Tracking device functionality restriction in a lost context

• US 10,405,144 B2
• Filed: 01/04/2018
• Issued: 09/03/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TILE, INC. (Life360 Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: TILE, INC. (Life360 Incorporated)
• Inventors: Danknick, Dan
• Primary Examiner(s): Elhag, Magdi
• Application Number:
  US15/862,491
• Publication Number:
  US 20190208356A1
• Time in Patent Office: 607 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72415 for remote control of appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/126 Anti-theft arrangements, e.g. protection against subscriber identity module [SIM] cloning
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/37 Managing security policies for mobile devices or for controlling mobile applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/63 Location-dependent; Proximity-dependent
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

One or more features of a tracking device can be disabled if the tracking device is lost. A tracking device is associated with a first mobile device, which can remotely control the tracking device via a tracking server. The tracking server receives an instruction from the first mobile device to disable a feature of the tracking device. The tracking server also receives a notification from a second mobile device that the second mobile device is within a communication range of the tracking device. In response to receiving the instruction and the notification, the tracking server transmits the instruction for the tracking device to disable the feature to the second mobile device. The tracking device receives the instruction to disable the feature from the second mobile device. In response to receiving the instruction to disable the feature, the tracking device disables the feature according to the instruction.

Claims

1. A method for disabling a feature of a tracking device, comprising:

receiving, by a tracking server, an instruction from a first mobile device to disable a feature of a tracking device having a tracking component and a functional component, the functional component configured to implement the feature, the tracking device associated with the first mobile device and configured to be remotely controlled by the first mobile device via the tracking server;

receiving, by the tracking server, a notification from a second mobile device that the second mobile device is within a communication range of the tracking device, the second mobile device configured to receive a tracking signal from the tracking component of the tracking device; and

in response to receiving the instruction to disable the feature of the tracking device and the notification that the second mobile device is within a communication range of the tracking device, transmitting, by the tracking server to the second mobile device, the instruction for the tracking device to disable the feature, the second mobile device configured to provide the instruction to the tracking component of the tracking device, and the tracking device component, in response to receiving the instruction, configured to transmit, to the functional component, the instruction to disable the feature of the tracking device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first mobile device is configured to provide a second instruction to re-enable the feature when the first mobile device is within the communication range of the tracking device, and the tracking device is configured to enable the feature according to the second instruction.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the tracking server, a second instruction from the first mobile device to re-enable the feature of the tracking device; and

in response to receiving the second instruction to re-enable the feature of the tracking device, transmitting, by the tracking server to one of the second mobile device and a third mobile device, the second instruction for the tracking device to re-enable the feature;

wherein the tracking device, in response to receiving the second instruction from the one of the second mobile device and the third mobile device, is configured to enable the feature.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the tracking component comprises a software development kit (SDK) for configuring the tracking device to be tracking by the tracking server.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the feature of the tracking device is a feature unrelated to tracking the tracking device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the tracking device is configured to disable all features of the tracking device unrelated to tracking the tracking device in response to receiving the instruction.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the tracking device has a plurality of features, and the instruction to disable the feature of the tracking device comprises an identification of a first feature of the plurality of features of the tracking device to disable.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving, by the tracking server, a second instruction from the first mobile device to disable a second feature of the plurality of features of the tracking device; and

in response to receiving the instruction to disable the second feature of the tracking device, transmitting, by the tracking server to one of the second mobile device and a third mobile device, the instruction for the tracking device to disable the second feature;

wherein the tracking device, in response to receiving the second instruction from the one of the second mobile device and the third mobile device, is configured to disable the second feature according to the second instruction.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the tracking device is configured to transmit a conformation to the second mobile device that the feature has been disabled, and the method further comprises:

receiving, by the tracking server from the second mobile device, the confirmation; and

transmitting, from the tracking server to the first mobile device, the confirmation.

10. A tracking system for disabling a feature of a tracking device, the tracking system configured to:

receive an instruction from a first mobile device to disable the feature of the tracking device having a tracking component and a functional component, the functional component configured to implement the feature, the tracking device associated with the first mobile device and configured to be remotely controlled by the first mobile device via the tracking system;

receive a notification from a second mobile device that the second mobile device is within a communication range of the tracking device, the second mobile device configured to receive a tracking signal from the tracking component of the tracking device; and

in response to receiving the instruction to disable the feature of the tracking device and the notification that the second mobile device is within a communication range of the tracking device, transmit to the second mobile device the instruction for the tracking device to disable the feature;

wherein the second mobile device is configured to forward the instruction for the tracking component of the tracking device to disable the feature to the tracking device, and the tracking device component is configured to transmit, to the functional component, the instruction to disable the feature in response to receiving the instruction from the second mobile device.

11. The tracking system of claim 10, wherein the tracking system is further configured to:

receive a second instruction from the first mobile device to re-enable the feature of the tracking device;

in response to receiving the second instruction to re-enable the feature of the tracking device, transmitting, by the tracking system to one of the second mobile device and a third mobile device, the instruction for the tracking device to re-enable the feature.

12. The tracking system of claim 10, wherein the tracking system is further configured to provide computer executable instructions to the tracking device, the computer executable instructions configuring the tracking device to be tracking by the tracking system.

13. The tracking system of claim 10, wherein the tracking system is further configured to:

receive a second instruction from the first mobile device, the second instruction comprising one of an instruction to disable a second feature of the tracking device and an instruction to re-enable the feature of the tracking device; and

transmit the second instruction to one of the second mobile device and a third mobile device for transmitting the second instruction to the tracking device.

14. A tracking device associated with a first mobile device and configured to be remotely controlled by the first mobile device via a central tracking system, the tracking device having a tracking component and a functional component, the tracking component comprising a processor and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executable computer instructions that, when executed by the processor, perform steps comprising:

transmitting a tracking signal to a second mobile device, the tracking signal including an identifier representative of the tracking device, the second mobile device configured to provide a notification to the central tracking system that the second mobile device received the tracking signal from the tracking device;

receiving, from the second mobile device, an instruction to disable a feature of the tracking device, the feature implemented by the functional component, the instruction transmitted from the central tracking system to the second mobile device in response to

     1) the first mobile device providing the instruction to the central tracking system, and

     2) the second mobile device providing the notification to the central tracking system; and

transmitting the instruction to the functional component to disable the feature of the tracking device according to the instruction in response to receiving the instruction from the second mobile device.

15. The tracking device of claim 14, wherein the executable computer instructions, when executed by the processor, further perform steps comprising:

receiving, at the tracking device from the first mobile device, a second instruction to re-enable the feature when the first mobile device is within the communication range of the tracking device; and

in response to receiving the second instruction to re-enable the feature, enabling the feature according to the second instruction.

16. The tracking device of claim 14, wherein the executable computer instructions, when executed by the processor, further perform steps comprising:

receiving, at the tracking device from one of the second mobile device and a third mobile device, a second instruction from the first mobile device to re-enable the feature; and

in response to receiving the second instruction to re-enable the feature, enabling the feature according to the second instruction.

17. The tracking device of claim 14, wherein the executable computer instructions comprise a software development kit (SDK) for configuring the tracking device to be tracking by the central tracking system.

18. The tracking device of claim 14, wherein the tracking device has a plurality of features, and the instruction to disable the feature of the tracking device comprises an identification of a first feature of the plurality of features of the tracking device to disable.