Car theft prevention using long range wide area network

• US 10,407,022 B2
• Filed: 04/05/2016
• Issued: 09/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Traffilog Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Traffilog Ltd.
• Inventors: Izraeli, Robert, Bitton, Assi, Greenberger, Arik
• Primary Examiner(s): Han, Charles J
• Application Number:
  US15/090,693
• Publication Number:
  US 20170197583A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,253 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/102 a signal being sent to a remote location, e.g. a radio signal being transmitted to a police station, a security company or the owner
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/00 Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 2203/16 for telephony
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 2203/18 for wireless local area networks or WLAN
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 2203/22 for communication related to vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/222 wherein jamming detection includes detecting the absence or impossibility of intelligible communication on at least one channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/226 Selection of non-jammed channel for communication spectrum sharing arrangements H04W16/14; selection of wireless resources by user or terminal H04W72/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/88 related to allowing or preventing alarm transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/48 for in-vehicle communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

A method for monitoring a vehicle, the method may include detecting, by a vehicle monitor that is associated with a vehicle, a failure to communicate with a first communication network; storing failure information about a time of the failure and a location of the vehicle in proximity to a detection of the failure; attempting, after the detecting of the failure and by the vehicle monitor, to establish communication with at least one communication network out of the first communication network and a second communication network; wherein the second communication network is a long range wide area network (LoRaWAN) and the first communication network is not a LoRaWAN; and after succeeding to establish communication with a given communication network out of the first and second communication networks, transmitting the failure information over the given communication network.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring a vehicle, the method comprising:

detecting, by a vehicle monitor that is associated with a vehicle, a jamming signal that causes a failure of one or more attempts to establish communication with a first communication network;

storing, in a memory unit, failure information about a time of the failure and a location of the vehicle in proximity to a detection of the failure;

after the detecting of the failure and by the vehicle monitor, attempting, via at least one transceiver of a plurality of transceivers of the vehicle monitor, to establish communication with at least one communication network out of the first communication network and a second communication network;

wherein the second communication network is a long range wide area network (LoRaWAN) and the first communication network is not a LoRaWAN;

wherein the attempting to establish communication with the at least one communication network, comprises selecting, with which communication network to establish the communication;

wherein the selecting is based on (a) a power consumption of the vehicle monitor that is associated with communication between the vehicle monitor and each communication network of the at least one communication network, and (b) a power level remaining in a power source of the vehicle monitor;

succeeding to establish communication with a given communication network out of the first communication network and the second communication network;

and after succeeding to establish communication with the given communication network out of the first communication network and the second communication network, transmitting the failure information over the given communication network.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the attempting to establish communication with the at least one communication network, comprises selecting, with which communication network to establish the communication.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the selecting is made in a random manner.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the selecting is made based on history of successful and failed communication attempts.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the attempting to establish a communication with the first network comprises attempting to establish communication with a LoRaWAN transceiver of an other vehicle monitor that is configured to monitor another vehicle.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the attempt to establish communication with a LoRaWAN transceiver of an other vehicle monitor is successful;

and

wherein after succeeding to establish communication with the LoRaWAN transceiver of the other vehicle monitor then transmitting the failure information to the LoRaWAN transceiver of the other vehicle monitor.

7. The method according to claim 6, comprising receiving an indication from the LoRaWAN transceiver of the other vehicle, via the at least one transceiver of the plurality of transceivers of the vehicle monitor, that the failure information was successfully received by a control center.

8. The method according to claim 7, comprising responding, via the at least one transceiver of the plurality of transceivers of the vehicle monitor, to the receiving of the indication.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the responding comprises storing information in the memory unit about the receiving of the indication.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the responding comprises transmitting, via the at least one transceiver of the plurality of transceivers of the vehicle monitor over the first communication network, the information about the receiving of the indication to the control center.

11. The method according to claim 1, comprising receiving, by a LoRaWAN transceiver, another vehicle monitor failure information, and attempting to relay the other vehicle monitor information to at least one communication network out of the first communication network and the second communication network.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving, by the at least one transceiver of the plurality of transceivers of the vehicle monitor, a request sent from a control system, to deactivate the vehicle;

and

instructing the vehicle, by the vehicle monitor, to deactivate.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving, by the at least one transceiver of the plurality of transceivers of the vehicle monitor, a request sent from a control system, to generate an alarm by the vehicle;

and

instructing the vehicle, by the vehicle monitor, to generate the alarm.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selecting comprises selecting a communication network associated with a lowest power consumption of the vehicle monitor.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the attempting to establish communication comprises attempting to establish communication with the first and the second communication networks.

16. The method according to claim 1, comprising attempting, after the detecting of the failure and by the vehicle monitor, to establish communication with a third communication network that differs from the first communication network and the second communication network;

wherein the third communication network is a local area wireless network (LAWN).

17. A non-transitory computer readable medium that stores instructions that once executed by a vehicle monitor, cause the vehicle monitor to execute the steps of:

detecting, by a vehicle monitor that is associated with a vehicle, a jamming signal that causes a failure of one or more attempts to establish communication with a first communication network;

storing failure information about a time of the failure and a location of the vehicle in proximity to a detection of the failure;

attempting, after the detecting of the failure and by the vehicle monitor, to establish communication with at least one communication network out of the first communication network and a second communication network;

wherein the attempting comprises selecting, with which communication network to establish the communication;

wherein the selecting is executed either randomly or based on a power consumption of the vehicle monitor that is associated with communicating between the vehicle monitor and each communication network of the at least one communication network;

wherein the second communication network is a long range wide area network (LoRaWAN) and the first communication network is not a LoRaWAN;

succeeding to establish communication with a given communication network out of the first communication network and the second communication network; and

after succeeding to establish communication with the given communication network out of the first communication network and the second communication network, transmitting the failure information over the given communication network.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 17, that stores instructions for attempting, after the detecting of the failure and by the vehicle monitor, to establish communication with a third communication network that differs from the first communication network and the second communication network;

wherein the third communication network is a local area wireless network (LAWN).

19. A vehicle monitor, comprising a first transceiver, a second transceiver, a location sensor, a controller and a memory unit;

wherein the controller is configured to detect a jamming signal that causes a failure of the first transceiver to communicate with a first communication network;

wherein the location sensor generates location information about a location of the vehicle in proximity to a detection of the failure;

wherein the memory unit stores failure information that comprises the location information, and timing information, wherein the timing information is indicative of a time of the failure;

wherein the second transceiver attempts, after the detecting of the failure, to establish communication with a second communication network that differs from the first communication network

wherein the second transceiver successfully establishes communication with a given communication network out of the first communication network and the second communication network;

wherein the attempt to establish communication with the second network comprises selecting the second communication network;

wherein the selecting is executed either randomly or based on a power consumption that is associated with communicating between the vehicle monitor and the second communication network;

wherein the second transceiver is configured to transmit the failure information over the second communication network, after succeeding in establishing communication with the second communication network; and

wherein the second communication network is a long range wide area network (LoRaWAN) and the first communication network is not a LoRaWAN.