Personal electronic device locator
OwnerChristopher J. Lutzinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A cellphone locator for finding a misplaced or lost cellphone or other personal electronic device emits an audible signal or alert when the cellphone has been stationary longer than a period of time typical for normal use. Location is sensed from a GPS, accelerometer or similar locating capability to indicate if the cellphone has remained stationary and unmoved for a predetermined time interval, as when a cellphone cannot be found by the user. Upon an elapsed interval of stationary usage, a beep or buzzing sound independent of a silent mode setting of the cellphone is initiated. The independent audible signal identifies the location even when the user has disabled a ringer function on the cellphone that would prevent locating the cellphone via an incoming call for identifying the location.
Claims20
A computer program product stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium for performing a method for finding a misplaced personal electronic device comprising:
- receiving, from a user input of the personal electronic device, a silent mode signal, the silent mode signal for suppressing audible notifications of incoming messages;
- determining that a location of the personal electronic device has remained unchanged for a predetermined interval;
- and
- emitting, based on the unchanged location, an audible alert for alerting proximate users as to the presence and location of the personal electronic device, the audible alert independent from volume or ringer settings on the personal electronic device such that the audible alert is unaffected by the silent mode signal.
In a wireless device environment, the environment supporting a plurality of personal electronic devices, a method for locating a lost personal electronic device comprising:
- receiving, from a user input of the personal electronic device, a silent mode setting, the silent mode setting for suppressing audible notifications for incoming messages;
- and
- emitting, based on a locator activation signal, an audible alert for alerting proximate users as to the presence and location of the personal electronic device, the audible alert independent from volume or ringer settings on the personal electronic device such that the audible alert is unaffected by the silent mode setting.
A locator device for locating a personal electronic device that has not been utilized for a predetermined time comprising:
- a movement sensor configured to generate a location sensing signal for determining that the personal electronic device has been stationary for the predetermined time, the predetermined time having a duration indicative of misplacement of the device based on previous frequency of use;
- and
- an annunciator responsive to the location sensing signal for emitting an audible alert for indicating the presence and location of the personal electronic device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.