MOBILE SECURITY SYSTEM

• US 20110210846A1
• Filed: 04/21/2011
• Published: 09/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Henry, Coulter C. JR., Causey, Mark Edward, Jones, Kevin W., Luu, Adrianne Binh, Andrus, Scott
• Granted Patent: US 8,933,804 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/539.17
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/002 Generating a prealarm to the central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/009 Signalling of the alarm condition to a substation whose identity is signalled to a central station, e.g. relaying alarm signals in order to extend communication range
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72418 for supporting emergency services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/02 including a Bluetooth interface
• 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 security system is described herein. A detector communicates with a mobile device if an event has occurred. The event may be various types of events, such as fire or motion. Once the mobile device receives the communication of the event occurrence, the mobile device may, among others, sound an alarm or communicate with a central monitoring system to notify emergency services of the occurrence. The mobile device may also communicate with another communication device, such as another cell phone or a computer, using various forms of communication. The detector may be an integral part of the mobile device, i.e. fixed part of the mobile device, or may be detachable. The detector may also be wholly separate.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

detecting an indication of an event;

generating an event signal indicative of the indication of the event;

determining whether to send the event signal directly or indirectly to a mobile device; and

sending the event signal to the mobile device based on the determination.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the event signal is sent to a cellular network for forwarding to the mobile device based on a determination that the event signal is to be sent to the mobile device indirectly.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the event signal is sent to the mobile device directly via at least one of a Bluetooth, cellular, or 802.x wireless communication protocol.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a second indication of a second event; and

activating a camera upon detecting the second indication of the second event.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication comprises at least one of sound, heat, light, infrared, or vibration.

6. A storage medium having stored thereon instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the steps of:

detecting an indication of an event;

generating an event signal indicative of the indication of the event;

determining whether to send the event signal directly or indirectly to a mobile device; and

sending the event signal to the mobile device based on the determination.

7. The storage medium of claim 6, wherein the event signal is sent to a cellular network for forwarding to the mobile device based on a determination that the event signal is to be sent to the mobile device indirectly.

8. The storage medium of claim 6, further comprising:

detecting a second indication of a second event; and

activating a camera upon detecting the second indication of the second event.

9. A method, comprising:

receiving a first event signal indicative of a first indication of a first event directly from a detector;

activating a first alarm upon receiving the first event signal;

receiving a second event signal indicative of a second indication of a second event indirectly from the detector; and

activating a second alarm upon receiving the second event signal.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving a third event signal indicative of a third indication of a third event from the detector; and

communicating the occurrence of the third event signal to a communication device via at least one of email, text message, multimedia message, and a telephonic communication.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving a third event signal indicative of a third indication of a third event from the detector; and

communicating the occurrence of the third event signal to a central monitoring station.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

activating a camera upon receiving the first event signal.

13. A mobile security system comprising:

a mobile security device comprising a cellular transceiver, wherein the mobile security device is configured to communicate with a cellular network; and

a first detector configured to detect a first indication of an event, and send a first event signal indicative of the first indication of the event to the mobile security device, wherein the first detector is configured to directly communicate with the mobile security device and indirectly communicate with the mobile security device.

14. The mobile security system of claim 13, wherein the first detector is configured to transmit the first event signal to a cellular network for forwarding to the mobile security device via the cellular network.

15. The mobile security system of claim 13, further comprising a second detector configured to send a second event signal to the mobile security device and the first detector if the second detector detects the event, wherein the first detector is configured to retransmit the second event signal to the mobile security device.

16. The mobile security system of claim 15, wherein the first detector is configured to detect a first type of events, and the second detector is configured to detect a second type of events.

17. A mobile security apparatus comprising:

a detection portion configured to detect an indication of an event;

a processor configured to generate an event signal upon detection of the event; and

a communication portion configured to directly and indirectly send the event signal to a mobile device.

18. The mobile security apparatus of claim 17, wherein the detection portion is configured to detect at least one of sound, heat, light, infrared, or vibration.

19. The mobile security apparatus of claim 17, wherein the communication portion is configured to transmit the event signal to a cellular network for forwarding to the mobile device via the cellular network.

20. The mobile security apparatus of claim 17, wherein the communication portion is configured to transmit the event signal using one of a Bluetooth, cellular, and 802.x wireless communication protocol.

21. The mobile security apparatus of claim 17, wherein the mobile security apparatus is attachable to the mobile device.