GB2307514A - Vehicle security system with portable transmitters - Google Patents

Vehicle security system with portable transmitters Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2307514A
GB2307514A GB9620069A GB9620069A GB2307514A GB 2307514 A GB2307514 A GB 2307514A GB 9620069 A GB9620069 A GB 9620069A GB 9620069 A GB9620069 A GB 9620069A GB 2307514 A GB2307514 A GB 2307514A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
transmitter
vehicle
control means
security
pulses
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
GB9620069A
Other versions
GB9620069D0 (en
GB2307514B (en
Inventor
Jeremy John Greenwood
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
MG Rover Group Ltd
Original Assignee
MG Rover Group Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from GBGB9524165.9A external-priority patent/GB9524165D0/en
Application filed by MG Rover Group Ltd filed Critical MG Rover Group Ltd
Priority to GB9828316A priority Critical patent/GB2331330B/en
Priority to GB9620069A priority patent/GB2307514B/en
Publication of GB9620069D0 publication Critical patent/GB9620069D0/en
Publication of GB2307514A publication Critical patent/GB2307514A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of GB2307514B publication Critical patent/GB2307514B/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Fee Related legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R25/00—Fittings or systems for preventing or indicating unauthorised use or theft of vehicles
    • B60R25/20—Means to switch the anti-theft system on or off
    • B60R25/24—Means to switch the anti-theft system on or off using electronic identifiers containing a code not memorised by the user
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R25/00—Fittings or systems for preventing or indicating unauthorised use or theft of vehicles
    • B60R25/01—Fittings or systems for preventing or indicating unauthorised use or theft of vehicles operating on vehicle systems or fittings, e.g. on doors, seats or windscreens
    • B60R25/04—Fittings or systems for preventing or indicating unauthorised use or theft of vehicles operating on vehicle systems or fittings, e.g. on doors, seats or windscreens operating on the propulsion system, e.g. engine or drive motor
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07C—TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE
    • G07C9/00—Individual registration on entry or exit
    • G07C9/00174—Electronically operated locks; Circuits therefor; Nonmechanical keys therefor, e.g. passive or active electrical keys or other data carriers without mechanical keys
    • G07C9/00309—Electronically operated locks; Circuits therefor; Nonmechanical keys therefor, e.g. passive or active electrical keys or other data carriers without mechanical keys operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07C—TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE
    • G07C9/00—Individual registration on entry or exit
    • G07C9/00174—Electronically operated locks; Circuits therefor; Nonmechanical keys therefor, e.g. passive or active electrical keys or other data carriers without mechanical keys
    • G07C9/00857—Electronically operated locks; Circuits therefor; Nonmechanical keys therefor, e.g. passive or active electrical keys or other data carriers without mechanical keys where the code of the data carrier can be programmed
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07C—TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE
    • G07C9/00—Individual registration on entry or exit
    • G07C9/00174—Electronically operated locks; Circuits therefor; Nonmechanical keys therefor, e.g. passive or active electrical keys or other data carriers without mechanical keys
    • G07C2009/00753—Electronically operated locks; Circuits therefor; Nonmechanical keys therefor, e.g. passive or active electrical keys or other data carriers without mechanical keys operated by active electrical keys
    • G07C2009/00769—Electronically operated locks; Circuits therefor; Nonmechanical keys therefor, e.g. passive or active electrical keys or other data carriers without mechanical keys operated by active electrical keys with data transmission performed by wireless means

Abstract

Transmitter coil 34, receiver 20, and security control unit 10 are mounted on vehicle 11. Doors 18 have locks 16. Unit 10 operates a fuel injection or ignition system 15 to immobilize and re-mobilize engine 14 on receipt of a command signal by receiver 20. Two (or more) portable transmitter units 22 each comprise battery 26, transmitter 24, receiver 32, and a counter with a discrete identifying number for each unit. Button 28 allows remote transmission of a door unlocking and engine re-mobilizing signal. When remobilization is required with the driver in the vehicle and the key in the steering lock 38, transmitter coil 34 transmits a series of pulses, and portable transmitters 22 count said pulses, transmitting only when the number of pulses corresponds to their identifying numbers. This ensures that only one portable unit transmits at once, avoiding possible rejection of simultaneous signals. During vehicle production, unit 10 is programmed to issue security codes to the portable transmitters; it may issue a warning or cease operation if two units have the same identifying number. Radio frequency signals are used.

