Remote confinement system - Patent Review 4843377

Claims

Having set forth the principles and described embodiments of the invention, what is claimed is the following:

1. A method for determining from a central office the presence of a specified prisoner at a remote location where the prisoner is in unsupervised confinement, and for ascertaining the prisoner's compliance with a substance abuse restriction, said method comprising the steps of:

performing on a person at the remote location an unsupervised test for the effects of use of the restricted substance;

generating at the remote location a signal carrying information of a result of said test;

generating at the remote location a signal carrying information of the identity of the tested person; and

transmitting the generated signals from the remote location to the central office.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said test performing step includes the step of sampling body fluid of the person being tested and producing a test result, and wherein the test result produced is responsive to the presence of a body fluid component introduced by the tested person's use of the restricted substance.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said body fluid sampled includes a sample of the exhaled breath from said person.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein said body fluid sampled includes a sample of the saliva from said person.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein said body fluid sampled includes a sample of the urine from said person.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein said body fluid sampled includes a sample of the blood from said person.

7. The method of claim 2 wherein a result of said test performing step is responsive to the alcohol content of said fluid.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein said body fluid sampled includes a deep lung sample of the exhaled breath of said person.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein said body fluid sampled includes a sample of the saliva of said person.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein said test performing step includes the step of reacting said sample of saliva with a reagent.

11. The method of claim 2 wherein said test performing step includes the step of reacting a sample of said body fluid with a reagent.

12. The method of claim 2 wherein said test performing step includes the step of sampling body fluid of the person being tested and the information of the identity of the person tested is information derived from the body fluid sample.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the information carried by said signals includes pictorial image information of a unique visually identifiable characteristic of the tested person.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein said test performing step includes the step of sampling body fluid of the person being tested and producing a test result from said sample, and wherein the test result produced is responsive to the presence of a body fluid component introduced by the tested person's use of the restricted substance.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein said test result is responsive to the alcohol content of said fluid.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein said body fluid sampled includes a deep lung sample of the exhaled breath of said person.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein said body fluid sampled includes a sample of the saliva of said person.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein said test performing step includes the step of reacting said sample of saliva with a reagent.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein said test performing step includes the step of reacting a sample of said body fluid with a reagent.

20. The method of claim 14 wherein said signal generating steps include generating at the remote location a signal carrying pictorial image information of the sampling of body fluid and of a unique visually identifiable characteristic of the person whose body fluid is being sampled.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising the step of producing at said remote location a visually perceivable result of said test, and wherein the information carried by said signal includes the pictorial image information of the visually perceivable test result.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein said body fluid sample includes a deep lung sample of the exhaled breath of said person and wherein said test result is responsive to the alcohol content of said fluid.

23. The method of claim 14 further comprising the step of generating at the remote location a signal carrying pictorial image information of the testing of said person and of a unique visually identifiable characteristic of said person.

24. The method of claim 23 further comprising the steps of:

deriving from a signal from said remote location and displaying at said central office a pictorial image of the unique identifiable characteristic of said person;

retrieving from a storage medium at said central office a pictorial image of said specified prisoner; and

comparing said images to determine at said central office the presence of the specified prisoner at the remote location and verifying that the specified prisoner is the person upon whom said test was performed.

25. The method of claim 13 further comprising the steps of:

deriving from a signal from said remote location and displaying at said central office a pictorial image of the unique identifiable characteristic of said person;

retrieving from a storage medium at said central office a pictorial image of said specified prisoner; and

comparing said images to determine at said central office the presence of the specified prisoner at the remote location.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the unique visually identifiable characteristic and the retrieved image are images of the face of said person.

27. The method of claim 13 wherein the unique visually identifiable characteristic is an image of the face of said person.

28. The method of claim 13 further comprising the step of producing a visually perceivable result of said test, and wherein the information carried by said signals includes the pictorial image information of the visually perceivable test result.

29. The method of claim 13 wherein said pictorial image information is stored at said remote location and is transmitted to said central office in response to a signal from said central office.

30. The method of claim 13 wherein the steps of said method are initiated by a signal from said central office.

31. The method of claim 30 further comprising the initial step of establishing by a signal from said central office a communications link between said central office and said remote location.

32. The method of claim 30 further comprising the step of selectively establishing by a signal from said central office a communications link between said central office and a selected remote location.

33. The method of claim 13 further comprising the step of selectively establishing a telephone communications link between said central office and a selected remote location.

34. The method of claim 33 wherein said signal generating steps are performed with the camera of a picture phone connected to a telephone line at said selected remote location, and said method further comprises the steps of deriving from a signal from said remote location and displaying said image information in pictorial form on the screen of a picture phone connected to a telephone line at said central office.

35. The method of claim 34 further comprising the steps of:

retrieving from a storage medium at said central office a pictorial image of the face of said specified prisoner; and

comparing said pictorial image with pictorial image of the unique identifiable characteristic of said person to determine the presence of the specified prisoner at the remote location.

