as United States
`a2) Patent Application Publication co) Pub. No.: US 2003/0008659 A1
`(43) Pub. Date: Jan. 9, 2003
`
`Waterset al.
`
`US 20030008659A1
`
`(54) LOCATING ITEMS
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`(76)
`
`Inventors: John Deryk Waters, Bath (GB); Salil
`Pradhan,Santa Clara, CA (US); James
`Thomas Edward McDonnell, Clifton
`Bristol (GB); John Lawrence,
`Birmingham (GB)
`
`Correspondence Address:
`LADAS & PARRY
`Suite 2100
`5670 Wilshire Boulevard
`Los Angeles, CA 90036-5679 (US)
`
`(21) Appl. No.:
`
`09/885,289
`
`(22)
`
`Filed:
`
`Jun. 20, 2001
`
`Publication Classification
`
`TInt, CU?eceecccceecsecssssssseeeecsssseeeeseessseeneeesees H04Q 7/20
`(ST)
`(52) US. Ch.eee 455/456; 455/435; 455/553
`
`A mobile telecommunications device (10, 12, 14, 16) has
`both short range, piconet, telecommunications ability and
`long range cellular
`telecommunications ability. Mobile
`items of personal property, eg a pair of glasses (18) can be
`lost by an individual. The telecommunications devices (10,
`12, 14, 16) keep anactivity log of the times of existence and
`membersof piconets of which they have been members.If
`a lost item (18)is not in the present piconet (26) of a user’s
`device (10) it can backtrack throughits activity log to find
`the last piconet for which both it and the missing item (18)
`were members, and can identify from the activity log what
`other devices (12, 14, 16) were present in that particular
`piconet. The device (10) can then contact the devices (12,
`14, 16) and determine whether the missing item 18 is
`presently part of their piconet, and hence can locate the
`missing item if it is present in one of their piconets. The
`device may also geostamp its activity records and/or be
`aware of its geographical position.
`
`a
`
`TBS Py,
`
`14
`
`Cc
`
`18
`
`HIMPP 1006
`HIMPP 1006
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Jan. 9, 2003 Sheet 1 of 6
`
`US 2003/0008659 Al
`
`12
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`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Jan. 9, 2003 Sheet 2 of 6
`
`US 2003/0008659 Al
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Jan. 9, 2003 Sheet 3 of 6
`
`US 2003/0008659 Al
`
`
` IS ITEM IN MY SHORTRANGE NETWORK?
`
`NO
`
`82
`
`YES —s
`
`FOUND IT
`
`
`
`
`92
`
`
`
`REVIEW ACTIVITY LOG TO FIND OTHER DEVICES/
`NETWORKSIT HAS ENCOUNTERED
`
`DID RECALLED NETWORKHAVEITEMIN IT?
`
`z
`
`NO
`vs|
`CONSIDER
`
`WHICH DEVICES WEREIN THAT NETWORK
`NEXT NETWORK
`IN ACTIVITY LOG
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`&6
`
`CALL FIRST DEVICE THAT WAS PRESENTIN
`NETWORK(WITH ITEM) AND ASK
`IF ITEM IS IN ITS NETWORK NOW
`
`YES
`
`FOUNDITI
`
`No
`
`87
`
`CALL NEXT DEVICE THAT WAS PRESENT
`IN NETWORK(WITH ITEM) AND ASK
`IF ITEM IS IN ITS NETWORK NOW
`
`FOUND IT
`
`WAS THAT CALL TO LAST DEVICE IN
`THE NETWORKSELECTED FOR POLLING
`
`YES
`
`88 F e
`ig.
