System and method for preventing loss of personal items

• US 20060023626A1
• Filed: 07/29/2004
• Published: 02/02/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Manuel Krausz
• Original Assignee: Manuel Krausz
• Inventors: Krausz, Manuel
• Application Number:
  US10/901,871
• Publication Number:
  US 20060023626A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/220
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1427 with transmitter-receiver for distance detection
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0266 System arrangements wherein the object is to detect the exact distance between parent and child or surveyor and item
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/24 Reminder alarms, e.g. anti-loss alarms

Abstract

Disclosed is a system and method for preventing misplacement of personal items. The invention comprises a master communication device that automatically and repeatedly transmits at least one signal over a transmission range, and at least two slave communication devices, each of which are configured to be associated with a respective personal item and to communicate periodically with the master communication device. At least one of the master and slave communication devices generates a notification alerting a user that at least one of the at least two slave communication devices has not received the signal.

Claims

1. A system for preventing misplacement or loss of personal items, the system comprising:

a master communication device that automatically and repeatedly transmits at least one signal over a transmission range; and

at least two slave communication devices, each of the at least two slave communication devices configured to be associated with a respective personal item and to communicate periodically with the master communication device, wherein at least one of the master and slave communication devices generates a notification alerting a user that at least one of the at least two slave communication devices has been separated from the master communication device by greater than a predetermined distance.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least two slave communication devices are further configured to receive the at least one signal from the master communication device and to transmit a signal to the master communication device after the at least one signal is received.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the at least two slave communication devices are configured to transmit the signal to the master communication after a respective period of time passes after the at least one signal is received from the master communication device.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the master communication device determines which of the at least two slave communication devices has transmitted the signal by measuring an amount of time from transmitting the at least one signal to the at least two slave communication devices to receiving the signal from the at least two slave communication devices.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one signal is at least one of a radio frequency signal, an ultra-sonic frequency signal and an infra-red signal.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one signal is coded to represent respective ones of the at least two slave communication devices.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the transmission range varies for each respective at least two slave communication devices.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the master communication device and the at least two slave communication devices are configured to stop functioning for a temporary period.

9. The system of claim 1, including a software facility within the master communication device that automatically recognizes the presence of a slave communication device located within the predetermined distance of the master communication device.

10. The system of claim 1, including a tracking software facility within the master communication device that keeps track of all slave communication devices which are within the predetermined distance of the master communication device.

11. The system of claim 10, in which the tracking facility removes a slave communication device that has been separated away from the master communication device and has not responded to communications from the master communication device for a given time period or by a distance greater than said predetermined distance.

12. The system of claim 1, in which the notification is additionally generated when the master communication device determines that it has been separated from at least one of the slave communication devices by a greater than a predetermined distance.

13. The system of claim 12, in which the master communication device determines the distance between itself and the slave communication devices by range finding.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising receiving the at least one signal from the master communication device and transmitting a signal to the master communication device after the at least one signal is received.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the step of transmitting the signal to the master communication occurs after a respective period of time passes after the at least one signal is received from the master communication device.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising determining by the master communication device which of the at least two slave communication devices has transmitted the signal by measuring an amount of time from transmitting the at least one signal to the at least two slave communication devices to receiving the signal from the at least two slave communication devices.

18. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one signal is at least one of a radio frequency signal, an ultra-sonic frequency signal and an infra-red signal.

19. The method of claim 9, further comprising coding the at least one signal to represent respective ones of the at least two slave communication devices.

20. The method of claim 9, further comprising defining respective transmission ranges for each respective at least two slave communication devices.

21. The method of claim 9, further comprising configuring at least one of the master communication device and the at least two slave communication devices to stop functioning for a temporary period.

14. A method for preventing misplacement of personal items, the method comprising:

automatically and repeatedly transmitting at least one signal over a transmission range to a plurality of slave communication devices;

associating each of the plurality of slave communication devices with a respective personal item;

communicating periodically between the master communication device and the slave communication devices; and

generating a notification alerting a user that at least one of the at least two slave communication devices has not received the signal.