36. The method of claim 13 for determining the presence of a specified prisoner at a remote location where the prisoner is in unsupervised confinement, and for ascertaining the sobriety of the prisoner while confined, wherein:

said test performing step includes the steps of taking a deep lung sample of exhaled breath of said person and producing a test result from said sample;

the test result produced is responsive to the presence of alcohol in the breath sample;

the unique visually identifiable characteristic is an image of the face of said person;

said signal generating steps are performed with the camera of a picture phone connected to a telephone line at said selected remote location; and

wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

initially establishing from said central office a selective telephone communications link between said central office and a selected remote location;

producing an instrument readout displaying said test result;

generating a signal carrying pictorial image information of the readout and of a unique visually identifiable characteristic of the person providing the breath sample;

deriving from the signal received from said remote location and displaying in pictorial form on the screen of a picture phone connected to a telephone line at said central office a pictorial image face of the tested person and the image of said readout;

retrieving from a storage medium at said central office a pictorial image of the face of said specified prisoner;

comparing at the central office the image of the face of the tested person with the image of the face of the prisoner to determine a said central office the presence of the specified prisoner at the remote location and verifying that the specified prisoner is the person upon whom said breath test was performed; and

interpreting the image of the readout of the test to ascertain the sobriety of the specified prisoner.

37. The method of claim 1 wherein said test performing step includes the step of sampling body fluid of the person being tested and wherein said signal generating steps include the step of generating at the remote location a signal carrying pictorial image information of the sampling of body fluid and of a unique visually identifiable characteristic of the person whose body fluid is being sampled.

38. The method of claim 37 wherein said body fluid includes a sample of the exhaled breath of said person.

39. The method of claim 37 wherein said body fluid includes a sample of the saliva from said person.

40. The method of claim 37 wherein said body fluid includes a sample of the urine from said person.

41. The method of claim 37 wherein said body fluid includes a sample of the blood from said person.

42. The method of claim 1 wherein the information of the identity of the person to be tested is information of a unique identifiable characteristic intrinsic to the body of the test person.

43. The method of claim 42 wherein the unique identifiable characteristic is derived from a sample of the voice of the tested person.

44. The method of claim 43 further comprising the step of obtaining the voice sample of the tested person is the form of a sound delivered from the mouth of said person into a tube.

45. The method of claim 44 wherein said testing step includes the steps of sampling through said tube the saliva of the person being tested and producing the test result, and wherein the test result produced is responsive to the presence of a saliva component introduced by the tested person's use of said restricted substance.

46. The method of claim 45 further comprising the step of verifying that the taking of the voice and saliva samples occurs without the removal of the mouth of the person being tested from communication with the tube between the taking of the two samples.

47. The method of claim 44 further comprising the step of sampling said sound with a microphone contained within said tube.

48. The method of claim 44 wherein said testing step includes the steps of sampling through said tube the breath of the person being tested and producing the test result, and wherein the test result produced is responsive to the presence of a breath component introduced by the tested person's use of said restricted substance.

49. The method of claim 48 including the step of verifying that the taking of the voice and breath samples occurs without the removal of the mouth of the person being tested from communication with the tube between the taking of the two samples.

50. The method of claim 49 wherein the steps of taking the voice and breath samples are performed simultaneously.

51. The method of claim 43 wherein the test performing step includes the step of sampling the air in the vicinity of said person for the presence of alcohol.

52. The method of claim 43 including the steps of performing a voice print analysis of the voice sample of the tested person and comparing the results of the analysis with a known voice print of the specified prisoner.

53. The method of claim 52 wherein the comparison includes the use of information processing devices at the remote location.

54. The method of claim 52 further comprising the step of transmitting said voice sample to the central office and performing said voice print analysis and said comparison with information processing equipment located at said central office.

55. The method of claim 52 wherein the steps of said method are initiated by a signal from said central office.

56. The method of claim 55 further comprising the initial step of establishing by a signal from said central office a communications link between said central office and said remote location.

57. The method of claim 55 further comprising the step of selectively establishing by a signal from said central office a communications link between said central office and a selected remote location.

58. The method of claim 55 further comprising the step of selectively establishing a telephone communications link between said central office and a selected remote location.

59. The method of claim 58 wherein said signal generating steps are performed with instruments electrically connected to a telephone line at said selected remote location.

60. The method of claim 59 further comprising the steps of:

obtaining the voice sample of the tested person in the form of a sound delivered from the mouth of said person into a tube;

sampling said sound with a microphone operably disposed in a sound sensing relation with said tube;

and wherein:

said testing step includes the steps of sampling though said tube the breath of the person being tested and producing the test result; and

the test result produced is responsive to the presence of a breath component introduced by the tested person's use of said restricted substance.

61. The method of claim 60 including the step of verifying that the taking of the voice and breath samples occurs without the removal of the mouth of the person being tested from communication with the tube between the taking of the two samples.

62. The method of claim 58 further comprising the step of generating an output signal through equipment electrically connected to a telephone line at said central office in response to the test result information received over said phone line at said central office.

