Patent Application
20080042810
A description will now be given, with reference to
The anti-theft device 10 for the vehicle is a device provided for preventing theft of the vehicle itself, vehicle parts such as a tire or an engine, and an article in the vehicle. The anti-theft device 10 for the vehicle has an electronic control unit (hereinafter “anti-theft ECU”) 16 whereby control for anti-theft of the vehicle is performed. A signal for identifying whether a vehicle door is locked or unlocked at the time when the ignition is off, is supplied to the anti-theft ECU 16. In a case where all of the vehicle doors are locked at the time when the ignition is off, the anti-theft ECU 16 is in a security mode so as to watch the vehicle for theft activity based on a supplied lock signal. On the other hand, in a case where a vehicle door is unlocked, the anti-theft ECU 16 is in an un-set mode so as to turn off watching the vehicle for theft activity based on a supplied unlock signal.
As sensors for detecting activities at the time of the vehicle theft, a courtesy switch 18, a hood switch 20, an invasion switch 22, and a tilt sensor 24 are connected to the anti-theft ECU 16. The courtesy switch 18 outputs a signal corresponding to opening and closing the vehicle doors such as a front, rear, or luggage door. The hood switch 20 outputs a signal corresponding to opening and closing a front hood of the vehicle. The invasion switch 22 outputs a signal corresponding to whether a person is invading the inside of the vehicle by using a supersonic wave, for example. In addition, the tilt sensor 24 outputs a signal corresponding to a tilt angle of a shaft in front and rear directions and right and left directions from a horizontal state of the vehicle, namely a roll angle and a pitch angle.
In the above-mentioned security mode for watching for vehicle theft activity, the anti-theft ECU 16 detects an opening and closing state of the vehicle door based on the output signal of the courtesy switch 18, detects an opening and closing state of the vehicle hood based on the output signal of the hood switch 20, detects existence of an invader in the vehicle based on the output signal of the invasion switch 22, and detects a tilt angle from a horizontal state of the vehicle based on the output signal of the tilt sensor 24. Based on the detection results, whether the vehicle door or the vehicle hood is pried open, whether an invader inside the vehicle exists, and whether the vehicle is unintentionally moved by a wrecker or jacked up, are determined. As a result of this, whether the vehicle is being or may be affected by theft is determined.
An alarm device 26 and a communication device 28 are connected to the anti-theft ECU 16. The alarm device 26 follows an operational signal supplied from the anti-theft ECU 16 and issues a warning to signal the theft of the vehicle to the outside of the vehicle, such as a siren, playing a horn, lighting a lamp, or a warning with voice. The communication device 28 can be connected by radio to the center 14 via a communication network by using a radio having a frequency designated in advance. The communication device 28 is connected by communications to the center 14 by following the operational signal supplied from the anti-theft ECU 16 so as to report by radio the theft of the vehicle together with ID information regarding the vehicle, or the owner or user of the vehicle, to the center 14.
In a case where the center 14 receives information (theft information) about the theft of the vehicle from the communication device 28 of the anti-theft device 10 for the vehicle, the center 14 identifies the user of the vehicle who is registered as a user in advance based on the ID information included in the received information. The center 14 reports the theft of the vehicle to the portable terminal 12 of the proper user of the vehicle by electronic mail via the radio or the Internet. In a case where the portable terminal 12 receives the report regarding the theft of the vehicle from the center 14, the portable terminal 12 displays or outputs with voice from a speaker information about the theft of the vehicle, such as “the vehicle is jacked up and may be stolen” or “the invader of the vehicle is found”.
Thus, in the system of this embodiment, in the case where the theft activity of the vehicle is detected by the anti-theft device 10 provided in the vehicle, the report about the theft activity affecting the vehicle is sent from the anti-theft device 10 to the portable terminal 12 of the user of the vehicle via the center 14. Hence, the proper user of the vehicle can know about the theft of the vehicle and specify details of the theft activity such as jacking up, moving by a wrecker, invasion into the vehicle, or the like. Therefore according to the system of this embodiment, even if the proper user of the vehicle is remote from the vehicle, the user can know the information about the theft of the vehicle and therefore can respond to this information, so that it is possible to improve a property of preventing the theft of the vehicle.
