Oh, patents! Chipolo tracking tags

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The rainbow-colored palette of Chipolo tracking tags is designed to assist you in finding, and prevent you from losing, valuable items, such as your keys, your cell phone or your bike! 

Embodying tracking technology such as that which is disclosed in the patent application US2010283600, Chipolo tracking tags consist of small, energy efficient, Bluetooth-enabled, lithium cell CR battery-operated tags, containing a small microprocessor and a program that executes inside the tags.  

Once you have downloaded the proprietary Chipolo app to your mobile phone, your Chipolo tag will sync with it, and you will always be able to track the whereabouts of your tagged items. For example, all you will need to do if you misplaced your keys is to ring them, tapping on the Chipolo tag icon appearing on the Chipolo app.

If your tagged valuable is out of Bluetooth range then you can tap into the community of Chipolo tag users, using crowd GPS functionalities, to see if your item will sync with someone else’s Chipolo app, so that you can see where your tagged belonging is located.

And if it is your mobile phone that is missing, you can use any Chipolo tag that you own to make your mobile phone ring, even if it is turned off! All you have to do is shake your Chipolo tag.

Considering Tiles and Trackr tracking tags…here's what's different....!

Beyond the vibrantly colored design, Chipolo uggests you shake your Chipolo tag in front of the Chipolo app, as soon as you find a tagged misplaced valuable using the  Chipolo tracking system… This will generate a selfie that you can add to the community Hall of Finders, using the hashtag #ChipoloSelfie, and it will no doubt capture your 'appiness! 

The Chipolo app also offers to find your mobile programmable devices without purchasing a Chipolo tag! Just download to your devices, and tap to ring your missing tablet or mobile phone! 

References
Chipolo
https://chipolo.net/
Tiles
https://www.thetileapp.com
Trackr
https://www.thetrackr.com/

Oh, patents! The Trackr tracking tags

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

If you thought that tracking tag Tiles were your only embodied option for such tracking technology as that which is disclosed in US2010283600, designed for preventing the loss of your most valuable possessions, then surf some more! 

There are more than one --even two or three - small, low-energy, Bluetooth-enabled tracker tags with built-in microprocessors, a lithium cell CR battery and an executable application that periodically synchs with your cell phone, available to assist you in locating your glasses, your keys, your purse or wallet!   

 

ITRW [In The Real World] then, consider for example the Trackr, a tracking tag made of stainless steel that comes in various colors, and most importantly in various forms such as sticker pucks, key rings or an ultra thin wallet option, enabling you to tag the indispensable objects of your everyday life such as your glasses, your purse or wallet, your keys or your pooch, so that you may retrieve them and ultimately avoid ever losing them again!

The Trackr tag (called Trackr Bravo), the Trackr Wallet, the Trackr key ring or The Trackr tag sticker all synch with a proprietary Trackr app downloaded to your Iphone or other mobile programmable devices. In turn, you will be able to call all your tagged valuables displayed as icons on your cell phone app, and thus locate them.

Similarly, in the event that it is your iPhone, or other mobile  programmable device, that is misplaced you can then press any Trakr tag you own to make your Iphone or other programmable device beep lourdly at 90 dB, even if your cell phone sound is off and the device is turned off!. 

And finally, if you still cannot find your possessions because they are out of Bluetooth range, you can always tap into the network of Trackr tech users to see if your lost item can synch to another Trackr app, and thus show you its whereabouts using crowd GPS functionalities!

So what's the Trackr difference? Trackr Bravo is made of stainless steel where other tracking tags are made of plastic. The battery inside Trackr tags can be changed, at minimal cost. And the Trackr design comes in several slick variations: as a sticker puck, a keyring, an ultra thin wallet tag and as a a super Atlas Trackr that plugs into an outlet, thus enabling you to track all the tagged items in your house! 

Reference

Trackr
https://www.thetrackr.com/
Tiles
https://www.thetileapp.com

Oh, patents! Tile tracker tags

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann 

ITRW [In the Real World] – Tracker tag technology, such as that which is for example disclosed in US2010283600, is embodied in such items as tracker Tiles by Tile Inc.

Tiles are small (approx. 2 square inches) white, tile-looking, Bluetooth®-enabled devices with an embedded one-year lithium cell CR battery, a small microprocessor and an application that executes on the tile. Thus, the tiles are designed to connect and periodically sync wirelessly via Bluetooth® communication protocol to your cell phone, where a proprietary Tile Inc app is downloaded. Using the app, you can thus call your tagged valuable by pressing on its Tile icon. This will cause the tag to beep at 90 dB, that is, loud enough for you to hear it even when it is hidden under a pile of linens!  

Otherwise, if the tagged item is outside of the100-feet radius of your Bluetooth® range, then you can access the location where it was last synched to the cell phone and the signal strength was recorded.  And if it is your phone that is lost, then you can double press on any one of the other Tiles that you own to make your Iphone or Android phone beep! Or you can use another device to make it ring, even when it is turned off. And finally, the app also uses Crowd GPS which means that it allows you to connect with an extended Tiler network, so that perhaps another Tile app, belonging to someone else can sync with your missing tagged item to show you where it is located.

One of the jingles for Tile Inc., tiled objects, sums it up: Your device can run away but it cannot hide!

So there you have it: a small, 1-year charged tracker tag that you can attach to your indispensables -- your keys, your wallet, your glasses, your bike or even your pooch—to assist you in retrieving all your misplaced items or finding your furry friends, and to prevent you from losing them.   

Reference

Tile Inc.
https://www.thetileapp.com

Oh, patents! Lost your keys? Just call 'em!

Copyright @ Françoise Herrmann

What’s the worst you can lose? Your cell phone? Your glasses? Your purse or wallet? Your suitcase? Your pooch?

Relax now! There is plenty of patented technology to prevent these catastrophic events.

Your basic Apple gear (Iphone, Ipad and Macbook), for example, is equipped with GPS tracking technology which enables you to logon to the ICloud Find my Iphone, Ipad or Macbook app to locate the whereabouts of your hardware! You can even remotely erase the contents of your lost hardware; lock the screen with a message requesting anyone who finds the equipment to call you; or have the hardware beep quite loudly (even when your device is turned off) so that you can finally locate it, and reboot your life! 


Almost ditto with Android devices and the AndroidLost app. 

However, this embedded GPS-enabled technology hardly works with everyday objects such as your keys, your glasses, your wallet or purse or even the furry, tail-wagging object of your affection.

In comes small, Bluetooth-enabled, tracking tags that you can attach directly to your indispensable possessions and interrogate using an app, downloaded to your cell phone! This way, you can tag your keys, your glasses, your wallet or even your lively, bouncy, furry pooch, to stay informed of the whereabouts of all your tagged possessions and companions, and even be alerted when they are out of range, or hidden out of sight (within range!). 

So, for example, if you were to misplace your (tagged) glasses... you can just call them by pressing on their tag icon, on the app, (assuming you can still see the icons...) It's as easy as that!

US2010283600 titled Tracker tag low power apparatus for preventing loss of cell phone and other high-value items discloses just this possibility, with the additional bonuses of being both very low energy-consuming and very small tags (about the size of a quarter), so that the tracking system will work a long time on a lithium cell CR battery, informing you of your valuables whereabouts.

The Abstract for US2010283600 is included below. 

A system for the prevention of loss of wallets, keys, purses and the like. The system uses a programmable wireless appliance such as a cell phone as a wireless tracker, and utilizes lightweight wireless tag devices attached to the items to protected. A software application executes on the wireless appliance to query the wireless tags and determines when any part of the system is going out of range.