Abstract:
A system and method for selectively monitoring, recording, storing, and handling telephone conversations through the use of speech analysis is disclosed. In particular, the present invention utilizes a speech analyzer to analyze a speech signal during a telephone conversation between two parties, and a recording and storage device to record and store the telephone conversation. Based on variations in signal characteristics related to the emotional state of the caller, the system selectively generates a trigger to keep the stored recording of the telephone conversation. The present invention also selectively determines whether to send a notification in response to said trigger.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to the selective handling and recording of telephone conversations. More particularly, the present invention relates to utilizing speech analysis methods for selectively handling and recording telephone conversations. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Many corporate telephone call centers record the telephone conversations between their telephone operators and customers. Typically the recordings are made either for training purposes, used as examples to be reviewed later by new operators, or for quality assurance purposes, so that the performance of the telephone operators can be monitored and evaluated. 
   Today call centers may record telephone calls in one of two ways: (1) by either randomly recording conversations, or (2) by recording all conversations. When telephone interactions are screened randomly, a strong possibility exists that important conversations will not be recorded. In the case where all calls are recorded, a tremendous amount of resources can go to waste, since the vast majority of call center conversations are likely to be uneventful. Moreover, call center systems that are currently in place provide no means for alerting a supervisor in real-time if a problem situation arises other than by the call center agent. Instead, supervisors must rely on a subsequent review of the recording. Often times, from a customer service perspective, it is too late to rectify the situation. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a system and method for selectively monitoring, recording, storing, and handling telephone conversations through the use of speech analysis. The system and method of the present invention records and saves only those conversations that exhibit certain problem signs, providing the technical advantage of saving storage space over conventional systems and methods. Further, later review of calls recorded in accordance with the present invention is less cumbersome since every stored call would likely be a problem call. This is another technical advantage of the present invention. Additionally, the present invention provides real-time alerts, e.g. to a supervisor, such that a call falling within certain pre-defined parameters can be monitored so that a decision can be made as to how to best handle the telephone call. This provides the technical advantage that call center supervisors have greater control over their call operators and a higher level of service to customers, in a more efficient manner than conventional systems and methods. 
   In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention a monitoring and recording device is provided which monitors and records telephone conversations between the call center operators and the outside customers. A speech analyzer is used to monitor the communication between an operator and a customer during a telephone conversation, while a recording and storage device records the conversation. Based on variations in frequency and amplitude of the voice signals, the speech analyzer can identify changes in emotion of the parties. Once a change in emotion is detected which matches a predefined trigger event, the monitoring and recording device marks the recording of the call and can automatically alert the call operator&#39;s supervisor or supervisor&#39;s station. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     For a complete understanding of the present invention and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numbers indicate like features, components and method steps, and wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is an illustration of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention and its placement within a typical call center; 
       FIG. 2  is an illustration of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a flow chart illustrating the operation of an exemplary system in accordance with the present invention; and 
       FIG. 4  an illustration of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention and its placement within a call center which utilizes an Internet Protocol-based telephone system. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Now referring to the drawings,  FIG. 1  illustrates the conventional connection established between a customer  100  and a call center  104  during a telephone call and an exemplary placement of the present invention within a call center  104 . The customer  100  is connected to a call center  104  through the public telephone network  102 . The public telephone network  102  is commonly known to those skilled in the art. The call center  104  may include a telephone switch or hub  106 , one or more operators  108 , and one or more monitoring and recording devices  110 . 
     FIG. 2  illustrates one exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The monitoring and recording device  110  is connected such that it can monitor the speech signals from both a customer  100  and an operator  108  when they are connected in a telephone conversation. The monitoring and recording device  110  also includes a speech analyzer  200 , controller circuit  202  and a recording and storage device  204 . The controller circuit  202  can be a general purpose computer, a microcontroller, ASIC, FPGA, EEPROM, ROM, RAM, any combination thereof, or any other circuit which can be used to control the other components of monitoring and recording device  104 . Alternatively, the functional aspects of the controller circuit  202  may be integrated into either the speech analyzer  200  or the recording and storage device  304  for simplicity of design. The recording and storage device  204  can include any means for recording and storing audio data, including but not limited to tape, computer-readable memory, hard disk, and magnetic-optical drive. 
   In operation, a telephone call is first connected between the operator  108  and the customer  100 . The call may be initiated by either the operator  108  or the customer  100 . Using conventional methods, the telephone switch  106  is used to route a customer call to one or more operators  108  within the call center  104 . 
     FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating the operation of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Once the telephone call is connected at block  300 , the speech analyzer  200  detects the signal on the line and prompts the recording and storage device  204  to begin recording the conversation at block  302 . This prompt can either be sent directly by the speech analyzer  200  to the recording and storage device  204 , or indirectly, by the prompting controller circuit  202  which then would send a command to the recording and storage device  204 , i.e., the controller circuit  202  knows that line is connected and prompts the speech analyzer  200  to begin analyzing and tells the recording and storage device  204  to start recording. At block  304 , during an initial period thereafter, the controller circuit  202  and the speech analyzer  200  work in conjunction to establish base values to identify signal characteristics typical for the conversation. Once the base values are established, the system continues to monitor the conversation for deviations in the amplitude and/or frequency values falling outside of a threshold range, defined by the base values plus or minus a calculated or predetermined value. At block  308 , the system determines whether a trigger event is detected. If the speech signals never deviate outside of the threshold range, i.e., no triggering event is detected, once the call terminates in a normal fashion, the recording of the conversation may be deleted at block  308  by the recording and storage device  204 . If the signals do exceed the threshold range at any point during the conversation, i.e., a triggering event is detected at block  306 , the controller circuit  202  at block  310  takes appropriate actions, as described more fully below. 
   In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, once a triggering event is detected, the controller circuit  202  may mark the recording of the conversation and command the recording and storage device  204  to save the call for future review. Additionally, detection of a triggering event may generate an alert to the call center supervisor or supervisor&#39;s station. The controller circuit  202  transmits a report of the event and related identification data to the supervisor via computer network or other some other conventional data transmission method. The alert contains information such as the identity and location of the call operator  108  and the type of event detected. Moreover, the supervisor could be given the option to “snoop” the call, which would allow the supervisor to listen to the conversation, or to take over the call altogether, by transferring the call from the operator&#39;s telephone to the supervisor&#39;s station, e.g., telephone. 
   Other embodiments may also be employed through modification of the base system of  FIG. 2 . One alternative is to change the physical placement of the monitoring and recording device  110  within the call center  104 . Rather than including one monitoring and recording device  110  at each operator&#39;s station  108 , one alternative is to utilize one multi-port monitoring and recording device connected at the call center telephone switch  106 . This multi-port monitoring and recording device located at the telephone switch  106  has the equivalent functionality of a plurality of monitoring and recording devices  110 , and would be capable of monitoring several different lines and recording the data on each at any given time. It would have easy access to all incoming and outgoing communications at the call center  104 . This centralized placement may provide benefits in terms of installation and maintenance of the system. 
     FIG. 4  shows another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, where a monitoring and recording device  406  is used in an Internet Protocol (IP) telephony environment. The system is structurally similar to the previously described exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 2 . In the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 4 , IP server  402  connects to a plurality of operator IP telephones  404 . An operator IP telephone  404  can be a stand-alone IP telephone device, an IP softphone implemented on a general purpose computer, or any other means for IP voice communication. Also connected to the server  402  is an IP monitoring and recording device  406 , or plurality thereof. The system operates in a similar manner to the monitoring and recording device  110  of  FIG. 2 , but there are differences in the implementation. In this system, there is no single point to which the monitoring and recording device  406  can be connected in order to monitor the conversation. Instead, the monitoring and recording device  406  may be attached to the network and assigned its own IP address. Data traffic from calls between an operator and a customer must be routed to the IP monitoring and recording device  406 . This can be done in several ways. One way is to force the operator IP telephone device  404  to forward all data, both received from the customer end and transmitted by the operator IP telephone device  404 , to the IP monitoring and recording device  406 . This would ensure that the IP monitoring and recording device  406  received all relevant data packets and therefore a full voice data stream from each party for monitoring and storage. 
   In another exemplary embodiment, the IP voice data could be routed to the IP monitoring and recording device  406  using an alternative method. Rather than requiring the operator telephone device  404  to forward the data to the IP monitoring and recording device  406 , the system could automatically create a conference call with the IP monitoring and recording device  406  every time an operator connects with an outside customer. The IP address of the IP monitoring and recording device  406  could be included automatically as part of the conference call, thereby ensuring that the IP monitoring and recording device  406  receives the speech data from both parties. Once a system is implemented which routes the data to the IP monitoring and recording device  406 , the system would function in much the same way as its analog counterpart described above, the only necessary change being different equipment used to perform the speech analysis and the use of a network protocol, e.g., Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). 
   Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof, various modifications, alterations and adaptations may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is intended that the invention be limited only by the appended claims.