Patent Publication Number: US-2010109870-A1

Title: Multifunction portable electronic device and anti-theft method thereof

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure generally relates to portable electronic devices, particularly to a multifunction anti-theft portable electronic device. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     With the developments of wireless communication and information processing technologies, portable electronic devices such as mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) are now in widespread use, and consumers may now enjoy the full convenience of high tech products almost anytime and anywhere. However, these portable electronic devices may easily be lost or stolen because of their small size. 
     Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Many aspects of the multifunction portable electronic device and the anti-theft method thereof can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the multifunction portable electronic device and the anti-theft method thereof. 
         FIG. 1  shows a block diagram of a multifunctional portable electronic device, according to an exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  shows a block diagram of the multifunctional portable electronic device when the transmitting unit is connected to the receiving module to recharge. 
         FIG. 3  shows a flow chart of an anti-theft process of the multifunctional portable electronic device shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a multifunctional portable electronic device  100  such as a mobile phone or a personal digital assistant (PDA) includes a transmitting unit  10  and a receiving unit  20 . The transmitting unit  10  is separate from the receiving unit  20 . A wireless communication connection can be established between the transmitting unit  10  and the receiving unit  20  by frequency modulation (FM), Bluetooth transmission, or infrared transmission. Referring to  FIG. 2 , the transmitting unit  10  also can electronically connect to the receiving unit  20  to recharge. 
     The transmitting unit  10  includes a transmitting module  11 , a power storage module  12 , a voltage detecting module  13 , a voltage judging module  14  and an alert module for low voltage  15  electrically connected together in series. The transmitting module  11  is used to communicate with the receiving unit  20  by sending signals to the receiving unit  20 . The power storage module  12  supplies power to the transmitting module  11 . A switch (not shown) can be set between the power storage module  12  and the transmitting module  11 . Users can turn on/off the transmitting module  11  via controlling the switch. The voltage detecting module  13  obtains the output voltage of the power storage module  12  and sends the obtained output voltage to the voltage judging module  14 . The voltage judging module  14  has predetermined a work voltage of the transmitting module  11 . The voltage judging module  14  judges whether the voltage of the power storage module  12  is lower than the predetermined work voltage and activates the alert module for low voltage  15  when the voltage of power storage module  12  is lower than the predetermined work voltage. The alert module for low voltage  15  generates an alert signal (e.g. sounds, light indications, etc) to users to recharge the transmitting unit  10  after being activated by the voltage judging module  14 . 
     The receiving unit  20  includes a receiving module  21 , a controlling module  22 , a displaying module  23 , an alarming module  24 , and a power managing module  25 . The receiving module  21 , the displaying module  23 , the alarming module  24  are electrically connected to the controlling module  22 . The power managing module  25  is electrically connected to the receiving module  21 , the controlling module  22 , the displaying module  23 , and the alarming module  24 . 
     The receiving module  21  is used to communicate with the transmitting module  11  by receiving the signals therefrom. The controlling module  22  has a maximum predetermined work distance from the receiving module  21 . The receiving module  21  can communicates with the transmitting module  11  freely and receives signals from the transmitting module  11  within the predetermined work distance. The receiving module  21  may can not receives signals or receive weak signals from the transmitting module  11  outside the predetermined work distance. The predetermined work distance can be changed by users according to different requirements. The controlling module  22  judges whether the distance from the receiving module  21  to the transmitting module  11  is over the predetermined work distance according to the intensity of signals received from the transmitting module  11  via the receiving module  21 . The controlling module  22  also controls the displaying module  23  to display the communication connection states between the receiving module  21  and transmitting module  11 . In addition, the controlling module  22  sends alarming signals to the alarming module  24  when the distance from the receiving module  21  to the transmitting module  11  is over the predetermined work distance. 
     The displaying module  23  displays the communication connection states between the transmitting module  11  and the receiving module  21 . The alarming module  24  generates an alert signal to users when the distance between the transmitting module  11  and receiving module  21  is over the predetermined work distance. The power managing module  25  supplies power to the receiving module  21  and the controlling module  22 . Referring to  FIG. 2 , the power managing module  25  can be connected to the transmitting module  11  by a wire when the transmitting module  11  is out of power, to charge the transmitting module  11 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the anti-theft process of the multifunctional portable electronic device  100  may include following steps: 
     In step S 1 , disposing the transmitting unit  10  and the receiving unit  20  separately. For example, in a first condition, users can put the transmitting unit  10  in the bag, and carry the receiving unit  20  with them. In a second condition, the transmitting unit  10  and the receiving unit  20  are carried by two users. 
     In step S 2 , a working distance between the receiving module  21  and the transmitting module  11  is set using the controlling module  22  according to different conditions. For example, in the first condition, the distance may be 0.5 to 1 meter, and in the second condition, the distance may be 500 meter. 
     In step S 3 , activating the transmitting module  11  and the receiving module  21  to communicate with each other. 
     In step S 4 , the controlling module  22  judges whether a communication connection is established between the transmitting module  11  and the receiving module  21 , if yes, the process goes to S 6 , if no, the process goes to S 5 . 
     In step S 5 , the controlling module  22  controls the displaying module  23  to display that the anti-theft function of the portable electronic device  100  is abnormal. 
     In step S 6 , the controlling module  22  controls the displaying module  23  to display the anti-theft function of the portable electronic device  100  is normal, the process goes to S 7 . 
     In step S 7 , the controlling module  22  identifies whether the distance from the receiving module  21  to the transmitting module  11  is over the predetermined work distance according to the intensity of signals received from the transmitting module  11  via the receiving module  21 , if yes, the process goes to S 8 , if no, the process goes to S 9 . 
     In step S 8 , the control unit  30  controls the displaying module  23  to display that the receiving module  21  is in the predetermined work distance. 
     In step S 9 , the control unit  30  controls the displaying module  23  to display that the receiving module  21  is outside of the predetermined work distance, and controls the alarming module to generate an alarming signals to users. 
     The portable electronic device  100  can generate an alarming signal to users via the transmitting unit  10  when the receiving unit  20  is over the predetermined work distance, and avoid the portable electronic device  100  to be lost or stolen. 
     It is believed that the exemplary embodiments and their advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the examples hereinbefore described merely being preferred or exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.