SAFETY FEATURES FOR PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE

• US 20120289217A1
• Filed: 07/27/2012
• Published: 11/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Longhorn Automotive Group LLC (Alpha Alpha Intellectual Partners LLC)
• Original Assignee: ZoomSafer Inc. (Aegis Mobility Incorporated)
• Inventors: Riemer, Michael S., Barbera, Melvin A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,565,820 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/418
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6091 including a wireless interface
• 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 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72463 to restrict the functionality of the device
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information

Abstract

A portable device includes a safety feature that prevents some forms of use when the device is moving. The device may detect its speed or movement, compare that to a threshold, and provide a response or blocking function upon exceeding that threshold. The device may be a cell phone configured to disable transmission and reception of voice/text, conceal its display screen, and disable incorporated features and functions, if the cell phone is moving faster than walking speed or the movement is uncharacteristic of walking. The blocking function may be partially overridden based on a safety policy, which can be managed and customized. The introduction of hands-free devices may serve to override a blocking function and enable other functions.

Claims

1. A portable electronic device system, comprising:

a portable electronic device providing a plurality of functions;

a motion detection logic receiving data from a motion detector and communicating one or more signals indicative of movements of a user of the portable electronic device unrelated to speed;

a safety circuit receiving the one or more signals, the safety circuit including a threshold logic comparing the movements to one or more thresholds and generating one or more threshold signals, the safety circuit modifying a behavior of one or more functions from the plurality of functions in response to the one or more threshold signals; and

a safety policy received from a consumer of the portable electronic device, the safety policy indicating a consumer preference relating to the modification of the one or more functions in response to the one or more threshold signals.

2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the portable electronic device is selected from the group consisting of a cellular phone, a telecommunications device, a mobile device, a data processing device, a portable digital assistant (PDA), a laptop computer, a netbook, a smartbook, or an MP3 player.

3. The system as recited in claim 1, further comprising an alert system sending an alert to one or more recipients according to one or more events defined in the safety policy.

4. The system as recited in claim 3, wherein the alert is selected from the group consisting of an audial alert and a text alert.

5. The system as recited in claim 3, wherein the one or more recipients include the consumer and a second consumer.

6. The system as recited in claim 3, wherein the one or more functions include a voice communication function, wherein the alert system sends the alert to a second consumer in response to the portable electronic device receiving a voice communication from the second consumer.

7. The system as recited in claim 3, wherein the one or more functions include a text messaging function, wherein the alert system sends the alert to a second consumer in response to the portable electronic device receiving a text communication from the second consumer.

8. The system as recited in claim 7, wherein the text communication is selected from the group consisting of a text message, an email, a multimedia message, and an instant message.

9. The system as recited in claim 3, wherein the safety policy includes account information for one or more third-party websites, wherein the alert consists of a status message posted on the one or more third-party websites.

10. The system as recited in claim 3, wherein the one or more recipients include a third-party application.

11. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the third-party application is located within the portable electronic device.

12. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the third-party application is located remotely to the portable electronic device.

13. The system as recited in claim 3, wherein the alert includes additional information selected from the group consisting of a status information of the portable electronic device, an advertising content, a sponsorship content, and another form of content.

14. The system as recited in claim 1, further comprising a dashboard displayed on a display of a computer or the portable electronic device enabling the consumer to edit the safety policy.

15. The system as recited in claim 14, wherein the dashboard enables the consumer to edit the safety policy by deleting the safety policy, creating a new safety policy, and modifying the safety policy or the new safety policy.

16. The system as recited in claim 14, wherein the dashboard enables the consumer to edit one or more administrative safety policies.

17. The system as recited in claim 16, wherein the dashboard enables the consumer to assign a policy from the one or more administrative safety policies to a second consumer.

18. The system as recited in claim 14, wherein the dashboard enables the consumer to modify remotely a behavior of a function from the one or more functions.

19. The system as recited in claim 14, wherein the dashboard enables the consumer to send a query to the portable electronic device to obtain a status information of the portable electronic device.

20. The system as recited in claim 19, wherein the one or more functions include a text messaging function, wherein the query comprises a text communication sent to the portable electronic device.

21. The system as recited in claim 20, wherein the text communication is selected from the group consisting of an email, a text message, a multimedia message, an instant message, and another form of message.

22. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the safety policy includes a keypad access policy of the portable electronic device.

23. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the safety policy defines the one or more threshold signals.

24. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the portable electronic device includes one or more third-party applications, wherein the safety policy defines a modification of behavior of the one or more third-party applications in response to the one or more threshold signals.

25. The system as recited in claim 24, wherein the modification of behavior of the one or more third-party applications includes the safety circuit suppressing an alert associated with the one or more third-party applications or the safety circuit converting the alert into an audible announcement with a text to speech converter.

26. The system as recited in claim 1, the portable electronic device including a list of contacts, wherein the safety policy defines a priority level for one or more contacts from the list of contacts.

27. The system as recited in claim 26, wherein the one or more functions invoked in response to an action initiated by a contact from the list of contacts are modified based on the priority level of the contact.

28. The system as recited in claim 26, wherein a ring tone invoked in response to an action initiated by a contact from the list of contacts is based on the priority level of the contact.

29. The system as recited in claim 26, further comprising an alert system, wherein an audible alert played in response to an action initiated by a contact from the list of contacts is based on the priority level of the contact.

30. The system as recited in claim 29, wherein the audible alert plays a contact information associated with the contact.

31. The system as recited in claim 30, wherein the contact information includes a name of the contact, a phone number of the contact, and the priority level of the contact.

32. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the data received from the motion detector includes positioning data for the portable electronic device.

33. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the motion detector comprises a GPS data receiver.

34. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the motion detector comprises an accelerometer.

35. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the motion detector comprises a navigation system.

36. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the safety policy defines one or more additional events triggering the modification of the one or more functions.

37. The system as recited in claim 36, wherein the portable electronic device is in communication with one or more hands-free devices, wherein the one or more additional events include detecting the one or more hands-free devices.

38. The system as recited in claim 37, wherein the one or more hands-free devices include a BLUETOOTH system.

39. The system as recited in claim 36, wherein the one or more additional events are selected from the group consisting of detecting the presence of a charger, detecting the presence of a cradle, detecting the presence of a BLUETOOTH system, detecting the presence of a navigation device, detecting the presence of a token mechanism associated with a vehicle, and a calendar event.

40. The system as recited in claim 36, wherein an event entry is stored on a safety log associated with the portable electronic device in response to the one or more additional events.

41. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein a threshold entry is stored on a safety log associated with the portable electronic device in response to the one or more threshold signals.

42. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the portable electronic device includes a speaker and a microphone, the system further comprising a set of voice services, wherein the set of voice services enables the consumer to use the one or more functions with one or more voice commands when the safety circuit modifies the behavior of the one or more functions.

43. The system as recited in claim 42, wherein the set of voice services is located within the portable electronic device.

44. The system as recited in claim 42, wherein the set of voice services is located remotely to the portable electronic device.

45. The system as recited in claim 42, wherein the set of voice services overrides the behavior of the one or more functions.

46. The system as recited in claim 42, wherein the set of voice services enables the consumer to use one or more third-party applications within the portable electronic device and one or more remote third-party applications when the safety circuit modifies the behavior of the one or more third-party applications and the one or more remote third-party applications.

47. The system as recited in claim 42, wherein the one or more functions include a text messaging function, wherein a text to speech converter converts a text communication received by the portable electronic device into audio played to the consumer.

48. The system as recited in claim 42, wherein the one or more functions include a text messaging function, wherein a speech to text converter converts audio dictated by the consumer to a text communication.

49. The system as recited in claim 42, wherein the one or more functions include a voice communication function, and wherein the one or more voice commands enable the consumer to perform at least one of answering a voice communication initiated by a second consumer and received by the portable electronic device, listening to a contact information associated with the second consumer, listening to voice mail messages, and initiating a second vice communication to a third consumer.

50. The system as recited in claim 42, wherein the one or more functions include a text messaging function, wherein the one or more voice commands enable the consumer to perform at least one of listening to a text communication received by the portable electronic device and converted to audio with a text to speech converter, listening to a contact information associated with the text communication, dictating audio converted to a second text communication with a speech to text converter, and responding to the text communication.

51. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more functions include a voice communication function, wherein the safety policy defines a modification of a ring-back tone played to a second consumer initiating a voice communication to the portable electronic device.

52. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more functions include a voice communication function, wherein the safety policy defines a modification of a voice mail greeting played to a second consumer initiating a voice communication to the portable electronic device.

53. A method of modifying a behavior of one or more functions of a portable electronic device, comprising the steps of:

detecting movements of a user of the portable electronic device unrelated to speed;

comparing the movements to one or more thresholds;

determining whether the movements are in excess of the one or more thresholds; and

modifying the behavior of the one or more functions in response to the movements exceeding the one or more thresholds, wherein a manner in which the behavior is modified is defined in a safety policy controlled by a consumer.

