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."

Comments

Cellphones already do some of this

[DrDitto]

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...

Re:Not too bad..

[Theaetetus]

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.

Mod parent up.

[Animats]

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.

• Billing problems must be bypassed. 911 calls must go through even if the cell phone has no account, the billing system is down, the phone is roaming out of area, or the local provider can't contact the home provider for billing passthrough.
• Transmit power management is disabled. Cell phones go to full power in emergency mode. (Yes, battery drain goes up.)
• If the phone cannot connect to a cell site of its own system, after 17 seconds it must try to connect to any cell site of any system it can reach. Phones used to fall over to analog roam when necessary, before analog AMPS went down.
• GPS information is transmitted.
• A higher QoS is specified within the cell phone network, so emergency calls get in ahead of non-emergency traffic.
• The call is not easily disconnected until the emergency operator releases it, although there's usually some way to force disconnect from the cell phone end.

It's not like Apple just invented "emergency mode".

power

[confused one]

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.

Re:Not too bad..

[vux984]

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.

Re:Great. Just amazing.

[The Qube]

> 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.