Integrated motion detector in a mobile communications device

• US 6,438,393 B1
• Filed: 06/18/1999
• Issued: 08/20/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: WSOU Investments, LLC (WSOU Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Mobile Phones UK Limited (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Suuronen, Heikki
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, THANH C
• Application Number:
  US09/336,076
• Time in Patent Office: 1,159 Days
• Field of Search: 455/550, 455/575, 455/90, 455/66, 455/347, 455/351, 455/238.1, 340/539, 340/565, 340/566, 340/571, 340/573.1
• US Class Current: 455/575.1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1436 with motion detection
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/001 Alarm cancelling procedures or alarm forwarding decisions, e.g. based on absence of alarm confirmation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/04 the ringing-current being generated at the substations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10

Abstract

A mobile communications device (100) comprises a motion detector (101) for producing a signal which represents the kinetic state of the mobile communications device. Preferably the mobile communications device comprises a body and a vibrating alarm device in which a certain mass (105) is arranged so as to be movable with respect to the body of the mobile communications device, whereby said motion detector is an apparatus for measuring the movement of said mass. If the mass is arranged so as to rotate eccentrically with respect to a certain axle (103) and the vibrating alarm device further comprises an electric motor (102) with windings to rotate said axle, the apparatus for measuring the movement of said mass is an apparatus for measuring an electric current induced in the windings of the electric motor.

Claims

1. A mobile communications device, comprising a body and a vibrating alarm device of which in the latter a certain mass is movable with respect to the body of the mobile communications device, the mobile communications device further comprising a motion detector arranged to measure the movement of the mass in order to produce a signal representing a kinetic state of the mobile communications device.

2. The mobile communications device of claim 1, wherein said mass is arranged so as to rotate eccentrically with respect to a certain axle, and the vibrating alarm device further comprises an electric motor with windings to rotate said axle, so that said apparatus for measuring the movement of said mass is an apparatus for measuring an electric current induced in the windings of the electric motor.

3. The mobile communications device of claim 1, comprising a semiconductor acceleration sensor as a motion detector to produce a signal representing the kinetic state of the mobile communications device.

4. The mobile communications device of claim 1, comprising means for monitoring whether the motion detector produces a signal indicating motion of the mobile communications device in a certain predetermined time, and means for generating an alarm if the motion detector does not produce the signal indicating motion of the mobile communications device in said time.

5. The mobile communications device of claim 4, wherein the means for generating an alarm comprise means for sending a short message to a predetermined number.

6. The mobile communications device of claim 5, further comprising means for determining the position of the mobile communications device and means for adding data representing the position determined to said short message.

7. The mobile communications device of claim 1, comprising means for monitoring what kind of signals indicating motion of the mobile communications device the motion detector produces during a certain predetermined time, and means for generating summary information of the signals indicating motion of the mobile communications device in a certain time based on commands issued by the user.

8. An auxiliary to a mobile communications device, comprising a body and a vibrating alarm device of which in the latter a certain mass is movable with respect to the body, the auxiliary further comprising a motion detector arranged to measure the movement of the mass in order to produce a signal representing a kinetic state of the auxiliary.

9. An auxiliary to a mobile communications device of claim 8, wherein the auxiliary is a battery pack comprising a vibrating alarm device in which a certain mass is arranged so as to rotate eccentrically with respect to a certain axle, and the vibrating alarm device further comprises an electric motor with windings to rotate said axle, so that the apparatus for generating the signal representing the kinetic state is an apparatus for measuring an electric current induced in the windings of the electric motor.