DE9308721U1 - Anti-theft device for motor vehicles - Google Patents

Description

Description

The anti-theft devices that exist to date or are presented in patents either act mechanically on parts of the vehicle (e.g. ignition lock, fuel line) or they require a signal transmitter for legitimate use of the vehicle (code key instead of mechanical ignition key, or transmitter with high frequency or infrared radiation, which locks and unlocks the vehicle from the outside). It has also been proposed (patents DE 3908029 C2 and 39 18 052 Cl) to equip motor vehicles with a transmitter that, in dialogue with permanently installed transmitters (e.g. in police stations), authorizes the use of the vehicle. In addition, such a transmitter could send out an alarm signal in the event of obvious tampering with the vehicle, which could be located by the police.

However, experience has shown that all of these systems can and have been circumvented or dismantled by extremely skilled thieves. The latter invention also requires the establishment of a complex infrastructure, which is likely to be very difficult to implement given the shortage of public and increasingly industrial and private budgets. Furthermore, it would only make sense if it were immediately available across Europe when introduced, because an anti-theft device that only works domestically is not a good selling point.

Unfortunately, as conventional vehicle security improves, a brutalization of vehicle thefts can be observed, i.e. an increase in the number of the following crimes:

a) a motor vehicle is simply towed away, possibly in broad daylight, and the safety lock is removed in a secret workshop,

b) Armed perpetrators force motor vehicles to stop and drivers to get out, so that all security measures are in vain.

It therefore appears advantageous for a technically particularly sophisticated system to a) use an already extensively available infrastructure and b) not to install any active components (which could be removed or made silent) in the vehicle.

The principle of the invention has already been outlined in the claims. The required properties and functions of the components are now presented and explained in more detail. The attached drawing, hereinafter referred to as Fig. 1, serves to illustrate this.

Required components:

1.) A radio or television tuner with the ability to receive and evaluate digital signals (such as teletext or radio data system), see number 1 in Fig. 1. Alternatively, the principle can also be implemented using the receiving part of a radio telephone. This receiver must be inseparably connected to the engine control electronics (number 2 in Fig. 1), ideally on the same circuit board. The receiver is always in operation as long as the engine is running. The receiver constantly searches for a station that also broadcasts the digital signals to be observed. The receiver does not receive the radio waves via the car antenna, as it could be removed or the supply cable cut. Instead, a small antenna integrated into the electronic module must suffice. This results in poor reception quality, but it would certainly be sufficient for the present purpose. This handicap can be mitigated by installing the engine control electronics together with the safety electronics either very close to the radiator grille or close to the dashboard. In both cases, the shielding provided by the sheet metal of the engine compartment is only partially effective. The engine control electronics contain (best implemented using a PROM programmed by the manufacturer) a memory that contains an individual identification code for the vehicle. This code is assigned by the manufacturer and is managed by the manufacturer and/or by a joint office of the vehicle insurance companies, see "Coordination office" in Fig. 1. The circuit must be able to recognize various ways of manipulating it. All modifications or repairs that do not follow a procedure defined by the manufacturer must cause the control electronics to self-destruct. Self-destruction can either occur by deleting the programmed engine control program or by destroying the essential microprocessor, e.g. by heating up a heating wire built into the microprocessor. Essential components of the circuit must consist of customer-specific parts (ASICs) so that imitation of the circuit by electronic components generally available on the market and/or by "hackers" is not possible. Since the proposed device is based on components from car radios, televisions or cell phones, components and experience from mass production can be used, so that technical implementation should be possible at an affordable price. It would of course also be conceivable to render another essential component of the vehicle inoperable by radio command, e.g. the fuel pump. However, hardly any component is as difficult to remove and replace with a similar one as the engine control electronics, in conjunction with the additional measures described below.

