Systems and methods for restricting the use and movement of telephony devices
First Claim
1. A system for restricting the use of a telephony device with a communications network, comprising:
- an interface configured to detect a dialed sequence of numbers entered into the telephony device, wherein the interface is further configured to prevent the telephony device from communicating with the communications network when the dialed sequence matches a restricted sequence of numbers stored in the interface; and
at least one device connector configured to couple the telephony device to the interface.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods for restricting the use and movement of plain old telephone system (POTS) devices and cellular telephones are presented. In a broad sense, the system includes an interface configured to only allow telephone calls to a limited set of telephone numbers or area codes. The interface may be configured to detect a telephone number during a call attempt and compare the number to a stored sequence list of allowed telephone numbers or area codes. If the detected number matches one of the allowed telephone numbers or area codes, the call attempt is allowed to continue. However, if the detected number does not match a number in the stored sequence list, the call attempt is blocked by the interface. The interface may also be configured to restrict the movement of a cellular telephone based on received location data indicating a current position of the cellular telephone. An alert, such as an audible alarm, is automatically generated when the location of the cellular telephone is greater than a predetermined distance from the interface to deter unauthorized movement. The interface may also be configured with a physical lock to prevent the cellular telephone from being removed from a docking station. The interface may also be configured to generate a locking signal to inhibit the use of the cellular telephone after it has been moved greater than the predetermined distance.
134 Citations
42 Claims
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1. A system for restricting the use of a telephony device with a communications network, comprising:
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an interface configured to detect a dialed sequence of numbers entered into the telephony device, wherein the interface is further configured to prevent the telephony device from communicating with the communications network when the dialed sequence matches a restricted sequence of numbers stored in the interface; and
at least one device connector configured to couple the telephony device to the interface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 23)
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14. A method for restricting the use of a telephony device with a communications network, comprising:
detecting a dialed sequence of numbers entered into the telephony device; and
preventing the telephony device from communicating with the communications network when the dialed sequence does not match an allowed sequence of numbers stored in an interface.- View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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24. A system for restricting the movement of a mobile telephony device, comprising:
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a mobile telephony device configured for communication with a communications network; and
an interface configured to receive location data indicative of a current location of the mobile telephony device, wherein the interface is further configured to generate an alert when the current location of the mobile telephony device is greater than a predetermined distance from the interface. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method for restricting the movement of a mobile telephony device, comprising:
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receiving location data indicative of a current location of the mobile telephony device; and
generating an alert when the current location of the mobile telephony device is greater than a predetermined distance from an interface. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer, will cause the computer to perform a method for restricting the use of a telephony device with a communications network, the method comprising:
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detecting a dialed sequence of numbers entered into the telephony device; and
preventing the telephony device from communicating with the communications network when the dialed sequence does not match an allowed sequence of numbers stored in an interface. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer, will cause the computer to perform a method for restricting the movement of a mobile telephony device, comprising:
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receiving location data indicative of a current location of the mobile telephony device; and
generating an alert when the current location of the mobile telephony device is greater than a predetermined distance from an interface. - View Dependent Claims (42)
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Specification