PHONE LOCATOR

• US 20090318197A1
• Filed: 06/24/2008
• Published: 12/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Modu Limited (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Kremer, Nataly, Sherman, Itay, Ron, Uri, Bychkov, Eyal
• Granted Patent: US 8,412,226 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/567
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/04 the ringing-current being generated at the substations
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring

Abstract

A method for locating a misplaced mobile phone, including receiving, by a mobile phone, a transmitted message, identifying, by the mobile phone, the transmitted message as being an alert request, and in response to the identifying, generating, by the mobile phone, an alert. A mobile phone is also described and claimed.

Claims

1. A method for locating a misplaced mobile phone, comprising:

receiving, by a mobile phone, a transmitted message;

identifying, by the mobile phone, the transmitted message as being an alert request; and

in response to said identifying, generating, by the mobile phone, an alert.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said generating an alert comprises sounding an audible alert for a pre-designated amount of time.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said generating an alert comprises sounding an audible alert at a pre-designated volume.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said generating an alert comprises sounding an audible alert according to a pre-designated sound pattern.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said generating an alert comprises emitting light.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said generating an alert comprises vibrating the mobile phone.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising, in response to said identifying, displaying, by the mobile phone, a pre-designated image.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising, in response to said identifying, playing, by the mobile phone, a pre-designated audio recording.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising, in response to said identifying, playing, by the mobile phone, a pre-designated video recording.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the transmitted message is an SMS message.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the transmitted message is an MMS message.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the transmitted message is transmitted via Bluetooth.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the transmitted message is transmitted via Wi-Fi.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the transmitted message is transmitted via a web server.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the transmitted message is transmitted via Wireless Application Protocol (WAP).

16. A mobile phone, comprising:

a receiver for receiving a transmitted message;

a message parser, coupled with said receiver, for identifying the transmitted message as being an alert request; and

at least one speaker, coupled with said message parser, for sounding an audible alert in response to said message parser identifying the alert request.

17. The mobile phone of claim 16 wherein said at least one speaker sounds the audible alert for a pre-designated amount of time.

18. The mobile phone of claim 16 wherein said at least one speaker sounds the audible alert at a pre-designated volume.

19. The mobile phone of claim 16 wherein said at least one speaker sounds the audible alert according to a pre-designated sound pattern.

20. The mobile phone of claim 16 further comprising a display, coupled with said message parser, for displaying a pre-designated image in response to said message parser identifying the alert request.

21. The mobile phone of claim 16 further comprising a light emitter, coupled with said message parser, for emitting light in response to said message parser identifying the alert request.

22. The mobile phone of claim 16 further comprising a vibrator, coupled with said message parser, for vibrating the mobile phone in response to said message parser identifying the alert request.

23. The mobile phone of claim 16 further comprising an audio player for playing a pre-designated audio recording, in response to said message parser identifying the alert request.

24. The mobile phone of claim 16 further comprising a video player for playing a pre-designated video recording, in response to said message parser identifying the alert request.

25. The mobile phone of claim 16 wherein said receiver is an SMS message receiver.

26. The mobile phone of claim 16 wherein said receiver is an MMS message receiver.

27. The mobile phone of claim 16 wherein said receiver is a Bluetooth receiver.

28. The mobile phone of claim 16 wherein said receiver is a Wi-Fi receiver.

29. A method for locating a misplaced electronic communication device, comprising:

receiving, by an electronic communication device, a transmitted message;

identifying, by the electronic communication device, the transmitted message as being an alert request; and

in response to said identifying, generating, by the electronic communication device, an alert.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein the electronic communication device is a portable digital assistant (PDA).

31. The method of claim 29 wherein the electronic communication device is a pager.

32. An electronic communication device, comprising:

a receiver for receiving a transmitted message;

a message parser, coupled with said receiver, for identifying the transmitted message as being an alert request; and

at least one speaker, coupled with said message parser, for sounding an audible alert in response to said message parser identifying the alert request.

33. The electronic communication device of claim 32 wherein the electronic communication device is a portable digital assistant (PDA).

34. The electronic communication device of claim 32 wherein the electronic communication device is a pager.