Subject: [NEXTEL-1] New Cellular Tech Patents Reach Beyond the Imagination

From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 02 Jun 2003 15:21:21 -0400

New Cellular Tech Patents Reach Beyond the Imagination

While cell phone usage has soared in the past years and new data applications
are gaining a foothold, inventors are building on cellular technology to develop
unique applications. Patents have been issued for a variety of new applications
-- from cellphone signals being used to time traffic signals to ease vehicle flow
during rush hour to alerting drivers of speed limits on the roads. In the medical
field, a Taiwanese inventor secured a U.S. patent for a cell phone that reports
heart rate and blood pressure; the cell phone has sensors that can be attached
to the skin to report the patient's vital signs. (Source: New York Times)

=============================================================================================

June 2, 2003

New Functions for Cellphones
By SABRA CHARTRAND

he Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association counted 140 million
cellphone subscribers in this country in 2002 - a number that is sure to keep
rising as cellphones become smaller, lighter and more versatile. 

One of the most popular new configurations is the cellphone with a built-in
personal digital assistant. But that combination represents only a small fraction
of what telecommunications or computer companies and independent inventors say
cellphones can do.

An Israeli inventor in Jerusalem has won a patent for using cellphone signals to
determine where people are driving in their cars so traffic signals can be timed
to reduce congestion. David Myr has invented a system that gathers location
information from cellphone signals and uses mathematical formulas to calculate the
travel times of those phones' owners as they drive along roads, through
intersections, around corners and while waiting at lights. Those times can then be
used to adjust traffic signals to ease vehicle flow. Mr. Myr received patent
6,539,300.

Another inventor working on behalf of I.B.M. has won a patent for using cellphone
signals to alert drivers of the speed limit on the roads they are using. Faisal M.
Awada's invention uses a Global Positioning System receiver to detect a cellphone
location. It then looks up the speed limit for that location in a database. The
legal speed limit is transmitted to the car driver via his cellphone speaker or
display. The system can also compare the speed limit to the driver's actual speed,
and set off a warning if the driver is speeding. Mr. Awada, of Round Rock, Tex.,
won patent 6,515,596.

A Taiwanese inventor has won a United States patent for a cellphone that detects
physical conditions like heart rate and blood pressure. The inventor, Ein-Yiao
Shen of Taipei, designed a phone with a sensor that can be attached to the skin.
The sensor picks up a user's pulse or blood pressure levels and converts them into
electrical signals. Those signals are then transmitted to the cellphone, where
they are decoded and presented on the phone display in numbers. The device
received patent 6,428,475.

While most inventors are working to enhance cellphone versatility, one man at
Lucent Technologies has won a patent for a system that shuts down cellphones
altogether. Ivan da Silva, from Hillsborough, N.J., has designed a system that
will cut off service to wireless devices like cellphones, beepers, pagers,
portable computers and personal digital assistants. In his patent, he says his
system makes it impossible for people to ignore rules forbidding the use of
wireless communication devices in places like restaurants, theaters, concert
halls, hospitals or airplanes. He also says law enforcement or military officials
can use his invention to cut off the ability of people like hijackers, hostage
takers, and fleeing suspects to communicate.

The system monitors the power signals and electronic serial numbers of cellphones
that are transmitted when phones are in use.  It can then cut off service to those
phones, and can be modified to cover fixed or moveable geographic areas and to
operate permanently or for specific time periods. Mr. Da Silva received patent
6,496,703.

Many cellphones are Internet-ready but users are limited to looking at Web pages
on the phone's tiny display. Judah Klausner, an inventor in Manhattan, has won a
patent for a cellphone that can project Web pages onto a larger surface. The phone
has an internal optical projector, a focus mechanism and a computer mouse button.
When users dial up the Internet, they can project a Web page onto an external
surface in its original format, with letters and graphics in their original size,
and then navigate through the page with the mouse button. Mr. Klausner won patent
6,489,934.

Cellphones commonly include the ability to identify callers by displaying an
incoming phone number. Nevertheless, lots of calls are anonymous because of
blocked or unlisted numbers. Three inventors working for Ameritech, in Hoffman
Estates, Ill., have patented a system that prompts callers to give their identity
if the system cannot read their phone number. The request can be made by voice or
text, can be programmed in English or other languages, and can be customized to
suit business or residential needs. The invention can be used for land lines, too.

The patent says that an office phone might carry the message: "We appreciate your
business. In order to permit us to better serve you, please state your name at the
tone." A home phone might announce: "The party you called does not accept
unidentified calls. Please state your name at the tone." Teresa Latter, John Moss
and Thomas McBlain received patent 6,570,971.

A husband-and-wife inventor team from West Palm Beach, Fla., has patented a
hand-held cellphone that unfolds to become a wearable headset. The phone also
includes an AM/FM radio receiver, a display for faxes or Internet pages, a camera
for video phone calls, and a Global Positioning System receiver. Eugenia and
Gawins Mack wrote in their patent application that the receiver can be used in
conjunction with the videophone function if the device is stolen by capturing a
picture of the thief while the thief is dialing, and sending the information to
police. The Macks received patent 6,510,325.

Some inventors focus on enhancing cellphone performance by adding bells and
whistles to standard phones. An Australian inventor, Kevin Whitley, of South
Hurstville, has won a United States patent for a retractable microphone and
speaker wire that extends from a cellphone belt clip. The spool device attaches to
the belt clip and is then connected to the phone. When users want to make
hands-free calls, they can extend the microphone; when they are finished, it will
spiral back into its housing. Mr.  Whitley won patent 6,567,651.
In Taiwan, Chen-an Cheng, of Tainan, worried about people who could not hear their
cellphones ring in noisy restaurants or meetings. So he won a United States patent
for a cup that lights up when sensors embedded in its base detect an incoming
call.  A user would place his cellphone within a few inches of the cup, and set
the phone to vibrate. The patent says that when the phone vibrates with an
incoming call, a sensor in the base of the cup detects the movement and activates
an electric circuit, which in turn causes bulbs in the cup base to glitter,
drawing the user's attention to the call. Chen-an Cheng won patent 6,398,019.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/02/technology/02PATE.html
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