SE2050169A1

SE2050169A1 - Locking system

Info

Publication number: SE2050169A1
Application number: SE2050169A
Authority: SE
Inventors: Olof Pankko
Original assignee: Safe Driving 24 Ab
Priority date: 2020-02-17
Filing date: 2020-02-17
Publication date: 2021-04-29

Abstract

A locking system for a vehicle (10) is provided. The system comprises a control unit (16), at least one transmitting device (15), and at least one receiving unit (14a, 14b). The control unit (16) is connected to a central lock of the vehicle (10) and is in communication with the receiving unit (14a, 14b). The transmitting device (15) is configured to continuously transmit a signal, and the receiving unit (14a, 14b) is configured to detect said signal. When the receiving unit (14a, 14b) detects said signal, the control unit (16) is configured to unlock the central lock, and when said signal is not detected by the receiving unit (14a, 14b), the control unit (16) is configured to lock the central lock.

Description

LOCKING SYSTEM TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a locking system for a vehicle.

BACKGROUND It is common to work in, and in the vicinity of cars, trucks or similar vehicles.For example, garbage collectors, delivery service workers, firefighters or paramedics.Those who work in any of these professions must be able to feel secure at theirworkplace, which is the vehicle, and its surroundings. Thefts from the vehicle cabin isunfortunately not uncommon when the Worker has left the vehicle for performing a taskoutside the vehicle. It is a problem that e. g. personal belongings, work equipment andtools and goods to be delivered are stolen from the work vehicles.

The drivers often leave their vehicles in order to perform work outside the car,but in many cases, the motor is still running. There is a risk that this gives a potentialhij acker an opportunity to easily drive away with the truck to purposely drive intocrowds of people in order to injure and kill people. The risk of getting trucks hijacked isa problem for e.g. the trucking and haulage industry.

In order to prevent these types of crimes, the industry is forced to act againstthe habit of leaving vehicles with the engine running and/or doors unlocked. One way ofsolving the problem is that the drivers take the key out of the ignition, close the doorwhen they leave the vehicle, lock the door and put away the key as they move awayfrom the vehicle in order to perform a work task. When the task has been performed, itis time to drive on. Then, the driver must pick up the key, unlock the door, open thedoor, put the key in the ignition, and start the motor in order to be able to drive again.For example, for a garbage collector, who would be doing this procedure for as smalldistances as every 10-20 meters, it is very time consuming and cumbersome.

From the above it is understood that there is room for improvements.

SUMMARY An object of the present invention is to provide a new type of locking systemWhich is improved over prior art and Which eliminates or at least mitigates thedrawbacks discussed above. More specifically, an object of the invention is to provide alocking system that is easy to use, provides automatic locking and unlocking, andprovides security against theft from the vehicles and hij acking of vehicles. Theseobjects are achieved by the technique set forth in the appended independent claims Withpreferred embodiments defined in the dependent claims related thereto.

In a first aspect, a locking system for a vehicle is provided. The locking systemcomprises a control unit, at least one transmitting device, and at least one receiving unit.The control unit is connected to a central lock of the vehicle and is in communicationWith the receiving unit. The transmitting device is configured to continuously transmit asignal, and the receiving unit is configured to detect this signal. When the receiving unitdetects the signal, the control unit is configured to unlock the central lock, and When thesignal is not detected by the receiving unit, the control unit is configured to lock thecentral lock. This system is advantageous in that the lock is automatically locked andunlocked, respectively, upon detection of the signal.

In one embodiment, the control unit and the receiving unit are configured to bearranged in the vehicle, and the transmitting device is configured to be carried by aperson associated With the vehicle. Since the transmitting device is continuouslytransmitting the signal, as soon as the person carrying it is in range of the receiving unit,the lock is unlocked. This is advantageous in that the person carrying the transmittingdevice need not manually unlock the lock by e. g. finding a key and pushing a button.

In one embodiment, the receiving unit has a detection range Within Which thesignal from the transmitting device is configured to be detectable. This is advantageousin that the lock is only unlocked When the transmitting device is in the detection range,Which may cover a customizable area.

The transmitting device may further comprise a GPS receiver configured todetect if the transmitting device is located in a moving vehicle, and if so, the controlunit may be configured to put the system in an idle state in Which the transmission of said signal is configured to be deactivated and the control unit is configured to not lock or unlock the central lock. This is advantageous in that battery of the transmitting deviceis saved, since the transmission is only active When the transmitting device may bebrought out of the vehicle.

