Method and apparatus for locating an object
OwnerPhilip R. Hallinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for locating an object. In one embodiment, the occurrence of a plurality of transitions between a first light level and a second light level is detected. If a time period between at least some of the transitions is determined to be less than a predetermined value, an alert signal is emitted. In another embodiment, the alert signal is emitted if an ambient light level is detected to be below a predetermined threshold and the object is detected to not be in a predetermined axial orientation.
Claims26
An apparatus for locating an object, the apparatus comprising:
- (a) an ambient light sensor circuit which:
- (i) detects the occurrence of a plurality of transitions between a first light level and a second light level, and
- (ii) determines if a time period between at least some of the transitions is less than a predetermined value;
- and
- (b) an alarm circuit in communication with the ambient light sensor circuit, the alarm circuit emitting an alert signal if the time period is less than the predetermined value.
A method for locating an object, the method comprising:
- (a) detecting the occurrence of a plurality of transitions between a first light level and a second light level;
- (b) determining if a time period between at least some of the transitions is less than a predetermined value;
- and
- (c) emitting an alert signal if the time period is less than the predetermined value.
An apparatus for locating an object, the apparatus comprising:
- (a) an ambient light sensor which detects an ambient light level below a predetermined threshold;
- (b) a position sensor which detects when the object is not in a predetermined axial orientation;
- and
- (c) an alarm circuit in communication with the ambient light sensor and the position sensor, wherein the alarm circuit emits an alert signal when the ambient light level is below the predetermined threshold and the object is not in the predetermined axial orientation.
A method for locating an object, the method comprising:
- (a) detecting when an ambient light level is below a predetermined threshold;
- (b) detecting when the object is not in a predetermined axial orientation;
- and
- (c) emitting an alert signal when the ambient light level is below the predetermined threshold and the object is not in the predetermined axial orientation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.