Motorola Cell Phone Alerts Users by Therapeutic Massage

Motorola has patented a system that allows a cell phone to set off electrodes on a stimulator pad, alerting users of incoming calls.

According to the patent application, current cell phones have tried to silently notify a wearer through a vibrating alert, but often times are still unintentionally distracting to others. The vibration produces an audible sound, especially when the wireless device is left on a surface such as a table top, easily detected in quiet environments such as business meetings.

The stimulator pad invention attempts to solve the problem by using electric pulses to notify users. When the wearer receives an incoming call, message, or data delivery, an electric potential is placed across the electrodes and physically stimulates the body, such as areas of the epidermis and underlying muscles, alerting the wearer of the incoming call in a completely silent manner.

Power levels, frequencies, and duty cycles can be adjusted delivering even patterned signals to notify the wearer who is calling, or what data is being received by the wireless device.

The application also claims the wireless device can be used to deliver muscle stimulation, known to have therapeutic effects.

"The stimulator pads of the present invention can, in addition to the uses stated above for notification, be used for therapeutic stimulation of the various epidermal and subcutaneous areas of the wearer's body. The stimulus patterns can be manually programmed into the device by the user, selected from a programmed list of patterns in the device or, alternatively, can be downloaded to the device from, for example, a doctor's website or in-office computer by a therapist. In this way, the patterns that provide the most therapeutic benefits can be provided to the user."