Central control for comm blocker

Abstract

A system and method for centrally controlling a plurality of mobile communication device(s). The system and method provides for central control of mobile device(s) loading, configuring, security, reporting, and safety of said mobile device operation. The system and method will recognize, record, and report any bypass, hacking, or otherwise misuse of the mobile device that potentially affects safety by way of distraction of the operator or associated persons or personal property. Personal codes are provided for where device operation through “hands free” operation by such as Bluetooth headsets is appropriate or other exceptions. Emergency codes are provided for as such emergency operations may be necessary. All uses of preset codes (Emergency and Personal) are recognized, recorded, and reported to the pre-established central control address. Further, some devices can be blocked or restricted during work periods that are sensitive when communication is not allowed. During blocked time preset codes can be used for personal and emergency reasons these uses will be recognized, recorded, and reported to the pre-established central control address.

Description

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

NA

SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM

No

BACKGROUND

Technical Field of Invention

This invention relates to a system administering control over a collection of cellular device(s) and more particularly to such a controller with abilities to setup, load, configure, and track a collection of cellular device(s).

Background of the Invention

Mobile communication devices have expanded capabilities and offer many advantages to individuals and businesses. However, some liabilities have been incurred with these mobile communication advantages. Most importantly is the reality of distracted driving that is directly caused by the use of mobile communication devices while vehicle(s) are in motion. A viable solution is available and disclosed by this author in U.S. Pat. No. 8,340,730 issued Dec. 25, 2012. Although the '730 patent offers comprehensive mobile device communication blocking a convenient device management tool is needed for families, businesses, school districts, or any other operation desiring to keep track of potentially unsafe mobile device operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system and method for centrally administering and controlling a plurality of mobile cellular device(s) is provided. The system and method provides for central control of intelligent cellular device(s) loading, configuring, security, tracking, reporting, and remedial reporting of potential violations of safety by operators of said cellular device(s). This system and method provides administration operators with a computer interface facilitating a connection to an intelligent cellular device with configuration options including; Comm Blocker application loading into an intelligent cellular device, configuring Control Panel Personal and Emergency codes for operational bypass, establishing security thru password protection of Control Panel, assigning data base association for exception tracking, setting frequency and destination for exception reporting with statistical summaries, and address(s) to send potential safety violation reports. The system and method will recognize, record, and report any bypass, hacking, or otherwise misuse of the mobile device that potentially affects safety by way of distraction of the operator or associated persons or personal property. Personal codes are provided for where device operation through “hands free” operation by such as Bluetooth headsets is appropriate or other exceptions. Emergency codes are provided for as such emergency operations may be necessary. All uses of preset codes (Emergency and Personal) are recognized, recorded, and reported to the pre-established central control address. Further, some devices can be blocked or restricted during work or otherwise sensitive time periods when communication is not allowed. During blocked time preset codes can be used for personal and emergency reasons these uses will be recognized, recorded, and reported to the pre-established central control address.

The central control system and method will be implemented with a data base that can be local or such as cloud based. The data base will keep all prior and active devices, assignments, configuration, and status including control panel settings, access code(s), personal codes, emergency codes, and uses (including any uses during restricted time periods).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a typical Comm Blocker activation.

FIG. 2 shows a typical Comm Blocker activation sequence.

FIG. 3 shows a typical Comm Blocker tracking operation.

FIG. 4 shows a typical Comm Blocker operator file.

FIG. 4b shows a typical Comm Blocker summary chart

FIG. 5 shows a typical Comm Blocker alternative applications.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a typical Comm Blocker activation. A administrative central control for Comm Blocker computer 101 can be any appropriate computing device (with connection to Internet and radio connection(s) including WiFi and Bluetooth or otherwise remote connnection) such as a desk top, laptop, tablet or smart phone and is configured with a Central Control for Comm Blocker operational program running on the administrative computer 101. An operator 103 connects to intended devices thru an operator interface 105 to the desired cellular device 107 thru hardwire or radio signals such as WiFi, Bluetooth, or similar radiated signals. Once communication is established thru the appropriate method the operator 103 can begin the device 107 activation sequences.

