System for selective prevention of non-emergency use of an electronic device
DCFirst Claim
1. A system for selectively disabling use of at least one feature of a stand-alone electronic device, the device having a plurality of features, in response to a predetermined set of conditions of the electronic device being satisfied, the system comprising:
- the stand-alone electronic device comprising having the plurality of features;
means for establishing a state of the set of conditions as being satisfied or unsatisfied, the predetermined set of conditions comprising conditions indicating location within a predetermined area having a fixed boundary that is independent of a communications network cell boundary;
means for communicating the state to the electronic device; and
means for completely disabling the selected feature if the state is satisfied.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for selectively disabling use of at least selected features of a stand-alone electronic device under a predetermined set of conditions. The system establishes a state of the set of conditions as being satisfied or unsatisfied, communicates the state to the electronic device, and disables the selected features if the state is satisfied. In one embodiment, the system may be advantageously be used to prevent vehicular accidents by at least partially disabling non-emergency use of a wireless telephone in a moving vehicle. In another embodiment, the system may be used to disable features of an electronic device within a predetermined area having a boundary that is independent of a communications network cell.
376 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A system for selectively disabling use of at least one feature of a stand-alone electronic device, the device having a plurality of features, in response to a predetermined set of conditions of the electronic device being satisfied, the system comprising:
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the stand-alone electronic device comprising having the plurality of features;
means for establishing a state of the set of conditions as being satisfied or unsatisfied, the predetermined set of conditions comprising conditions indicating location within a predetermined area having a fixed boundary that is independent of a communications network cell boundary;
means for communicating the state to the electronic device; and
means for completely disabling the selected feature if the state is satisfied. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system for selectively at least partially disabling non-emergency use of a wireless telephone in a vehicle, the system comprising:
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the wireless telephone;
the vehicle;
means for establishing that the use is emergency or non-emergency use;
means for establishing a state of the vehicle, and optionally a position of the telephone within the vehicle, as being acceptable or unacceptable for non-emergency use of the telephone;
means for communicating the state to the telephone, to a service provider for the telephone, or both; and
means for disabling non-emergency use of the telephone when the state is unacceptable. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A stand-alone electronic device having a plurality of features and adapted to have at least one feature selectively disabled under a predetermined set of conditions, at least one such condition comprising location within a predetermined area having a fixed boundary that is independent of a communications network cell boundary, the device comprising:
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means for receiving a communication for indicating that the set of conditions has been satisfied, including that the device is located within the predetermined area; and
means for disabling the selected feature in response to the communication indicating that the set of conditions has been satisfied.
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25. A computer program product comprising at least one program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform the method steps for, under a predetermined set of conditions, at least one such condition comprising location of the device within a predetermined area having a fixed boundary that is independent of a communications network cell boundary, selectively disabling use of at least one selected feature of a stand-alone electronic device having a plurality of features, the method steps comprising:
(a) receiving an input indicating that the set of conditions has been satisfied, including that the device is located within the predetermined area; and
(b) disabling the feature in response to the input.
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26. A wireless telephone adapted to be at least partially disabled for non-emergency use based upon a state of a vehicle in which the telephone is located, the telephone comprising:
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means for establishing whether a use is emergency or non-emergency use;
means for receiving a communication indicating a state of the vehicle in which non-emergency use should be disabled; and
means for at least partially disabling non-emergency use of the telephone in response to the communication.
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27. A computer program product comprising at least one program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a set of method steps for at least partially disabling non-emergency use of a wireless telephone based upon a state of a vehicle in which the telephone is located, the method steps comprising:
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(a) determining whether an attempted use is emergency or non-emergency use;
(b) receiving an input indicating a state of the vehicle in which non-emergency use should be disabled; and
(c) disabling non-emergency use of the telephone in response to the input. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29)
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30. A controller for use with a system for, under a predetermined set of conditions, providing a communication to cause at least one feature to be disabled of a wireless telephone having a plurality of features, the controller comprising:
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means for determining if the set of conditions has been satisfied; and
means for sending the communication to the wireless telephone, service provider for the wireless telephone, or a combination thereof, if the set of conditions are satisfied;
wherein the set of conditions comprises conditions indicating location of the wireless telephone within a predetermined area having a fixed boundary that is independent of a communications network cell boundary or wherein the controller is located within a vehicle and the means for determining the set of conditions comprises means for determining if the vehicle is moving or engaged to be moved and means for determining if the wireless telephone is within a predetermined position within the vehicle.
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31. A computer program product comprising at least one program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform the method steps for, under a predetermined set of conditions, providing a communication to cause at least one feature to be disabled of a wireless telephone having a plurality of features, the method steps comprising:
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(a) establishing a state of the set of conditions as being satisfied or unsatisfied; and
(b) sending the communication to the, wireless telephone, a service provider for the wireless telephone, or a combination thereof;
wherein the set of conditions comprises conditions indicating location of the wireless telephone within a predetermined area having a fixed boundary that is independent of a communications network cell boundary or conditions indicating location within a predetermined position in a vehicle that is moving or engaged to be moved.
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Specification