2.) Despite all conventional security, a vehicle can be stolen: the key can be lost, a robbery can be carried out on an unlocked vehicle (not to mention robberies on loaded trucks), or think of parking garages in Italy, where in many cases the key must be handed over to the garage operator or where, due to police regulations, vehicles cannot be parked in a secure manner. So if the loss of a vehicle is noticed, the police must be notified. The police, in turn, notify the "coordination office" where the codes are managed. A cheap solution would be an office run jointly by the insurance companies

and works in close contact with the Federal Motor Transport Authority in Flensburg. Similar offices would have to be set up in other countries. From this office, the code of the stolen vehicle would be transmitted to the participating radio or television stations, which would then incorporate this code into their broadcasts. Europe-wide communication would still have to be organized, but this would only be a very small technical problem, since existing infrastructure would simply be used. Implementation via a shortwave transmitter or the time signal transmitter of the Federal Institute of Physics and Technology in Braunschweig would also be possible. This would mean that the whole of Europe would be covered by one transmitter, without first having to set up communication between the VHF radio and television stations. There would also be no need for a station search. If implementation were via one of the radio telephone networks, the effort of mobilizing the broadcasting companies via a coordination office would be eliminated. Instead, a victim of theft could "call" and stop his vehicle himself. However, in addition to the telephone number, another code number would have to be transmitted so that no damage could be caused by accidentally dialing the wrong number. This code number would then be stored in additional components of the vehicle. Implementation via telephone networks would, however, require a type of device that is compatible with different networks in different European countries. Therefore, Europe-wide coverage could probably be achieved more quickly via radio and television stations. For the North American market, however, comprehensive security using mobile phone networks could possibly be the faster way.

3.) As soon as the vehicle receives the signal, the engine stops and the vehicle is unusable for the thieves' personal use or for resale, as the engine is the most valuable component. A small sticker on the car windows would inform potential car thieves that they will not be able to do anything with the loot and, similar to stickers that inform about special security features on car radios, would make theft or robbery unattractive from the outset.

4.) In addition to the possibility of "immobilizing" stolen vehicles, it would then also be possible to render harmless vehicles that endanger public safety (wrong-way drivers, rampage drivers, obviously very drunk drivers or vehicles that have just been used to commit a crime), as well as rental vehicles that are not returned at the agreed time. The signal is transmitted at regular intervals until the disappearance of the vehicle is solved, so that even hiding the vehicle in an underground car park is of no use. It would also be possible for a victim to notify the coordination office directly. However, a clever password strategy would have to be used to ensure that the facility is not abused, i.e. that people do not force each other's cars to stop for fun or other reasons. If the security system is implemented on the basis of the radio telephone principle, the radio telephone could still emit a signal after the vehicle has been stopped, so that a rough location of the stationary vehicle would be possible with the cooperation of the existing transmitting stations.

5.) If the self-destruction is activated, however, a warning signal must be given to avoid traffic accidents. This could, for example, be implemented in the form of a large, bright warning light on the dashboard with the word "STOP" written on it, which

the destruction of the electronics flashes for 30 seconds.

6.) A combination of the proposed security system with code keys, as already proposed in various versions in numerous patents, is the logical addition to the security system presented here. The code of the code key (see number 3 in Fig. 1) must match the code contained in the memory mentioned (number 1). This code key (which should only be issued by the manufacturer) represents a further hurdle in the event that a vehicle secured according to the invention nevertheless falls into the hands of thieves (by force or by being towed away) who then want to make the vehicle roadworthy again in a secret workshop. Bridging the device would be of no use because the operating principle of the security system involves the microprocessor of the engine control electronics regularly querying the code from a memory built into an external component.

7.) Further measures must be taken to ensure that the vehicle cannot simply be made roadworthy again using standard spare parts. The following additional organizational measures serve this purpose:

7a.) Replacement electronic units are only sold by authorized workshops and only against return of the supposedly defective unit. This allows it to be checked whether the unit to be replaced comes from a vehicle that has been reported stolen.

7b.) Another memory module with the code programmed into it is installed at another location in the vehicle, ideally when the vehicle is manufactured, e.g. installed or welded into a practically inaccessible, safety-relevant location on the frame, see number 4 in Fig. 1. This would be an "electronic chassis number", but unlike the well-known mechanical one, it cannot be read with the eyes. The electronic module is programmed in such a way that it does not send out the programmed code (and thus cannot reveal its secret via command), but instead either only responds to an entered code with "correct" or "incorrect", or completes a partial code with the missing part. The engine control electronics therefore always compares the "identification number" with this memory. This makes it even more difficult to make a stolen vehicle operational again by installing spare parts from other vehicles. Since such a memory chip can also become defective, it must be installed in several copies so that in the event of a simple hardware failure, another memory chip can take over by selecting a different supply line, but with the same code programmed into it.