FIG. 2 shows a typical Comm Blocker activation sequence. The operator 103 with the central control for Comm Blocker operational program running on the administrative computer 101 shown in FIG. 1 will start the sequence shown in FIG. 2 by selecting the appropriate cellular device; Select Unit in block 201 to be loaded and set up with Comm Blocker App as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,340,730. The operator will confirm connection in block Conn? 203 if not connected the operator will be prompted to select a unit. If connection is achieved thru direct or radio connection the operator will proceed to the next block. In the next block Assign 205 the operator will enter the operator name and appropriate individual data to the cellular number of the selected unit. The operator will commit these data to the data base and proceed to the next block Load 207. In block Load 207 the operator will load the Comm Blocker App into the selected unit. When the loading of the Comm Blocker App is verified the operator will proceed to the next block Configure 209. In block Configure 209 the operator will set the following information for the Comm Blocker App and Comm Blocker central control data base; Control Panel Personal and Emergency codes for operational bypass, establish security thru password protection of Control Panel, assign emergency code, personal code, auto reply message, and any time blocking desired, assigning data base association for exception tracking, setting frequency and destination for exception reporting with statistical summaries, and address(s) to send potential safety violation reports. When the operator has configured the selected device the operator will proceed to block Emp ID 211 to verify individual Comm Blocker data and assignment(s). When the operator has verified individual Comm Blocker data and assignment(s) the operator will proceed to block Hours 213 where time restrictions may be entered for individuals that are to be blocked during certain periods of time for safety, efficiency, security, or other reasons. When hours have been established the operator will proceed to the next block Report 215 where specific reports and summaries can be set for frequency of reporting, destination(s), data manipulation, correlation, and safety tracking to be accomplished. The operator will verify all data, when satisfied with content the operator will proceed to block Done 217. The operator can select the next unit to be selected for assigning and loading or if a previously set up unit to modify, confirm, or update Comm Blocker setting in the specific unit.

FIG. 3 shows a typical Comm Blocker tracking operation.

In FIG. 3a a vehicle 301 is shown an operator with a cellular device employing Comm Blocker will have the benefit of protection from distractions; incoming messages or calls will be sent to voice mail or saved for later transmission with an auto reply to sender such as “In transit reply soon” while traveling and/or during specified time periods with the ability to have access to emergency and personal exceptions. If the operator of vehicle 301 chooses to utilize a cellular device during the blocked times a message is sent to the specified address and these data are retained in the pre-established Comm Blocker central control data base.

In FIG. 3b a fork lift 303 is shown an operator with a cellular device employing Comm Blocker will have the benefit of protection from distraction; incoming messages or calls will be sent to voice mail or saved for later transmission with an auto reply to sender such as “In transit reply soon” while traveling and/or during specified time periods with the ability to have access to emergency and personal exceptions. If the operator of fork lift 303 chooses to utilize a cellular device during the blocked times a message is sent to the specified address and these data are retained in the pre-established Comm Blocker central control data base.

In FIG. 3c a bicycle 307 is shown an operator (rider) 305 with a cellular device 309 employing Comm Blocker will have the benefit of protection from distraction; incoming messages or calls will be sent to voice mail or saved for later transmission with an auto reply to sender such as “In transit reply soon” while traveling and/or during specified time periods with the ability to have access to emergency and personal exceptions. If the operator 305 of bicycle 307 chooses to utilize the cellular device 309 during the blocked times a message is sent to the specified address and these data are retained in the pre-established Comm Blocker central control data base.

In FIG. 3d a vehicle 313 is shown an operator 311 with a cellular device 315 approaching the ever dangerous Beer Truck 317 as the operator 311 has cellular device 315 employing Comm Blocker will have the benefit of protection from distraction; incoming messages or calls will be sent to voice mail or saved for later transmission with an auto reply to sender such as “In transit reply soon” while traveling and/or during specified time periods with the ability to have access to emergency and personal exceptions. If the operator 311 of vehicle 313 chooses to utilize the cellular device 315 during the blocked times a message is sent to the specified address and these data are retained in the pre-established Comm Blocker central control data base.

