the receivers of a list of receivers. and sending tracking information of the progress of calls to the alert engine, and that the alert engine (4) is able to evaluate the conditions associated with transitions defined by the procedure of alert based on this tracking information. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the warning procedure is written using a tagged content description language derived from SGML (Standard Generalized Markeup Language). System according to Claim 5, characterized in that the warning engine (4) is able to interpret the beacons contained in the alert procedure. System according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the alert procedure comprises an early transition marker marking the beginning of the definition of an anticipated transition allowing the triggering of a new call stage even before having completed a previous call stage. System according to any one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the alert procedure comprises a control waiting tag marking the beginning of the definition of a command waiting step (75) which, when it is executed by the alert engine, allows the alert engine to wait for a condition to be realized before proceeding to a calling step. System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the alarm engine is capable of simultaneously executing several call steps belonging to different alarm procedures. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the system comprises: - several alert procedures stored in files that can be modified independently of the alert engine, and a station (30) for activating the execution of one of these alert procedures connected to the motor via a long-distance transmission network information, this item being adapted to select the alert procedure to be executed by the alert engine. System according to Claim 10, characterized in that the station (30) is capable of transmitting to the warning engine the entire alert procedure or an identifier of a pre-recorded alert procedure to be executed, and in this respect that , in response to the transmission of the station (30), the alert engine is able to trigger the execution of the transmitted alert procedure or the prerecorded alert procedure corresponding to the transmitted identifier. Alert engine adapted to be used in a system according to any one of the preceding claims, this alert engine being able to control calls to the receivers of said set, by following the alert procedure, the alert procedure defining at least one conditional transition between call steps of a list of receivers, characterized in that the alert engine is capable of executing an alert procedure stored in an editable file independently of the alert engine. Activation station adapted for use in a system according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that : the station is connected to the warning engine via a long-distance information transmission network, and the station is able to select the alert procedure to be executed by the warning engine and to activate the execution of the selected alert procedure. Method of automatically calling a set of receivers, this method comprising a step (122) of controlling calls to the receivers of said set by following an alert procedure, the alerting procedure defining at least one conditional transition between call stages of a receiver list, characterized in that it comprises a step (102) of recording an alert procedure in an editable file independently of an engine alert to execute the command step. Method according to claim 14, characterized in that it comprises a step (100) of writing the alert procedure by using a tag content description language derived from SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language). Alerting procedure adapted to be implemented in a system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, this alerting procedure being executable by the alert engine adapted to control calls to receivers, this procedure of an alert defining at least one conditional transition between call steps of a receiver list, characterized in that the alert procedure is recordable in a file (14) that can be modified independently of the alert engine. Procedure according to Claim 16, characterized in that it defines an anticipated transition which, when evaluated to true, enables the alert engine to command the execution of a new call step without waiting for the end of the call. execution of a preceding call step, so that after this anticipated transition, the call engine performs in parallel the preceding call step and the new call step without interrupting the execution of this previous call stage. Procedure according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that the conditions associated with transitions defined in this alert procedure are a function of the progress monitoring information. calls sent to the alert engine by a call controller. Alerting procedure according to one of Claims 16 to 18, characterized in that the warning procedure is written using a tagged content description language derived from SGML (Standard Generalized Markeup Language). Claim alarm procedure according to 19, characterized in that the alarm procedure comprises an anticipated transition marker marking the beginning of the definition of an anticipated transition allowing the triggering of a new call step even before have completed a previous call stage. Claim alarm procedure according to 19 or 20, characterized in that the alarm procedure comprises a wait control marker marking the beginning of the definition of a step (75) command wait which when it is executed by the alert engine, allows the alert engine to wait for a condition to be realized before proceeding to a calling step. Memory, characterized in that it comprises an alert procedure according to any one of Claims 16 to 21. Computer program, characterized in that it comprises instructions for executing an alert procedure according to any one of claims 16 to 21, when these instructions are executed by an electronic computer.

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