US 8,014,795 B2Granted

GPSS-based system and method for enabling or disabling cellphones in predefined zones

AssigneeCourteousCellphones LLC (Texas)

InventorGerald John (Jack) Lipovski

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A system and method are described for initiating, enabling, disabling or restoring cellphone operations when the cellphone is in a zone, which is where cellphone operation has to be so altered. A courtesy signal transmitter transmits a courtesy signal containing zone data, which is received by the cellphone's courtesy signal receiver. A GPSS receiver, embedded in the cellphone, outputs the current cellphone location. A cellphone's processor compares this location to the zone's coordinates; if it determines that the cellphone is in the zone, the cellphone's processor initiates, enables, or disables operations in it as directed by bits in the zone's data. Spread-spectrum technology securely passes zone data from courtesy signal transmitters to courtesy signal receivers in cellphones, using GPSS data to make this coding scheme more secure. Finally, the courtesy signal transmitter GPSS location is checked to determine if the courtesy signal transmitter has been moved after it is initialized.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A system that initiates, enables, disables, or restores cellphone operations when said cellphone is in a zone, comprising:

(a) a zone, which is a contiguous geographical area where courteous cellphones may be operable, such as an auditorium,
(b) data describing said zone, comprising bits to initiate, enable, disable or restore cellphone operations in said zone,
(c) said zone being coextensive with a three-dimensional concave polygon, said polygon having a plurality of corners, said corner having GPSS coordinates,
(d) a courtesy signal transmitter transmitting courtesy signals to courtesy signal receivers in said courteous cellphones that are within said transmitter's cover, a transmitter's cover being a largest surface of a contiguous volume in which anywhere in the volume said courtesy signal transmitted from said courtesy signal transmitter is of sufficient power to be received and decoded, with acceptable probability, in a courtesy signal receiver disposed in said courteous cellphone,
(e) placing courtesy signal transmitters such that all of said polygon's interior be under the cover of at least one courtesy signal transmitter, but such that no two said courtesy signal transmitter signals interfering with each other,
(f) a cellphone comprising components:
(i) a transceiver that communicates with a cellphone tower to communicate voice and data signals to or from other cellphones, said transceiver not communicating any said data describing said zones, corners or bits,
(ii) a microphone that inputs audio signals,
(iii) a speaker that outputs audio signals,
(iv) a keyboard wherein telephone numbers can be dialed and data can be entered,
(v) a display where at least said telephone number being dialed can be displayed,
(vi) a ringer that outputs a ring tone, and
(vii) (optionally) a camera where a picture or a video can be taken,
(g) a GPSS system disposed within and coupled to said cellphone that outputs coordinates of said cellphone's current location,
(h) a cellphone memory, disposed within said cellphone and storing, at least in part, said polygon's corner's coordinates and said of polygon's bits, said stored data not including said cellphone users'personal data, nor data being provided in response to said cellphone user having an accident, and said stored data not being any part of a message's zone address,
(j) a processor that initializes said memory with data describing said zones, polygons, polygon's corners and bits in the zone, and then repeatedly executes forever a single loop program,
(k) a single pass of said single loop program that repeatedly reads each said zone's data, read one zone at a time from said memory, to compare it to the cellphone location obtained from said GPS system,
wherein, if said cellphone is in said zone, said processor, responsive to said zones' data bits, initiates, enables, disables or restores operations in said cellphone's components.

15 more elements

A method for initiating, enabling, disabling or restoring operations within a cellphone system when said cellphone is in a zone;

comprising the steps of:
(a) specifying zones, each of which is a geographic area, such as an auditorium, wherein cellphone operations need to be initiated, enabled, disabled or restored together,
(b) deriving bits needed to execute said initiating, enabling, disabling or restoring in cellphones within said zone,
(c) for each said zone, selecting one or more geometric three-dimensional concave polygons that are collectively coextensive with said zone, each said polygon having a plurality of corners,
(d) deriving GPSS coordinates of all said corners,
(e) placing courtesy signal transmitters such that each of said polygon's corner's coordinates be under the cover of at least one courtesy signal transmitter, but such that no two said courtesy signal transmitter signals interfering with each other, said transmitter's cover being a largest surface of a contiguous volume in which anywhere in the volume a courtesy signal transmitted from said courtesy signal transmitter is of sufficient power to probably be correctly received and decoded in a courtesy signal receiver disposed in said cellphone,
(f) storing, in said courtesy signal transmitter's memory, data describing each said zone under its cover, each data comprising GPSS coordinates describing the position of said zone's polygon's corners, and bits to initiate, enable, disable or restore cellphone operations in said zone,
(g) a cellphone user using a cellphone, comprising steps of (in any order):
(i) communicating with a cellphone tower using a transceiver,
(ii) receiving audio signals through a microphone,
(iii) outputting audio signals through a speaker,
(iv) dialing telephone numbers and entering data using a keyboard,
(v) displaying data such as said telephone number,
(vi) producing a ring tone with a ringer, or
(vi) (optionally) taking a picture or video with a camera,
(h) receiving said cellphone's current location coordinates from a GPSS receiver incorporated in said cellphone,
(j) receiving courtesy signal data from said courtesy signal transmitter's memory through courtesy signal receiver disposed in said cellphone,
(k) writing said received courtesy signal data in a cellphone's memory, said memory not storing said cellphone users' personal data nor data responsive to an emergency wherein said cellphone user has an accident,
(m) determining if said current cellphone location obtained from said GPSS receiver output is in said zone whose data is stored in said cellphone's memory and,
(n) if said cellphone is in said zone, initiating, enabling, disabling or restoring said user's said cellphone operations, responsive to said zone's bits to initiate, enable, disable, or restore cellphone operations of said cellphone user using a cellphone.

17 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/943,121Filed 10 Nov 2010 · continuation in part
Priority: 27 Aug 1999
Published: US 2011/0053612 A13 Mar 2011
Granted: 6 Sep 2011
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification7 codes

H04M 1/72436
With interactive means for internal management of messages: for text messaging, e.g. short messaging services [SMS] or e-mails
H04M 19/044
With variable loudness of the ringing tone, e.g. variable envelope or amplitude of ring signal: according to the level of ambient noise
H04M 1/67
Preventing unauthorised calls from a telephone set: by electronic means
H04M 2250/12
Details of telephonic subscriber devices: including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion

Family

Application09/384,723Parent of this continuation · filed 27 Aug 1999
Application10/687,024Parent of this continuation · filed 16 Oct 2003
Application11/511,723Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 29 Aug 2006
Application60/936,605Us provisional application · filed 21 Jun 2007
Application11/865,810Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 2 Oct 2007
Application12/785,449Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 22 May 2010
US 2011/0053612 A1Pre-grant publication · published 3 Mar 2011
US 7,856,203 B2Parent of this continuation-in-part
US 7,363,042 B2Parent of this continuation-in-part
US 7,142,877 B2Parent of this continuation
Application11/511,723Parent of this continuation
US 6,675,002 B1Parent of this continuation
US 2004/0087318 A1Published application
US 2007/0049264 A1Published application
US 2008/0214211 A1Published application
US 2010/0234047 A1Published application
US 8,200,249 B2Related patent
US 8,014,795 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.