GPSS-BASED SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ENABLING OR DISABLING CELLPHONES IN PREDEFINED ZONES.

• US 20110053612A1
• Filed: 11/10/2010
• Published: 03/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gerald John Lipovski
• Original Assignee: Gerald John Lipovski
• Inventors: Lipovski, Gerald John (Jack)
• Granted Patent: US 8,014,795 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.4
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/67 by electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72436 for text messaging, e.g. short messaging services [SMS] or e-mails
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/044 according to the level of ambient noise
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/04 based on user or terminal location or mobility data, e.g. moving direction, speed

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.

Claims

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

(a) a zone, which is a geographic three-dimensional concave polygon having a plurality of corners, within which cellphone operations can be initiated, enabled, disabled or restored,

(b) data describing said zone, comprising bits to initiate, enable, disable or restore cellphone operations of said cellphones in said zone, and GPSS coordinates specifying said zone'"'"'s corners,

(c) a cellphone comprising;

(i) rf circuitry that communicates with a cellphone tower,

(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, and

(v) a display where at least said telephone number being dialed can be displayed,

(d) a GPSS system disposed within and coupled to said cellphone that outputs coordinates of said cellphone'"'"'s current location, and

(e) a processor that determines if said current cellphone location is in said zone,

wherein if said cellphone is in said zone, said processor, responsive to said zone'"'"' data bits, initiates, enables, disables or restores operations in at least one of said cellphone'"'"'s said rf circuitry, microphone, speaker, keyboard or display.

2. A system, as described in claim 1, in which said GPSS coordinates are replaced by incorrect data to defeat said system, potentially rendering it useless.

3. A system as described in claim 1, wherein said data describing said zone is stored in a random access memory disposed within said cellphone and coupled to said processor.

4. A system as described in claim 1, wherein said data describing said zone is encoded and transmitted in a courtesy signal, said system additionally comprising:

(a) a courtesy signal transmitter disposed to encode and transmit said courtesy signal, said courtesy signal being comprised of said data describing said zone,

(b) a courtesy signal receiver disposed within said cellphones and coupled to said cellphone'"'"'s processor to receive and decode said courtesy signal, and

(c) a courtesy signal transmitter'"'"'s cover, being a largest surface, anywhere within which said courtesy signal transmitter'"'"'s courtesy signal is probably received and decoded correctly by said courtesy signal receiver, said cover not being coextensive with said zone,

wherein said courtesy signal is transmitted from said courtesy signal transmitter to courtesy signal receivers disposed under said cover, said signal being decoded in said processor to determine if said cellphone is in said zone, and if so, said processor, responsive to said zone'"'"' data bits, initiates, enables, disables or restores operations in at least one of said cellphone'"'"'s said rf circuitry, microphone, speaker, keyboard or display.

5. A system as defined in claim 4 in which said courtesy signal data is replaced by incorrect data to defeat said system, potentially rendering it useless.

6. A system as defined in claim 4 wherein said courtesy signal is an ultrasonic serial binary signal.

7. A system as defined in claim 4 wherein said courtesy signal is a low-power rf serial binary signal.

8. A system as defined by claim 4 in which said courtesy signal is encoded in said courtesy signal transmitter by exclusive-ORing the input courtesy signal serial data with a serial reference binary signal, bit-by-bit, to encode the data, in which said ultrasonic courtesy signal is later decoded in said courtesy compliant cellphone by exclusive-ORing said transmitted data with said serial reference binary signal, bit-by-bit, to obtain decoded courtesy signal data.

9. A system as defined in claim 8 in which said serial reference binary signal is initialized, at least in part, from GPSS position data.

10. A system as defined in claim 8 in which said serial reference binary signal is initialized, at least in part, from a free-running timer.

11. A system as defined in claim 4 in which said courtesy signal transmitter also has a GPSS system disposed in it, and in which said initial courtesy signal transmitter coordinates and zone'"'"'s coordinates, obtained when said system was first set up, are stored in said courtesy signal transmitter'"'"'s nonvolatile memory.

12. A system as defined in claim 11 wherein a correction vector is added to stored zone corner coordinates just before said coordinates are transmitted from said courtesy signal transmitter, wherein said correction vector is the current coordinates of the courtesy signal transmitter minus the aforementioned stored coordinates of the courtesy signal transmitter, which was obtained when the system was set up.

13. A system as described by claim 11 in which said courtesy signal transmitter'"'"'s current GPSS coordinates are compared to said stored courtesy signal transmitter'"'"'s GPSS location to determine if the transmitter is at the location where it was when it was first set up, as it should have been, or else is operating at some unauthorized location.

14. A system as described by claim 13 in which said stored GPSS coordinates or current GPSS coordinates are replaced by incorrect data to defeat said system, potentially rendering it useless.

15. A method for initiating, enabling, or disabling operations within a cellphone system when it is in a zone;

comprising the steps of;

(a) specifying zones, each of which is a geographic three-dimensional concave polygon having a plurality of corners, wherein associated cellphone operations are selectively initiated, enabled, or disabled within said zone,

(b) placing courtesy signal transmitters such that each of said zones'"'"' coordinates be under the cover of at least one courtesy signal transmitters, 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 the courtesy signal receiver,

(c) storing in 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 corners, and bits to initiate, enable, disable or restore cellphone operations of cellphones in said zone,

(d) a cellphone user using a cellphone, comprising steps of (in any order);

(i) communicating with a cellphone tower using rf circuitry,

(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,

(e) receiving said cellphone'"'"'s current location coordinates from a GPSS receiver incorporated in said cellphone, and,

(f) processing using a processor, said processor coupled to said GPSS receiver and said courtesy signal receiver, and disposed within said cellphone, to determine if said current cellphone location is in said zone described by said zone'"'"'s data,

(g) if said cellphone is in said zone, initiating, enabling, disabling or restoring said cellphone operations responsive to said zone'"'"'s bits to initiate, enable, disable, or restore cellphone operations.

16. A method as described in claim 15, in which said zone data is received from a random access memory disposed within the cellphone and coupled to said processor.

17. A method as described in claim 15, in which said zone data is received from said courtesy signal receiver.

18. A method, as described in claim 15, which, after obtaining said GPSS coordinates of said GPSS receiver, said method replaces said GPSS data with incorrect data to defeat said method, potentially rendering it useless.

19. A method as defined in claim 17 wherein said courtesy signal is an ultrasonic serial binary signal.

20. A method as defined in claim 17 wherein said courtesy signal is a low-power rf serial binary signal.