Systems and methods for product ordering and delivery for inmates

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9922365-B1
Application number	US-201715492822-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Apr 20, 2017
Priority date	Apr 20, 2017
Publication date	Mar 20, 2018
Grant date	Mar 20, 2018

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a system that includes a profile subsystem that stores inmate profiles, and an order processing subsystem that receives data regarding an order of the inmate, retrieves an inmate profile for the inmate from the profile subsystem, applies restrictions to the order of the inmate based on the inmate profile, generates an order number for the order of the inmate, assigns an RFID tag to the order number by encoding data into the RFID tag, and generates one or more labels comprising the RFID tag to be affixed to a package so as to conceal an identity of the inmate, in which the package with the order is packaged and shipped to the correctional facility with the one or more labels comprising the RFID tag. The system also includes a delivery processing subsystem that receives data regarding the package based on scanning the RFID tag of the package.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for providing product ordering and delivery services for an inmate in a correctional facility, the system comprising:
a profile subsystem that stores an inmate profile of the inmate;
an order processing subsystem comprising one or more processors configured to:
receive data regarding an order of the inmate for one or more products;
retrieve the inmate profile associated with the inmate from the profile subsystem;
apply a plurality of restrictions to the order of the inmate based on the inmate profile;
generate an order number for the order of the inmate;
assign an RFID tag to the order number for the order of the inmate by encoding the order number and the data regarding the order of the inmate into the RFID tag; and
generate one or more labels comprising the RFID tag to be affixed to a package comprising the order of the inmate so as to conceal an identity of the inmate, wherein the package comprising the order of the inmate is packaged and shipped to the correctional facility in the package with the one or more labels comprising the RFID tag; and

a delivery processing subsystem at the correctional facility configured to receive data regarding delivery of the package generated by scanning the RFID tag affixed to the package with an RFID tag reader,
wherein the order of the inmate is packaged and shipped to the correctional facility in the package without the order number for the order of the inmate and without any information discernable to a human so as to conceal the identity of the inmate and contents of the package by use of the RFID tag.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the data regarding the order of the inmate comprises a selection of one or more products from a catalog of products available for purchase and delivery to the correctional facility.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the catalog of products available for purchase and delivery to the correctional facility are predetermined by a jurisdiction of the correctional facility.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of restrictions are defined in the inmate profile, and wherein the plurality of restrictions comprise at least one of one or more product restrictions, quantity limits, spending limits, weight limits, and order frequency limits.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the applying of the plurality of restrictions to the order of the inmate based on the inmate profile comprises:
identifying the one or more products in the order of the inmate;
determining whether at least one product in the order of the inmate violates a restriction of the plurality of restrictions; and
in response to determining that the at least one product violates the restriction, removing the at least one product from the order of the inmate.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the data regarding the delivery of the package comprises decoded data that is decoded from pre-encoded information in the RFID tag.

7. A method for providing product ordering and delivery services for an inmate in a correctional facility, the method comprising:
receiving, by an order processing system, data regarding an order of the inmate for a plurality of products from a computing device of the inmate;
retrieving an inmate profile associated with the inmate from an inmate profile subsystem of the order processing system;
applying, by at least one processor in the order processing system, a plurality of restrictions to the order of the inmate based on the inmate profile;
generating, by the at least one processor, an order number for the order of the inmate; and
assigning, by the at least one processor, an RFID tag to the order number for the order of the inmate by encoding the order number and the data regarding the order of the inmate into the RFID tag; and
generating, by the at least one processor, one or more labels comprising the RFID tag to be affixed to a package comprising the order of the inmate so as to conceal an identity of the inmate, wherein the order of the inmate is packaged and shipped to the correctional facility in the package with the one or more labels comprising the RFID tag,
wherein the order of the inmate is packaged and shipped to the correctional facility in the package without the order number for the order of the inmate and without any information discernable to a human so as to conceal the identity of the inmate and contents of the package by use of the RFID tag.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
prior to receiving data regarding the order of the inmate, receiving, by the order processing system and from the computing device, a request for the inmate to access a catalog of products available for purchase and delivery to the correctional facility;
updating, by the at least one processor, the catalog of products available for purchase and delivery to the correctional facility based on the inmate profile, resulting in an updated catalog of products available for purchase and delivery to the correctional facility; and
providing, by the computing device, the inmate with access to the updated catalog of products available for purchase and delivery to the correctional facility, wherein the plurality of products are listed in the updated catalog of products.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of restrictions are defined in the inmate profile, and wherein the plurality of restrictions comprise at least one of one or more product restrictions, quantity limits, spending limits, weight limits, and order frequency limits.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein applying the plurality of restrictions to the order of the inmate based on the inmate profile comprises:
identifying, by the at least one processor, the plurality of products in the order of the inmate;
determining, by the at least one processor, whether at least one product in the order of the inmate violates a restriction of the plurality of restrictions; and
in response to determining that the at least one product violates the restriction of the plurality of restrictions, removing, by the at least one processor, the at least one product from the order of the inmate.

11. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
storing, by the at least one processor, data regarding an identity of the inmate, the order number for the order of the inmate, the RFID tag for the package, and contents of the package in at least one database in the order processing system.

12. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
transmitting, by the at least one processor, data regarding the RFID tag for the package to a server of a shipping company.

13. An order processing system for product ordering and delivery of packages to inmates in a correctional facility, the system comprising:
a database storing information regarding packages for inmates;
a computing device of a user outside of the correctional facility;
an inmate profile subsystem that stores an inmate profile of the inmate; and
an order processing subsystem comprising one or more processors configured to:
receive data regarding an order for one or more products for the inmate from the computing device;
retrieve the inmate profile associated with the inmate from the profile subsystem;
apply a plurality of restrictions to the order based on the inmate profile;
generate an order number for the order;
assign a quick response (QR) code to the order number for the order by encoding the order number and the data regarding the order into the QR code; and
generate one or more labels comprising the QR code to be affixed to a package comprising the order for the inmate so as to conceal an identity of the inmate, wherein the package co

Assignees

• Global Telstarlink Corp

Inventors

• Hodge Stephen L

Classifications

• G06Q10/0832

  Special goods or special handling procedures, e.g. handling of hazardous or fragile goods · CPC title

• G06Q30/0635 Primary

  replenishment orders; recurring orders · CPC title

• G06K7/10237

  the reader and the record carrier being capable of selectively switching between reader and record carrier appearance, e.g. in near field communication [NFC] devices where the NFC device may function as an RFID reader or as an RFID tag · CPC title

• G06Q50/26

  Government or public services (business processes related to the transportation industry G06Q50/40) · CPC title

• G06Q10/087

  Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders · CPC title