Smart Device-Enabled
Electronic Testing

U.S. Patent No. 9,575,091 for a “Testing Device for Electrical Safety Using Wireless Communication” is held by independent inventor Kenneth Reeder. It has a 2013 Priority Date, the patent was granted in 2017, and it has 19 claims. This patent addresses a common problem. When an electrician, fire or building inspector, maintenance employee, electric utility worker, repair technician or other person is testing electrical wiring, the results appear on a tiny screen on the clamp tester, multimeter, meghometer, light fixture tester or other device the person is using. The person doing the testing has to either try to remember what the test reading was, or stop and write down the results. And if he or she is testing multiple devices, tracking and recording the results is not very efficient—and very messy!

The invention covered by this patent solves that problem by sending the test results to a smartphone, where they are recorded and where they can also be viewed by others. For example, a technician can have his supervisor or service manager back at the office view the test results while the technician is still onsite to help him determine what the problem is and what needs to be done. The supervisor could even forward the test results to the device’s manufacturer if the test results need more in-depth interpretation. Test results can be stored to create a history for the device being tested, or fed into diagnostic software for in-depth analysis. The technology works for any smart device—a PC or tablet, for example—but a smartphone seems to be the most practical.

Multiple Call Sessions on a Single Cell Phone

U.S. Patent No. 9,049,696 for “Multiple Call Session System and Method for a Mobile Phone” comes to us from ProjectOne Solutions, a technology development firm in Montreal. This patent has a 2010 Priority Date, was granted in 2015, and has 19 claims. When one receives a cell phone, it comes with a single telephone number. And for most users, one phone line is sufficient. But for a small business that needs multiple lines, for example, it is impractical for the business owner to carry two or three cell phones around with him. The alternative is to make a considerable investment in a switchboard or PBX to handle multiple lines. This invention offers an affordable, adaptable and brilliant solution for multiple use cases, of which the small business example is one.

This patent details a technology that enables a single cell phone to handle multiple call sessions. It provides the capability to send and receive calls from multiple lines on a cellular phone, and enables the integration of these lines with a network-based phone system. It leverages the strengths of cellular—for example, making and receiving phone calls remotely or while traveling—with the benefits of an advanced PBX. It enables one mobile phone to connect over a single cellular voice line to multiple phone devices through respective multiple lines, giving the user independent control of multiple call sessions on his or her phone. It also offers sharing of call sessions among several host mobile devices, and allows for modern social-style activity designed for voice.

This figure from U.S. Patent No. 9,049,696 is a sequence diagram showing how the host cell phone is integrated with other devices. (Click to enlarge)