Controlled-environment facility digital bulletin board

• US 10,452,337 B1
• Filed: 11/29/2016
• Issued: 10/22/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Securus Technologies Incorporated (Securus Special Investments LLC)
• Original Assignee: Securus Technologies Incorporated (Securus Special Investments LLC)
• Inventors: Clements, Alice J., Higgs, Joseph, Smith, Matthew
• Primary Examiner(s): Ahn, Sejoon
• Application Number:
  US15/364,090
• Time in Patent Office: 1,057 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1454 involving copying of the display data of a local workstation or window to a remote workstation or window so that an actual copy of the data is displayed simultaneously on two or more displays, e.g. teledisplay
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/14 Solving problems related to the presentation of information to be displayed
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• 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 controlled-environment facility and/or communications management system interface accepts definition of a digital bulletin board message directed to at least one controlled-environment facility resident, accepts assignment of a priority for displaying the digital bulletin board message on the digital bulletin board and a schedule for display of the digital bulletin board message and accepts assignment of the digital bulletin board message to controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device(s) disposed in the controlled-environment facility. The digital bulletin board message(s) are received by the controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device(s) to which the digital bulletin board message is assigned, and are displayed by the controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device(s) to which the digital bulletin board message(s) are assigned, in accordance with the assigned priority and the schedule for display of the digital bulletin board message(s).

Claims

1. A controlled-environment facility digital bulletin board message system comprising:

a controlled-environment facility management system and/or controlled-environment facility communications management system configured to;

run a controlled-environment facility management interface on top of, or as part of, a controlled-environment facility and/or communications management system operating system;

accept, via the controlled-environment facility and/or communications management interface;

a definition of a digital bulletin board message directed to at least one controlled-environment facility resident;

assignment of a priority for displaying the digital bulletin board message on a digital bulletin board;

a schedule for display of the digital bulletin board message;

assignment of the digital bulletin board message to at least one controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device disposed in a controlled-environment facility; and

send the digital bulletin board message to the at least one controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device to which the digital bulletin board message is assigned for display in accordance with the assigned priority for display of the digital bulletin board message on the digital bulletin board and in accordance with the schedule for display of the digital bulletin board message.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the controlled-environment facility is a correctional facility and the controlled-environment facility resident is an inmate.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the definition of the digital bulletin board message includes text to be included in the digital bulletin board message.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the definition of the digital bulletin board message includes at least one graphic to be included in the digital bulletin board message.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the definition of the digital bulletin board message includes an interaction mechanism to be included in the digital bulletin board message.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the interaction mechanism comprises a link to an application program relevant to at least a portion of the digital bulletin board message, and wherein display of the digital bulletin board message further comprises:

receiving, by a controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device that is displaying the digital bulletin board message, interaction by a resident with the interaction mechanism in the displayed digital bulletin board message; and

opening the application program, in response to the interaction with the interaction mechanism, for further interaction with the resident.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the controlled-environment facility and/or communications management system is further configured to define the interaction mechanism to receive, via a controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device that is displaying the digital bulletin board message, interaction by a resident with the interaction mechanism in the displayed digital bulletin board message, and wherein the at least one controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device is further configured to:

pause display of other digital bulletin board messages on the controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device displaying the digital bulletin board message in response to the interaction; and

resume display of digital bulletin board messages assigned to the controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device displaying the digital bulletin board message, in accordance with the assigned priority and schedule for display of the digital bulletin board messages assigned to the controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device displaying the digital bulletin board message, after a predetermined time.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the digital bulletin board message is sent to the at least one controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device by the controlled-environment facility and/or communications management system facility, and is received by the at least one controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device, as an update of existing digital bulletin board messages assigned to the at least one controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further comprises the at least one controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device, and the at least one controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device is at least one personal computer wireless device adapted and/or approved for use in controlled-environment facility.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further comprises the at least one controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device, and the at least one controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device is at least one video phone particularly adapted for use in a controlled-environment facility.

11. A method for providing a resident-facing digital bulletin board in a controlled-environment facility, comprising:

accepting, via a controlled-environment facility management system and/or controlled-environment facility communications management system interface, a definition of a digital bulletin board message directed to at least one controlled-environment facility resident;

accepting, via the controlled-environment facility management system and/or controlled-environment facility communications management system interface, assignment of a priority for displaying the digital bulletin board message on a digital bulletin board and a schedule for display of the digital bulletin board message;

accepting, via the controlled-environment facility management system and/or controlled-environment facility communications management system interface, assignment of the digital bulletin board message to at least one controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device disposed in a controlled-environment facility;

receiving the digital bulletin board message by the at least one controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device to which the digital bulletin board message is assigned; and

displaying the digital bulletin board message, by the at least one controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device to which the digital bulletin board message is assigned, in accordance with the assigned priority for displaying the digital bulletin board message on the digital bulletin board and the schedule for display of the digital bulletin board message.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the controlled-environment facility is a correctional facility and the controlled-environment facility resident is an inmate.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the definition of the digital bulletin board message includes text to be included in the digital bulletin board message.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the definition of the digital bulletin board message includes an at least one graphic to be included in the digital bulletin board message.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the definition of the digital bulletin board message includes interaction mechanism to be included in the digital bulletin board message.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising accepting definition of an application program relevant to at least a portion of the digital bulletin board message as the interaction mechanism, and wherein displaying the digital bulletin board message further comprises:

receiving, by a controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device displaying the digital bulletin board message, interaction by a resident with at least the portion of the displayed digital bulletin board message; and

opening the application program relevant to the digital bulletin board message for further interaction with the resident.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein displaying the digital bulletin board message further comprises:

receiving, by a controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device displaying the digital bulletin board message, interaction by a resident with the displayed digital bulletin board message;

pausing display of other digital bulletin board messages on the controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device displaying the digital bulletin board message; and

resuming display of digital bulletin board messages assigned to the controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device, in accordance with the assigned priority and schedule for display of the digital bulletin board messages assigned to the controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device after a predetermined time.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the digital bulletin board message is sent to the at least one controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device by the controlled-environment facility communications management system as an update of existing digital bulletin board messages assigned to the at least one controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device, and is received by the at least one controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device, as an update of existing digital bulletin board messages assigned to the at least one controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device is at least one personal computer wireless device adapted and/or approved for use in controlled-environment facility.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device is at least one video phone particularly adapted for use in a controlled-environment facility.

21. A tangible non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having program instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by one or more controlled-environment facility associated computer systems cause the one or more controlled-environment facility associated computer systems to:

run a controlled-environment facility management system and/or controlled-environment facility communications management interface on top of, or as part of, a controlled-environment facility management system and/or controlled-environment facility communications and/or management system operating system;

accept, via the controlled-environment facility management system and/or controlled-environment facility communications management system interface, a definition of a digital bulletin board message directed to at least one controlled-environment facility resident;

accept, via the controlled-environment facility management system and/or controlled-environment facility communications management system interface, assignment of a priority for displaying the digital bulletin board message on a digital bulletin board and a schedule for display of the digital bulletin board message;

accept, via the controlled-environment facility management system and/or controlled-environment facility communications management system interface, assignment of the digital bulletin board message to at least one controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device disposed in a controlled-environment facility;

receive the digital bulletin board message by the at least one controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device to which the digital bulletin board message is assigned; and

display the digital bulletin board message, by the at least one controlled-environment resident communication and/or media device to which the digital bulletin board message is assigned, in accordance with the assigned priority for displaying the digital bulletin board message on the digital bulletin board and the schedule for display of the digital bulletin board message.