Description

VEHICLE SECURITY SYSTEM The present invention relates to vehicle security systems, and in particular to those including 'passive remobilization which ensures that the vehicle will not remain immobilized if the driver has entered the vehicle and wants to start it using the proper key.
It is known to provide a transmitter unit attached to an ignition key of a vehicle, either as part of the key head or as a separate unit, which will respond to request signals transmitted from the vehicle when the ignition switch is used by transmitting a remobilize signal to the security control unit. However it is a problem with such systems that, if two transmitter units from the set for the vehicle are attached to the same ignition key, or to the same key ring, they can both transmit remobilize signals at the same time which results in neither of them being recognized by the control unit.
Accordingly the present invention provides a vehicle security system comprising vehicle mounted transmitter and a vehicle mounted receiver, security control means arranged to operate a security device on the vehicle upon receipt of a command signal by the vehicle mounted receiver, a set of at ieast two portable transmitter units each including a transmitter for transmitting a command signal, a receiver, and counting means, and having an identifying number associated with it to distinguish it from the other transmitter or transmitters in the set, wherein the vehicle mounted transmitter is arranged to transmit a series of pulses, and the transmitter units are arranged to receive and count the pulses and to transmit the command signal when the number of transmitted pulses in the series reaches its respective identifying number.
Preferably the control means is arranged to detect a situation where operation of the security device is required and to transmit the series of pulses when such a situation arises. The transmission may continue until a valid command signal is received by the vehicle mounted receiver.
The transmitter units are preferably arranged to be attached to ignition keys for the vehicle and the security device is preferably an engine immobilisation device which may take the form of the controls for a vehicle ignition system or fuel injection system.
The present invention also provides a vehicle security system comprising a security control means and a receiver and a set of transmitter units for transmitting coded signals to the control means via the receiver, wherein the control means is arranged, on matching the transmitter units to the security control means, to receive an identifier from each transmitter unit in the set, if the identifiers indicate that all of the transmitters would be suitable for use with the same security control means to match all of the transmitter units in the set to the control unit by causing a code associated with the security control means to be stored in each of them, and to respond in a predefined manner if one or more of the received identifiers indicate that any two or more of the transmitters would be unsuitable for use with the same security control means.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing which is a diagrammatic view of a vehicle security system in accordance with the invention.
A security control unit 10 which is mounted on a vehicle 11 has various outputs 12 enabling it to immobilize the engine 14 of the vehicle, by disabling the fuel injection system 15, and operate locks 16 on the vehicle doors 18. The control unit 10 is connected to a radio frequency (R.F.) receiver 20 and is arranged to unlock the doors 18 and re-mobilize the engine 14 upon receipt of a command signal comprising a coded R.F.
unlock signal, and to lock the doors and immobilize the engine upon receipt of a command signal comprising a coded lock signal. Each of a set of two ignition keys 21 for the vehicle has an R.F. transmitter unit 22 attached to it. Each transmitter unit 22 comprises an R.F. transmitter circuit 24 arranged to send coded R.F. unlock and lock signals, a power source 26 for the transmitter circuit, and an unlock button 28 for activating the transmitter manually to send the unlock signal by connecting the power supply 26 to the transmitter circuit 24. A lock button (not shown) is also provided to cause the transmitter to send the coded lock signal.Each transmitter unit further comprises a control circuit 30 and a receiver in the form of a coil 32 connected so that signals received by the coil are fed into the control circuit 30 which includes switching means to connect the power supply to the transmitter circuit 24. The control circuit includes a counter and is arranged to count pulses of radio signals received by the coil 32 and to transmit a command signal when the number of pulses in a series reaches a particular number. The counter is arranged to increase by 1 on receipt of each pulse in the series, but to return to zero if no pulses are received for a predetermined period, for example three times the normal gap between pulses in the series. Each transmitter in the set has a different identifying number, for example 1 and 2 for a set of two transmitters.Each transmitter unit 22 is housed in a plastics housing and is arranged to be attached to the head of the ignition key 21 by a key ring 33.
A second coil 34 forms a transmitting aerial and is connected to the control unit 10 and is housed in a cowl 36 of the vehicle, close to a vehicle ignition lock 38. The control unit 10 is connected to the normal electrical outputs from the ignition lock 38 so that it can sense when the ignition key is present in the ignition lock, and when it is in the auxiliary, ignition and crank positions.
Normally when the driver approaches the vehicle he will re-mobilize the engine 14 and unlock the doors 18 by pressing the unlock button 28. However if he has unlocked the doors using the key 21 in the door locks 16 the engine may still be immobilized when he enters the vehicle. This is particularly likely to happen if the security control unit 10 is programmed to immobilize the engine automatically when the'driver leaves the vehicle. The control unit 10 is therefore arranged to detect the situation when the engine is immobilized and the key 21 is turned to the auxiliary position in the ignition lock 38.
In this situation the control unit begins to transmit a series of pulses using the transmitter coil 34. If transmitter No. 1 is present in the ignition lock it will transmit a command signal via the transmitter circuit 24 when the first pulse in the series is received. If transmitter No. 2 is present it will transmit a command signal when the second pulse in the series is received. When a valid command signal is received from one of the transmitter units 22 through the receiver 20 the control unit remobilizes the engine and stops sending pulses. If no response is received by the end of the series of pulses the series will be re-transmitted after a short interval. If no response is received after a number of transmissions of the series, then the transmission of the pulses will cease.
Since each of the transmitters will transmit its command signal after a different pulse, there should never be two command signals transmitted simultaneously by two transmitter units. This can avoid problems which can arise with known systems if two transmitter units are attached to the same ignition key.
During vehicle production it is usual to produce the transmitter units in large numbers and match them to individual vehicles at a convenient point in the production process. Where the transmitter units are to be supplied in sets, this can be done as follows. Firstly the transmitter units 22 are produced with no security code in memory, but with each having an identifying number stored in memory indicating which transmitter in a set it will be, for example 1 or 2 if only two transmitters will be supplied per vehicle.
Apart from the identifier all the transmitter units are identical. All transmitter units can then be grouped according to those numbers, all those with an identifying number of 1 forming one group, and all those with an identifying number of 2 forming another group. When a set of transmitter units is required for a vehicle, one transmitter unit from each group is selected to form the set, and then each transmitter from the set is matched to the vehicle. This will entail putting a security code, specific to the vehicle, into the memory of each transmitter unit of the set, either by transmitting it from the vehicle security control unit, or by inputting it from another source from which it is also entered into the vehicle security control unit.For each transmitter unit, the matching process will also entail transmitting from the transmitter unit to the vehicle security control unit the identifying number of the transmitter unit. The security control unit is then programmed to check the numbers of the transmitter units which are being matched to it and, if two transmitter units of the same number are used, the security control unit will prevent the matching from proceeding. This can be done, for example, by programming the control unit either to issue a warning to the person carrying out the matching process, or to refuse to accept the duplicated number, or both. This process ensures that, when the transmitter units are being matched to the vehicle, it is not possible for two units of the same number to be matched to the same vehicle. Therefore it is not possible for there to be two transmitters which will respond at the same time in the series of pulses from the vehicle mounted transmitter coil 34.

