111111
`
`1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
`US008135115Bl
`
`c12) United States Patent
`Hogg, Jr. et al.
`
`(10) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 8,135,115 B1
`Mar. 13, 2012
`
`(54) SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR
`MULTI-CHANNEL RECORDING
`
`(75)
`
`Inventors: JohnS. Hogg, Jr., Bedford, TX (US);
`Christopher R. McFarlen, Coppell, TX
`(US)
`
`(73) Assignee: Securus Technologies, Inc., Dallas, TX
`(US)
`
`( *) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 1512 days.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 11/603,938
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Nov. 22, 2006
`
`(51)
`
`(52)
`
`(58)
`
`Int. Cl.
`H04M 1164
`(2006.01)
`U.S. Cl. .................. 379/88.22; 370/260; 379/88.01;
`379/88.08; 379/88.19; 379/202.01; 379/207.01;
`704/270; 709/201
`Field of Classification Search .......... 370/259-271,
`370/351-356; 379/37-51, 67.1-88.28, 93.01-93.07,
`379/201.01,201.02,202.01-207.01, 265.01-266.1;
`704/270-278; 709/201-207, 217-244
`See application file for complete search history.
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`5,559,875 A *
`9/1996 Bieselin eta!. .......... 379/202.01
`6,249,570 B1 *
`6/2001 Glowny et al.
`. ........... 379/88.22
`6,298,129 B1 *
`10/2001 Culver eta!. ............ 379/202.01
`1112003 Milliorn et al.
`6,647,096 B1
`6,665,376 B1 *
`12/2003 Brown ............................ 379/85
`
`6,665,380 B1 *
`7,058,163 B1
`7,079,637 B1
`7,861,088 B1 *
`2005/0141678 A1 *
`2007/0036283 A1 *
`2007/0071206 A1 *
`2007/0133437 A1 *
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`12/2003 Cree eta!. .................. 379/88.25
`6/2006 Parekh eta!.
`7/2006 McNitt et al.
`12/2010 Brothers ....................... 713/178
`6/2005 Anders ........................ 379/67.1
`2/2007 Shaffer et a!. ................ 379/67.1
`3/2007 Gainsboro eta!. ............ 379/168
`6/2007 Wengrovitz eta!. .......... 370/260
`
`U.S. Appl. No. 10/135,878, filed Apr. 29,2002.
`U.S. Appl. No. 10/720,848, filed Nov. 24, 2003.
`U.S. Appl. No. 111334,522, filed Nov. 8, 2006.
`* cited by examiner
`
`Primary Examiner- Hemant Patel
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm- Fogarty, L.L.C.
`
`ABSTRACT
`(57)
`Embodiments of the present invention are directed generally
`to recording communication of a call utilizing a multi-chan(cid:173)
`nel recording technique. According to one exemplary
`embodiment, inbound communication from each party to a
`call (e.g., from each communication device that is party to a
`call) to a recording system is assigned to a separate channel,
`and communication on each channel is independently
`recorded. Further, during the call, a control channel is gener(cid:173)
`ated that correlates the multiple communication channels.
`The independently recorded communication channels and
`control channel may be used to analyze a recorded call from
`any desired perspective. For instance, communication from a
`given party may be analyzed in isolation. Further, the control
`channel enables the recorded multiple communication chan(cid:173)
`nels to be correlated such that the communication received
`(e.g., heard) by any selected party may be accurately re(cid:173)
`created for analysis thereof.
`
`28 Claims, 4 Drawing Sheets
`
`50
`\
`CALL PROCESSING SYSTEM
`
`13
`
`GTL 1001
`IPR of U.S. Pat. No. 8,135,115
`
`1
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Mar. 13, 2012
`
`Sheet 1 of 4
`
`US 8,135,115 B1
`
`FIG.l
`
`CALL PROCESSING SYSTEM
`
`CALL RECORDING SYSTEM
`
`14\-...
`
`13
`'-...
`
`15
`(-
`
`t'---
`
`COMMUNICATION
`
`- - CAPTURED FOR
`
`CHANNEL 11A
`
`__....
`
`__r-103A
`
`COMMUNICATION
`RECORDING LOGIC
`
`1~
`
`102
`/
`CONTROL CHANNEL
`GENERATOR
`
`COMMUNICATION
`CAPTURED FOR
`CHANNEL 12A
`
`v1038
`
`CONTROL CHANNEL
`CORRELATING
`CHANNELS 11 A AND 12A
`
`1'--104
`
`c HANNEL
`118../
`
`CHANNEL CHANNEL
`128../
`'-11A
`
`CHANNEL
`'-12A
`
`u~
`1../ e
`
`CICICICI
`DCCCI
`
`D
`
`1
`
`DODO
`
`OQCIQ
`ceo a
`
`• '---12
`~~
`
`OODCJ
`
`\
`10
`
`FIG. 2
`RECORDING MULTIPLE
`
`AS INDEPENDENT
`COMMUNICATION
`
`21 ' CHANNELS OF A CALL
`•
`
`GENERATING, DURING
`THE CALL, A CONTROL
`CHANNEL THAT
`CORRELATES THE
`MULTIPLE CHANNELS
`
`../
`22
`
`2
`
`

`
`""'"' u. = ""'"'
`
`""'"'
`"'u.
`""'"' w
`"'010
`rJl
`d
`
`0 .....
`N
`.....
`rFJ =(cid:173)
`
`('D
`('D
`
`.j;o.
`
`0 ....
`~ :-: ....
`~
`
`N
`
`~
`
`(.H
`
`N
`
`~ = ~
`
`~
`~
`~
`•
`00
`~
`
`--
`
`f'-304
`
`C, AND 0
`
`CHANNELS A, B,
`CORRELATING
`
`CONTROL CHANNEL
`
`..._
`
`......
`
`1'--3030
`
`CHANNEL D
`CAPTURED FOR
`COMMUNICATION
`
`1'--303C
`
`CHANNEL C
`CAPTURED FOR
`COMMUNICATION
`
`CHANNEL B
`CAPTURED FOR
`COMMUNICATION v-3038
`
`CALL RECORDING SYSTEM
`
`32/'
`
`1+-CONTROLLER
`
`MIX
`
`L_
`302
`
`305
`I
`
`RECORDER
`
`'
`
`r
`
`'
`
`301
`MIXER
`
`-
`
`QCICIIC • ~
`~~ CHANNEL A
`
`~
`
`IVR
`
`~./
`
`CHANNEL B
`
`ClClClCl
`
`QQCQ
`
`3
`
`311
`
`----
`i---
`33
`
`./303A
`
`CHANNEL A
`CAPTURED FOR
`COMMUNICATION
`
`1'---
`
`i
`30
`
`CHANNEL D
`
`c
`CHANNEL
`
`ClClClCl
`
`ClClClCl
`
`FIG. 3 • •
`~~ ~~
`
`cu:u:::aa
`~:~c:u::ag
`
`goc:u:a
`ll:n:u:u::~
`
`314
`
`313
`
`3
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Mar. 13, 2012
`
`Sheet 3 of 4
`
`US 8,135,115 B1
`
`FIG. 4
`r------------------------------------------1
`CONTROLLED
`33
`-
`(-
`
`311'-...
`
`gggQ
`
`FACILITY
`41 -
`
`.......__
`
`___.,
`
`COMMUNICATION
`CAPTURED FOR
`CHANNEL A
`
`v3o3A
`
`COMMUNICATION
`CAPTURED FOR
`CHANNEL B
`
`COMMUNICATION
`CAPTURED FOR
`CHANNEL C
`
`_r303B
`
`f- J
`
`_r303C
`
`CONTROL CHANNEL
`CORRELATING
`CHANNELS A,
`BAND C
`
`1'--304
`
`~~ ENVIRONMENT
`gQQCI e
`
`ecce
`
`-
`
`L
`
`-
`
`-
`IVR-
`-
`
`312
`
`MIXER
`
`I
`I
`I
`
`H
`3~ l ~2 --
`
`I
`I
`MIX
`CONTROLLER I
`32/ CALL RECORDING
`SYSTEM
`
`----
`
`)
`40
`
`CQI;:IICI
`
`313/ ~~ IE B
`
`coco
`
`FIG. 6
`
`600
`
`i
`
`RTP AUDIO
`CHANNELS
`6011-601N
`
`0
`
`0
`
`0
`
`AUDIO
`CONTROL
`602 ~ACKET LOSS, CHANNEL IDENTIFICATION, MIX CONTROL
`
`APPLICATION
`DATA
`603
`
`CDR DETAIL, CALL EVENTS
`
`EXTERNAL
`DATA
`604~0CATION EVENTS, OTHER DATA EXTERNAL TO THE CALL
`
`4
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Mar. 13, 2012
`
`Sheet 4 of 4
`
`US 8,135,115 B1
`
`FIG. 5
`
`50
`\
`
`CALL PROCESSING SYSTEM
`
`13 "\.,.
`
`14"\.,.
`
`CALL RECORDING SYSTEM
`
`I
`COMMUNICATION
`RECORDING LOGIC :
`1~
`102
`I
`I CONTROL CHANNEL I
`I
`
`GENERATOR
`
`OTHER CALL-RELATED
`DATA CAPTURE
`
`501
`
`INFORMATION
`
`DATE AND TIME I
`APPLICATION I
`503~ BIOMETRIC DATA I
`
`51/
`
`502
`
`DATA
`
`CHANNEL
`A
`
`CHANNEL
`B
`
`......__
`
`15
`(
`
`COMMUNICATION
`CAPTURED FOR
`CHANNEL A
`
`-----
`__r 1 03A
`
`COMMUNICATION
`CAPTURED FOR
`CHANNEL B
`
`v-1o3s
`
`CONTROL CHANNEL
`CORRELATING
`CHANNELS A AND B
`
`__r 104
`
`OTHER
`CALL-RELATED
`DATA
`
`I'-- 52
`
`5
`
`

`
`US 8,135,115 B1
`
`1
`SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR
`MULTI-CHANNEL RECORDING
`
`CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATIONS
`
`This application is related to co-pending and connnonly
`assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/135,878, filed
`Apr. 29, 2002, titled "INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
`AND MOVEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD"; Ser. No.
`10/720,848, filed Nov. 24, 2003, titled "INFORMATION
`MANAGEMENT AND MOVEMENT SYSTEM AND
`METHOD"; Ser. No. 10/420,585 filed Apr. 22, 2003, titled:
`"SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETECTING UNAU(cid:173)
`THORIZED CALL ACTIVITY"; Ser. No. 11/334,522 filed
`Jan. 18, 2006, titled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR KEY(cid:173)
`WORD DETECTION IN A CONTROLLED ENVIRON(cid:173)
`MENT FACILITY USING A HYBRID APPLICATION";
`and U.S. Pat. No. 7,058,163, titled "SYSTEM AND
`METHOD FOR EX POST FACTO PRESERVING A
`RECORDED CONVERSATION", the disclosures of which
`are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
`
`TECHNICAL FIELD
`
`The following description relates generally to call record(cid:173)
`ing systems and methods, and more particularly to systems
`and methods for recording a call via multiple channels.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`Correctional facilities have traditionally recorded tele(cid:173)
`phone conversations of its inmates. Such recordings may be
`conducted pursuant to a variety of rules that range anywhere
`from only recording conversations of calls made to specific 35
`telephone numbers, calls made by specific inmates or made
`using specific telephones, to recording every single call.
`Recording of inmate telephone calls is well known. Such
`recordings may be monitored by appropriate authorities to
`detect information regarding the security of facilities, con- 40
`tinning or past criminal activity, etc. Monitoring of the
`recordings may be performed manually (e.g., by a person
`listening to the recording) and/or may be performed roboti(cid:173)
`cally (or autonomously) by, for example, computer process(cid:173)
`ing logic for analyzing the recordings for certain keywords, 45
`etc. In some instances, the recordings may be stored for later
`use, such as for later investigations, later used as evidence in
`a court of law, etc.
`Various techniques for recording telephone calls are
`known. Examples of known recording techniques include 50
`those described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,647,096 titled "SYSTEM
`AND METHOD FOR REMOTELY CONTROLLING
`AUTOMATED CALL PLACEMENT CALL MONITOR(cid:173)
`ING FUNCTIONS," U.S. Pat. No. 6,665,376 titled "SELEC(cid:173)
`TIVELY ACTIVATED
`INTEGRATED REAL-TIME
`RECORDING OF TELEPHONE CONVERSATIONS
`WITH AUTOMATED DOCUMENTATION OF CONSENT
`TO CALL RECORDING," and those described in U.S. Pat.
`No. 7,058,163, titled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR EX
`POST FACTO PRESERVING A RECORDED CONYER- 60
`SATION", the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated
`herein by reference. Traditionally, telephone calls have been
`recorded using a "single-channel" recording. Such a single(cid:173)
`channel recording records audio of the call from a single
`perspective (or "point of view"). As examples, the recording 65
`may be from the perspective of the person originating the call
`(i.e., the audio heard by the originating party), from the per-
`
`2
`spective of the called party (i.e., the audio heard by the called
`party), or from the perspective of an eavesdropper to the call
`(i.e., the audio heard by an eavesdropper). In a case in which
`an interactive voice response (IVR) system is involved in the
`5 call, the call may be recorded from the perspective of such
`IVR.
`In some recording systems, the perspective of the record(cid:173)
`ing may change during a call. For instance, when a call is
`initiated, the recording system may start recording of the call
`10 from the perspective of the originating party. Then, the
`recording system may change its perspective to that of an IVR
`system that is managing the call (e.g., the IVR may interact
`with the originating party and/or called party to establish a
`payment arrangement for the call, etc.). For example, when
`15 the call is first connected to the called party an IVR may
`interact with the called party to inform the party of the inmate
`who originated the call and ask the called party whether he
`agrees to accept charges for the call. Audio from the IVR may
`be provided solely to the called party (e.g., the originating
`20 party may be temporarily switched away from the call so as
`not to hear the called party or the IVR). Thus, when recording
`from the IVR' s perspective, the audio from the called party is
`recorded, but any audio occurring on the originating party's
`side of the call during this portion of the call is not recorded.
`25 Thereafter, the originating party and called party may be
`connected together and the recording system may record an
`overall perspective of the audio being connnunicated during
`the call (e.g., recording from the perspective of an eavesdrop(cid:173)
`per to the call). However, the traditional recording systems
`30 use a single-channel recording, and thus for any given point
`during the call, a recording captures audio from a single
`perspective. Thus, while the perspective may change during
`the course of a call, at any given point of a call, the recording
`captures audio from only a single perspective.
`
`BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`The inventors of the present application have recognized
`that the above-mentioned single-channel recording technique
`has certain shortcomings. In some instances, such a single(cid:173)
`channel recording technique results in difficulty in a reviewer
`(either human or robotic reviewer) distinguishing what each
`party to a call said. For example, suppose a recording is being
`captured from an eavesdropper's perspective; in this case,
`where conversations overlap (e.g., two or more parties are
`speaking at the same time), it may be difficult to decipher
`what either party said. As a further example, suppose a
`recording is being captured from the perspective of an origi(cid:173)
`nating party; in some recording systems the audio from the
`originating party will not be captured as a result of steps taken
`by the system to prevent the originating party from hearing
`his own echo.
`Additionally, in some instances, background audio (back(cid:173)
`ground noise) on a call may be of great interest. In the tradi-
`55 tiona! single-channel recording techniques, the background
`audio of a given side of a call may not be recorded during
`certain portions of the call (e.g., because the party on that side
`of the call is switched away while an IVR interacts with a
`party on the other side of the call, etc.). Further, it may be
`difficult to distinguish which side of a call the background
`audio is from.
