Patent ID: 8380170

Claim:
A system for restricting the operation of a radio communication device, the system comprising: a controller comprising a communication module; a security module; and a memory; at least three sensors, configured to be communicatively coupled to the controller and to operate within a moving vehicle, wherein the three sensors are all remotely located from all serving cellular base station sites; and a portable wireless user control, configured to be communicatively coupled to the controller, wherein the wireless user control comprises: a radio frequency receiver, a wireless transmitter, and at least one user input control, wherein the wireless user control and the controller are jointly configured to define at least a portion of a usage restriction zone, by actuation of the user input control when the wireless user control is at a vertex of the usage restriction zone, wherein the controller is further configured to: determine an identity of the device by using information in a radio transmission from the device, wherein the radio transmission is received by at least one of the sensors; determine whether the identified device is within the usage restriction zone, by using zone boundary data stored within the controller memory and transmitted radio frequency energy from the device, wherein the radio frequency energy is received by at least two of the sensors, and without requiring reception and processing of any wireless signals by the device; receive a security code from a serving cellular base station; and communicate the identity of the identified device to a remote node, across a public computer network, by using the received security code as an authentication credential for restricting usage of the identified device when the device is determined to be in the predefined restriction zone, wherein the restricting is enforced by a serving base station.