The Finder Platform
Locate the important things in life

Finder™ brand enables a new generation of products built around a common concept: locating the people, places and things that are important in life.

The Finder brand's technology platform helps point the way to the thing you seek: your car, luggage, or even your loved one.

The Finder technology platform consists of a patented Radio Direction Finding system that allows a small hand-held transceiver to locate the direction of a paired beacon.

Auto-Finder™ is the first product with car locating technology that has been developed with the Finder technology platform.

Design Overview

The Auto-Finder system consists of two major components:

1. Finder - battery powered transceiver carried by user and attached to keychain
   • One "Locate" push button for activation
   • Three LEDs for direction indication
   • A speaker that produces tones proportional to correct direction
   • Two custom, patented antennas used for determining directionality
   • 2x size 27A batteries (12V)
2. Beacon - battery powered transceiver mounted in the vehicle
   • A speaker for reporting status
   • Two omni directional antennas
   • 3x size AA batteries

At rest, the Beacon is in a very low power consumption intermittent receiving mode waiting for a signal from the Finder, and the Finder is completely powered down. When a user wants to locate his vehicle, he presses the Locate button on the Finder, which initiates transmissions to the Beacon. When the Beacon receives a signal from the Finder, it confirms that the Finder serial number is one that has been paired with it and starts transmitting information back to the Finder. When the Finder starts receiving this information, it stops transmitting and falls into its direction reporting mode until the activation button is released.

The Finder uses a proprietary methodology for determining the relative strength of the signal received by the two custom, patented antennas inside the Finder. The Finder then generates a tone that is proportional to the relative direction - if the Finder is pointed towards the Beacon and is relatively close, the tone is high pitched and fast and more LED arrows are lit. As the Finder is pointed away from the Beacon and/or moved further away in distance, the frequency and the interval of the tones decrease and fewer LEDs are lit.

Design Specs

• Finder

  • Transceiver frequency range: 2405 - 2480 MHz
  • Transmitter output power: +19 dBm
  • Internal operating voltage: 3.0V
  • Batteries: Size 27A, 12V Alkaline (x2)
  • Battery Life: approximately 6 months (typical use)
  • Dimensions: (WxLxH): 1.87" x 1.87" x 0.63"
  • Weight (with batteries): 4.75oz./135g
  • Antennas: PCB trace antennas

• Beacon

  • Transceiver frequency range: 2405 - 2480 MHz
  • Transmitter output power: +19 dBm
  • Internal operating voltage: 3.0V
  • Batteries: Size AA 1.5V Alkaline or non-rechargeable Lithium (x3)
  • Battery Life: approximately 6 months (typical use)
  • Dimensions: (WxLxH): 2.75" x 3.54" x 1.02"
  • Weight (with batteries): 7.0 oz/ 200g
  • Antennas: Embedded antennas

• Environmental Specification

  • Operating Temperature:
    • -10°C to +55°C / 14°F to 131°F (non-rechargeable Lithium batteries)
    • 0°C to +55°C / 32°F to 131°F (Alkaline batteries)
  • Non-Operating Temperature:
    • -20°C to +70°C / -4°F to 158°F