Offender monitor messaging system

• US 9,877,172 B1
• Filed: 07/28/2016
• Issued: 01/23/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Omnilink Systems Incorporated (Sierra Wireless Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Numerex Corporation (Sierra Wireless Incorporated)
• Inventors: Scheppegrell, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Washington, Erika
• Application Number:
  US15/222,164
• Time in Patent Office: 544 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]

Abstract

An officer can utilize an offender monitor to track remotely and manage the whereabouts of an offender, such as someone who as been convicted of a crime and is on parole. The officer can compose and send custom messages to send to the offender via the offender monitor. The offender monitor can store a received message so that the offender can play the message at an appropriate time via pressing a button on the offender monitor or making another input. If the officer deems that a message is urgent or needs to be played immediately, the officer can transmit a command to the offender monitor that causes the message to be played automatically.

Claims

1. An offender monitor, for monitoring an offender, comprising:

a battery;

a location detector;

a radio;

a transducer operable to convert electrical energy into vibrational energy;

a processor that is powered by the battery and that comprises;

a connection to the location detector;

a connection to the transducer;

a connection to the radio; and

memory; and

processor executable instructions stored in the memory to perform the steps of;

in response to the radio receiving a message, storing the message in the memory and providing a notification for receipt by the offender about the message;

if an input is received at the offender monitor from the offender, then causing the message that is received at the radio and stored in the memory to be output via the transducer for receipt by the offender; and

if a command has been received via the radio prior to receiving the input from the offender, then causing the message to be output via the transducer for receipt by the offender.

2. The offender monitor of claim 1, further comprising:

a waterproof housing in which wherein the battery, the location detector, the radio, the transducer, and the processor are disposed; and

a strap that is sized for attaching the waterproof housing to the offender.

3. The offender monitor of claim 2, wherein causing the message to be output via the transducer for receipt by the offender comprises:

sending electrical signals that convey the message from the radio to the transducer;

by the transducer, converting the electrical signals into vibrations conveying the message;

coupling the vibrations from the transducer to the waterproof housing via a direct connection between the transducer and the waterproof housing; and

by the waterproof housing, producing sound that conveys the message to the offender by coupling the vibrations from the waterproof housing to air adjacent an exterior surface of the waterproof housing.

4. The offender monitor of claim 3, wherein the step of the radio receiving the message comprises the radio receiving an SMS text message that conveys the message.

5. The offender monitor of claim 3, wherein the step of the radio receiving the message comprises the radio receiving a wave file that conveys the message.

6. The offender monitor of claim 3, wherein the input comprises an audible input from the offender.

7. The offender monitor of claim 3, wherein the input comprises a voice command.

8. The offender monitor of claim 3, wherein the input comprises a button entry.

9. The offender monitor of claim 3, wherein the notification comprises a tactilely perceptive vibration.

10. An offender monitor, for monitoring an offender, comprising:

a battery;

a location detector;

a radio;

a transducer operable to convert electrical energy into vibrational energy;

a processor that is powered by the battery and that comprises;

a connection to the location detector;

a connection to the transducer;

a connection to the radio; and

memory; and

processor executable instructions stored in the memory to perform the steps of;

in response to the radio receiving a first wireless signal that conveys a message from an officer at a user station, storing the message in the memory; and

in response to the radio receiving a second wireless signal originating at the user station, immediately retrieving the message from the memory and outputting the message for audible receipt by the offender.

11. The offender monitor of claim 10, wherein the first wireless signal comprises a wave file.

12. The offender monitor of claim 10, wherein the first wireless signal comprises an SMS message.

13. The offender monitor of claim 10, wherein the message from the officer comprises sentences composed by the officer.

14. The offender monitor of claim 10, wherein the message from the officer comprises a voice recording made by the officer.

15. The offender monitor of claim 10, wherein the processor executable instructions stored in the memory are further to perform the step of:

in response to the radio receiving the first wireless signal that conveys the message from the officer at the user station, causing the offender monitor to emit a notification of the message for receipt by an offender associated with the offender monitor.

16. The offender monitor of claim 10, further comprising:

a waterproof housing in which the battery, the location detector, the radio, the transducer, and the processor are disposed; and

a strap that is sized for attaching the waterproof housing to the offender.

17. The offender monitor of claim 16, wherein outputting the message for audible receipt by the offender comprises

the transducer causing the waterproof case to vibrate in a manner that produces sound in air outside the waterproof housing.

18. An offender monitor, for monitoring an offender, comprising:

a battery;

a location detector;

a radio;

a transducer operable to convert electrical energy into vibrational energy;

a processor that is powered by the battery and that comprises;

a connection to the location detector;

a connection to the transducer;

a connection to the radio; and

memory; and

processor executable instructions stored in the memory to perform the steps of

in response to the radio receiving a wireless signal that conveys a message composed by an officer at a user station,

converting the wireless signal into an electrical signal that conveys the message,

converting the electrical signal into an audible signal that conveys the message, and

outputting the audible signal,

wherein the wireless signal has a first priority designation, and

in response to the radio receiving a second wireless signal that has a second priority designation and that conveys a second message composed by the officer at the user station, storing the second message in the memory for retrieval based on an input by the offender into the offender monitor,

wherein the first priority designation is higher than the second priority designation.

19. The offender monitor of claim 18, further comprising:

a waterproof housing in which the battery, the location detector, the radio, the transducer, and the processor are disposed; and

a strap that is sized for attaching the waterproof housing to the offender.