54. The method as recited in claim 53, wherein the portable electronic device is selected from the group consisting of a cellular phone, a telecommunications device, a mobile device, a data processing device, a portable digital assistant (PDA), a laptop computer, a netbook, a smartbook, or an MP3 player.

55. The method as recited in claim 53, further comprising the step of sending an alert to one or more recipients according to one or more events defined in the safety policy.

56. The method as recited in claim 55, wherein the alert is selected from the group consisting of an audial alert and a text alert.

57. The method as recited in claim 55, wherein the one or more recipients include the consumer and a second consumer.

58. The method as recited in claim 55, wherein the one or more functions include a voice communication function, wherein the step of sending an alert includes the step of sending the alert to a second consumer in response to the portable electronic device receiving a voice communication from the second consumer.

59. The method as recited in claim 55, wherein the one or more functions include a text messaging function, wherein the step of sending an alert includes the step of sending the alert to a second consumer in response to the portable electronic device receiving a text communication from the second consumer.

60. The method as recited in claim 59, wherein the text communication is selected from the group consisting of a text message, an email, a multimedia message, and an instant message.

61. The method as recited in claim 55, wherein the safety policy includes account information for one or more third-party websites, wherein the step of sending an alert includes the step of posting the alert as a status message on the one or more third-party websites.

62. The method as recited in claim 55, wherein the one or more recipients include a third-party application.

63. The method as recited in claim 62, wherein the third-party application is located within the portable electronic device.

64. The method as recited in claim 62, wherein the third-party application is located remotely to the portable electronic device.

65. The method as recited in claim 55, wherein the alert includes additional information selected from the group consisting of a status information of the portable electronic device, an advertising content, a sponsorship content, and another form of content.

66. The method as recited in claim 53, further comprising the steps of:

displaying a dashboard on a display of a computer or the portable electronic device for editing the safety policy; and

enabling the consumer to edit the safety policy.

67. The method as recited in claim 66, wherein the step of enabling the consumer to edit the safety policy further comprises the steps of:

enabling the consumer to delete the safety policy;

enabling the consumer to create a new safety policy; and

enabling the consumer to modify the safety policy or the new safety policy.

68. The method as recited in claim 66, wherein the step of enabling the consumer to edit the safety policy includes the step of enabling the consumer to edit one or more administrative safety policies.

69. The method as recited in claim 68, wherein the step of enabling the consumer to edit one or more administrative safety policies includes the step of enabling the consumer to assign a policy from the one or more administrative safety policies to a second consumer.

70. The method as recited in claim 66, wherein the step of enabling the consumer to edit the safety policy includes the step of enabling the consumer to modify remotely a behavior of a function from the one or more functions.

71. The method as recited in claim 66, further comprising the step of enabling the consumer to send a query to the portable electronic device to obtain a status information of the portable electronic device.

72. The method as recited in claim 71, wherein the one or more functions include a text messaging function, wherein the query comprises a text communication sent to the portable electronic device.

73. The method as recited in claim 72, wherein the text communication is selected from the group consisting of an email, a text message, a multimedia message, an instant message, and another form of message.

74. The method as recited in claim 53, wherein the safety policy includes a keypad access policy of the portable electronic device.

75. The method as recited in claim 53, wherein the safety policy defines the one or more thresholds.

76. The method as recited in claim 53, wherein the portable electronic device includes one or more third-party applications, further comprising the step of modifying an application behavior of the one or more third-party applications in response to the motion exceeding the one or more thresholds, wherein an application manner in which the application behavior is modified is defined in the safety policy.

77. The method as recited in claim 76, wherein the step of modifying an application behavior of the one or more third-party applications further comprises the steps of:

suppressing an alert associated with the one or more third-party applications; and

converting the alert into an audible announcement with a text to speech converter.

78. The method as recited in claim 53, the portable electronic device including a list of contacts, further comprising the step of allowing for a priority level of one or more contacts from the list of contacts to be defined in the safety policy.

79. The method as recited in claim 78, further comprising the step of modifying the behavior of the one or more functions invoked in response to an action initiated by a contact from the list of contacts based on the priority level of the contact.

80. The method as recited in claim 78, further comprising the step of modifying a ring tone invoked in response to an action initiated by a contact from the list of contacts based on the priority level of the contact.