FIG. 4 shows a typical Central Control for Comm Blocker operator file.

In FIG. 4a a typical activity report 401 from a typical Central Control for Comm Blocker is shown listing individuals with information as to when the respective Comm Blocker equipped devices were in exception from blocked operation. These data shown present an individual's name, EID, Date of exception, Time of exception, number Contacted, Duration of message, and Code used. A P indicates use of a personal code for personal reasons. An E indicates use of an Emergency code for critical situations. An H indicates that the Control Panel was accessed (H is for hacked as no Control Panel entry should be allowed during Comm Blocker normal operation) for some reason. When an operator progresses thru FIG. 2 the report details can be altered or supplemented as necessary.

FIG. 4b shows a typical Central Control for Comm Blocker summary chart 403. The summary chart 403 can be manipulated and displayed as desired with data from the Central Control for Comm Blocker data base as discussed in FIG. 2. These data correlations will be useful for identifying problem areas and potential hazards or supplemental actions that may be necessary to reduce risks resulting for distracted driving or operations.

FIG. 5 shows a typical Comm Blocker alternative applications. The block Central Control for Comm Blocker 501 shows connections to alternative applications that will benefit from Central Control of Comm Blocker. In block Classroom and testing 503 Central Control for Comm Blocker affords numerous advantages to operator's of classrooms and testing organizations. Specifically, where classrooms or testing rooms are seeking to prevent interstudent/testee communication (prevent such as sharing or transmitting of answers)

In block Public Transportation 509 Central Control for Comm Blocker affords numerous advantages to operators of any type of transportation especially public transportation. Specifically, where transportation is involved distractions can be additionally dangerous given the size and miles covered by commercial vehicles. Transportation organizations should always employ prevention techniques to prevent distracted driving and insurance companies should require such central control and reporting to assure mistakes are minimized.

In block Restaurant 505 Central Control for Comm Blocker affords numerous advantages to operators of restaurants form fast food to 5 star restaurants. Specifically, restaurants have all the elements for bad outcomes given the constant supply of fire, flowing hot water, flowing cold water, large refrigerators, money, credit, and the list goes on. The importance is to prevent distractions and abuses with outside operations that may seek to distract from honest, efficient restaurant operations.

In block Government 507 Central Control for Comm Blocker affords numerous advantages to operators with large employment such as governments. Specifically, large employers have few ways to prevent individuals from abusing and misusing time during paid working hours. These abuses and misuse contribute to distractions causing vehicle accidents and lost hours of individual productivity.

In block Industry 511 Central Control for Comm Blocker affords numerous advantages to operators most all industries. Specifically, most all industries can benefit from restricting the following: distracted driving, unauthorized communication and messaging, web distraction. While restrictions are controlled individuals with specific requirements can have blocking functions tailored to the job requirements. For example, a driver with various routes can access services such as Web Maps and where appropriate Bluetooth headsets.

A suitable Comm Blocker App is disclosed in more detail in U.S. Pat. No. 8,340,730 issued on Dec. 25, 2012 to inventor George A. Pallotta. The subject matter of which is hereby incorporated by reference in it's entirety into this disclosure

Operation

An operator of Central Control for Comm Blocker typically will establish an operational setup such as shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1 an operator 103 loads or verifies that the Central Control for Comm Blocker program is operational. The operator 103 will activate the Central Control for Comm Blocker program on the administrative computer 101. The operator 103 next selects the desired cellular device 107 for loading and configuring of Comm Blocker in the device 107. The operator will follow the steps in FIG. 2 to Assign, Load, Configure, Verify employee data, establish selected hours to block, specify reporting and summary data to be collected, shared, or otherwise manipulated.

Typical report outputs are shown in FIG. 4a and FIG. 4b.

