Invented by KB; Sendhil Kumar, Sreevastav; AVS V, Kalam; Arun Pulasseri, P; Anandaraj

Mobile phones are everywhere. They keep us connected but sometimes, the sounds they make can cause trouble. Think about a phone ringing loudly in a library or buzzing during a quiet ceremony. Wouldn’t it be nice if your phone just knew when to be quiet, all by itself? Today, we’ll explore a new patent that aims to make that very idea a reality. This blog will break down the technology, show why it matters, and help you understand the clever ideas behind it.

Background and Market Context

Phones are part of our lives. We use them for calls, messages, music, and games. But all these things make noise. Sounds from phones—like ringtones, message alerts, and even camera clicks—can disturb people, especially in places where quiet is needed. These places are called noise-sensitive areas, and they include libraries, hospitals, churches, restaurants, and even some neighborhoods.

Usually, it’s up to us to silence our phones. Many phones have a “Do Not Disturb” mode or a “Silent” setting. But we have to remember to turn it on and off. Let’s be honest, sometimes we forget. You walk into a quiet place, your phone rings, and everyone turns to look at you. It’s easy to forget, and it’s awkward for everyone.

People have wanted a better way for a long time. The idea is simple: the phone should silence itself when you enter certain places, and go back to normal when you leave. That would make life easier, avoid embarrassing moments, and keep these spaces peaceful. But until now, the way to make this happen has not been very smart or automatic.

The market for smart mobile devices is huge, and it keeps growing. As more people use phones, the chances for disruptions go up. Businesses, schools, and even public places are searching for ways to keep things quiet without extra effort. There is a real need for a smart, automatic solution that works anywhere, for everyone.

This is where the new patent comes in. It promises a way for your phone to know where it is, understand if it’s in a quiet place, and hush itself without you having to do anything. It uses information about locations and signals in the air to figure out if it should be quiet. This could change how we use our phones and make life more comfortable for everyone around us.

Scientific Rationale and Prior Art

To understand what makes this patent special, we need to look at what has come before. Phones already have “Silent” or “Do Not Disturb” modes. These let you turn off sounds, but you have to do it yourself. Some apps can schedule your phone to be quiet at certain times—for example, during meetings—but not based on where you are.

Some smart devices use GPS or Wi-Fi to know their location. There are apps that can silence your phone when you reach a certain spot, like your workplace or home. These apps use the phone’s position sensors, like GPS, or signals from Wi-Fi networks. But these solutions are often not very precise. GPS can be wrong indoors, and Wi-Fi signals can change.

Other systems use short-range signals, like Bluetooth, to sense when the phone is near a certain spot. For example, a phone might connect to a Bluetooth beacon in a conference room and silence itself. But what if you walk past the conference room or you’re in the next room over? The phone might get confused.

Another problem with past solutions is flexibility. Many of them don’t let you set up your own quiet places easily. It’s hard to update the settings or change the quiet zones. And sometimes, you want your phone to be quiet for some things and not others. Maybe you want only message sounds off, but alarms on. Or you want emergency calls to still ring.

The patent we’re looking at tries to solve all these problems. It combines several ideas to make a system that is smart, flexible, and easy to use. It uses both navigation signals (like GPS or Wi-Fi) and short-range signals (like Bluetooth) together. This helps the phone know its exact spot and decide if it should be quiet. The system lets you set up and change your own quiet places. It also lets you pick what kind of sounds you want to silence, and when.

The patent stands out because it doesn’t rely on just one way to figure out where the phone is. It uses both big area signals (like GPS) and small area signals (like Bluetooth), together with special settings you can make yourself. This makes it possible to have very precise control. Your phone can be quiet in just the right places, and only when you want.

Invention Description and Key Innovations

Now, let’s get into the heart of the new technology. What does this invention really do, and how does it work? Here’s how the system puts it all together.

The smart silencer is built into your mobile device. It works with several key parts:

– A transceiver that can pick up short-range signals like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or other kinds.
– A position sensor that can read navigation signals—these are things like GPS, Wi-Fi, or cell signals that help the phone know where it is.
– Memory that stores settings for the silencer app. These settings include information about where the quiet places are. The system calls these “quiet zones” and “silent areas.” Quiet zones are bigger spaces, like a whole library or hospital. Silent areas are smaller spots, like a certain room or part of a building.
– Control circuitry. This is the “brain” that puts everything together. It checks the signals from the sensors, matches them to the places you want to be quiet, and tells the speaker when to turn off or on.

Here’s how it works step by step:

First, the phone’s position sensor reads the signals around it. If the phone gets a navigation signal (say, from GPS or a Wi-Fi hotspot), it checks if it is in a quiet zone. If it is, the control circuit tells the speaker to stop making sounds. If it’s not in a quiet zone, the phone listens for short-range signals—like Bluetooth beacons or Wi-Fi in certain rooms. If it finds a short-range signal that matches a silent area, it also tells the speaker to be quiet.

The settings for which places are quiet zones or silent areas are stored in the phone’s memory. You (the user) can set these up using a simple interface. Maybe you want your phone to be silent in your child’s school, or just in the school library. You can pick these places on a map, or by connecting to a certain Wi-Fi or Bluetooth signal. The phone remembers these choices and uses them again later.

The system is smart about letting you change these settings whenever you want. You can add new quiet zones or silent areas, or remove them. You can choose which sounds are silenced—calls, messages, alarms, or all of them. If you want, you can let emergency calls still ring, or let calls from certain people through.

Let’s look at an example. Imagine you’re walking through a hospital. The phone’s position sensor sees that you are in a quiet zone. It stops making sounds. If you leave the hospital, it automatically starts making sounds again. But maybe there’s a special room—a rest area—where absolute silence is needed. The phone picks up a Bluetooth signal in that room (the silent area) and makes sure no sounds at all come out, not even alarms.

If you just walk past the hospital, or are outside, the phone does nothing. You don’t have to remember to silence your phone, or to turn the sound back on. The phone does it for you, based on where you are and the signals it picks up.

The invention also keeps things safe. If you get several calls from the same number, the phone can let them through, in case it’s an emergency. It can send a message back to the caller to let them know you are in a quiet place. You can set how many calls it takes before the sound comes back on.

This patent also covers ways for the phone to work with other devices. For example, headphones or earphones can still play sounds, even if the main speaker is off. The phone can still send you messages on the screen, or make it vibrate so you know someone is trying to reach you.

Another key part of the invention is the way the phone remembers what to do. When you move from one place to another, the phone checks its settings, the signals it sees, and decides what to do next. If you change the settings, the phone updates itself right away. This makes the system flexible and easy to use.

The technical details of the invention are all about making sure the phone knows where it is, knows what the rules are for that place, and can act without you having to do anything extra. The system uses both big and small area signals, lets you set up your own rules, and keeps you in control. It’s a smarter way to handle sound on your phone, wherever you go.

Conclusion

Phones are part of our world, but their sounds don’t have to disturb our peace. This patent introduces a smart, flexible way for your phone to know when to be quiet and when to speak up. By using both wide and close-range signals, and by giving you easy control over where and how your phone is silent, it solves the problems of older methods. You can walk into a quiet place, and your phone will know what to do—no more awkward moments, no more missed calls, and no more hassle.

This invention is about making life smoother for everyone. Whether you are at work, in a library, or enjoying a meal, your phone can fit the mood of the space, all by itself. As more people and businesses look for ways to keep things quiet and comfortable, smart silence zones like these will become more important. With this patent, the future of mobile device use gets a little bit brighter—and a whole lot quieter.

Click here https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/ and search 20250220110.