The external facility 30 is provided to detect the obstruction radio wave (broadband jamming wave). The obstruction radio wave interferes with a radio used for receiving the theft report from the communication device 28 of the anti-theft device 10 provided in the vehicle transmitted to the center and thus obstructs the theft report. It is preferable that one of the external facilities 30 be provided one by one for each parking space of a single vehicle. However, a single external facility 30 may be provided for parking spaces for plural vehicles.
The external facility 30 includes an electronic control unit (hereinafter “external facility ECU”) 32. Equipment 34 is connected to the external facility ECU 32 for obtaining information about a vehicle parked in a parking space covered by the external facility 30, more specifically ID information of the vehicle or the user of the vehicle (hereinafter “parked vehicle information”). The equipment 34 reads out, for example, a number or mark indicated on a number plate of the vehicle parked in the parking space via an imaging process or the like. The information read out by the equipment 34 is supplied to the external facility ECU 32. The external facility ECU 32 obtains the parked vehicle information of the vehicle parked in the parking space based on the information from the equipment 34. In a case of the user's parking lot where the parked vehicle is known in advance, the parked vehicle information may be stored in the external facility ECU 32 in advance.
A receiver 36 configured to detect the above-mentioned obstruction radio wave generated at the parking lot or the like is connected to the external facility ECU 32. The receiver has an antenna provided at the parking lot. Based on a state of the radio wave received by the antenna, the receiver 36 detects the existence of the obstruction radio wave obstructing the theft report using the radio wave from the vehicle to the center 14, by obtaining an obstruction radio wave specific spectrum at the frequency band the same as the radio wave used for sending from the communication device 28 of the vehicle, or by determining whether specific features existing in a spectrum, a timing of sending and receiving, or protocol are included in the received radio wave, corresponding to the communication methods of the communication device 28. Detection information of the obstruction radio wave obtained by the receiver 36 is supplied to the external facility ECU 32. The external facility ECU 32 determines, based on the detection information of the receiver 36, whether the obstruction radio wave obstructing the theft report from the vehicle to the center 14 exists at the parking lot or the like.
A camera 38 is connected to the external facility ECU 32. The camera 38 provided at the parking lot can photograph a parking space at least covered by the external facility 30. It is preferable that the camera 38 be an infrared camera, considering photographing at night. The camera 38 may be a camera having a flash function. Following an operational signal supplied from the external facility ECU 32, the camera 38 photographs an area including the parking space designated in advance. An image photographed by the camera 38 is supplied to the external facility ECU 32. The external facility ECU 32 can obtain the image photographed by the camera 38.
A report device 40 and an alarm device 42 provided at the parking lot are connected to the external facility ECU 32. The report device 40 can send communications to the center 14 by cable or radio. In a case where the report device 40 is communicating by radio, it is necessary to use a frequency different from the frequency of the radio used at the time of the theft report by the vehicle so that there is no influence from the obstruction radio wave. Following the operational signal supplied from the external facility ECU 32, the report device 40 sends the communication to the center 14. As described below, the report device 40 reports the existence of the obstruction radio wave obstructing the theft report from the vehicle to the center 14 together with the parked vehicle information of the vehicle positioned in the parking space covered by the external facility 30, to the center 14. In the following, this report is called obstruction radio wave report. Following the operational signal supplied from the external facility ECU 32, the warning device 42 issues a warning to the outside of the facility, such as a siren, lighting a lamp, or a warning with voice, to signal the existence of the obstruction radio wave.
Next, a characteristic operation of the system in this embodiment is discussed.
As described above, in the system of this embodiment, when the vehicle theft activity is detected by the anti-theft device 10 provided in the vehicle, the communication device 28 of the anti-theft device 10 reports by radio about the vehicle theft activity to the center 14 by using a radio wave having a designated frequency band in order to report the theft of the vehicle to the user of the vehicle. Such a radio report is properly realized when a communication state between the anti-theft device 10 and the center 14 is kept well. However, it is difficult to properly realize such a radio report when the communication state between the anti-theft device 10 and the center 14 is not kept well due to generation of the obstruction radio wave in the vicinity of the place where the vehicle is parked. If the theft report is not received by the center 14, information about the vehicle theft is not reported to the portable terminal 12 of the user of the vehicle. Therefore, in the above-mentioned system, even if the vehicle theft activity is detected by the anti-theft device 10, a situation where the user of the vehicle cannot know about the theft of his/her own vehicle due to the obstruction radio wave may happen.
