Acceleration-based theft detection system for portable electronic devices
First Claim
1. A theft prevention system for protecting a portable electronic device, comprising:
- an acceleration sensor, an audio output device, and a controller operatively connected with the acceleration sensor and the audio output device, the acceleration sensor, the audio output, and the controller each being proximate to the portable electronic device, the theft prevention system being configured to;
display a graphical user interface for a user of the portable electronic device to initiate the theft prevention system or to set one or more parameters to be used by the theft prevention system in detecting a theft condition;
sense an acceleration of the portable electronic device by the acceleration sensor, the acceleration sensor producing an acceleration signal;
examine characteristics of the acceleration signal to detect whether a theft condition is present; and
initiate, by the controller, the production of an alarm signal using the audio output device when it is detected that a theft condition is present;
wherein the graphical user interface is configured to;
display a theft detection menu; and
when the theft detection system is not active, receive a user input selection in the theft detection menu for activating the theft detection system;
when the theft detection system is active, receive a user input selection in the theft detection menu for deactivating the theft detection system.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A theft prevention system for protecting portable electronic devices is disclosed. An acceleration sensor detects the acceleration of a portable electronic device, and a controller analyzes this acceleration to determine whether a theft condition is present. If so, an alarm can be initiated. The theft prevention system can include a filter for attenuating irrelevant acceleration frequencies and isolating those representative of theft, and comparison hardware/software for determining whether the detected acceleration matches a known acceleration profile characteristic of theft. Various parameters of the theft prevention system can also be set by a user through mechanisms such as a graphical user interface.
172 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A theft prevention system for protecting a portable electronic device, comprising:
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an acceleration sensor, an audio output device, and a controller operatively connected with the acceleration sensor and the audio output device, the acceleration sensor, the audio output, and the controller each being proximate to the portable electronic device, the theft prevention system being configured to; display a graphical user interface for a user of the portable electronic device to initiate the theft prevention system or to set one or more parameters to be used by the theft prevention system in detecting a theft condition; sense an acceleration of the portable electronic device by the acceleration sensor, the acceleration sensor producing an acceleration signal; examine characteristics of the acceleration signal to detect whether a theft condition is present; and initiate, by the controller, the production of an alarm signal using the audio output device when it is detected that a theft condition is present; wherein the graphical user interface is configured to; display a theft detection menu; and when the theft detection system is not active, receive a user input selection in the theft detection menu for activating the theft detection system; when the theft detection system is active, receive a user input selection in the theft detection menu for deactivating the theft detection system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A portable electronic device having a system far protecting against theft, comprising:
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a housing of the portable electronic device; an acceleration sensor proximate to the housing and configured to detect an acceleration of the portable electronic device and produce an acceleration signal; circuitry configured to examine characteristics of the acceleration signal to detect whether a theft condition is present; an output device; and a controller configured to display a graphical user interface for a user of the portable electronic device to initiate the theft prevention system or to set one or more parameters to be used by the theft prevention system in detecting a theft condition, and to initiate the output of an alarm using the output device when it is detected that a theft condition is present; wherein the graphical user interface is configured to; display a theft detection menu; and when the theft detection system is not active, receive a user input selection in the theft detection menu for activating the theft detection system; when the theft detection system is active, receive a user input selection in the theft detection menu for deactivating the theft detection system. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of protecting a portable electronic device against theft, comprising:
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displaying a graphical user interface for a user of the portable electronic device to initiate the theft prevention system or to set one or more parameters to be used by the theft prevention system in detecting a theft condition, wherein the graphical user interface is configured to; display a theft detection menu; and when the theft detection system is not active, receive a user input selection in the theft detection menu for activating the theft detection system; when the theft detection system is active, receive a user input selection in the theft detection menu for deactivating the theft detection system; monitoring the portable electronic device so as to generate an acceleration signal corresponding to an acceleration of the portable electronic device, the acceleration signal having frequency characteristics of movement of the portable electronic device; filtering the acceleration signal so as to isolate the frequencies characteristic of movement of the device; comparing the acceleration signal to an empirically determined frequency profile corresponding to a theft condition so as to determine a metric measuring a correspondence between the frequency profile and the frequency characteristics of movement of the device; and generating an alarm when the metric indicates that a theft condition is present. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A theft prevention system for protecting a portable electronic device, comprising:
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an acceleration sensor, an audio output device, and a controller operatively connected with the acceleration sensor and the audio output device, the acceleration sensor, the audio output, and the controller each being proximate to the portable electronic device, the theft prevention system being configured to; display a graphical user interface for a user of the portable electronic device to initiate the theft prevention system or to set one or more parameters to be used by the theft prevention system in detecting a theft condition wherein the graphical user interface is configured to; display a theft detection menu; and when the theft detection system is not active, receive a user input selection in the theft detection menu for activating the theft detection system; when the theft detection system is active, receive a user input selection in the theft detection menu for deactivating the theft detection system; sense an acceleration of the portable electronic device by the acceleration sensor, the acceleration sensor producing a acceleration signal; examine characteristics of the acceleration signal to detect whether a theft condition is present; and initiate, by the controller, the production of an internal theft signal when it is detected that a theft condition is present. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31)
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Specification