Remote web-based visitation system for prisons

• US 9,609,269 B2
• Filed: 07/07/2015
• Issued: 03/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HomeWAV, LLC
• Original Assignee: HomeWAV, LLC
• Inventors: Humphries, Gary James
• Primary Examiner(s): Anwah, Olisa
• Application Number:
  US14/793,350
• Publication Number:
  US 20160191849A1
• Time in Patent Office: 630 Days
• Field of Search: 348/14.01, 348/14.07, 348/14.03, 348/14.12
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/14 specially adapted for billing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/14 Systems for two-way working H04N7/12, H04N7/173 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/141 between two video terminals, e.g. videophone telephonic communication systems combined with television receiver for reception of entertainment or information matter H04M11/085
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/148 Interfacing a video terminal to a particular transmission medium, e.g. ISDN

Abstract

A web-based video conferencing system and method for providing remote visitation with inmates incarnated in a prison. All visitations are initiated by the inmates and no endpoint control by prison personnel is required. “Jail-hardened” terminals in the prison communicate via Internet with visitor Internet-enabled devices. Payment for services is paid by visitors using an on-line payment service relieving prison personnel of any handling of money. All calls (excluding clergy, lawyers, etc.) are typically recorded and no routine monitoring is required by prison personnel. Inmates use the “jail-hardened” terminals to initiate video conference using only a 12-key telephone style keypad. A fee-per-minute is charged. Time is tracked for each call and the call duration and remaining time for a call based upon the maximum allowed call length and an inmate'"'"'s available minutes are displayed for both the visitor and the inmate.

Claims

1. A web-based audio/video visitation system for prisons providing only inmate initiated web-based audio and video communications on a prepaid per-minute basis, comprising:

a webserver having a processor and non-transitory memory with computer executable instructions to host the web-based audio/video visitation web service over an Internet, the webserver having an administrative interface that hosts an administrative user web-interface on an administrative system and being associated with a prison in which a particular inmate is located, an inmate-visitor interface that hosts an inmate-visitor user web-interface on a workstation of a inmate-visitor that is a registered inmate-visitor of the particular inmate and that is located remote from a location of the particular inmate, and an inmate interface that hosts an inmate user web-interface on an inmate terminal accessible by the particular inmate and that is enabled to receive inputs from the particular inmate that includes a request for establishing a web-based communication to the workstation of the inmate-visitor;

wherein the inmate interface is configured to interface to the inmate terminal that is disposed in the prison and is operatively connected to and communicative therewith via the Internet, the hosted inmate user web-interface utilizing at the inmate terminal the receiving and providing of audio and video using a speaker, a microphone, a video display and a video camera, associated with the inmate terminal and that is operatively connected via the Internet to the inmate interface using an inmate terminal network interface;

and wherein the inmate-visitor interface of the webserver and the webserver are configured to operatively communicate with the inmate-visitor workstation of the registered inmate-visitor the Internet and to receive a registration of the inmate-visitor for the particular inmate with the registration including an Internet address of the inmate-visitor workstation of the inmate-visitor and a name of the inmate-visitor, to enable the inmate-visitor workstation to provide an inmate-visitor user web-interface providing audio and video communication therewith using a video display, a video camera, a microphone and a speaker of the inmate-visitor workstation by communicating with the inmate-visitor workstation of an inmate-visitor network interface of the inmate-visitor workstation that is operatively connected to the Internet and therefore to the inmate-visitor interface of the webserver;

the webserver configured

to operatively communicate over the administrative interface with the administrative system via the Internet for managing the inmate interface, the inmate-visitor interface, and the web-based audio/video communication over the Internet as initiated by the particular inmate using the inmate user web-interface at the inmate terminal;

to receive from the inmate interface an inmate-visitor a selection of a number of non-visit specific pre-paid minutes of communication time between the inmate-visitor and the particular inmate that will be applicable for one or more audio/video communications therebetween;

to receive pre-paid per-minute funds from an Internet based payment service operatively connected to the webserver;

to store in a database information related to both the particular inmate and the inmate-visitor name and Internet identification and address as received by the inmate-visitor workstation and the received non-visit specific per-paid minute funds from the inmate-visitor of the particular inmate;

to provide over the inmate interface a displayed listing of the name of the registered inmate-visitor;

to receive over the inmate interface a selection of the inmate of the displayed listed name of the registered inmate-visitor to which the inmate wishes to make a current web-based communication;

to receive a request from the inmate over the inmate interface to establish web-based communication between the inmate and the selected inmate-visitor;

to verify a current authority of the inmate to have a communication with the selected inmate-visitor;

to verify an availability of non-visit specific pre-paid minute funds associated with the inmate and the selected inmate-visitor;

to establish the inmate initiated web-based audio and video communications between the inmate-visitor interface of the selected inmate-visitor and the inmate interface of the inmate responsive to the received selection and request from the inmate, the established web-based communication forming a visit;

to monitor a duration of the established inmate initiated web-based communication; and

to terminate the web-based communication as a function of the monitored duration as compared to the verified availability of non-visit specific pre-paid minute funds.