Claims (12)

1. A vehicle security system comprising vehicle mounted transmitter and a vehicle mounted receiver, security control means arranged to operate a security device on the vehicle upon receipt of a command signal by the vehicle mounted receiver, a set of at least two portable transmitter units each including a transmitter for transmitting a command signal, a receiver, and counting means, and having an identifying number associated with it to distinguish it from the other transmitter or transmitters in the set, wherein the vehicle mounted transmitter is arranged to transmit a series of pulses, and the transmitter units are arranged to receive and count the pulses and to transmit the command signal when the number of pulses in the series reaches its respective identifying number.
2. A system according to claim 1 wherein the control means is arranged to detect a situation where operation of the security device is required and to transmit the series of pulses when such a situation is detected.
3 A system according to claim 2 wherein the.control means is arranged to cease the transmission of the series of pulses when a valid command signal is received by the vehicle mounted receiver.
4. A system according to claim 2 or claim 3 wherein the control means is arranged to repeat the transmission of the series of pulses if a valid command signal is not received by the vehicle mounted receiver.
5. A system according to any foregoing claim wherein the transmitter units are each arranged to be attached to an ignition key for the vehicle.
6. A system according to any foregoing claim wherein the security device is an engine immobilization device which is remobilized upon receipt of the command signal.
7. A vehicle security system according to any foregoing claim wherein the control means is arranged, on matching the transmitter units to the security control means, to receive an identifier from each transmitter unit in the set and to respond in a predefined manner if it receives an identifier indicating that one of the transmitter units will not form a compatible member of the set.
8. A vehicle security system comprising a security control means and a receiver and a set of transmitter units for transmitting coded signals to the control means via the receiver, wherein the control means is arranged, on matching the transmitter units to the security control means, to receive an identifier from each transmitter unit in the set, if the identifiers indicate that all of the transmitters would be suitable for use with the same security control means to match all of the transmitter units in the set to the control unit by causing a code associated with the security control means to be stored in each of them, but to respond in a predefined manner if one or more of the received identifiers indicate that any two or more of the transmitters would be unsuitable for use with the same security control means.
9. A vehicle security system according to claim 7 or claim 8 wherein the control means is arranged to respond in said predefined manner if it receives the same identifier from two transmitter units.
10. A transmitter unit according to any one of claims 7 to 9 wherein said predefined manner comprises the producing of a warning.
11. A transmitter unit according to any one of claims 7 to 10 wherein said predefined manner comprises stopping the matching process.
12. A vehicle security system substantially as described herein with reference to Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings.
GB9620069A 1995-11-25 1996-09-26 Vehicle security system Expired - Fee Related GB2307514B (en)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB9828316A GB2331330B (en) 1995-11-25 1996-09-26 Vehicle security system
GB9620069A GB2307514B (en) 1995-11-25 1996-09-26 Vehicle security system