In a second aspect, a method for operating a locking system arranged in avehicle is provided. The method comprises the steps of searching for an unlockingsignal, and if the unlocking signal is detected, operating a lock to an unlocked position,and if no unlocking signal is detected, operating the lock to a locked position. Thismethod of operating a lock is advantageous in that the lock is automaticallylocked/unlocked When needed.

In one embodiment, the searching is performed by at least one receiving unit,the unlocking signal is transmitted by at least one transmitting device and thelocking/unlocking of the lock is performed by a control unit in communication With saidreceiving unit. This provides for a fully automated locking/unlocking procedure, Whichis beneﬁcial for a user of the locking system.

The method may further comprise a step of detecting, by means of a GPSreceiver arranged in the transmitting device, if the vehicle is moving. This isadvantageous information, since a different setting of the system may be used Whiletravelling compared to When not travelling.

The method may, if the vehicle is moving, further comprise a step of puttingthe locking system in an idle state in Which the transmission of the unlocking signal isdeactivated, and the control unit is conf1gured to not lock or unlock the lock. This isbenef1cial in that it saves battery of the transmitting device.

The method may, if the vehicle is not moving, further comprise a step ofputting the locking system in an active state in Which the transmission of the unlockingsignal is activated and the control unit is conf1gured to lock or unlock the lockdepending on possible detection of the unlocking signal. This is beneficial in that thesystem is only active When it is possible to bring the transmitting device away from thevehicle.

In a third aspect, a kit comprising a control unit, at least one receiving unit andat least one transmitting device is provided. The kit is configured to be used in a locking system of a vehicle. By means of this kit, a central locking system of a vehicle may be upgraded into an automatic locking system, configured to recognize when tolock/unlock the central lock. This is beneficial for a user who need not worry about fumbling with keys in order to get into his/her vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments of the invention will be described in the following; referencesbeing made to the appended diagrammatical drawings which illustrate non-limitingexamples of how the inventive concept can be reduced into practice.

Fig. l is a schematic top view of a vehicle with a locking system; and Fig. 2 is a ﬂow chart of a method of operating such locking system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, certain embodiments will be described more fully with referenceto the accompanying drawings. The invention may, however, be embodied in manydifferent forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forthherein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example so that thisdisclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of theinvention, such as it is defined in the appended claims, to those skilled in the art. Ifnothing else is stated, different embodiments may be combined with each other.

Fig. l shows a vehicle/truck l0 with a cab portion ll and a rear portion l2. Inthe described embodiment, the truck l0 is e. g. a garbage truck and the rear portion l2e.g. a garbage collecting portion, even though the vehicle may be of any kind, such as apassenger car, delivery car/truck, work vehicle, emergency vehicle etc..

The cab portion ll comprises two doors l3a, l3b, one arranged on the righthand side in the longitudinal direction of the truck l0, and one on the left hand side.

The truck l0 is provided with a locking system comprising a control unit l6,one or more transmitting devices 15 and one or more receiving units, or antennas l4a,l4b. There are two antennas and one transmitting device in the depicted embodiment,however, this is only an example.

The control unit l6 is in operative connection with a central lock of the truck l0. The control unit is further connected to the antennas l4a, l4b. The central lock is configured to lock/unlock preferably at least the doors l3a, l3b of the truck 10. Thecontrol unit 16 is configured to operate the central lock to lock 105 or unlock 104 inresponse to a signal, also referred to as an unlocking signal, detectable 103 by theantennas 14a, 14b. The received signal is communicated from the antennas 14a, 14b tothe control unit 16. The communication between the control unit 16 and the antennas14a, 14b may be Wired or Wireless. This procedure is sometimes referred to as passivekeyless entry (PKE).

The antennas 14a, 14b are arranged inside the cab portion 11 of the truck 10,one on the right hand side in the longitudinal direction of the truck 10, and one on theleft hand side. The antennas 14a, 14b are directed to each cover a respective area,detection range 17a, 17b, in the vicinity of the respective doors 13a, 13b of the truck 10.Each detection range 17a, 17b of the antennas 14a, 14b cover in one embodimentapproximately a sector of a circle having a diameter of approximately 2-3 meters. Inother embodiments, the detection range 17a, 17b covers a differently shaped area. Thecovered area may be customizable.

The at least one transmitting device 15 is configured to transmit the signalWhich the antennas 14a, 14b are configured to search for and detect 103. The signal hasin one embodiment a frequency of 125 kHz, in other embodiments, another frequencymay be used.