Accordingly, in the system of this embodiment, in order to prevent a decrease of the reliability of a system whereby the theft of the vehicle is remotely reported to the user of the vehicle by using a radio wave, the existence of the obstruction radio wave obstructing the theft report sent by the vehicle is determined and a possibility that the user of the vehicle may not know about the theft of his/her own vehicle due to the obstruction radio wave is reported to the user of the vehicle if the obstruction radio wave is detected so that existence of the obstruction radio wave is known. As a result of this, the user of the vehicle can recognize that there is a possibility of the theft of the vehicle.
More specifically, in the system of this embodiment, the external facility 30 detecting the obstruction radio wave is provided at the parking lot where the vehicle having the anti-theft device 10 is parked. In the parking lot where the such an external facility 30 is provided, it is possible to detect the obstruction radio wave, using a radio wave having a designated frequency from the communication device of the anti-theft device 10 provided in the vehicle, obstructing receipt of the theft report by the center 14.
In this embodiment, when the external facility ECU 32 of the external facility 30 determines, based on the detection information of the receiver 36, that the obstruction radio wave obstructing the theft report using radio wave sent from the vehicle to the center 14 exists at the parking lot, the external facility ECU 32 supplies the operational signal to the warning device 42 and the operational signal to the report device 40 together with the parked vehicle information of the vehicle positioned in the parking space. Following the operational signal being supplied from the external facility ECU 32, the warning device 42 issues a warning to the outside of the facility, such as a siren, lighting a lamp, or a warning with voice, to signal the existence of the obstruction radio wave. Following the operational signal being supplied from the external facility ECU 32, the report device 40 communicates to the center 14. The report device 40 reports the existence of the obstruction radio wave to the center 14 together with the parked vehicle information of the vehicle positioned in the parking space.
When determining that the obstruction radio wave exists, the external facility ECU 32 supplies the operational signal to the camera 38 so that the camera 38 is ordered to photograph inside of the parking space. The external facility ECU 32 sends orders to the report device 40 so that the information about the photographed image obtained by the camera 38 is sent to the center 14 together with the obstruction radio wave report or after the obstruction radio wave report is sent. The report device 40 sends the information about the photographed image obtained by the camera 38 to the center 14 when or after the obstruction radio wave report is sent to the center 14.
When receiving the obstruction radio wave report from the external facility 30 connected by communications to the center 14, the center 14 identifies the user, which user is registered in advance, of the vehicle to which an influence of the obstruction radio wave is given, based on the ID information included in the received information. The center 14 reports that the vehicle theft report is not received due to the existence of the obstruction radio wave, to the portable terminal 12 of the proper user of the vehicle by electronic mail via the radio or the Internet. In a case where the center 14 receives the information about the photographed image of the camera 38 from the external facility 30, the center 14 sends the information about the photographed image to the portable terminal 12 of the user of the vehicle based on a request of the user of the vehicle via the portable terminal 12 after or immediately after the obstruction radio wave report is sent to the portable terminal 12.
In a case where the portable terminal 12 receives the report regarding the theft of the vehicle from the center 14, the portable terminal 12 displays or outputs with voice from a speaker about the possibility that the vehicle theft report is not realized due to the existence of the obstruction radio wave even if the vehicle is stolen. When the information about the photographed image of the camera 38 from the center 14 is received, the photographed image is displayed.
A process whereby parked vehicle information of the parked vehicle is obtained every parking of the vehicle in the parking space covered by the external facility 30, is implemented in the step 100. Based on the process of the step 100, the ID information of the parked vehicle parked in the parking space corresponding to the external facility ECU 32 or the user of the vehicle is obtained after this.