Alternative Central Control for Comm Blocker applications are shown in FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

A preferred embodiment of the Central Control for Comm Blocker is described in FIG. 1 through FIG. 4. In this embodiment a software program unifies the central control for an organization to interface to a selected cellular device with the ability to; assign an individual with a cellular device, load the Comm Blocker App, configure the Comm Blocker App with the following information for the Comm Blocker App and Comm Blocker central control data base; Control Panel Personal and Emergency codes for operational bypass, establish security thru password protection of Control Panel, assign emergency code, personal code, auto reply message, and any time blocking, assigning data base association for exception tracking, setting frequency and destination for exception reporting with statistical summaries, and address(s) to send potential safety violation reports.

The Central Control for Comm Blocker in the preferred embodiment is intended to reduce distracted driving, communication misuse, and assist reviewers of Central Control for Comm Blocker exception data to understand the correlation between accidents and cellular device distractions.

Claims

1. A Central Control for Comm Blocker system facilitating administering for blocking of a cellular device's communication comprising:

connecting an administrative central control of Comm Blocker computer connected to Internet, WiFi and Bluetooth data sources with an operator interface to the cellular device,

assigning individual(s) thru the Comm Blocker computer to the connected cellular device,

loading from the Comm Blocker computer a Comm Blocker App software into the cellular device,

configuring the Comm Blocker App software in the cellular device for safety (speed threshold for blocking), security (personal exception code and emergency exception code), entering an auto reply message for transmission during blocking periods, and restricted (time period blocking) operations,

verifying the safety, security, and restriction(s) configuration of the Comm Blocker App software loaded in the cellular device,

recording the configuration of the Comm Blocker App software loaded in the cellular device in a Comm Blocker central control data base within the Comm Blocker computer or cloud based storage,

monitoring the Comm Blocker App exceptions to safety, security, and restriction(s) as the exception messages are received over Internet, WiFi, Bluetooth and cellular sources,

recording in a Comm Blocker central control data base within the Comm Blocker computer or cloud based storage the Comm Blocker App exceptions to safety, security, and restriction(s) as the exception messages are received,

archiving in a Comm Blocker central control data base within the Comm Blocker computer or cloud based storage the Comm Blocker App exceptions to safety, security, and restriction(s) as the exception messages are received, and

reporting from the Comm Blocker central control data base within the Comm Blocker computer or cloud based storage the Comm Blocker App exceptions to safety, security, and restriction(s) after receipt.

2. The system for administering blocking of cellular device communications of claim 1 wherein, mobile cellular devices are blocked when a speed threshold is achieved and transmitting a record message containing duration, date and time stamp to the central control for Comm Blocker computer are recorded in the central control data base or cloud based storage when messages are transmitted by the cellular device during the blocking period.

3. The system for administering blocking of cellular device communications of claim 1 wherein, a personal code is established and when used during a blocking period a record message is sent containing duration, date and time stamp is sent to the central control for Comm Blocker computer are recorded in the central control data base or cloud based storage.

4. The system for administering blocking of cellular device communications of claim 1 wherein, an emergency code is established and when used during a blocking period a record message is sent containing duration, date and time stamp is sent to the central control for Comm Blocker computer are recorded in the central control data base or cloud based storage.

5. The system for administering blocking of cellular device communications of claim 1 wherein, hacking or otherwise changing passwords or variables is monitored by Comm Blocker and when ever such action is observed a record message containing duration, date and time stamp is sent to the central control for Comm Blocker computer are recorded in the central control data base or cloud based storage.

6. The system for administering blocking of cellular device communications of claim 1 wherein, time restrictions are established and whenever a record message is sent during a blocking period a message containing duration, date and time stamp is sent to the central control for Comm Blocker computer are recorded in the central control data base or cloud based storage.

7. The system for administering blocking of cellular device communications of claim 6 wherein, a personal code is established and when used during a time blocking period a record message is sent containing duration, date and time stamp is sent to the central control for Comm Blocker computer are recorded in the central control data base or cloud based storage.

8. The system for administering blocking of cellular device communications of claim 6 wherein, an emergency code is established and when used during a blocking time period a record message is sent containing duration, date and time stamp is sent to the central control for Comm Blocker computer are recorded in the central control data base or cloud based storage.

