Method for device to report when it may be missing

• US 9,392,405 B1
• Filed: 01/15/2016
• Issued: 07/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/2016
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Auvenshine, John J, Will, Henry C IV
• Primary Examiner(s): Akonai, Olumide T Ajibade
• Assistant Examiner(s): Yi, Alexander
• Application Number:
  US14/997,192
• Time in Patent Office: 179 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.3, 455/410, 340/539.32, 340/539.11, 340/572.1, 235/385
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A method of locating a smartphone or electronic device may include determining a location of a such device (e.g. smartphone), continuously monitoring time and location of the smartphone, predicting expected locations of the smartphone, and issuing alerts regarding the location of the smartphone.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining that a first electronic device is not within its expected location, the expected location predicted based on previous movement patterns of the first electronic device captured via location data such as GPS and time associated with the previous movement patterns;

selecting contacts from a contact list on the first electronic device for notification of the contacts when the first electronic device is not within its expected location;

continuously monitoring time and location data for the first electronic device;

sending the time and location data of the first electronic device to a centralized server, wherein the location data of the first electronic device is reported as location coordinates;

issuing an alert that the first electronic device is lost, wherein the alert that the first electronic device is lost is based on determining that a current time and location of the first electronic device is inconsistent with prior patterns, and based on determining that the first electronic device is not moving according to its acceleration, gyroscopic and GPS sensors, and based on the electronic device following a set pattern, and based on analytics performed at the centralized server in conjunction with time and location data from other registered devices indicating that the first electronic device is not near other electronic devices it is normally near at this time or location, wherein the expected location is further predicted as a function of a distance between the first electronic device and a nearby second electronic device having the first electronic device'"'"'s previous movement patterns and known to be traveling with the first electronic device, wherein the alerting issues a first alert call to the first electronic device if there has been no use of the first electronic device since a current normal location of the first electronic device changed, wherein the alerting issues a second alert call to the contacts on the contact list of whom first electronic device user is normally with at this time if there is no response from the first alert call, and wherein the alerting further includes issuing a third alert to the second electronic device that the first electronic device is lost, wherein the expected location is predicted as a function of location in relation to other devices that are located nearby or are known to be traveling with the first electronic device, wherein the first electronic device tracks it'"'"'s distance to the second electronic device using electronic signal strength between the devices, wherein when the electronic signal strength is determined to go below a threshold, the first electronic device emits a notification and the second electronic device emits a notification.