Systems and methods for deterring theft of electronic devices
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for deterring theft of electronic devices, comprising:
- receiving by a receiver of the device a disabling signal targeting the device remotely via a network, the disabling signal being transmitted at a rate that decreases corresponding to a duration of time that has expired since the device was reported lost;
in response to receiving the disabling signal, electronically disabling the device via a component of the device that cannot be removed without destroying the device; and
in response to receiving the disabling signal, transmitting from the device location information corresponding to the device.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods for remotely shutting down or preventing operation of device via a wireless network infrastructure are provided. The device may be disabled using a defined command the device receives on a wide area network, such as a SPOT network or wireless carrier network. In various embodiments, the device responds to pre-defined command(s) and operation is disabled locally. Override codes may be used to locally re-enable the device. In a “keep alive” embodiment, the device operates as long as it continues to receive “keep alive” messages from the intended environment.
-
Citations
25 Claims
-
1. A method for deterring theft of electronic devices, comprising:
-
receiving by a receiver of the device a disabling signal targeting the device remotely via a network, the disabling signal being transmitted at a rate that decreases corresponding to a duration of time that has expired since the device was reported lost; in response to receiving the disabling signal, electronically disabling the device via a component of the device that cannot be removed without destroying the device; and in response to receiving the disabling signal, transmitting from the device location information corresponding to the device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-
-
9. A method for deterring theft of electronic devices, comprising:
-
in response to receiving an indication that a device is lost, adding a unique identifier associated with the device to a list; and broadcasting a disabling message targeting the device via at least one transmitter of a network, the disabling message being broadcast at a rate that decreases corresponding to a duration of time that has expired since receiving the indication that the device is lost, such that in response to receiving the disabling message, the device disables via a component of the device that cannot be removed without destroying the device. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
-
-
14. An electronic device, comprising:
-
at least one component capable of being disabled via at least one local disabling signal; a processing component coupled to the at least one component; and a receiver communicatively coupled to said processing component for receiving a remote disabling signal targeting the device via a network, the remote disabling signal being transmitted at a rate that decreases conesponding to a duration of time that has expired since the device was reported lost, wherein, in response to said receiver'"'"'s reception of the remote disabling signal, said processing component electronically disables the device via said at least one component, wherein none of said at least one component, said processing component and said receiver can be removed without destroying the device. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
-
-
23. A computing device, comprising:
-
means for receiving by the device a disabling signal targeting the device remotely via a network, the disabling signal being transmitted at a rate that decreases conesponding to a duration of time that has expired since the device was reported lost; means for electronically disabling, in response to receiving the disabling signal, the device via a component of the device that cannot be removed without destroying the device; and means for transmitting from the device, in response to receiving the disabling signal, location information corresponding to the device.
-
-
24. A computer readable medium comprising computer executable modules having computer executable instructions for performing the following steps:
-
in response to receiving an indication that a device is lost, adding a unique identifier associated with the device to a list; and broadcasting a disabling message targeting the device via at least one transmitter of a network, the disabling message being broadcast at a rate that decreases conesponding to a duration of time that has expired since receiving the indication that the device is lost, such that in response to receiving the disabling message, the device disables via a component of the device that cannot be removed without destroying the device.
-
-
25. A computer readable medium comprising computer executable modules having computer executable instructions for performing the following steps:
-
receiving by a receiver of the device a disabling signal targeting the device remotely via a network, the disabling signal being transmitted at a rate that decreases corresponding to a duration of time that has expired since the device was reported lost; in response to receiving the disabling signal, electronically disabling the device via a component of the device that cannot be removed without destroying the device; and in response to receiving the disabling signal, transmitting from the device location information corresponding to the device.
-
Specification