`
`4
`
`RECALL ANOTHER NETWORK
`NOT YET POLLED
`
`NO UNPOLLED NETWORKS
`WITHIN TIME GATE
`
`YES
`
`92
`
`GIVE UP
`
`ex| RETRY AT LATER TIME }
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Jan. 9, 2003 Sheet 4 of 6
`
`US 2003/0008659 A1
`
`40\
`
`TIME
`
`DEVICES IN NETWORK
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`6781.3291
`aARS8
`
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`
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`801.3315
`DDCMfo1oo
`3B
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`
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`
`50——)
`
`59—=|
`
`BL—-
`
`56——
`
`58—=—)
`
`11.50 21.05.01|XP260;XP261,C-1900;GI 6780.3290
`
`
`60-—=
`
`&2—=|
`
`12.00 2105.01
`
`1810 21.05.01
`
`XP260;XP261; A500
`
`XP260;GI
`
`18.40 21.05.01
`
`XP260; C-1000
`
`18.50 21.05.01
`
`XP260
`
`22.30 21.05.01
`
`
`DD
`
`Fig. 5
`
`XP260; XP261;H630; Q4362;A900;GI;PC100
`9.00 21.05.01
`
`
`
`
`XP260; XP261;H630;Q4362;A900;H777;GI; PC100
`9.10 21.05.01
`
`
`XP260; XP261; S428; G1; PC100
`
`9.50 21.05.01
`
`11.30 21.05.01
`
`17.40 21.05.01
`
`XP260 ;XP261; GI; PC109
`
`xP260; XP261;C~1000; GI
`
`
`
`LOCATION
`
`6752.3241
`
`6752.324
`
`67523261
`
`6752.3241
`
`6752.3242
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Jan. 9, 2003 Sheet 5 of 6
`
`US 2003/0008659 Al
`
`104
`
`Backtrack
`
`100
`
`m(1)
`
`02
`
`
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Jan. 9, 2003 Sheet 6 of 6
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`US 2003/0008659 Al
`
`

`

`US 2003/0008659 Al
`
`Jan. 9, 2003
`
`LOCATING ITEMS
`
`[0001] This invention relates to locating items, in particu-
`lar lost items.
`
`[0002] Awell known problem is knowing one had an item
`earlier in time but being unable to find it easily later on.
`Solutions to this problem are myriad and include devices
`which beep whenthey receive a trigger signal (for example
`sound, e.g. clapping, or an electromagnetic signal), devices
`which are magnetically or radio frequency detected as they
`pass through portals or past transducers at key points in a
`building (e.g. RF tags on files and scanners al doorways to
`rooms), and cartheft tracking devices which broadcasttheir
`position generally, possibly upon activation, to detectors.
`
`It is an aim of the present invention to provide an
`[0003]
`alternative way of locating lost items.
`
`[0004] According to a first aspect of the invention com-
`prises a method of locating a missing item, the item being
`capable of communicating its presence to a piconet tele-
`communications device, comprising:
`
`there being a plurality of piconet devices
`(4)
`[0005]
`capable of forming a short range piconet;
`
`(ii) having the piconet devices establish which
`[0006]
`other piconet devices are members of the piconet ta
`which they belong at a particular point in time, and
`having the piconet devices create an activity log cor-
`relating at least time and the identity of which piconet
`devices were in communication at that point in time;
`
`(iii) establishing whether the missing item is
`[0007]
`present in the current piconet of said piconet device
`and/or reviewing the activity log to establish whether a
`record exists of a historic piconet to which both the
`missing item and a contactable other piconet device
`belonged at the time that the historic piconet existed.
`
`[0008] Prefcrably the method also comprises the step:
`
`(iv) if a said other piconet device is identified,
`[0009]
`contacting said other piconet device and establishing
`whether the missing item is part of the piconet that now
`includes said other piconet device.
`
`‘hus by backtracking the activity log a contactable
`[0010]
`piconet device can be found that is known to have been in
`proximity to the missing item at one time, and that“one time
`close” piconet device can be asked whether the missing item
`is still close enough to be in its current piconet. It will be
`appreciated that piconet devices can communicate using
`short range telecommunications, such as Bluetooth (TM)or
`TEEE 802.11, over a distance of a few meters, or perhaps a
`few tens of meters.
`
`[0011] The each piconet device preferably creates its own
`activity log and stores it in itself,
`in its own memory.
`However, an arrangement can be envisaged where a piconet
`device stores ils activily log remote from itself (possibly for
`example storing it to a PC when it comes close enough to a
`chosen piconet-connectable PC). More than one piconet
`device may contribute information to a commondatabase, or
`activity log, relating to which devices were close enough,at
`which time, to be in the same piconet. There may be a
`common log or storage place for several devices.
`
`[0012] However, it is preferred that each piconet device
`creates its own “personal” piconet activity log and storesit
`withinitself.
`
`[0013] The method may comprise having a search-re-
`questing piconet device check its own piconet for the
`presence of the missing device before screening the activity
`log, or its own piconet activity log to look for a historic
`piconet to which bothitself, the missing item, and said other
`piconet device belonged, and then contacting said other
`piconet to establish whether the missing item is part of the
`current piconet of said other piconet device.