In step 102, based on the detection information of the receiver 36, whether the obstruction radio wave obstructing the theft report using the radio wave having a designated frequency from the communication device 28 of the vehicle to the center 14 is detected is determined. A process of step 102 is repeated until the obstruction radio wave is detected and the existence of the obstruction radio wave is determined. As a result of this, in a case where it is determined that the obstruction radio wave is detected, a process of step 104 is implemented.
In step 104, a process whereby photographing by the camera 38 is started based on a supply of the operational signal ordering the camera 30 to photograph the corresponding parking space is implemented. Based on the process of step 104, the information about the photographed image by the camera 38 regarding the parking space corresponding to the external facility ECU 32 is obtained after this.
In step 106, by supplying the operational signals to the report device 40 and the warning device 42, the obstruction radio wave report is provided to the center 14 so that the existence of the obstruction radio wave and the parked vehicle information of the vehicle actually parked in the parking space obtained in step 100 are reported, and the information about the photographed image by the camera 38 obtained in step 104 is sent to the center 14. Furthermore, a process whereby a warning to notify that the obstruction radio wave exists near the external facility 30 is issued is implemented. The process of step 103 and thereby the report from the report device 40 or the like is received by the center 14, so that, after this, the center 14 identifies the user of the vehicle to which an influence of the obstruction radio wave is given based on the parked vehicle information included in the received information, reports that the vehicle theft report is not realized due to the existence of the obstruction radio wave to the portable phone 12 of the user, and sends the information about the photographed image by the camera 38 if necessary.
According to the routine shown in
In the above-discussed system, when the obstruction radio wave exists at the parking lot where the vehicle is parked, the vehicle theft report from the vehicle to the center 14 based on detection of the vehicle theft activity is obstructed due to the existence of the obstruction radio wave regardless of the detection of the vehicle theft activity, that is the vehicle theft report from the vehicle is not received by the center 14. Because of this, the existence of the obstruction radio wave is reported from the external facility 30 to the center 14 and then from center 14 to the portable terminal 12 of the user of the vehicle to which the influence of the obstruction radio wave is given, and the warning of this is issued by the warning device 42.
In this case, even if a person attempting to steal the vehicle generates the obstruction radio wave and starts to steal the vehicle, the external facility 30 detects the obstruction radio wave so as to be operated to prevent the vehicle theft activity. Hence, it is possible to report about the possibility of the vehicle theft activity to the user of the vehicle situated remotely from the center 14 or the vehicle or situated in the parking lot. Therefore, according to the system of this embodiment, even if the radio report from the vehicle to the center 14 is obstructed due to the existence of the obstruction radio wave, the theft activity affecting the vehicle can be prevented by the obstruction radio wave report. Thus, the vehicle theft can be prevented.
In the system of this embodiment, when the obstruction radio wave exists at the parking lot where the vehicle is parked, the camera 38 starts photographing based on the existence of the obstruction radio wave. The information about the photographed image by the camera 38 is sent from the external facility 30 to the center 14 and then from center 14 to the portable terminal 12 of the user of the vehicle to which the influence of the obstruction radio wave is given. Even if a person attempting to steal the vehicle generates the obstruction radio wave and starts to steal the vehicle, the external facility 30 supplies the image where the vicinity of the vehicle is photographed to the center 14 or the portable terminal 12 of the user of the vehicle. Hence, it is possible to report about the situation of the vehicle theft to the user of the vehicle situated remotely from the center 14 or the vehicle via the photographed image by the camera. Therefore, according to the system of this embodiment, even if the radio report from the vehicle to the center 14 is obstructed due to the existence of the obstruction radio wave, the theft activity affecting the vehicle can be prevented by supplying the photographed image by the camera 38.
In the system of this embodiment, the external facility 30 obtains the parked vehicle information of the vehicle parked in the parking space covered by the external facility 30 in advance and supplies both the obstruction radio wave report and the obtained parked vehicle information to the center 14. The center 14 reports that the vehicle theft report is not received due to the existence of the obstruction radio wave, only to the portable terminal 12 of the user of the vehicle to which the influence of the obstruction radio wave is given and which is identified based on the parked vehicle information included in the received information from the external facility 30. Under this structure, it is possible to identify the user of the vehicle to which the influence of the obstruction radio wave is given even in a parking lot where an unspecified large number of vehicles are parked, and to report the existence of the obstruction radio wave from the external facility 30 only to the user of the vehicle via the center 14. Therefore, according to the system of this embodiment, it is possible to prevent a state where the report about the obstruction radio wave is sent to a user of a vehicle for whom the report is unnecessary.