When the transmitting device 15 is Within the detection range 17a, 17b of atleast one of the antennas 14a, 14b, at least one antenna 14a, 14b is able to pick up thesignal from the transmitting device 15. This signal is communicated to the control unit16. The control unit 16 is configured to, as long as the signal is detected, keep thecentral lock unlocked. That is, for as long as the transmitting device is located Withinthe detection range 17a, 17b, the central lock is unlocked.

When the transmitting device 15 is located outside the detection range 17a, 17bof the antennas 14a, 14b, no signal is received by the antennas 14a, 14b. The controlunit 16 is configured to, When no signal is detected, lock the central lock of the truck 10.

Thus, as long as any transmitting device 15 is in the detection range 17a, 17b of any of the antennas 14a, 14b, the central lock of the truck 10 is unlocked.

Correspondingly, as soon as no transmitting device 15 is in the detection range 17a, 17bof any of the antennas 14a, 14b, the central lock of the truck 10 is locked.

This means that When e. g. a garbage collector Who is carrying the transmittingdevice 15 has left the truck 10, closed the door 13a, 13b, and Walked away to collect agarbage can, the doors 13a, 13b are automatically locked. The garbage collector neednot Worry about personal belongings being stolen or the truck 10 being hij acked Whenhe is Working at the rear portion 12 of the truck 10, e. g. emptying a garbage can. Whenthe garbage collector has retumed the garbage can and Walks towards the door 13a, 13b,at least one of the antennas 14a, 14b detects his transmitting device 15, the central lockis automatically unlocked and he may open the door 13a, 13b.

Often, e. g. garbage collectors Work together in pairs. Thus, several transmittingdevices 15 may be connected to the system. As soon as at least one of the transmittingdevices 15 is Within the detection range 17a, 17b, the control unit 16 unlocks the centrallock of the truck. Correspondingly, if one garbage collector carrying his associatedtransmitting device 15 leaves the detection range 17a, 17b, but the other garbagecollector carrying another transmitting device 15 is still Within the detection range 17a,17b, the antennas 14a, 14b are still receiving a signal and the control unit 16 is thusconfigured to keep the central lock unlocked.

No extra keys are required in this locking system, thus the start key may bepositioned in the ignition of the vehicle 10 at all times, and the persons associated Withthe vehicle 10 carries one transmitting device 15 each. They may take tums driving thevehicle Without having to pass keys over or carrying copies of the start key.

The motor of the vehicle 10 may be on and running at the same time as thepersons carrying transmitting devices have left the vehicle and the doors 13a, 13b havebeen locked. Thus, there is no start up time When the persons retum to the vehicle inorder to drive on.

In one embodiment of the system, the transmitting device 15 is furtherprovided With a GPS antenna 18, or GPS receiver. The GPS antenna is configured todetect 100 When the transmitting device 15 is located Within a vehicle 10 Which is inmotion, by checking the speed of the vehicle 10, i.e. checking With Which speed the transmitting device 15 is being moved.

When it is detected that the transmitting device 15 is located in a movingvehicle 10, the control unit 16 is configured to put the system in an idle state. In thisstate, the transmitting device 15 is configured to deactivate 101 the transmission of thesignal configured to be detected by the antennas 14a, 14b. As long as the vehicle 10 ismoving, the transmission is inactive. The system is further configured not to lock thedoors 13a, 13b by means of the central lock for as long as the vehicle 10 is moving,even though the transmitting devices 15 are not transmitting any signal. When thevehicle 10 stops moving, which is detected 100 by means of the GPS-antenna, thesystem is configured to re-enter the active state such that the automaticlocking/unlocking based on the signal from the transmitting device 15 is activated 102.

When the vehicle 10 stops moving, this is detected by the GPS antenna, and thetransmitting device 15 starts to transmit the signal again. This procedure is configuredto save the battery of the transmitting device 15, since the transmission is only activewhen it is possible for the transmitting device 15 to be moved away from the vehicle 10.

An embodiment of a method of operating the locking system is shown in Fig.

The transmitting device 15 is, optionally, further provided with at least onepush button 19. By means of the push button 19, it is possible to manually lock/unlockthe doors 13a, 13b on a remote distance, preferably by means of a signal with afrequency of 433 MHz. If the doors 13a, 13b are locked by means of the push button 19,the automatic locking may be disabled, and a push of the button 19 is required in orderto unlock the doors 13a, 13b again. The manual lock/unlock button may be configuredas one integrated push button, or as two separate push buttons. The transmitting device15 may be provided with further buttons, e. g. for activating/deactivating an alarm orsimilar.

