Computer-based method and apparatus for controlling, monitoring, recording and reporting telephone access

• US 6,920,209 B1
• Filed: 12/19/2002
• Issued: 07/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Securus Technologies Incorporated (Securus Special Investments LLC)
• Original Assignee: T-Netix, Inc. (Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp.)
• Inventors: Gainsboro, Jay L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Foster, Roland G.
• Application Number:
  US10/327,248
• Time in Patent Office: 943 Days
• Field of Search: 379/91.01, 379/91.62, 379/112, 379/143, 379/144, 379/145, 379/101, 379/108, 379/189, 379/196, 379/198, 379/199, 379/200, 379/34, 379/35, 379/207.01, 379/207.02, 379/207.11, 379/211.01, 379/211.02, 379/216.02, 379/211.03, 379/114.01, 379/114.41, 379/112.01, 379/144.01, 379/85.16, 379/188, 379/249
• US Class Current: 379/188
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/02 providing ringing current or supervisory tones, e.g. dialling tone or busy tone
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/41 using speaker recognition speaker recognition per se G10L17/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2281 Call monitoring, e.g. for law enforcement purposes; Call tracing; Detection or prevention of malicious calls
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/36 Statistical metering, e.g. recording occasions when traffic exceeds capacity of trunks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/38 Graded-service arrangements, i.e. some subscribers prevented from establishing certain connections queuing arrangements H04Q3/64
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/382 using authorisation codes or passwords
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/385 using speech signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/387 using subscriber identification cards
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42221 Conversation recording systems at the subscriber's set H04M1/656
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/56 Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities video conference systems H04N7/15

Abstract

A method and apparatus for managing institutional telephone activity utilizes a computer control unit to control a trunk management unit, which connects institutional telephones to outside telephone lines. The computer control unit contains a database for storing the calling privileges and restrictions of institutional users and for recording calling transactions made by the users. The computer control unit implements a prospective call screening feature whereby outside recipients of undesired calls from the institution may enter a code that directs the computer control unit to prohibit similar calls in the future.

Claims

1. A method of managing telephone activity from an institution, comprising:

receiving a telephone number associated with a destination party outside the institution over an institutional telephone from an institutional caller for placing a telephone call to the destination party; and

blocking a mouthpiece of the institutional telephone and while the institutional telephone is blocked;

calling the telephone number associated with the destination party;

identifying the institutional caller to the destination party; and

providing the destination party with call-blocking directions, wherein the call-blocking directions describe how to block future calls from an institutional caller set that comprises at least one of the institutional caller, a portion of calling parties within the institution, or a portion of calling parties from within more than one institution.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the institutional caller to the destination party further comprises providing a name of the institutional caller.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the destination party with call-blocking directions further comprises providing the destination party with a voice message describing how to block future calls from the institutional caller set.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving dual-tone multi-frequency (“

DTMF”

) tones from the destination party, the DTMF tones indicative of whether to prohibit the institutional caller from calling the destination party in the future.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising decoding the received DTMF tones by the institutional telephone system.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising comparing the decoded DTMF tones to a predetermined DTMF control code sequence.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing data representative of calling privileges of the institutional caller in a database.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein blocking of the institutional telephone is performed by a trunk management unit controlled by a microprocessor.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the destination party with call-blocking directions is performed by a computer system.

10. A method of managing telephonic communications, comprising:

placing a telephone call to a telephone number associated with a destination party by telephony equipment;

blocking a mouthpiece of the telephony equipment associated with the institutional calling party;

inserting a call-blocking message into the telephone call to the telephone number by the telephony equipment that placed the telephone call, the call-blocking message including call-blocking directions; and

receiving a tone-based call-blocking instruction in accordance with the call-blocking directions that requests blocking of future telephone calls to the telephone number for calls placed by an institutional caller set.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein receiving a tone-based call-blocking instruction further comprises receiving DTMF tones.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising decoding the received DTMF tones by the telephony equipment associated with the calling party.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising comparing the decoded DTMF tones to a predetermined DTMF control code sequence to determine whether to prohibit the institutional calling party from calling the destination party in the future.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising storing data representative of calling privileges of the institutional calling party in a database.

15. The method of claim 10 wherein blocking the mouthpiece of the telephony equipment is performed by a trunk management unit controlled by a microprocessor.