Importance

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Abstract

A telephone operator voice storage and retrieval system is capable of presenting to the caller a played-back, previously recorded response message in the actual voice of the operator on duty at the time. The operator is also able to follow-up the played-back, previously recorded response message with a conversation with the caller, without the caller detecting a change in the characteristics of the caller's perceived operator voice. The storage and retrieval system employs a voice analyzer/synthesizer coupled between a response message memory and an audio inteface to the operator's audio equipment (headset). After the storage of a series of response messages, prepared by the operator, the system is ready for use in answering incoming calls. In this playback mode, as incoming calls are monitored, the appropriate operator's voice enunciated response message is accessed from memory and, via the voice synthesizer and an audio interface, that message is played back to the caller. When the caller speaks again, the operator, who has been on-line the entire time but has been relieved of the need to actually recite the response phrase, now proceeds to converse with the caller. The audio interface contains automatic level control circuitry which ensures that there is effectively no difference in the recorded voice played back to the caller and the 'live' voice spoken by the operator. As a result, the storage and retrieval system is listener transparent.

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First Claim