Patent Publication Number: US-2011050420-A1

Title: Electronic apparatus with alarm function and method thereof

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to an electronic apparatus with an alarm function and a method thereof. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Generally, when engaging in sports activities, people often put their portable electronic devices (e.g. mobile phones, MP3, etc) aside to avoid potential damages to the electronic devices. However, during sports, they usually cannot pay close attentions to their electronic devices, as a result, the electronic devices may easily be stolen. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The components of the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the electronic apparatus with an alarm function. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout several views. 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an electronic apparatus  1  with an alarm function in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a flowchart of an alarm method applied on the electronic apparatus of  FIG. 1  in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an electronic apparatus  1  with an alarm function (hereinafter “the apparatus”) in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. The alarm function of the electronic apparatus  1  is activated to prompt its owner when the electronic apparatus  1 , which is away from the owner, is taken away. The electronic apparatus  1  includes an image obtaining device  20 , a processing unit  30 , a data storage  40 , and an audio output unit  50 . The image obtaining device  20  is placed on an appropriate position of the electronic apparatus  1 , such as a front side or a back side thereof, for obtaining an image of the location where the electronic apparatus  1  is placed at. 
     After the alarm function of the electronic apparatus  1  is activated, the processing unit  30  controls the image obtaining device  20  to periodically obtain the image of the location where the electronic apparatus  1  is placed at and sends the obtained image to the data storage  40 . The processing unit  30  compares a currently obtained image, which obtained by the image obtained device  20  currently, with a previously obtained image, which obtained by the image obtained device  20  previously, to determine whether the currently obtained image is the same as the previously obtained image. In this exemplary embodiment, the processing unit  30  compares pixel values of the current obtained image with that of the previously obtained image to determine whether the currently obtained image is the same as the previously obtained image. If the current obtained image is not the same as the previously obtained image, the processing unit  30  accesses a predetermined alarm signal (e.g. sounds) from the data storage  40 , and outputs the predetermined alarm signal through the audio output unit  50 . 
     In another exemplary embodiment, the electronic apparatus  1  further includes an illuminant  10 . The illuminant  10  is positioned in the same side as the image obtaining device  20 . When the electronic apparatus  1  is placed on a surface of an object, the illuminant  10  spots a bright spot on the surface of the object. The image of the location is the image of the bright spot. Attributes of the bright spot, such as the size or the luminance of the bright spot, can be taken as a reference spot to determine whether the currently obtained image is the same as the previously obtained image. 
       FIG. 2  is a flowchart of an alarm method applied on the electronic apparatus  1  of  FIG. 1 . 
     In step S 201 , the processing unit  30  controls the image obtaining device  20  to periodically obtain the image of the location where the electronic apparatus  1  is placed at and stores the obtained image to the data storage  40 . 
     In step S 202 , the processing unit  30  compares the currently obtained image with the previously obtained image to determine whether the currently obtained image is the same as the previously obtained image 
     In step S 203 , if the current obtained image is not the same as the previously obtained image, the processing unit  30  accesses a predetermined alarm signal from the data storage  40 . 
     In step S 204 , the processing unit  30  outputs the accessed predetermined alarm signal through the audio output unit  50 . 
     Although the present disclosure has been specifically described on the basis of preferred embodiments, the disclosure is not to be construed as being limited thereto. Various changes or modifications may be made to the embodiment without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure.