Reproduction of a voice and video session

• US 5,991,373 A
• Filed: 09/15/1997
• Issued: 11/23/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Teknekron Infoswitch Corp. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Fox, John A., Machalica, David, Pattison, Jon A.
• Primary Examiner(s): WOO, STELLA L
• Application Number:
  US08/929,490
• Time in Patent Office: 799 Days
• Field of Search: 379/93.17, 379/93.21, 379/93.23, 379/93.24, 379/93.25, 379/100.08, 379/100.09, 379/100.11, 379/265, 379/266, 379/309, 379/93.14, 395/557, 395/200.33, 395/200.38, 348/6.7, 348/15
• US Class Current: 379/93.17
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42221 Conversation recording systems at the subscriber's set H04M1/656
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/51 Centralised call answering arrangements requiring operator intervention , e.g. call or contact centers for telemarketing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q

Abstract

A communication system for reproducing a voice and video session includes a call center having a voice server and a video server. The call center also includes agent and supervisor workstations with computers and associated voice instruments. The voice server records and communicates voice segments associated with the session using a voice path. The computers at the agent and supervisor workstations retrieve the video segment captured and stored by the video server, and display the video segment adjusted in time to reproduce the session.

Claims

1. A system for reproducing a session having a voice segment and a video segment, comprising:

a voice server that stores the voice segment associated with the session;

a video server that stores the video segment associated with the session, the video segment having a plurality of video intervals, each video interval comprising video data and an associated interval offset; and

a client having an associated voice instrument that communicates the voice segment, and a display that displays the video data for each video interval adjusted in time by the associated interval offset and by a client offset to reproduce the session, wherein the client offset indicates a difference between a first clock at the voice server and a second clock at the client.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein each video interval represents video activity for a fixed interval of time.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein each video interval represents video activity for a fixed interval of time, the video segment further comprises adjacent video intervals spaced apart by more than the fixed interval of time.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the video data comprises screen draw commands.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the voice server directs the client to begin displaying the video segment at a start time adjusted by the client offset.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the voice server communicates the voice segment to the associated voice instrument using a voice path.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising a switch to establish a voice path between the voice server and the associated voice instrument of the client, wherein the voice server communicates the voice segment to the associated voice instrument using the voice path.

8. A method for reproducing a session having a voice segment and a video segment, comprising:

storing the voice segment associated with the session;

storing the video segment associated with the session, the video segment having a plurality of video intervals, each video interval comprising video data and an associated interval offset;

communicating the voice segment to a voice instrument;

determining a client offset indicating a difference between a first clock at a voice server and a second clock at a client; and

displaying the video data for each video interval adjusted in time by the associated interval offset and the associated client offset to reproduce the session.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein each video interval represents video activity for a fixed interval of time.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein each video interval represents video activity for a fixed interval of time, and the video segment further comprises adjacent video intervals spaced apart by more than the fixed interval of time.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the video data comprises screen draw commands.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of communicating the voice segment comprises:

establishing a voice path between a voice server and the voice instrument via a switch; and

communicating the voice segment from the voice server to the voice instrument using the voice path.

13. A method for reproducing a voice and video session at a client, comprising:

receiving a selection of the session, the session identifying a voice segment and a video segment of the session;

terminating a voice path at a voice instrument associated with the client;

receiving, at the client, the video segment associated with the session, the video segment having a plurality of video intervals, each video interval comprising video data and an associated interval offset;

receiving the voice segment at the voice instrument using the voice path; and

displaying, on a display at the client, the video data for each video interval adjusted in time by the associated interval offset and by an associated client offset to reproduce the session, wherein the client offset indicates a difference between a first clock at the client and a second clock at a voice server that communicates the voice segment to the voice instrument using the voice path.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein each video interval represents video activity for a fixed interval of time.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein each video interval represents video activity for a fixed interval of time, and the video segment further comprises adjacent video intervals spaced apart by more than the fixed interval of time.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the video data comprises screen draw commands.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of terminating a voice path at the voice instrument comprises placing a call from a voice server to the voice instrument via a switch.

18. A system for reproducing a session having a voice segment and a video segment, comprising:

a voice server that stores the voice segment associated with the session;

a video server that stores the video segment associated with the session; and

a client having an associated voice instrument that communicates the voice segment, and a display that displays the video segment adjusted in time by a video segment offset to reproduce the session, the video segment offset indicating a difference in time between the beginning of the session and the beginning of the video segment.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the voice instrument further communicates the voice segment adjusted in time by a voice segment offset indicating a difference in time between the beginning of the session and the beginning of the voice segment.

20. The system of claim 18, further comprising a memory that stores a segment table, the segment table having a plurality of entries, wherein each entry comprises a session identifier, a segment, and a segment offset indicating a difference in time between the beginning of the session and the beginning of the segment.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the segment comprises a voice segment, a video segment, a voice annotation segment, or a video annotation segment.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein the segment offset comprises a voice segment offset, a video segment offset, a voice annotation segment offset, or a video annotation segment offset.

23. The system of claim 18, wherein the voice server directs the client to begin displaying the video segment at a start time adjusted by the video segment offset.

24. A method for reproducing a session having a voice segment and a video segment, comprising:

storing the voice segment associated with the session;

storing the video segment associated with the session;

communicating the voice segment to a voice instrument;

displaying the video segment adjusted in time by a video segment offset, the video segment offset indicating a difference in time between the beginning of the session and the beginning of the video segment.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the step of communicating comprises communicating the voice segment to a voice instrument adjusted in time by a voice segment offset, the voice segment offset indicating a difference in time between the beginning of the session and the beginning of the voice segment.

26. The method of claim 24, further comprising storing a segment table, the segment table having a plurality of session identifiers, wherein each session identifier associates one of a plurality of sessions with a segment and a segment offset, the segment offset indicating a difference in time between the beginning of the session and the beginning of the segment.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the segment comprises a voice segment, a video segment, a voice annotation segment, or a video annotation segment.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein the segment offset comprises a voice segment offset, a video segment offset, a voice annotation segment offset, or a video annotation segment offset.

29. A method for reproducing a voice and video session at a client, comprising:

receiving a selection of the session, the session identifying a voice segment and a video segment of the session;

receiving, at the voice instrument, the voice segment associated with the session;

receiving, at the client, the video segment associated with the session;

communicating the voice segment at the voice instrument; and

displaying, on a display at the client, the video segment adjusted in time by a video segment offset, the video segment offset indicating a difference in time between the beginning of the session and the beginning of the video segment.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the step of communicating comprises communicating the voice segment at the voice instrument adjusted in time by a voice segment offset, the voice segment offset indicating a difference in time between the beginning of the session and the beginning of the voice segment.