`Further, in many instances, it is desirable to re-create a call
`from the perspective of any selected party. For instance, it
`may be desirable to selectively hear a recorded call from the
`perspective of an originating party, or from the perspective of
`the called party, etc. With the traditional single-channel
`recording techniques, the recording is limited to capturing
`
`6
`
`

`
`US 8,135,115 B1
`
`3
`only a single perspective at a time. Thus, for a given portion of
`a call, a reviewer of a call is limited to a recording of only a
`single perspective in the traditional single-channel recording
`techniques, and the reviewer is unable to selectively listen to
`such portion of the call from a different perspective than that
`captured by the recording system. Accordingly, a desire exists
`for a recording system that enables greater flexibility in accu(cid:173)
`rately re-creating calls from many different perspectives.
`Embodiments of the present invention are directed gener(cid:173)
`ally to recording communication of a call utilizing a multi- 10
`channel recording technique. According to one exemplary
`embodiment, inbound communication from each party to a
`call (e.g., from each communication device that is party to a
`call) to a recording system is assigned to a separate channel,
`and communication on each channel is independently 15
`recorded. Further, during the call, a control channel is gener(cid:173)
`ated that correlates the multiple communication channels.
`The independently recorded communication channels and
`control channel may be used to analyze a recorded call from
`any desired perspective. For instance, communication from a 20
`given party may be analyzed in isolation. Further, the control
`channel enables the recorded multiple communication chan(cid:173)
`nels to be correlated such that the communication received
`(e.g., heard) by any selected party may be accurately re(cid:173)
`created for analysis thereof.
`Embodiments of the present invention have particular
`applicability within controlled-environment facilities for
`recording calls between a resident and other parties.
`Examples of controlled-environment facilities include cor(cid:173)
`rectional facilities (e.g., municipal jails, county jails, state 30
`prisons, federal prisons, military stockades, juvenile facili(cid:173)
`ties, detention camps, and home incarceration environments),
`healthcare facilities (e.g., hospitals, nursing homes, mental
`health facilities, and rehabilitation facilities, such as drug and
`alcohol rehabilitation facilities), restricted living quarters 35
`(e.g., hotels, resorts, camps, dormitories, and barracks), and
`the like. Certain controlled-environment facilities may be
`thought of as a small community or city, perhaps walled or
`otherwise access restricted, wherein various activities occur
`within the community and between the community and those 40
`outside the community in the daily operation thereof. Such a
`community may include a number of individuals and enter(cid:173)
`prises directly associated therewith, including management,
`staff, and inmates, residents, patients, or guests (herein
`referred to as "residents"), and a number of individuals and 45
`enterprises indirectly associated therewith, including friends
`and family of residents, vendors, government agencies, pro(cid:173)
`viders of services to residents, and individuals with a connec(cid:173)
`tion to the facility or its residents. Of course, as those of
`ordinary skill in the art will recognize, while embodiments 50
`the present invention have particular applicability to con(cid:173)
`trolled-environment facilities (because such facilities often
`have a desire to record calls), the concepts disclosed herein
`may likewise be employed in other environments.
`Embodiments of the present invention can be applied for 55
`recording various types of calls. As used herein, except where
`accompanying language expressly specifies otherwise, a
`"call" is intended to broadly refer to any communication
`between two or more parties which can be recorded. Thus, a
`"call" is not limited to telephony calls, but also encompasses 60
`various other types of communication, including text-based
`communication, video communication, etc. In certain
`embodiments of the present invention, the call being recorded
`is substantially a real-time communication between the par(cid:173)
`ties (e.g., as in telephony calls). Further, a telephony call is not 65
`limited to calls that are transmitted over a public-switched
`telephone network, but rather a telephony call may refer to a
`
`4
`voice call carried in whole or in part over a packet-switched
`network, such as a voice-over-IP (VoiP) call, a call conducted
`locally within a facility (e.g., as with known visitation tele(cid:173)
`phones commonly used in correctional facilities), etc.
