Patent ID: 6366879
Filing Date: 2002-04-02
Classification: H04M

Abstract:
A method of controlling system performance in an interactive voice response system, said voice response system including a voice device driver, a voice segment stored in a file, a buffer for storing the voice segment prior to sending to the voice device driver, and a plurality of voice channels for output of the voice segment, said method comprising the steps of:requesting a sequence of voice blocks be sent to a buffer, said sequence being one of a plurality of sequences making up a voice segment; determining the number of voice blocks sent from the file to the buffer; requesting the device driver to initiate play of the sequence; calculating the play period of the sequence; calculating a next underrun time when the sequence will finish playing based on the time the initiate play is requested and the play period; calculating a margin period between the calculated next underrun time and the actual time after a further sequence of voice data blocks is sent to the buffer in response to a device driver request for said further sequence of voice data blocks; and shutting down a telephony channel when the margin period exceeds a defined threshold, to attempt a reduction in the application load, and to bring the margin period back to within acceptable limits.