81. The method as recited in claim 78, further comprising the step of playing an audible alert invoked in response to an action initiated by a contact from the list of contacts based on the priority level of the contact.

82. The method as recited in claim 81, wherein the step of playing an audible alert includes the step of playing a contact information associated with the contact.

83. The method as recited in claim 82, wherein the contact information includes a name of the contact, a phone number of the contact, and the priority level of the contact.

84. The method as recited in claim 53, wherein the step of detecting movements includes the step of receiving data from a motion detector, wherein the data received from the motion detector includes positioning data for the portable electronic device.

85. The method as recited in claim 53, wherein the step of detecting movements includes the step of receiving data from a motion detector, wherein the motion detector comprises a GPS data receiver.

86. The method as recited in claim 53, wherein the step of detecting movements includes the step of receiving data from a motion detector, wherein the motion detector comprises an accelerometer.

87. The method as recited in claim 53, wherein the step of detecting movements includes the step of receiving data from a motion detector, wherein the motion detector comprises a navigation system.

88. The method as recited in claim 53, further comprising the steps of:

triggering one or more additional events defined in the safety policy; and

modifying the behavior of the one or more functions in response to the one or more additional events.

89. The method as recited in claim 88, wherein the one or more additional events include detecting use of one or more hands-free devices in combination with the portable electronic device.

90. The method as recited in claim 89, wherein the one or more hands-free devices include a BLUETOOTH system.

91. The method as recited in claim 88, wherein the one or more additional events are selected from the group consisting of detecting the presence of a charger, detecting the presence of a cradle, detecting the presence of a BLUETOOTH system, detecting the presence of a navigation device, detecting the presence of a token mechanism associated with a vehicle, and a calendar event.

92. The method as recited in claim 88, further comprising the step of storing an event entry on a safety log associated with the portable electronic device in response to the one or more additional events.

93. The method as recited in claim 53, further comprising the step of storing a threshold entry on a safety log associated with the portable electronic device in response to the one or more thresholds.

94. The method as recited in claim 53, wherein the portable electronic device includes a speaker and a microphone, wherein the step of modifying the behavior of the one more functions includes the step of enabling the consumer to use the one or more functions with a set of voice services.

95. The method as recited in claim 94, wherein the set of voice services is located within the portable electronic device.

96. The method as recited in claim 94, wherein the set of voice services is located remotely to the portable electronic device.

97. The method as recited in claim 94, further comprising the step of overriding the behavior of the one or more functions with the set of voice services.

98. The method as recited in claim 94, further comprising the step of enabling the consumer to use one or more third-party applications within the portable electronic device and one or more remote third-party applications with the set of voice services.

99. The method as recited in claim 94, wherein the one or more functions include a text messaging function, further comprising the steps of:

converting a text communication received by the portable electronic device into audio with a text to speech converter; and

playing the audio to the consumer.

100. The method as recited in claim 94, wherein the one or more functions include a text messaging function, further comprising the steps of:

receiving audio dictated by the consumer; and

converting the audio to a text communication with a speech to text converter.

101. The method as recited in claim 94, wherein the one or more functions include a voice communication function, wherein the step of enabling the consumer to use the one or more functions with a set of voice services further comprises the steps of:

enabling the consumer to answer a voice communication initiated by a second consumer and received by the portable electronic device;

enabling the consumer to listen to a contact information associated with the second consumer;

enabling the consumer to listen to voice mail messages; and

enabling the consumer to initiate a second voice communication to a third consumer.

102. The method as recited in claim 94, wherein the one or more functions include a text messaging function, wherein the step of enabling the consumer to use the one or more functions with a set of voice services further comprises the steps of:

converting a text communication received by the portable electronic device to an audio with a text to speech converter;

enabling the consumer to listen to the audio;

enabling the consumer to listen to a contact information associated with the text communication;

enabling the consumer to dictate a dictated audio;

converting the dictated audio to a second text communication with a speech to text converter; and

enabling the consumer to respond to the text communication.

103. The method as recited in claim 53, wherein the one or more functions include a voice communication function, further comprising the step of modifying a ring-back tone played to a second consumer initiating a voice communication to the portable electronic device, wherein the manner in which the ring-back tone is modified is defined in the safety policy.

104. The method as recited in claim 53, wherein the one or more functions include a voice communication function, further comprising the step of modifying a voice mail greeting played to a second consumer initiating a voice communication to the portable electronic device, wherein the manner in which the voice mail greeting is modified is defined in the safety policy.