2. The system of claim 1,

wherein at least one of the webserver, the administrative system and the administrative interface is further configured to enable an audio/video recording facility forming part of and operatively connected to the webserver;

to record at least a portion of said web-based audio/video audio communication visit;

to determine prior to said recording if the selected inmate-visitor is exempt from having his/her Internet audio/video visit with the particular inmate recorded; and

when it is determined that the selected visitor is exempt from having his/her Internet audio/video visit with the particular inmate recorded, suppressing execution of said recording of the inmate initiated web-based audio/video communication to the selected inmate-visitor.

3. The system of claim 1,

wherein the webserver is further configured to

store a maximum allowable call time for an web-based audio/video communication between the inmate-visitor and the particular inmate;

to automatically track the monitored duration of web-based audio/video communication visit to provide an accumulated call time between the particular inmate and the selected visitor;

to automatically compare the accumulated call time to the stored allowable maximum call time, and

to automatically terminate the web-based audio/video communication visit when the comparing determines that the accumulated call time exceeds the stored allowable maximum call time,

wherein at least one user web-interface selected from the group consisting of the inmate user web-interface, the inmate user web-interface and the administrative user web-interface is configured to display the accumulated call time for the web-based audio/video communication.

4. The system of claim 1,

wherein the webserver is configured

to receive a separate inmate-visitor selection of a number of non-visit specific pre-paid minutes of communication time from two or more registered inmate-visitors for the particular inmate;

to receive pre-paid per-minute funds from the Internet based payment service for each of the separate inmate-visitor selections of the number of non-visit specific prepaid minutes of communication from the two of the two or more registered inmate-visitors for the particular inmate; and

to store in the database the received pre-paid per minute funds in an account associate with the particular inmate and each separate inmate-visitor.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the webserver is configured to process each separate inmate-visitor selection and to receive pre-paid per-minute funds from the Internet based payment service that is an on-line payment system.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the webserver is configured to receive a registration from two or more inmate-visitors of the particular inmate, each received registration including the Internet identification and address of the registering inmate-visitor workstation and a name of the inmate-visitor, and wherein the inmate interface provides the inmate user web-interface with the displayed listed of the names of the two more inmate-visitors of the particular inmate and wherein the received selection over the inmate interface is a selected one of the displayed name of the displayed listing of two or more inmate-visitors.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the webserver is configured

to monitor the inmate-visitor interface for each of the registered two or moreinmate-visitors of the particular inmate and to determine a current availability of each inmate-visitor for receiving an inmate initiated web-based communication, and

to provide to the inmate user web-interface of the particular inmate via the inmate interface an availability status indicator as to the determined current availability status of each of the two or more of the registered inmate-visitors for the particular inmate.

8. The system of claim 6 wherein at least one of the web-server, the administrative interface, the administrative system, and the inmate interface is configured to enable the inmate to immediately initiate the web-based communication to the selected registered inmate-visitor where it is determined that the selected registered inmate-visitor is currently available to receive an inmate initiated web-based communication, wherein the webserver establishes the inmate initiated web-based communication to the selected registered inmate-visitor automatically and without administrative review, human review, authorization, enablement, intervention, or oversight, where the determined current available.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the webserver is configured

to monitor the inmate interface of the particular inmate and determine a current availability of the particular inmate to initiate an inmate initiated web-based communication, and

wherein the webserver and the inmate-visitor interface are configured to provide to the inmate-visitor user web-interface an availability status indicator as to the determined current availability status of the particular inmate.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the web-server and the administrative system are configured

to receive and store in the database information a maximum allowable call time for a web-based audio/video communication between the registered inmate-visitor and the particular inmate;

to monitor a duration of the established inmate initiated web-based communication; and

to terminate the web-based communication as a function of the duration being the stored maximum allowable call time.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the webserver is configured

to monitor the inmate-visitor interface of the registered inmate-visitor of the particular inmate,

to determined a current availability of the registered inmate-visitor for receiving a web-based communication from the particular inmate;

and

to provide to the inmate user web-interface of the particular inmate via the inmate interface an availability status indictor as to the determined current availability status of the registered inmate-visitor for the particular inmate.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the inmate interface, the inmate user web-interface, and the webserver are each configured to enable the inmate to initiate and transmit a text-message via the inmate-visitor web-interface to a predetermined user device of the selected registered inmate-visitor of the particular inmate, wherein the transmitted text-message indicates a request of the particular inmate to establish an web-based audio/video communication with a selected registered inmate-visitor, the enablement of the text-message initiation by the inmate user web-interface and the web-server being limited to when the current availability status indictor of the selected inmate-visitor indicates that the selected inmate-visitor is not currently available to receive an web-based audio/video communication from the particular inmate.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein the webserver is configured

to monitor the inmate interface of the particular inmate,

to determined a current availability of the registered inmate for initiating a web-based communication by the particular inmate;

and

to provide to the inmate-visitor user web-interface of the inmate-user an availability status indictor as to the determined current availability status of the particular inmate for initiating the web-based communication to the registered inmate-visitor.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the administrative system is a hosted function of the administrative web-hosted interface of the web-server and wherein the inmate interface is subordinate to the administrative interface and the inmate user web-interface is a web-hosted interface within the administrative web-hosted interface.

