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Apple Patent To Safeguard 911 Cellphone Calls
MojoKid writes "Engineers from Apple have applied for a patent on an 'emergency' mode for cell phones that would squeeze every last drop of energy out of the batteries. The phone would recognize emergency calls when the user dialed an emergency number, such as 911 in the United States. But another number could also be stored as an 'emergency number' on the phone (a spouse, child, or parent, for example) or the user could manually put the phone in emergency mode. The process would do a variety of things. It would disable 'non-essential hardware components' and applications on the phone, reduce power to the screen and potentially reduce the phone's processor speed. It also would make it harder to disconnect the call and enable 'emergency phrase buttons' on the phone."
I used to work for a major cellphone manufacturer.
Cellphones already go into a special emergency mode. All phones definitely scan for more towers beyond those in the PRL list (preferred roaming list). I believe phones may also increase Tx power if battery is good and the CDMA noise floor is high.
One big problem I recall: it is not as well tested. The Verizon phone guys aren't going to yell "do you hear me now" at 911 operators. We had once instance where it was discovered that the 911 mode had a software bug and caused the phone to crash. That caused an immediate "stop ship". We definitely had to improve the synthetic 911 testing environment...
Although it sounds like what they're proposing here has some good ideas, the concept isn't groundbreaking. My Blackberry has an emergency callback mode and I've seen in action once. http://na.blackberry.com/eng/deliverables/1487/About_Emergency_Callback_Mode_26287_11.jsp
After all, if they intended to patent it "to stop others blocking it" they could just as easily have made it into prior art and it would have been cheaper to do.
(Not that Apple is using this as a defensive measure, but if they were...) what's the easiest way to "make it into prior art"? And before you say "publish it", what's the easiest way to make it into prior art that the USPTO will be guaranteed to search? Easiest way is to file a nonprovisional application, let the USPTO publish it, and then abandon the app. Examiners always search the USPTO database for prior art... They don't always search other journals. So, while publishing it would help Apple invalidate a patent on this if someone else got the patent and sued for infringement, they would still have to go to court and fight an uphill battle - granted patents are presumed valid.
So, other than a Statutory Invention Registration, the next best way to get something to be guaranteed prior art against anyone else is to file a nonprovisional and let the PTO publish.
Power isn't measured in amps, and also isn't the same thing as battery capacity.
Battery capacity is measured in milliamp-hours (even though does not allow direct comparison, in terms of stored energy, between batteries of different voltages), where 1 mAh would allow one milliamp to be drawn for one hour before the battery dies. If you can draw less current (fewer milliamps), you can get more running time (more hours, making up the same number of mAh), and this is how the software "makes more juice": it turns off various non-vital hardware, and presumably turns off non-vital software, meaning the processor is in power-save mode more of the time.
It's not about getting more power from the battery so much as reducing the amount of power you get from the battery.
# cat
Damn, my RAM is full of llamas.
Yes, this is a problem. I've known people with non-flip style phones who have accidentally dialed 911 while the phone is in their pocket. Even if you have your keypad locked, you can still dial 911. If the keypad gets hit, bumped, or stressed in the right way while in your pocket, it can manage to dial 911 and connect you without you knowing.
Heaven forbid that you'd find out and try to disconnect the call.
Mod parent up. Most of this is already standard, and mandated by the FCC. The new stuff is just some iPhone-specific problems that Apple has to deal with. All the nonessential guck in the phone needs to be switched off during emergency calls.
911 calls have at least the following FCC-mandated features.
It's not like Apple just invented "emergency mode".
The important advantage people seem to be missing is the patent allows extended use of the battery. Li-Ion batteries have a discharge threshold, below which the cell is damaged and can not be recharged. The charge protection circuit usually cuts off the power, to save the cells, when this point is reached. In an emergency, it's a really good idea to be able to bypass this protection. It's an emergency, you're not going to care if you ruin the battery; but, you may care that you can get an extra 10-20% more talk time out of the battery.
If Apple came out and guaranteed royalty free licensing for all then it would be a positive move for society.
Are you serious? Why would apple invest time and money in developing a technology only to give it away for free? The entire submission is a troll. There are literally thousands of patents on 911 technologies. Just because 911 is a public service doesn't mean that it exists in a vacuum of altruism; people still spend money and make money deploying and developing these technologies, so naturally there are patents. And like any other market, if it is useful and desired by the consumer, it should be profitable, and then the company that made it makes money. I know it's trendy to demonize contemporary corporations --especially when it comes to patents-- but this is how capitalism works ... this is the USA.
So only apple should be able to dim their LCD when the battery is low. So by your logic if I make an emergency call my phone should not be able to dim the screen if the battery is low?
That's not what the application claims. The applications claims "if the phone call is an emergency call, activating an emergency mode of the mobile phone to handle the phone call, wherein the emergency mode prolongs the length of the phone call." It does not claim taking battery saving measures in response to a low battery state, whether an emergency call is in progress or not. It is proactive rather than reactive.
Can I get one?
Of course you can. Try shopping for one.
You could buy a Motorola V180 or a C139 for example.
no memory card slot
no edge (high speed internet)
no wifi
no bluetooth
no camera
Granted both sport a color display, but seriously, who cares? Its not using much juice or adding to the cost. These are both available for under US$50.00 with no contract.
I want something that can take a drop into a puddle with good call quality.
So buy a $20 rubber waterproof case for whatever unit you settle on.
There are plenty of patents related to automobile airbags. Hasn't stopped them from becoming pervasive.
That's because airbags have been mandatory in the US since 1999, and actually since 1990 (for the driver) in vehicles without automatic seatbelts. (which explains to me finally why my 1989 Nissan 240SX had them, when in Canada you could get normal, inoffensive manual shoulder belts.)
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
I've done it myself, I have a Blackberry pearl 8150 (I think). It's not hard to do, if I press a button while the phone is locked it pops up a menu to either unlock, dial emergency, or cancel. So in order to make an emergency call, I have to hit a button on the phone (any button) twice, once to de-idle it and once to bring up the menu, then the little ball chunk needs to be scrolled down to highlight the second choice, then either the ball or call button gets pressed. I got a phone call from a number that had about 16 digits that came from the local P.D. asking if there was an emergency and telling me to reset my phone.
I don't know how the iPhone works, but you don't have to unlock my phone to make an emergency call, that's the one thing it will do if the phone is locked.
Basically same story from me, however I figured out (the hard way) that on many phones dialing 08 is an emergency call to 911. Why... beats me. Its very easy to accidently hit 2 adjacent numbers at the bottom of my phone in sequence and then hit the largest button on the phone (the dial button) afterwards and not notice until you get an irate call from a dispatcher...
First post = troll. Cleverly worded post designed to enrage others = flamebait.
> One of those is 121 (or maybe it was 211)
You're thinking of 112. That is a standard emergency number for GSM mobile networks. Anywhere in the world, if you dial that number on a GSM mobile phone, you will be connected to the local emergency service. Also, mobile phones recognise that number as the emergency number and will automatically route the call through any available GSM network (even if your own mobile network is out of coverage). Also, the calls are obviously not charged, can be made when you don't have any credit left on your pre-paid account and can even be made if there's no SIM card in the phone.
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."
Are crumple zones patented? Yes. Are seat belts patented? Yes. Just because they're patenting it, it doesn't mean they're doing so in order to sue people. Most patents are used to prevent the company from being sued.