`
`{0014] Preferably the method comprises having the
`search-requesting piconet device and said other piconet
`device be capable of long range telecommunication and
`having the search-requesting device contact said other
`device using its long range telecommunications capabilities.
`
`{0015] Thus their long range telecommunications capa-
`bilities of the search-requesting and said other device mean
`that the search-requesting piconet device can communicate
`with said other piconet device without having to wait for
`them to come close enough together for the piconet tele-
`communications to be operable.
`
`in certain circumstances it may be
`(0016] Of course,
`acceptable to use only short range piconet telecommunica-
`tions in the search for the missing item, for example in an
`environment where there are a lot of piconet devices and
`good physical area coverage is provided. An office environ-
`ment may be such an example. It is preferred however to
`have the ability to search using long range telecommunica-
`tions to provide a bridge between two separate piconets (the
`one with the search-requesting device, and the one with said
`other device).
`
`(0017] The method preferably comprises asking the pico-
`net devices with long range telecommunication capabilities
`whether the missing item is presently in their local piconet
`in reverse chronological order that they are known from the
`activity log to have been in contact with the missing item,
`asking the device with the most recent contact first, and
`more out of date contactslater.
`
`{0018] The method preferably comprises having a cut off
`point beyond which the search does not backtrack for
`contacts. This cut off point may be a time back beyond
`which the search does not go, or it may be the number of
`long distance telecommunications contacts made to other
`devices. A combination of these two criteria may be used to
`control the cut off point.
`
`[0019] The search-requesting piconet device may itself
`have a long distance telecommunication capability, or it may
`have only piconet range telecommunications, but be in
`contact with a piconet member which does have long
`distance telecommunicationsability and use their long range
`telecommunications.
`
`[0020] The search-requesting piconet device may sequen-
`tially ask those other piconet devices that it identifies from
`its (or the) activity log for information on whether the
`missing item is in their current piconet. Alternatively, the
`search-requesting, piconet device may simultaneously or
`substantially simultaneously, ask a plurality of other devices
`for such information, without waiting for a reply from the
`first said other device interrogated. This can be helpfulif the
`
`

`

`US 2003/0008659 Al
`
`Jan. 9, 2003
`
`long distance telecommunications network does not neces-
`sarily generate a fast reply. For example e-mail can take
`hours, depending upon networkavailability and traffic.
`
`[0021] The long distance telecommunications could be a
`wireless network,e.g. satellite link, or cellular (for example
`a cellular telephone network), or internet based (some, or
`even many, said other devices could be connected to the
`internet, e.g. they could be PCs) or a land cable communi-
`cation network.
`
`[0022] The method may include- having the piconet
`devices record their geographical, or physical, locationat the
`time that a piconet exists. Thus the activity log may be
`time-stamped and location stamped.
`
`It may not always be possible to get a location fix
`[0023]
`for a piconet device whenit is in a network (nor a location
`fix for any other piconet members) andso notall activity log
`entries for a piconet device mayhave a location associated
`with them.
`
`Ifdirect piconet connection is made betweena first
`(0024]
`device which has no inherent self-location abilities and
`another, second, device which does know its own location,
`then the first device may assume itself to be at the same,
`known,location as the second device (since they will only
`be meters apart). If the piconet connection betweenthefirst
`and second devices is indirectly through one or more other
`piconet members then said first device may or may not
`assume that it is close enough to the second device to enter
`its location as being the same as that of the second device.
`It may depend upon how manyother devicesare in the link.
`The location stamping may comprise communicating with a
`GPSsystem or other location-information providing system
`or device.
`
`‘lhe creation of the activity logs of the piconet
`[0025]
`devices preferably accurs automatically without human
`intervention when the devices form a piconet.
`
`[0026] A piconet record in an activity log may include the
`presence of piconet only devices which cannot be contacted
`by long range telecommunication (indeed missing itemsare
`just such devices)—if they could be contacted by long
`distance telecommunications they would probably not be
`“missing”. The activity log, or at least the search-requesting
`piconet device, has, or has access to, long range telecom-
`munications addresses for those long-range telecommunica-
`tions-capable said other piconet devices it encounters. This
`information is preferably exchanged by dual mode piconct
`devices when they meet
`in a piconet (dual mode being
`devices capable of both automatic short-range piconetfor-
`mation and having long distance telecommunications capa-
`bilities).