15. A web-based audio/video visitation system for prisons providing inmate initiated audio and video communications, comprising:

a webserver having a processor and non-transitory memory with computer executable instructions to host the web-based audio/video visitation web service over an Internet, the webserver having a administrative interface interfacing to an administrative system and hosting an administrative user web-interface and being associated with a prison in which a particular inmate is located, a inmate-visitor interface hosting an inmate-visitor user web-interface interfacing on two or more inmate-visitor workstations of two or more registered inmate-visitors of the particular inmate with each being located remote from a location of the particular inmate and providing an inmate-visitor user web-interface to each registered inmate-visitor, a inmate interface hosting an inmate user web-interface on an inmate terminal accessible by the particular inmate, the inmate interface being enabled to receive an input from the inmate user web-interface as to a selection of the inmate-visitor and a request from the inmate to establish a web-based communication to the workstation of the selected inmate-visitor;

the webserver is further configured with computer executable instructions stored in a non-transitory memory;

to receive the registration of the two or more inmate-visitors for the particular inmate;

to operatively communicate with each of the inmate-visitor workstations via the Internet to host the inmate-visitor user web-interface;

to operatively communicate with the administrative system via the Internet to host the administrative user web-interface and to enable the management of the inmate user web-interface and the inmate-visitor user web-interface and the webserver;

to store in a database information related to both the particular inmate and each of the registered inmate-visitors using the two or more visitor workstations associated with the particular inmate;

to monitor the inmate-visitor interface to determine a current availability for each of the registered inmate-visitors to receive a web-based communication from the particular inmate;

to communicate via the inmate interface to the inmate user web-interface the determined current availability indicator status for each registered inmate-visitor of the particular inmate that indicates;

to receive over the inmate interface from the inmate user web-interface a selection of one of the two or more inmate-visitors to establish in real time an inmate initiated web-based audio/video communication wherein the selected one of the inmate-visitors has a current availability indicator status indicating a current availability of the inmate-visitor to received the inmate initiated web-based audio/video communication; and

to establish the inmate initiated web-based audio/video communication to the inmate-visitor workstation of the selected inmate-visitor, the established web-based audio/video communication forming a visit.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the inmate interface and the webserver are each configured

to enable the inmate to prepare and transmit a text-message to a selected one of the registered inmate-visitors for the particular inmate, the text-message indicating a request of the inmate to establish an web-based audio/video communication with a selected registered inmate-visitor, the enablement of the inmate transmitting of the text-message being limited to when the current call receipt status of the selected inmate-visitor indicates that the selected inmate-visitor is not currently available to receive an web-based audio/video communication from the particular inmate.

17. The system of claim 15 wherein the received registration of each of the two more inmate-visitors includes a name and an Internet address of inmate-visitor and wherein the inmate interface of the webserver is configured

to provide over the inmate interface a displayed listing of the name of the registered inmate-visitor, wherein the communicated determined availability indicator states of each registered inmate is displayed proximate to the displayed listed name of each registered inmate-visitor,

wherein the received inmate selection of the one of the two more inmate-visitors is a selection by the inmate using the inmate user web-interface of one of the displayed listed names.

18. The system of claim 15 wherein the webserver is configured

to monitor the inmate interface of the particular inmate,

to determined a current availability of the registered inmate for initiating a web-based communication by the particular inmate;

and

to provide to each of the inmate-visitor user web-interfaces of the inmate-users associated with the particular inmate an availability status indictor as to the determined current availability status of the particular inmate for initiating the web-based communication to registered inmate-visitors.

19. The system of claim 15 wherein the webserver is further configured

to receive prepayment of pre-paid minutes for two or more communications between each of the two or more inmate-visitor workstations for the registered inmate-visitors for the particular inmate;

to store in a database information related to both the particular inmate and each of the registered inmate-visitors using the two or more visitor workstations associated with the particular inmate including the received prepayment for a communication from a particular one of the two or more inmate-visitors associated with the particular inmate;

to verify an availability of prepayment for the communication between the particular inmate and the selected inmate-visitor;

to monitor the duration of the established inmate initiated web-based audio/video communication; and

to limit the duration of the established inmate initiated web-based audio/video communication as a function of the prepayment for the communication.

20. The system of claim 15 wherein the webserver is configured

to enable an automatic recording of the web-based audio/video communication between the inmate-visitor and the inmate;

to determine if the selected visitor is exempt from having his/her Internet audio/video communication with the particular inmate recorded; and

to suppress the automatic recording of the inmate initiated communication to the selected visitor where it is determined that the selected visitor is exempt from having the inmate initiated communication with the particular inmate recorded.

21. The system of claim 15 wherein the webserver is configured to store a maximum allowable time for an web-based audio/video communication between the inmate-visitor and the particular inmate,

to monitor the duration of the established inmate initiated web-based audio/video communication;

to automatically compare the monitored duration to the stored allowable maximum call time; and

to automatically terminate the Internet web-based communication when the comparing determines that the accumulated call time exceeds the stored allowable maximum call time.