Monitoring using cellular phones
AssigneeIntelligent Technologies International, Inc.
InventorDavid S. Breed
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Method for locating a cell phone or PDA, e.g., arranged in or on a movable asset, includes obtaining information at the cell phone or PDA relating to reception of signals, transmitting the information from the cell phone or PDA to a remote facility and determining the location of the cell phone or PDA from the information at the remote facility. The cell phone or PDA may obtain DGPS signals and transmit them to the remote facility. In this manner, the location of the cell phone and the asset in or on which it is arranged, or the person carrying the cell phone can be determined at the remote location.
Claims17
A method of determining a location of a cell phone or PDA at a location apart from the cell phone or PDA, comprising:
- obtaining information at the cell phone or PDA relating to reception of signals by the cell phone or PDA;
- transmitting the obtained information from the cell phone or PDA to a remote facility situated separate and apart from the cell phone or PDA;
- monitoring received sounds at the cell phone or PDA via a microphone of the cell phone or PDA;
- programming the cell phone or PDA to analyze the received sounds, the programming step comprising training the cell phone or PDA to recognize the sounds of accidents involving a vehicle;
- transmitting an accident indication signal to the remote facility when a sound of an accident involving the vehicle is recognized from the monitored received sounds;
- and
- determining, at the remote facility, the location of the cell phone or PDA from the information transmitted from the cell phone or PDA when the accident indication signal is received.
A system in a vehicle, comprising:
- a cell phone or PDA arranged to generate information based on signal reception and transmit the signal reception information to a remote facility to enable the remote facility to determine the location of the cell phone or PDA,
- the cell phone or PDA including a microphone and being arranged to monitor received sounds by the microphone, recognize the sounds of accidents involving the vehicle, and transmit an accident indication signal indicative of recognition of the sounds of an accident involving the vehicle to the remote facility,
- the remote facility being arranged to analyze the signal reception information in order to determine the location of the cell phone or PDA when the accident indication signal is received.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.