`
`[0027] According to a second aspect the invention com-
`prises a method of locating a missing item, the item being
`capable of communicating its presence to a piconct telc-
`communications device, comprising;
`
`(i) there being a plurality of piconet devices
`[0028]
`capable of forming a short range piconet;
`
`(ii) having the piconet devices establish which
`[0029]
`other piconet devices are members of the piconet to
`which they belong at a particular point in time and
`having the piconet devices create an activity log cor-
`
`relating at least time and the identity of which piconet
`devices were in communication at that point in time;
`
`(iii) establishing whether the missing item is
`[0030]
`present in the current piconet of a said piconet device
`and/or reviewing the activity log to establish whether a
`record exists of a historic piconet to which both the
`missing item and a contactable other piconet device
`belonged at the time that the historic piconet existed;
`
`iv) establishing whether there is a known loca-
`[0031]
`tion for the historic piconet which most recently had as
`a member the missing item, and if so communicating
`that location to the user of the method to enable them
`to consider whether to investigate that known location
`to see if the missing item can be found.
`
`It will be appreciated that once a “last known
`[0032]
`position” has been determined for the missing item it may be
`worth investigating the vicinity of that last known position
`to see if the missing item is there. This may or may not
`involve contacting piconet-capable devices at that location
`to see if the item is in a piconet with them. A person may
`simply physically visit the known location and look for the
`missing item. For example, if the backtracking through the
`activity log showedthat the item waslast in communication
`with the piconet device whose log is being screened in the
`office of Mr Smith, then it may be worth visiting Mr Smith’s
`office, or personally telephoning him,to seeifit is there (not
`necessarily electronic communication with a piconet device
`capable of covering his office).
`
`it may be worth
`[0033] This raises another possibility:
`electronically contacting a known piconet device known to
`bein the locality of the place where the missing item waslast
`known to be, even if that known piconet device was not
`actually in a historic piconet with the missing item. For
`example, a missing item may have been just out of contact
`with a piconet device, called for the sake of convenience
`“near-miss piconet device”, at the time it was left acciden-
`tally behind, and so the near-miss piconet device is not
`recorded as being in the historic piconet. However, some
`time later another piconet device, called for the sake of
`convenience “bridging-piconet device”, could have entered
`the vicinity and bridged the gap between the near-miss
`piconet device and the missing item. Thus when the search-
`requesting device asks the near-miss piconet device now,
`currently, whether the missing item is within its piconet, the
`near-miss device could answer “yes” byvirtue of it being
`aware of the presence of the missing item via the bridging
`piconet device.
`
`[0034] Thus the method may comprise identifying known
`piconet devices that are believed to be in the vicinity of the
`last known location of the missing item and determining
`whether the missing item is in a piconet with them.
`
`[0035] According to a third aspect the invention comprises
`a piconet
`telecommunications device having a piconet
`receiver capable of receiving information about members of
`a piconet to which the device temporarily belongs and a
`controller; wherein the controller is arranged in use to
`capture a piconet activity log when the device comes within
`piconet range of other piconet devices, the piconet activity
`log comprising a record of which other devices were piconet
`members with the device and at what time that piconet
`existed and a positional location for the piconetat that time;
`
`

`

`US 2003/0008659 Al
`
`Jan. 9, 2003
`
`and in which the controller is capable of receiving a request
`to search for a missing item of knownidentity and upon such
`request
`is adapted to screen the activity log to identify
`historic piconets known to the device to have contained the
`missing item and the positional location of the historic
`piconet which last contained the missing item, the device
`being adapted to communicate the last, piconet-knownto the
`device, location of the missing item to the user.
`
`[0036] The device may be a dual mode device having long
`range telecommunications ability as well as pico range. The
`controller may be adapted to establish the telecommunica-
`tions address of piconet members andstore them so as to be
`able to retrieve them in order to contact them at some time
`
`with such a device so as to use the long range capabilities of
`the piconetted dual mode device.
`
`[0041] The controller preferably has the capability of
`recordingin the activity log the geographical location of the
`device and associating the position of the device al a point
`in time with the piconet membersat that point in time. The
`device may have a location identifier. This may be a GPS
`(global positioningsatellite) system,or it may be some other
`position-fixing system, for example a triangulation based
`system using emitters and a positional signal receiver in the
`device. The device may be adapted to communicate with a
`position beacon, or a network of position beacons.