In the above exemplified embodiment, the vehicle 10 comprises two doors. Inother embodiments, however, the vehicle may be provided with any suitable number ofdoors. E. g. any number of front doors, rear doors, cabin doors, cargo space doors, backdoors, and side doors.

The automatic locking/unlocking function may be enabled/ disabled by means of a push of one or more buttons on the transmitting device 15.

In one embodiment, the control unit 16 is configured to be connected to thevehicle 10 by means of a 24V connection. This is standard in trucks and makes thesystem especially suitable for heavy vehicles such as trucks.

In another embodiment, upon the detection/non-detection of the signaltransmitted by the transmitting device 15 Within the detection range 17a, 17b, thecontrol unit 16 may be configured to perform other actions besides fromunlocking/locking the central lock. This may e. g. be controlling an alarm, the motor, theclimate control system, the lights or controlling other actions related to the vehicle 10.

In other embodiments, if at least one door 13a, 13b is not properly closed, theautomatic locking may be disabled. The system may also be configured to alert theperson associated With the transmitting device 15 that at least one door 13a, 13b isunproperly closed, e.g. by a sound, light or buzzing signal.

Optionally, as an altemative to the GPS controlled function described above,the control unit 16 may be connected to the ignition (ACC) of the vehicle 10. If theignition is active, the transmission of the signal by the transmitting device 15 is set toinactive, and thus the automatic locking is disabled. Oppositely, if the ignition isinactive, the transmission of the transmitting device 15 is activated, and the automaticlocking is thus active.

In other embodiments, the detection range of the antennas may be adapted toother circumstances and may be longer, e.g. 3-5 meters or 5-10 meters. The detectionrange may also be shorter, e. g. 0.5-2 meters.

Preferably, the transmitting device 15 is continuously transmitting the signal tobe detected by the antennas 14a, 14b, but the transmission could altematively be pulsed in suitable, preferably short, time intervals.

Claims

1. A locking system for a vehicle (10), the system comprising: a control unit (16), at least one transmitting device (15), and at least one receiving unit (14a, 14b), the control unit (16) being connected to a central lock of the vehicle (10) andbeing in communication With the receiving unit (14a, 14b), the transmitting device (15)being conf1gured to continuously transmit a signal, and the receiving unit (14a, 14b)being configured to detect said signal, Wherein When the receiving unit (14a, 14b) detects said signal, the control unit(16) is conf1gured to unlock the central lock, and Wherein When said signal is notdetected by the receiving unit (14a, 14b), the control unit (16) is configured to lock the central lock.

2. The locking system according to claim 1, Wherein the control unit (16) andthe receiving unit (14a, 14b) are conf1gured to be arranged in the vehicle (10), and thetransmitting device (15) is configured to be carried by a person associated With the vehicle (10).

3. The locking system according to any of the preceding claims, Wherein thereceiving unit (14a, 14b) has a detection range (17a, 17b) Within Which the signal fromthe transmitting device (15) is configured to be detectable.

4. The locking system according to any of the preceding claims, Wherein thetransmitting device (15) further comprises a GPS receiver (18) configured to detect ifthe transmitting device (15) is located in a moving vehicle (10), and if so, the controlunit (16) is conf1gured to put the system in an idle state in Which the transmission ofsaid signal is conf1gured to be deactivated and the control unit (16) is conf1gured to not lock or unlock the central lock.

5. A method for Operating a locking system arranged in a vehicle (10), themethod comprising the steps of:searching (103) for an unlocking signal,if the unlocking signal is detected, operating (104) a lock to an unlocked position, and if no unlocking signal is detected, operating (105) the lock to a locked position.

6. The method according to claim 5, Wherein the searching (103) isperformed by at least one receiving unit (14a, 14b), the unlocking signal is transmitted(102) by at least one transmitting device (15) and the locking/unlocking (104, 105) ofthe lock is performed by a control unit (16) in communication With said receiving unit(14a, 14b).

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising a step of detecting(100), by means of a GPS receiver (18) arranged in the transmitting device (15), if the vehicle (10) is moving.

8. The method according to claim 7, if the vehicle (10) is moving, furthercomprising a step of putting (101) the locking system in an idle state in Which thetransmission of said unlocking signal is deactivated and the control unit (16) is configured to not lock or unlock the lock.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, if the vehicle (10) is not moving,further comprising a step of putting (102) the locking system in an active state in Whichthe transmission of the unlocking signal is activated and the control unit (16) isconfigured to lock or unlock the lock depending on possible detection of the unlocking signal.

10. A kit comprising a control unit (16), at least one receiving unit (14a, 14b) and at least one transmitting device (15), for use in a locking system of a vehicle (10).