7c) Mechanical measures must be taken to ensure that the installation of the engine control and reception electronics is an irreversible process, so that any attempt to remove the electronics (e.g. from a scrap vehicle) is always detected by the electronics themselves and is always met with self-destruction. The housing with the electronics, for example, can snap into a catch (barb) during installation, which can never be released without the use of force or without opening the housing. Opening the housing would in turn be detected by a light sensor, which would also trigger the self-destruction of the electronics.

8.) Loaded trucks can be particularly targeted by robberies. To prevent this, I suggest the following variant: Implementation of the security system using mobile phone networks as described at the beginning. In addition, the engine control and security electronics contain the option of partially locking the vehicle, i.e. the engine can be made "dead" either until further notice or for a freely selectable period of time via a telephone call (without destroying an electronic component). Locking and unlocking can only be done via a telephone call. Compared to similar security systems proposed in other patents that propose locking and unlocking vehicles via radio, the proposed detour via the telephone network has the advantage that the code used cannot be electronically intercepted by observers, since a "spy" does not know the "telephone number" of the secured engine. The main advantage, however, comes into effect in the event of a robbery. Suppose a robber threatens a truck driver and forces him to unlock the truck with a gun. The threatened driver does this (via a fixed telephone or another mobile phone) and enters the code number mentioned above. This unlocks the vehicle and the robber can drive away. The robber, however, knows nothing of the following trick: There are two release code numbers. A "normal" and an "alarm code number". The robber, who observes the threatened driver on the phone, cannot tell the code numbers apart. When the "alarm code number" is entered, the vehicle is ready to drive, but at the same time the police are automatically called using the transmitter part of the mobile phone system installed on the engine. A voice computer or a small magnetic tape recorder (derived from a dictaphone) can play a short text that contains, among other things, the license plate number and information about the appearance of the truck. At the same time, it is possible to roughly locate the stolen truck using the radio telephone network’s receiving stations or satellite navigation. As soon as the attacked driver is able to escape the robbers’ violence, he can of course use the originally planned route to immobilize the vehicle using a radio command.

9.) The proposed technology could also be used to secure other high-value consumer goods that are at risk of theft, e.g. televisions, video recorders, hi-fi systems (where the receiver is already present), home computers, mobile phones. A small imprint on the casing of the device would signal to a burglar that he will not enjoy the stolen goods.

10.) Free capacity of the videotext or radio data system could also be used for data transmission for private purposes using the technology described. e.g. as a low-cost "one-way car phone" for transmitting short information.

Claims (2)

Anti-theft system for motor vehicles Dr. Peter Kizler, Neckarstraße 23, 74354 Besigheim Protection claims: 1.) System for the preventive security of motor vehicles against theft, consisting of a) a network of transmitters which broadcasts digitally usable information (e.g. teletext, radio data system, which is generally known through the broadcast of the transmitter identification, or dialling signals of a radio telephone system) together with b) a radio receiver (radio or television receiver or cellular phone) in the vehicle to be secured that is inseparably connected to the engine control electronics, which decodes the radio signals emitted, compares them with a code programmed in by the vehicle manufacturer and, upon receipt of a code that matches the programmed code, renders a part that is essential for the functioning of the vehicle, most likely the engine control electronics, inoperable. 2.) An electronic memory module is installed in a very difficult-to-access component of the vehicle (e.g. in a safety-relevant part of the frame), which also contains the identification code assigned by the manufacturer. The engine control electronics regularly communicate with this memory module (or at least when starting) and compare its code with that anchored in the control electronics. If these two codes no longer match (e.g. if someone were to install a foreign electronic unit from a scrap car), the engine control electronics will again become inoperable. If the vehicle is equipped with a "vehicle key" in the form of a code card (not the subject of this application), the engine control electronics also checks whether its code matches that of this code card.