`
`[0042] The device may have a clock to time-stamp pico-
`nets and their membersat a particular time. Alternatively it
`may import the time from some external source.
`
`[0043] The device is preferably a portable mobile device,
`usually electronic device, such as a mobile telephone, lap
`top computer, PDA,digital camera etc. However, it could be
`a more fixed device such as a PC, server, photocopier,
`scanner, printer, landline telephone, projectoretc.
`
`in the future, possibly to establish whether the missing item
`is in their current piconet. The device may be able to
`establish the nearest fixed device position, or last known
`position of a mobile device, that has long range telecom-
`munications, near to the last knownposition of the missing
`item, and maybe able to contact them to enquire whether the
`missing item is in their piconet. By “fixed device” is meant
`devices which are unlikely to be moved on a daily, or
`regular, basis.
`[0044] According toafifth aspect the invention compriscs
`a piconet network comprising a plurality of piconet devices
`[0037] The device may have a category of “favourite”
`in communication, the piconet devices having the functional
`locations, and corresponding long range telecommunication
`capability of automatically exchanging with other devices in
`devices near or associated with these locations, possibly
`a piconet, without human intervention, information as to
`associated with them at certain times only (e.g. other co-
`their identity, and of recording the identity of members of
`workers mobile phones will be near ones office, probably
`the piconetin an activity log or in respective piconetactivity
`from 9.00 am-5.00 pm Mondayto Friday), and may contact
`logs associated with each piconet device, the activity log(s)
`such favourite/most likely devices to search for a missing
`item.
`including the membersof the piconet and a time at which the
`particular piconet with those particular members existed.
`
`[0038] According to a fourth aspect the invention com-
`prises a piconet telecommunications device having a piconet
`receiver capable of receiving information about members of
`a piconet to which the device temporarily belongs and a
`controller; wherein the controller is arranged in use to
`capture a piconet activity log when the device comes within
`piconet range of other piconet devices and to build up a log
`of which other devices were piconct members with the
`device and at what time that piconet existed, and also which
`of those devices are dual mode devices having both piconet
`capabilities and having long range telecommunication abili-
`ties, and to establish their long range telecommunication
`addresses; and in which the controller is capable of receiving
`a request to search for a missing item of knownidentity and
`upon such request is adapted to screen the activity log to
`identify historic piconets which contained the missing item
`and a dual mode device, and wherein the controller is
`adapted upon identifying such a dual mode device to contact
`it via long range telecommunications and to establish
`whether the missing item is in the current piconet ofthe dual
`mode device.
`
`[0039] Preferably the device has a memory and the con-
`troller is adapted to store the device’s activity log in the
`memory of the device.
`
`[0040] Preferably the device is itself a dual mode device
`and has a long range telecommunications transmitter and
`receiver and the device contacts said dual mode device that
`is known at one time to have been in a piconet with the
`missing item using its long range telecommunication trans-
`mitter and receiver. An alternative to the device having its
`own long range telecommunications capability is to bringit
`close enough to a dual mode device and to form a piconet
`
`[0045] The piconet may contain memberpiconet devices,
`indeed usually will, which have already communicated their
`identity to other piconet members. ‘The piconet may have
`members which do not record other devices in the piconet,
`but do inform other members of their presence, or which
`have already informed other members oftheir presence.
`
`[0046] The piconet network may have devices in accor-
`dance with the third or fourth aspects of the invention,
`and/or may be capable of operating in accordance with the
`first or second aspects of the invention.
`
`[0047] According to a sixth aspect the invention comprises
`a piconet
`telecommunication device having a piconet
`receiver capable of receiving information about members of
`piconets to which the device temporarily belongs, and a
`controller; wherein the controller is arranged in useto create
`automatically, without user intervention, when the device
`comes within piconet range of a piconet apparatus and
`communicates with said piconet apparatus, a piconetactivity
`log which records the identity of the membersof the piconet
`to which the device belongs.
`
`Thus,a piconetactivity log is created automatically
`[0048]
`by the article. Once it exists, different things can be done
`with it. The controller may be adapted to record the piconet
`members and the time at which members joined and/orleft
`the piconet, as well as their identities, and/or it may be
`adapted to record the geophysical location associated with a
`piconet membership at a particular time. The device may
`have a geophysical
`location sensor adapted to provide
`details of the geophysical location of the device. The device
`is preferably portable, most preferably hand-portable and/or
`pocketable.
