Adaptable electric monitoring and identification system

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to personnel identification and monitoring systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to an ADaptable Electronic Monitoring and Identification System (hereafter "ADEMIS") comprised of a variety of hardware and software modules. Advantageously, such an approach provides a great deal of flexibility in configuring a desired system that addresses the particular needs of a given application, such as the needs of the correction industry (prisons, jails, and other correctional and/or supervisory institutions). However, as well be evident from the description that follows, the flexibility provided by the present invention also makes it well suited for use in applications other than the corrections, such as medical, home health care, security and similar systems where individuals or objects need to be monitored and supervised.

Personnel monitoring systems used by law enforcement or other supervisory agencies, such as hospitals, are known in the art. Heretofore, however, such systems have been limited to monitoring the location of a designated individual, usually for the purpose of physically confining the individual to a designated area, such as a prison or jail; or such systems have monitored a particular medical parameter, such as heart rate, of an individual at a known location.

Since early times, most civilizations and societies have found it necessary to confine certain individuals, typically those found guilty of committing various crimes, to a prescribed area. The earliest monitoring systems were simply a cage or building in which the individual was placed, and around which guards were posted to physically watch the individual to make sure that he or she did not escape. Most of the jails and prisons used today are simply an extension of such practice.

In recent years, however, with the overcrowding of prisons and jails, and with the increased cost of constructing and staffing new prisons and jails, alternatives to physical confinement have been sought. One such alternative has been an electronic surveillance system which electronically determines whether a tagged individual remains within a prescribed area that is monitored with sophisticated electronic surveillance equipment. Schwitzgebel, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,478,344, is an example of an early attempt at such an electronic monitoring system for keeping track of the location of prisoners within a specified boundary. This is accomplished through the use of portable battery-powered RF transmitters, mounted on the wrist of the prisoner being monitored, and an array of directional antennas positioned around the boundary area. These antennas are able to determine the location of a transmitter (and hence the location of the prisoner wearing the transmitter) with respect to the antenna array. Thus, trained guards operating the antenna array and associated electronic equipment can keep track of the location of specific prisoners within the boundary area. Such a system thus attempts to replace the physical walls and fences of a prison with electronic walls and fences. Unfortunately, the system disclosed by Schwitzgebel does little, if anything, to physically prevent the individual from leaving the electronically confined area, other than to alert the guards of an exit from the area. Thus, the guards are not replaced by the system, merely aided by it; and the overall cost of constructing and operating such a monitoring system, as compared to the cost of constructing and operating a conventional prison, is not much improved.

More recently, a "house arrest" system has been developed and used by many law enforcement agencies to enforce parole requirements or to impose "house arrest". A paroled individual is typically required to remain in a prescribed geographical area, e.g. within a given city, for a set time and to regularly report to his parole officer. An individual placed under house arrest is typically required to remain at a specific location, often his own house or building, for a prescribed period of time. A "house arrest" system advantageously allows both functions to be readily performed.

The house arrest system of the prior art includes an electronic ankle tag that is unobtrusively fitted on the individual to be monitored. The tag includes a transmitter that periodically, or upon receipt of an interrogation signal, transmits an identification code over a short distance. Such tag may also include anti-tamper features that protect its electronic circuits from being altered, and that detect any attempts to remove the tag. The house arrest system may also include a field monitoring device, or FMD, that is placed at the location where the individual is to be confined, or the location to where the individual is to report on a regular basis, such as his or her home. The FMD, or equivalent device, receives the signal(s) transmitted from the tag(s) and keeps track of which signals were received when. (It is noted that the FMD may receive signals from more than one tag if a plurality of individuals wearing such tags are present within the location being monitored.) Periodically, e.g. three or four times a day, the FMD makes contact with a central computer, typically via a telephone line, and reports which signals were received and the time they were received. The report also includes any status information, such as any detected attempts to tamper with the tag or the FMD. Because each signal is uniquely encoded for a specific individual, the central computer combines the information contained in the reports received from all the FMD's located throughout the city in order to provide a comprehensive report on the whereabouts of each monitored individual at various times throughout a given day. Such comprehensive report can thus verify that a paroled individual has "checked in" at a specific location (i.e., been in electronic contact with a particular FMD) at a specified time; and can also verify that an individual under house arrest has remained at a specific location.

A house arrest system of the type described above is marketed by B.I. Inc, of Boulder, Colo., USA, under the name Home Escort System.

However, even the current Home Escort System marketed by B.I. Inc., as significant of an advance in the art as it represents, fails to provide more than location information about the tagged individuals. It is not uncommon for the court or supervisory agency to require, in addition to, or in place of, restrictions on physical movement, other restrictions, such as abstinence from drugs or alcohol. Hence, there is a need in the art for a personnel monitoring system that not only provides location information about supervised individuals, but that also selectively provides status and compliance information concerning such individuals, such as whether such individuals are refraining from consumption of alcohol and drugs.

It is also known in the electronic monitoring art to monitor the medical condition of a patient so that appropriate medical personnel can be alerted immediately in the event of a medical emergency, such as a heart attack. Mandel, U.S. Pat. No. 3,898,989, is an example of such a system. In Mandel, critical body functions are monitored through the use of special sensors placed on the individual which are coupled to a special transponder unit worn by the patient. The transponder unit is triggered by an interrogating signal, whereupon the information sensed by the sensors is transmitted in real time to a receiver. In this way the receiver is able to remotely monitor certain body functions, but no location information is included. Further, only critical and easily sensed body functions are monitored, such as heart rate and respiration rate. There is no suggestion that other body functions, such as those that might indicate consumption of drugs or alcohol, be monitored, and there is no suggestion that such monitoring be done for any purpose other than providing aid for a dangerous medical condition.

A further shortcoming of prior art electronic monitoring devices relates to their fixed configuration, resulting in inflexibility in their use and applications. Each system is typically designed for a specific monitoring purpose, and is accordingly configured for that specific monitoring purpose. Any modifications or changes that are desired or needed within the system often result in a complete redesign of the system, thereby providing yet another expensive inflexible system that meets the needs of just one application. This inflexibility can especially be a problem where several different governmental or supervisory agencies are involved, each having its own unique set of requirements relating to what must be monitored and how it must be reported. Hence, there is a need in the art for a flexible electronic monitoring system that can be readily and inexpensively adapted to suit the monitoring and reporting needs of a specific supervisory agency.

The above and other needs of the art are addressed and satisfied by the adaptable electroni