Meanwhile, the anti-theft device 10 corresponds to “on-vehicle machine” mentioned in the following claims. The center 14 or the portable terminal 12 corresponds to “a designated opponent to be reported to” in the following claims. The camera 38 corresponds to “photographing means” in the following claims. “Reporting means” mentioned in the following claims are realized by operating the communication device 28 so that the vehicle theft report is sent to the center 14 in a case where the anti-theft ECU 16 of the anti-theft device 10 detects the vehicle theft activity by using the switches or sensors 18 through 24. “Obstruction radio wave detection means” mentioned in the following claims are realized by the external facility ECU 32 of the external facility 30 detecting the obstruction radio wave obstructing the theft report from the vehicle to the center 14 by using the receiver 36. “Illegal activity prevention means” mentioned in the following claims are realized by implementing a process of step 106 in the routine shown in
The present invention is not limited to these embodiments, but variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
In the above-discussed embodiment as defined by the claims, when the vehicle theft activity is detected, the report from the communication device 28 and the warning from the warning device 26 are implemented. However, only the report from the communication device 28 may be implemented. In addition, in the above embodiment, when the obstruction radio wave is detected, the report from the report device 40 and the warning from the warning device 42 are implemented. However, only one of them may be implemented.
In the above-discussed embodiment as defined by the claims, jacking up of the vehicle, intentional swinging of the vehicle, moving the vehicle by a wrecker detected by the tilt sensor 18 and the existence of an invader in the vehicle detected by the invasion sensor 20, are assumed as detailed contents of the theft activity detected as the vehicle theft activity. However, two or more of them may be assumed as detailed contents of the theft activity detected as the vehicle theft activity. In addition, breaking glass detected by a glass breaking sensor may be assumed as the detailed contents of the theft activity detected as the vehicle theft activity.
In the above-discussed embodiment as defined by the claims, the theft report from the anti-theft device 10 of the vehicle and the obstruction radio wave report from the external facility 30 are sent to the portable terminal 12 of the user of the vehicle via the center 14. These reports may be sent to a police station, a manager of the parking lot, or a fixed telephone of the user of the vehicle
In the above-discussed embodiment as defined by the claims, the external facility 30 provided at the external parking lot is used as a device detecting the obstruction radio wave obstructing the theft report using a radio wave from the vehicle to the center 14. However, the present invention is not limited to this and may be applied to a system where the obstruction radio wave detection device is provided in the vehicle. That is, a receiver detecting the obstruction radio wave is provided in the vehicle, an information transmission system between the parked vehicle and a road side machine provided in the parking lot is formed by, for example, infrared that is not influenced by the obstruction radio wave in order to report that the vehicle has received the obstruction radio wave to the center 14, and the road side machine and the center are connected by cable. In this system, in a case where the obstruction radio wave obstructing the radio theft report from the vehicle to the center 14 is detected, it is possible to issue the warning about the existence of the obstruction radio wave by operating the warning device 26, and send the obstruction radio wave report to the center 14 via the road side machine without receiving an influence of the obstruction radio wave from the vehicle. Hence, it is possible to obtain the same effect as the system of the above discussed embodiment.
In this case, “obstruction radio wave detection means” mentioned in the following claims are realized by the on-vehicle machine detecting the obstruction radio wave obstructing the theft report from the vehicle to the center 14 by using the receiver. In addition, “illegal activity prevention means” mentioned in the following claims are realized by issuing the warning about the existence of the obstruction radio wave by operating the warning device 26, and by reporting the existence of the obstruction radio wave to the center 14 via the road side machine by using the infrared, for example, when the obstruction radio wave is detected.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-056622 | Mar 2004 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP05/03700 | 2/25/2005 | WO | 00 | 3/14/2006 |