`
`

`

`US 2003/0008659 Al
`
`Jan. 9, 2003
`
`[0049] The controller of a piconet telecommunications
`device, with or without the facility to back-track through its
`activity log to look for the presence of a lost item, may have
`details of an associated item set associating a set of known
`items in a notional group, and the controller being adapted
`to monitor the piconet to which the device belongs and being
`adapted to generate an alarm when an item from said
`associated item set leaves the piconet. The alarm may be
`generated immediately that an associated item leaves the
`piconet, or aller a delay. The alarm is adapted to attract the
`attention of the user via at least one of their senses (e.g. an
`audible alarm, visual alarm, vibrating/movement alarm, or
`any combination thereof).
`
`[0050] The controller may be adapted to generate an alarm
`whenit detects the absence from the piconet to which the
`device belongs of an item from the associated item set.
`
`[0051] There may be a user-operable alarm cancellation
`input adapted to enable a user to stop an alarm. For example,
`a user could press a “stop” button to stop the alarm from
`sounding. The user may be able to disable the alarm for a
`selected associated item in advance of the item leaving the
`piconet, thereby avoiding the alarm from soundingatall.
`The user may be able to add items to the associated item
`group.
`
`[0052] The controller maybe adapted to generate a report
`analysing the piconet activity log and/or export the piconet
`activity log to another electronic device.
`
`[0053] According to a seventh aspect the invention com-
`prises a method of tracking piconet-capable articles in the
`physical environmentof a piconet device comprising having
`the device automatically create without user input a piconet
`activity log of the identity of piconet capable articles which
`have formed an ad-hoc piconet with said device.
`
`[0054] A time for membership of the piconet may be
`associated in the piconet activity log for piconet-capable
`articles. The time that an article joins and/or leaves the
`piconet may be recorded in the piconetlog.
`
`[0055] The method may comprise having an associated set
`of piconet memberarticles whose presence in the piconetis
`tracked, and generating an alarm when anarticle of the
`associated sct of piconet memberarticles leaves the piconct.
`
`[0056] Once a piconet activity log exists it is possible to
`generate a report analysing the contents of the piconet
`activity log. A report on articles in the present or historic
`piconets may be generated using the piconet activity log.
`
`[0057] A report may be generated comprising at least one
`of the following reports:
`
`(i) members of piconet at a particular time;
`[0058]
`(ai) history of piconet membership for a selected
`0059]
`yorp
`Pp
`piconet member device
`
`(iii) correlation of piconet membership for
`[0060]
`selected first and second piconet member devices;
`
`(iv) selected piconet device at selected physical
`[0061]
`location(s);
`
`(v) piconet member devices that have been at
`[0062]
`selected physical location(s).
`
`[0063] According to an eighth aspect the invention com-
`prises a data carrierhaving a program encoded uponit, the
`program when loaded onto, or running on, a controller of a
`piconet device causing the piconet device to be a piconet
`device in accordance with the third, fourth or sixth aspect of
`the invention, and/or to perform the method of the first,
`second or seventh aspect of the invention, or to be part of a
`network in accordance with the fifth aspect of the invention.
`
`invention will now be
`the
`[0064] Embodiments of
`described by way of example only, with reference to the
`accompanying drawings of which:
`
`[0065] FIGS. 1A and 1B shows schematically a piconet
`network of devices in telecommunication;
`
`[0066] FIG. 2 shows schematically a telecommunication
`device suitable for use in the network of FIG. 1;
`
`[0067] FIG. 3 shows schematically a search for a lost
`item;
`
`[0068] FIG. 4 showsa flow diagram of a search process;
`
`[0069] FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a back scan of an
`activity log of a device of FIG. 1;
`
`FIG.6 schematically illustrates contacting devices
`[0070]
`that were at a previous time in a network with the lost item;
`
`[0071] FIG. 7 showsa piconet having indirect communi-
`cation between two memberdevices;
`
`[0072] FIG. 8 shows another piconet device; and
`
`[0073] FIG. 9 shows a further piconet device and some
`associated piconet-capable items.