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GBGB9524165.9A GB9524165D0 (en) 1995-11-25 1995-11-25 Vehicle security system
GB9620069A GB2307514B (en) 1995-11-25 1996-09-26 Vehicle security system

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB9620069D0 GB9620069D0 (en) 1996-11-13
GB2307514A true GB2307514A (en) 1997-05-28
GB2307514B GB2307514B (en) 1999-06-02

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Family Applications (2)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB9620069A Expired - Fee Related GB2307514B (en) 1995-11-25 1996-09-26 Vehicle security system
GB9828316A Expired - Fee Related GB2331330B (en) 1995-11-25 1996-09-26 Vehicle security system

Family Applications After (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB9828316A Expired - Fee Related GB2331330B (en) 1995-11-25 1996-09-26 Vehicle security system

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Country Link
GB (2) GB2307514B (en)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1336938A2 (en) * 2002-02-15 2003-08-20 Alps Electric Co., Ltd. Vehicle-mounted device communication controller
EP1336939A3 (en) * 2002-02-15 2004-04-14 Alps Electric Co., Ltd. Vehicle-mounted device communication controller
EP1416444A2 (en) * 2002-10-31 2004-05-06 Hella KG Hueck & Co. Avoiding collisions when registering at least one first device at a second device

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0203262A2 (en) * 1985-05-28 1986-12-03 David Arlasky Anti-theft system for a vehicle
US5159329A (en) * 1989-02-24 1992-10-27 Daimler-Benz Ag Method for safeguarding code words of a remote control system
EP0590385A1 (en) * 1992-10-02 1994-04-06 Robert Bosch Gmbh Remote control
US5363448A (en) * 1993-06-30 1994-11-08 United Technologies Automotive, Inc. Pseudorandom number generation and cryptographic authentication
WO1995022475A1 (en) * 1994-02-17 1995-08-24 Rover Group Limited Vehicle security system

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0203262A2 (en) * 1985-05-28 1986-12-03 David Arlasky Anti-theft system for a vehicle
US5159329A (en) * 1989-02-24 1992-10-27 Daimler-Benz Ag Method for safeguarding code words of a remote control system
EP0590385A1 (en) * 1992-10-02 1994-04-06 Robert Bosch Gmbh Remote control
US5363448A (en) * 1993-06-30 1994-11-08 United Technologies Automotive, Inc. Pseudorandom number generation and cryptographic authentication
WO1995022475A1 (en) * 1994-02-17 1995-08-24 Rover Group Limited Vehicle security system

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1336938A2 (en) * 2002-02-15 2003-08-20 Alps Electric Co., Ltd. Vehicle-mounted device communication controller
EP1336938A3 (en) * 2002-02-15 2004-04-14 Alps Electric Co., Ltd. Vehicle-mounted device communication controller
EP1336939A3 (en) * 2002-02-15 2004-04-14 Alps Electric Co., Ltd. Vehicle-mounted device communication controller
US6995653B2 (en) 2002-02-15 2006-02-07 Alps Electric Co., Ltd. Vehicle-mounted device communication controller
US7161467B2 (en) 2002-02-15 2007-01-09 Alps Electric. Co., Ltd. Vehicle-mounted device communication controller
EP1416444A2 (en) * 2002-10-31 2004-05-06 Hella KG Hueck & Co. Avoiding collisions when registering at least one first device at a second device
EP1416444A3 (en) * 2002-10-31 2006-02-22 Hella KGaA Hueck & Co. Avoiding collisions when registering at least one first device at a second device

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB9620069D0 (en) 1996-11-13
GB2331330A (en) 1999-05-19
GB2307514B (en) 1999-06-02
GB2331330B (en) 1999-07-07
GB9828316D0 (en) 1999-02-17

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Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
732E Amendments to the register in respect of changes of name or changes affecting rights (sect. 32/1977)
PCNP Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee

Effective date: 20000926