9. The system for administering blocking of cellular device communications of claim 6 wherein, hacking or otherwise changing passwords or variables is monitored by Comm Blocker and when ever such action is observed during a blocking period a record message containing duration, date and time stamp is sent to the central control for Comm Blocker computer are recorded in the central control data base or cloud based storage.

10. A method of administering blocking of cellular device communications thru a Central Control for Comm Blocker system comprising;

connecting an administrative central control of Comm Blocker computer connected to Internet, WiFi and Bluetooth data sources with an operator interface to a cellular device,

assigning thru the Comm Blocker computer the connected cellular device to individuals,

loading from the Comm Blocker computer a Comm Blocker App software into the cellular device,

configuring the Comm Blocker App software in the cellular device for safety (speed threshold for blocking), security (personal exception code and emergency exception code), entering an auto reply message for transmission during blocking periods, and restricted (time period blocking) operations,

verifying the safety, security, and restriction(s) configuration of the Comm Blocker App software loaded in the cellular device,

recording the configuration of the Comm Blocker App software loaded in the cellular device in a Comm Blocker central control data base within the Comm Blocker computer or cloud based storage,

monitoring the Comm Blocker App exceptions to safety, security, and restriction(s) as the exception messages are received over Internet, WiFi, Bluetooth and cellular sources,

recording in a Comm Blocker central control data base within the Comm Blocker computer or cloud based storage the Comm Blocker App exceptions to safety, security, and restriction(s) as the exception messages are received,

archiving in a Comm Blocker central control data base within the Comm Blocker computer or cloud based storage the Comm Blocker App exceptions to safety, security, and restriction(s) as the exception messages are received, and

reporting from the Comm Blocker central control data base within the Comm Blocker computer or cloud based storage the Comm Blocker App exceptions to safety, security, and restriction(s) after receipt.

11. The method of administering blocking of cellular device communications of claim 10 wherein; mobile cellular devices are blocked when a speed threshold is achieved and transmitting a record message containing duration, date and time stamp to the central control for Comm Blocker computer are recorded in the central control data base or cloud based storage when messages are transmitted during the blocking period.

12. The method of administering blocking of cellular device communications of claim 10 wherein; a personal code is established and when used during a blocking period a record message is sent containing duration, date and time stamp is sent to the central control for Comm Blocker computer are recorded in the central control data base or cloud based storage.

13. The method of administering blocking of cellular device communications of claim 10 wherein; an emergency code is established and when used during a blocking time period a record message is sent containing duration, date and time stamp is sent to the central control for Comm Blocker computer are recorded in the central control data base or cloud based storage.

14. The method of administering blocking of cellular device communications of claim 10 wherein; hacking or otherwise changing passwords or variables is monitored by Comm Blocker and when ever such action is observed a record message containing duration, date and time stamp is sent to the central control for Comm Blocker computer are recorded in the central control data base or cloud based storage.

15. The method of administering blocking of cellular device communications of claim 10 wherein; time restrictions are established and whenever a record message is sent during a blocking period a message containing duration, date and time stamp is sent to the central control for Comm Blocker computer are recorded in the central control data base or cloud based storage.

16. The method of administering blocking of cellular device communications of claim 15 wherein; a personal code is established and when used during a time blocking period a record message is sent containing duration, date and time stamp is sent to the central control for Comm Blocker computer are recorded in the central control data base or cloud based storage.

17. The method of administering blocking of cellular device communications of claim 15 wherein; an emergency code is established and when used during a blocking time period a record message is sent containing duration, date and time stamp is sent to the central control for Comm Blocker computer are recorded in the central control data base or cloud based storage.

18. The method of administering blocking of cellular device communications of claim 15 wherein; hacking or otherwise changing passwords or variables is monitored by Comm Blocker and when ever such action is observed during a blocking period a record message containing duration, date and time stamp is sent to the central control for Comm Blocker computer are recorded in the central control data base or cloud based storage.