Audio-video remote visitation telecommunications technology

• US 9,288,439 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2013
• Issued: 03/15/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TW Vending, Inc.
• Original Assignee: TW Vending, Inc.
• Inventors: Bloms, Eric, Westby, Todd, Halberg, Ben, Bengston, Sam
• Primary Examiner(s): Gauthier, Gerald
• Application Number:
  US14/136,886
• Publication Number:
  US 20140218466A1
• Time in Patent Office: 816 Days
• Field of Search: 235/382, 348/14.01, 348/14.03, 348/14.08, 348/14.09, 348/14.11, 348/14.12, 705/2, 705/3, 711/115, 340/870.01, 700/225
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/10 Services
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/26 Government or public services business processes related to the transportation industry G06Q50/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4038 with floor control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/152 Multipoint control units therefor

Abstract

A telecommunications system for use in a secure facility such as a jail, prison or the like. The systems, devices and methods disclosed provide telecommunications, email, other messaging, financial services, vending, and commissary or canteen services for inmates of a secure facility with respect to family, friends and others. The system also includes a system for video visitation via audio-visual communication. The system includes a phone server adapted to be communicatively connected to an external service provider; a monitoring station communicatively connected to the phone server; an account manager server communicatively connected to the phone server, and at least one telecommunications device disposed at the secure facility for use by the inmate and which is communicatively connected to the phone server. A method of telecommunicating, including video visitation, via the system is also disclosed.

Claims

1. A system for providing audio-visual telecommunications between a resident inside a secure facility and at least one person outside the secure facility via a smart phone mobile device, and for management of such audio-visual telecommunications by an administrator of the secure facility, comprising:

at least one audio-visual telecommunications device disposed at the secure facility for use by the resident, the secure facility audio-visual telecommunications device adapted to be communicatively connected to an external streaming platform communicatively connected to the secure facility audio-visual telecommunications device via real time messaging protocol (RTMP) through a flash object flex communicatively connected between the secure facility audio-visual telecommunications device and the streaming platform and through a flash object air communicatively connected between the streaming platform and the person outside the secure facility; and

an audio-visual account management server communicatively connected to the at least one secure facility audio-visual telecommunications device, the audiovisual account management server being communicatively connected to the secure facility audio-visual telecommunications device and to the person outside the secure facility by hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP or HTTPS) and wherein the audiovisual account management server includes an inmate canteen web service, a database, and a monitoring and control web interface, and wherein the secure facility audio-visual telecommunications device, the streaming platform, by way of the flash object air, and the audio-visual account management server, by way of an RTMP flash object, are adapted to be communicatively connectible to at least one audio-visual communications smart phone mobile device disposed outside the secure facility for use by the at least one person outside the secure facility.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the secure facility is an institution selected from the group of institutions consisting of a jail, a detention center, a short term corrections facility, a penitentiary, a prison and a mental health institution;

wherein the resident is a person selected from the group of persons consisting of an inmate, a prisoner and a patient;

wherein the administrator is a person selected from the group of persons consisting of a sheriff, an officer, a guard, a warden, a jailer, and a mental health worker, and wherein the at least one person outside secure facility is selected from the group of persons consisting of a family member, a friend, an acquaintance, and an attorney.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the telecommunications between the resident of the secure facility and the at least one person outside the secure facility further includes telecommunications selected from the group of communications consisting of voice, SMS text, IM, and email;

and wherein management of telecommunications is selected from the group of activities consisting of monitoring, recording, controlling and documenting communications and transactions of the resident.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the controlling activities are selected from the group of activities consisting of video visitation blocking, blacklisting, email notification, section/station setting, attorney video visitation status, and deferred video visitation status.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the person outside the secure facility is further able to electronically deposit funds or credits to an account of the resident at the secure facility, the account funding products and services at the secure facility selected from the group of products and services consisting of audio-visual communications, voice communications, vending drink, snacks and food items, and commissary items such as personal care items, books, videos, clothing and apparel, and blankets;

and wherein the administrator is further able to monitor, audit and manage the account of the resident.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one audio-visual telecommunications device disposed at the secure facility is a device selected from the group of devices consisting of a personal computer (PC), and an audio-visual telecommunications kiosk;

and wherein the person outside the secure facility communicatively connects with the system by a device adapted to connect to the audio-visual management server and the external streaming platform, including a PC and an audio-visual telecommunications kiosk, in addition to the smart phone mobile device.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the audio-visual account management server controls video visitation permissions, video visitation charging, recording and monitoring.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the audio-visual account management server further functions to pause, fast forward, and rewind a recorded audio-visual telecommunications stream, and to stop a live call in progress.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the audio-visual account management server further functions to process calling rules.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the audio-visual account manager server stores and processes information about the resident, the at least one person outside the secure facility.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the audio-visual account manager server is a further comprises a TEAM Server provided by Team Software of Hudson, Wis. USA.

12. The system of claim 1, further comprising storage means connected to the audio-visual account management server.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising server side action script communicatively between the audio-visual account management server and the streaming platform to permit hypertext transfer protocol communication therebetween.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one secure facility audio-visual telecommunications devices includes a plurality of audio-visual resident kiosks.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the external streaming platform consists of an Influxis streaming platform.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the system includes the external streaming platform.

17. A system for providing audio-visual telecommunications between an inmate inside a correctional facility, the facility being of the type having a public lobby, visitor center, or booking area in addition to secure inmate resident section, and at least one non-inmate family member, friend or attorney outside the secure facility, and for management of such audio-visual telecommunications by an administrator of the secure facility, comprising:

a. at least one inmate audio-visual telecommunications kiosk disposed at the secure facility in the secure inmate resident section for use by the inmate;

b. a streaming platform having;

i. a real time messaging protocol (RTMP) communication link including;

1. a flash object flex connection to the inmate kiosk,

2. a flash object air, and

3. a flash object, and

ii. a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP/HTTPS) communication link;

c. an audio-visual account management server communicatively connected to the at least one secure facility inmate kiosk, and wherein the audio-visual account management server includes;

i. an inmate canteen web server having a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP/HTTPS) communication link connected to the inmate kiosk and to the streaming platform,

ii. a database connected to the web server via the HTTP/HTTPS link, and

iii. a monitoring and control web interface connected to the web server via the HTTP/HTTPS link;

d. at least one public visitation audio-visual telecommunications kiosk disposed in the public lobby, visitor center or booking area at the secure facility for use by the at least one non-inmate family member, friend or attorney, the at least one public visitation telecommunications kiosk being communicatively connected to the streaming platform via the RTMP flash object flex;

e. at least one PC disposed outside the secure facility for use by at least one non-inmate family member, friend or attorney, the PC being communicatively connected to the streaming platform RTMP flash object and to the inmate canteen webserver HTTP/HTTPS link;

f. at least one mobile device disposed outside the secure facility for use by at least one non-inmate family member, friend or attorney, the mobile device being communicatively connected to the streaming platform RTMP flash object air and to the inmate canteen webserver HTTP/HTTPS communication link;

g. wherein audio-visual telecommunications between the inmate and the at least one non-inmate family member, friend or attorney is selected from the group of communications consisting of voice, SMS text, IM, email, and audio-visual by way of the inmate kiosks and the public visitation kiosks, the PCs and the mobile devices; and

wherein management of telecommunications is selected from the group of activities consisting of monitoring, recording, controlling and documenting audio-visual visitation and transactions of the inmate.

18. A method for audio-visually telecommunicating between a resident inside a secure facility and at least one person outside the secure facility, and for management of such telecommunication by an administrator of the secure facility, comprising the steps of (a) providing a system including (i) at least one audio-visual telecommunications device disposed at the secure facility for use by the resident, the secure facility audio-visual telecommunications device adapted to be communicatively connected to an external streaming platform;

(ii) an audio-visual account management server communicatively connected to the at least one secure facility telecommunications device communications between the secure facility device and the streaming platform being by remote real time messaging protocol (RTMP), and communications between the secure facility device and the management server being by hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP/HTTPS), and (b) making an incoming audio-visual chat from at least one person outside the secure facility to the resident inside the secure facility.

19. The method for telecommunicating of claim 18, wherein the step of making an incoming video chat comprises the steps of determining whether the resident is in an active video section, verifying that a chat is authorized, displaying an answer message to the resident, and connecting the at least one person outside the secure facility and the resident.

20. The method of claim 18 further comprising the step of making an outgoing video chat from the resident to at least one person outside the secure facility.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the step of making an outgoing call comprises the steps of receiving an video chat request, verifying that the resident is authorized to make an outgoing video chat, and sending a chat request to the at least one person outside the secure facility.