63. The method of claim 55 wherein:

said testing step includes the steps of sampling the breath of the person being tested and thereby producing the test result;

said test result produced is responsive to the presence of a breath component introduced by the tested person's use of said restricted substance; and

the method further comprises the step of generating an output signal through equipment electrically at said central office in response to the test result information received over said phone line at said central office.

64. The method of claim 52 wherein the method further comprises the step of generating an output signal through equipment at said central office in response to the test result information received over said phone line at said central office.

65. The method of claim 42 further comprising the steps interpreting the signals received at said central office, verifying the identity of the tested person as a result of said interpretation, and generating an output signal through equipment at said central office in response to the verification and to the test result information received at said central office.

66. The method of claim 42 wherein the unique identifiable characteristic is a fingerprint of the tested person.

67. The method of claim 66 further comprising the step of using a fingerprint reading device to read a fingerprint of the person being tested, and wherein said testing step includes the steps of sampling through said device the blood of the person being tested thereby producing the test result, and wherein a test result is produced responsive to the presence of a blood component introduced by the tested person's use of the restricted substance.

68. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps interpreting the signals received at said central office and as a result, verifying whether the tested person is the specified prisoner and determining whether the specified prisoner is in compliance with a substance abuse restriction, and in response to said verification and determination, generating an output signal through equipment at said central office in response to the verification and to the test result information received at said central office.

69. The method of claim 1 further comprising the initial step of attaching to the specified prisoner a device for generating signal carrying the information of the identity of the tested person.

70. The method of claim 69 further comprising the step of generating at said remote location a signal carrying information for verifying that the signal carrying the information of the identity of the tested person is generated by the device attached to the tested person.

71. The method of claim 69 further comprising the step of detecting the lack of proximity of said device to said remote location and initiating the steps set forth in claim 1 in response to said detection.

72. The method of claim 1 wherein the information of the identity of the tested person is information which includes human intelligence acquired by the specified prisoner and the step of generating said information includes the performance of an identity confirming act by the tested person.

73. The method of claim 72 wherein the acquired human intelligence is modulated breathing sequence and the performance of the identity confirming act includes the step of uttering a modulated breathing sequence sample into a tube at the remote location.

74. The method of claim 73 wherein said test performing step includes the step of sampling through said tube the breath of the person being tested and producing a test result, and wherein the test result produced is responsive to the presence of a breath component introduced by the tested person's use of the restricted substance.

75. A method for determining from a central office the presence of a specified prisoner at a remote location where the prisoner is in unsupervised confinement, and for ascertaining the prisoner's compliance with a behavioral condition associated with said confinement, said method comprising the steps of:

performing at the remote location an unsupervised test for the effects of a violation of the behavioral condition;

obtaining at said remote location information from the performance of said test performing step and generating at the remote location a signal carrying said obtained information;

generating at the remote location a signal carrying information of the identity of a person present at said remote location, said identifying information including pictorial image information of a unique visually identifiable characteristic of said person at said remote location; and

transmitting the generated signals from the remote location to the central office.

76. The method of claim 75 further comprising the step of producing at said remote location from said unsupervised test a test result containing information of the presence or absence of effects of a violation of the behavioral condition, and including in said transmitted signals information from said test result.

77. The method of claim 75 wherein the information obtained from said test includes information of whether or not said test performing step has been performed, and said method further comprises the step of verifying from said obtained information whether or not said test performing step has been performed from said obtained information.

78. The method of claim 75 further comprising the steps of:

deriving from a signal from said remote location and displaying at said central office a pictorial image of the unique identifiable characteristic of said person;

retrieving from a storage medium at said central office a pictorial image of said specified prisoner; and

comparing said image to determine at said central office the presence of the specified prisoner at the remote location.

79. The method of claim 75 wherein the unique visually identifiable characteristic is an image of the face of said person.

80. The method of claim 75 further comprising the step of producing a visually perceivable result of said test, and wherein the information carried by said signals includes the pictorial image information of the visually perceivable test result.

81. The method of claim 75 wherein said pictorial image information is stored at said remote location and is transmitted to said central office in response to a signal from said central office.

82. The method of claim 75 wherein at least one of the steps of said method are performed in response to a signal initiated from said central office.

83. The method of claim 75 further comprising the step of selectively establishing a telephone communications link between said central office and a selected remote location.

84. The method of claim 75 wherein the behavioral condition is one which, if violated by the prisoner, would produce an effect upon the person of the prisoner, and wherein said test is performed on a person at the remote location for the effects which such violation would cause upon the person of the prisoner.

85. The method of claim 84 wherein said test performing step includes the step of sampling body fluid of said person and producing a test result from said sample.

86. The method of claim 85 wherein said body fluid sampled includes a deep lung sample of the exhaled breath of said person.

87. The method of claim 85 wherein said body fluid sampled includes a sample of the saliva of said person.

88. The method of claim 85 wherein said test performing step includes the step of reacting said sample of body fluid