Apparatus and methods for automatically removing data of mobile devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12293181-B2
Application number	US-202418989075-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 20, 2024
Priority date	Aug 29, 2019
Publication date	May 6, 2025
Grant date	May 6, 2025

Abstract

Apparatus and methods for automatically removing customer data of a mobile device are disclosed according to various embodiments. In one example, a disclosed method comprises: detecting a mobile device connected to a slot; automatically determining whether the mobile device is valid based on data in a file system; upon determining that the mobile device is valid, automatically determining an operating system managing the mobile device; and automatically removing customer data of the mobile device based on the operating system.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for automatic data removal, comprising:
at least one rack comprising a plurality of slots each of which is configured for holding a mobile device;
a robot arm configured to place a mobile device in to at least one slot, wherein the robot is a 6 axis robot;
a plurality of connectors each of which is associated with a respective one of the plurality of slots;
at least one computer coupled to the rack, wherein each of the at least one computer corresponds to a subset of the plurality of connectors, and has a processor and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing software for automatically determining an operating system managing the mobile device, and proceeding with either one of two erasure processes depending on the operating system of the mobile device to automatically remove customer data of each mobile device connected to the computer via a corresponding one of the subset of the plurality of connectors;
and a user monitor electrically connected to the at least one computer and configured for displaying information related to data removal performed by the at least one computer, wherein after removing customer data of each mobile device, a visual indication is shown on a screen of the mobile device to indicate a finish of removal of the customer data of the mobile device.

2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a scanner electrically connected to the at least one computer and configured for, scanning a serial number of a corresponding mobile device to be held on the slot; and associating the scanned serial number with a slot number before removing customer data of the corresponding mobile device.

3. The system of claim 1 , further comprising: six total racks surrounding the robot arm.

4. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a first conveyor configured to move mobile devices into reach of the robot arm.

5. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a second conveyor configured to move mobile devices away from the robot arm.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the robot arm has a grabber attached at one end.

7. A method for automatic data removal, comprising:
selecting a first mobile device using a robot arm;
automatically scanning, via a scanner, a first serial number attached to the first mobile device;
associating the first serial number with a first slot number of a first available slot on a first rack including a plurality of slots;
placing the first mobile device into the associated slot, wherein the first mobile device is automatically connected the first mobile device to the cord of the associate slot;
automatically determining an operating system managing the first mobile device, and proceed with either one of two erasure processes depending on the operating system of the first mobile device;
and automatically performing a removal of customer data of the first mobile device via the first connector and a first computer associated with the first slot, wherein after performing the removal of the customer data of the first mobile device, a visual indication is shown on a screen of the first mobile device to indicate a finish of the removal of the customer data of the first mobile device;
automatically generating a certificate indicating that the first mobile device has no customer data after the removal; scanning, using the scanner, the first serial number of the first mobile device again after the removal; and unloading the first mobile device from the first slot.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising: automatically determining a built-in serial number of the first mobile device via the first connector; automatically comparing the built-in serial number with the first serial number to determine whether there is a serial number mismatch; and upon determining that there is a serial number mismatch, automatically reporting an error associated with the first slot.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein automatically performing the removal of the customer data comprises performing an update of software of the first mobile device.

10. The method of claim 7 , further comprising performing a software update on the first mobile device.

11. A method for automatically removing customer data of a mobile device, comprising:
selecting a first mobile device using a robot arm;
automatically scanning, via a scanner, a first serial number attached to the first mobile device;
associating the first serial number with a first slot;
detecting a mobile device connected to a slot; automatically determining whether the mobile device is valid based on data in a file system;
upon determining that the mobile device is valid, automatically determining an operating system managing the mobile device, and proceed with either one of two erasure processes depending on the operating system of the mobile device;
if the operating system is a first operating system: determining a device mode of the mobile device based on the first operating system; if the mobile device is in a recovery mode, flashing a firmware of the mobile device; and if the mobile device is in a normal mode, determining whether the mobile device is activated or not, and if the mobile device is activated, perform a factory reset of the mobile device;
if the operating system is a second operating system, initiating a USB debugging mode and installing a data removal application on the mobile device based on the second operating system;
automatically removing customer data of the mobile device based on the operating system;
and after removing the customer data of the mobile device, displaying a visual indication on a screen of the mobile device that the customer data has been removed.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein automatically removing customer data of the mobile device further comprises: upon determining that the mobile device is activated, performing a factory reset on the mobile device; and flashing the firmware of the mobile device when the factory reset fails.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein automatically removing customer data of the mobile device further comprises: upon determining that the mobile device is not activated, determining whether the mobile device has been wiped and whether the mobile device is able to be activated.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein automatically removing customer data of the mobile device further comprises: upon determining that the mobile device has not been wiped and that the mobile device is able to be activated, performing a factory reset on the mobile device.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein automatically removing customer data of the mobile device further comprises: upon determining that the mobile device has not been wiped and that the mobile device is not able to be activated, flashing the firmware of the mobile device.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein automatically removing customer data of the mobile device further comprises: if the operating system managing the mobile device is the second operating system: determining a profile type of the mobile device; and performing a factory reset on the mobile device based on the profile type.

17. The method of claim 11 , wherein if the automatically removing customer data of the mobile device fails for any reason, a graphical user interface will display a reason why the process failed.

18. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first operating system is iOS and the second operating system is Android®.

Assignees

• Communications Test Design Inc

Inventors

• Parsons Sean
• Parsons Brian
• Parsons Mark
• Gunter Austin
• Davis Nidhin
• Durkin Krissy
• Huber Mario
• Fiedler Martin
• Bach Annedore
• Jain Jitendra
• Maheshwari Siddharth
• Domsohn Jaclyn
• Muthuveerappan Krithika
• Shrestha Pratik

Classifications

• G06F21/6218 Primary

  to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database · CPC title

• G06F16/162

  Delete operations (erasing in storage systems G06F3/0652) · CPC title

• G06F13/10

  Program control for peripheral devices (G06F13/14 - G06F13/42 take precedence) · CPC title

• G06F2221/2143

  Clearing memory, e.g. to prevent the data from being stolen · CPC title

• G06F21/604

  Tools and structures for managing or administering access control systems · CPC title