`The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and
`technical advantages of the present invention in order that the
`detailed description of the invention that follows may be
`better understood. Additional features and advantages of the
`invention will be described hereinafter which form the sub(cid:173)
`ject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by
`those skilled in the art that the conception and specific
`embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for
`modifYing or designing other structures for carrying out the
`same purposes of the present invention. It should also be
`realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent con(cid:173)
`structions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the
`invention as set forth in the appended claims. The novel
`features which are believed to be characteristic of the inven(cid:173)
`tion, both as to its organization and method of operation,
`together with further objects and advantages will be better
`understood from the following description when considered
`in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be
`expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is
`provided for the purpose of illustration and description only
`25 and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present
`invention.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`For a more complete understanding of the present inven(cid:173)
`tion, reference is now made to the following descriptions
`taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in
`which:
`FIG. 1 shows an exemplary system according to one
`embodiment of the present invention;
`FIG. 2 shows an operational flow according to one embodi(cid:173)
`ment of the present invention;
`FIG. 3 shows an exemplary system according to one
`embodiment of the present invention;
`FIG. 4 shows an exemplary system employed for a con(cid:173)
`trolled-environment facility in accordance with one embodi(cid:173)
`ment of the present invention;
`FIG. 5 shows an exemplary system for recording various
`information for a call according to one embodiment of the
`present invention; and
`FIG. 6 shows an example of recorded information for a call
`according to one embodiment of the present invention.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
`
`FIG. 1 shows an exemplary system 10 according to one
`embodiment of the present invention. System 10 comprises a
`first communication device 11 and a second communication
`device 12, which are operable to communicate with each
`other. While two communication devices are shown for sim(cid:173)
`plicity in this example, any number of communication
`devices may participate in a call according to embodiments of
`the present invention. In this example, first and second com(cid:173)
`munication devices 11 and 12 are shown as telephones;
`although as discussed further herein, embodiments of the
`present invention are not limited in application to telephony
`communication devices. System 10 also comprises a call
`processing system 13, which is operable to process a call. Call
`processing system 13 may perform various types of process(cid:173)
`ing on a call, including billing the call, performing checks to
`ensure that the call is authorized (e.g., in the context of a
`correctional facility, an inmate may not be authorized to place
`
`7
`
`

`
`US 8,135,115 B1
`
`5
`6
`certain calls, such as calls to judges, victims, etc.), monitoring
`memory (RAM)), floppy disk, optical disk, Compact Disc
`for unauthorized events during the call (e.g., in certain en vi(cid:173)
`(CD), Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), and other data storage
`devices. Further the data stored thereto may be organized as
`ronments, such as in correctional facilities, certain enhanced
`any suitable data structure, including without limitation a file,
`telephony activities such as three-way calling are not permit(cid:173)
`database, etc.
`ted), etc. In this example, call processing system 13 includes
`During the call, control channel generator 102 generates a
`a call recording system 14, and thus call processing system 13
`control channel comprising information for correlating the
`is operable at least to record calls. Call recording system 14
`communication channels A and B, which is stored to data
`includes communication recording logic 101 and control
`channel generator 102. As described further below, commu(cid:173)
`storage medium 15 as control channel104. For instance, such
`nication recording logic 101 is operable to record communi- 10
`a control channel104 may include information for enabling
`cation for multiple channels of a call, while control channel
`time-wise correlation of the recorded audio captured for each
`of channels A and B. Such time-wise correlation indicates, for
`generator 102 generates a control channel that correlates the
`example, which inbound and outbound channels are commu(cid:173)
`recorded communications of the multiple channels.
`Thus, according to embodiments of the present invention,
`nicatively coupled at any point in the call. Thus, it can be
`determined from such correlation to which communication
`a multi-channel call recording system 14 is provided. For 15
`devices received communication sent from another commu-
`instance, each party to a call may be assigned a corresponding
`nication device. Therefore, according to certain embodiments
`channel, and independent recordings of communication on
`each channel are captured. In the example of FIG. 1, each of
`of the present invention, the control channel enables a call to
`communication devices 11 and 12 have an inbound channel
`be accurately reconstructed from many different perspectives
`(or inbound path) over which communication is directed from
`20 using the recorded channels. In certain embodiments, the
`such device "inbound" to recording logic 101, and an out(cid:173)
`control channel1 04, in addition to any synchronization infor(cid:173)
`mation, contains a "description" of the content for each chan(cid:173)
`bound channel (or outbound path) over which communica(cid:173)
`nel that includes such information as an indication of the
`tion is directed outbound from the recording logic to the
`relevant sources, input gain adjustments, and/or processing
`communication device. As described further herein, the
`inbound channel of each device is independently recorded by 25
`and output gain levels. The control channel1 04 may also deal
`with the recorded data on a "frame" basis that encompasses a
`communication recording logic 101. For example, in FIG. 1,
`period of time and designates starting and ultimately ending
`the inbound channel of communication device 11 is desig(cid:173)
`nated "channel11A," and an outbound channel for commu(cid:173)
`frame references for the defined content.
`nication device 11 is shown as outbound channel11B. Like(cid:173)
`Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention enable
`wise, the inbound channel of communication device 12 is
`30 a reviewer (a human reviewer, a robotic reviewer, or both) to
`designated "channel 12A," and the outbound channel for
`review the call from any desired perspective. For instance, a
`reviewer may analyze each of channels 11A and 12A inde(cid:173)
`communication device 12 is shown as outbound channel12B.
`In this sense, the inbound channels 11A and 12A are inbound
`pendently. Thus, the reviewer may review all audio of the call
`from the perspective of the recording logic 101. That is,
`(including background audio) inbound to the recording sys-
`inbound channels 11A and 12A carry communication from
`35 tern from telephone 11 via channel 11A by analyzing
`their respective communication devices 11 and 12, where
`recorded communication 103A. Similarly, the reviewer may
`review all audio of the call (including background audio)
`such communication is captured for recording by call record(cid:173)
`inbound to the recording system from telephone 12 via chan(cid:173)
`ing system 14. Thus, the communication carried over such
`inbound channels 11A and 12A may be considered as "out(cid:173)
`nel 12A by analyzing recorded communication 103B. Fur-
`bound communication" from the perspective of the respective
`40 ther, control channel 104 may be used to correlate the audio
`communication device 11 and 12, but is referred to herein as
`recorded for each communication channel to enable the
`reviewer to analyze the call from an eavesdropper's perspec(cid:173)
`an inbound channel because it is inbound from the perspec(cid:173)
`tive of the call recording system. Similarly, outbound chan(cid:173)
`tive.
`nels 11B and 12B are outbound from the perspective of the
`Turning to FIG. 2, an operational flow according to one
`recording logic 101. That is, outbound channels 11B and 12B 45
`embodiment of the present invention is shown. In operational
`carry communication to their respective communication
`block 21, multiple channels of a call are recorded as indepen(cid:173)
`devices 11 and 12. Thus, the communication carried over
`dent communication (e.g., independent audio). For instance,
`in the above example of FIG. 1, communication recording
`such outbound channels 11B and 12B may be considered as
`"inbound communication" from the perspective of the
`logic 101 records communication for channels 11A and 12A
`respective communication device 11 and 12, but is referred to 50
`independently as recorded communications 103A and 103B,
`herein as an outbound channel because it is outbound from the
`respectively. In operational block 22, a control channel is
`perspective of the call recording system.
`generated during the call for correlating the multiple commu(cid:173)
`Communication recording logic 101 records communica(cid:173)
`nication channels. For instance, in the above example of FIG.