`
`[0074] FIG. 1 schematically shows a meeting in a room at
`a time T between four people 10', 12', 14° and 16', cach
`person having their own respective mobile telecommunica-
`tions device 10, 12, 14, 16. Person 10' also has a pair of
`glasses 18. When the meeting breaks up each person goes
`their separate way and some hours later person 10' realises
`that they do not have their glasses 18 with them and wishes
`to find them.
`
`[0075] Each of the devices 10 to 16 is provided with a
`short range telecommunications transmitter and receiver,
`schematically referenced 20 (e.g. Bluetooth™ technology or
`TEEE 802.11). Device 10 also has a longer range cellular
`network telecommunications transceiver 22 (e.g. a mobile
`telephone-type antenna). Devices 12 to 16 in this example
`are mobile telephones(orat least have this capability as one
`of their capabililies), but they need not be. Indeed, device 10
`need not necessarily have long range telecommunications
`ability, but
`it does in this example. By short range is
`primarily meant a few meters range to a few tens of meters
`range.
`
`[0076] The glasses 18 have a short range transmitter 24
`whichis capable of communicating with the transceivers 20.
`The devices 10 to 16 and the glasses 18 form a network 26,
`with each memberof the network in communication.‘his is
`
`schematically shown in FIG. 1B.
`
`[0077] FIG. 2 showsa device 30 suitable for use with the
`network 26. The device 30 is a personal digital assistant,
`PDA,(instead of a mobile telephone as shownin FIG. 1)
`and has a control processor 32, a battery 34, a display screen
`36, a microphone 38, a speaker 40, a key pad 42, a mouse
`
`

`

`US 2003/0008659 Al
`
`Jan. 9, 2003
`
`(or cursor-pointing device) 44, a short range telecommuni-
`cations transceiver (emits and receives) 46, and a longer
`range cellular transceiver 48. Transceiver 48 has cellular
`telephone capability and the PDA incorporates a mobile
`telephone (although it does not have to). Transceiver 48 is
`also connected to a GPS global positioning satellite) unit 49
`which can fix the location of the PDA.
`
`It will be appreciated that the mobile telephone 10
`[0078]
`could have a GPS module.
`
`the
`[0079] During the meeting in the room at time T,
`devices 10 to 16 interrogate other devices within range of
`their short range wireless telecommunication transceivers 20
`to identify which devices are in the network 26. Those
`devices with some degree of intelligence, in this example
`devices 10 to 16, but not glasses 18, keep an activity log of
`their network activities, and the identity of members ofthe
`network 26, and the time at which that particular network
`exists, 1s stored in their activity logs.
`
`In a modification, the devices 10 to 16 also store
`[0080]
`their physical location at the time that the network 26 exists.
`This physical location may be provided by a geosignal(e.g.
`a GPSsignal) which one or more of the devices may be
`capable of receiving. If one device knowsits geographical
`location it may share that information with other devices in
`the network (which will be in much the same geographical
`location since the short range telecommunications has a
`range ofthe order of meters,rather than hundreds of meters).
`Oneof the network devices may havea fixed position (ie.
`not be a mobile device) and so its position may be known.
`The fixed position may be very fixed(e.g. a transducer in a
`wall) or it may be semi-permanently fixed (e.g. the device
`may be a photocopier, printer, or item of furniture which
`whilst they can be moved from room to room are often
`considered geostationary within the requirements of obtain-
`ing a general and probable fix on the location of a much
`more mobile device such as a PDA, cellular phone, briet-
`case, or pair of glasses).
`
`[0081] The pair of glasses does not keep an activity log in
`this example becauseit is a simple transponder. Indeed the
`glasses may or may not have their own power source; the
`transponder 24 may convert the energy of incoming inter-
`rogation signals to an outgoing response signal. On the other
`hand,it could be battery powered, or otherwise powered by
`a powersource.
`
`[0082] FIG. 5 illustrates a possible activity log 40 for
`device 10. For the sake of this example the following apply:
`
`Device XP260
`Device XP261
`
`is device 10, the mobile phone of person 10’
`is device 12, the mobile phone of person 11' whois a
`colleague of person 10!
`is the device 14 of person 14'
`Device H630
`is device 16 of person 16'
`Device Q4362
`is a PDA device of another person, person P1
`Device A900
`is the pair of glasses 18
`Device G1
`is the desktop PC of person 10
`Device PC100
`is the PDA of another person, person P2
`Device H777
`is the briefcase of another person, person P3
`Device $428
`Device C-1000 is the on-board computer of the car of person 10!
`Devi