`tion (e.g., audio) captured for channel11A (i.e., the inbound
`1, control channel generator 102 generates control channel
`path of communication device 11) to a data storage medium 55 104 that correlates the communication recordings 103A and
`15 as recorded communication 103A. Similarly, communica(cid:173)
`103B of channels 11A and 12A, respectively. As described
`tion recording logic 101 records communication (e.g., audio)
`further herein, such correlation generally refers to a determi(cid:173)
`nation of which communication channels were communica(cid:173)
`captured for channel12A (i.e., the inbound path of commu(cid:173)
`tively coupled at any given point during the call, and in certain
`nication device 12) to data storage medium 15 as recorded
`60 embodiments may include other information such as the
`communication 103B. Accordingly, independent recordings
`103A and 103B are captured for channels 11A and 12A,
`respective input gain adjustments, etc. for each channel. In
`other words, the correlation provides an accurate determina(cid:173)
`respectively. Thus, in the illustrated example, audio from
`tion of how the recorded channels fit together for accurately
`telephone 11 is recorded as recording 1 03A, while audio from
`telephone 12 is recorded as recording 103B. Data storage
`reconstructing a call from the perspective of a given party.
`FIG. 3 shows an exemplary system 30 according to one
`medium 15 may comprise any computer-readable medium 65
`now known or later developed for storing data, including
`embodiment of the present invention. System 30 comprises
`communication devices 31u 31 2 , 31 3 , and 314 , which are
`without limitation disk drive, memory (e.g., random access
`
`8
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`US 8,135,115 B1
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`7
`operable to communicate with each other. In this example,
`communication devices 31v 313 , and 314 are shown as tele(cid:173)
`phones; although as discussed further herein, embodiments
`of the present invention are not limited in application to
`telephony communication devices. Communication device
`31 2 is an IVR that participates on a call. Thus, various parties
`may participate on a call via communication devices 31 1-31 4
`(note that IVR 31 2 is considered a party to the call). While 4
`communication devices are shown in this example for partici(cid:173)
`pating on a call, any number of communication devices may 10
`participate during a given call in certain embodiments, and
`embodiments of the present invention are not limited as to the
`number of communication devices that may be participating
`on a call.
`System 30 also comprises call recording system 32, which
`may be implemented as part of a call processing 13 as shown
`in FIG. 1. This exemplary implementation of call recording
`system 32 includes a mixer 301 that controls who hears what
`at a given point in time. That is, mixer 301 controls which
`parties to a call are communicatively coupled to which other
`parties (e.g., controls which inbound audio received by the
`mixer 301 from a given party is to be sent to which other
`parties). In other words, mixer 301 controls the communica(cid:173)
`tive coupling of various inbound and outbound paths of par(cid:173)
`ties to a call. For example, an originating party may use
`telephone 31 1 to place a collect call to a called party at tele(cid:173)
`phone313. When the called party answers telephone 31 3 , IVR
`31 2 may interrupt the call and mixer 301 may switch the
`originating party out of the communication such that the
`originating party cannot hear via telephone 31 1 the commu(cid:173)
`nication between IVR 31 2 and the telephone 31 3 . IVR 31 2
`may inform the called party of the collect call from the origi(cid:173)
`nating party and ask the called party if he accepts the charges
`for the call. If the called party accepts the charges, then mixer
`301 may communicatively couple the telephones 31 1 and 31 3
`to each other such that the originating party can receive via
`telephone 31 1 communication from telephone 313 and vice(cid:173)
`versa. That is, if the called party accepts the charges for the
`call, mixer 301 may communicatively couple the inbound
`path of telephone 31 1 to mixer 301 with the outbound path of 40
`telephone 31 3 , and communicatively couple the inbound path
`of telephone 313 with the outbound path of telephone 31 1 .
`In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, a further party confer(cid:173)
`ences into the call and participates via telephone 314 . IVR31 2
`may interact with one or more of the parties when setting up
`such conference call, and mixer 301 may selectively couple
`the inbound and outbound paths of the various communica(cid:173)
`tion devices 31 1-314 during the course of establishing the
`conference call, as may be desired. Further, once established,
`mixer 301 may communicatively couple the outbound chan(cid:173)
`nels of each of telephones 31 1 and 313 -31 4 with the inbound
`channels of each other of telephones 31 1 and 31 3 -31 4 . Of
`course, during the call, mixer 301 may selectively change
`such coupling (e.g., a message from IVR 312 may be gener(cid:173)
`ated to one or more of the