Vehicle safety and security system
First Claim
1. A battery saver for a vehicle having a direct current power transmission circuit including a battery, said battery saver comprising:
- a. an electrical activity sensor coupled to the direct current power transmission circuit, said electrical activity sensor having an electrical activity sensor output producing an electrical activity output signal functionally related to electrical activity sensed on the direct current power transmission circuit;
b. a switch electrically interposed in the direct current power transmission circuit; and
c. a controller, including an input and an output, the input of said controller being electrically coupled to the electrical activity sensor output and the output of said controller being electrically coupled to said switch, said controller analyzing the electrical activity output signal of said electrical activity sensor to determine a load on the direct current power transmission circuit and said controller transmitting a disabling signal to said switch thereby opening said switch when the electrical activity output signal varies by a preset amount from a predetermined ambient condition level.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A self-contained safety and security system and method that performs the multiple functions of theft deterrence, battery saving, battery analysis system, accident protection, and telemetry and control data communication for vehicles is disclosed. The present invention is an electronically-based system for a vehicle having an existing power transmission circuit including a battery that can be readily installed and made operational by an individual having no special training using common household tools. The safety and security system requires the installation of no dedicated wiring in the vehicle. Furthermore, the system preferably installs without any cutting or splicing of the wiring in the vehicle'"'"'s electrical system.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention includes an electrical activity sensor coupled to and sensing electrical activity on the direct current power transmission circuit, a motion sensor sensing vibration associated with the vehicle, a battery-disconnect switch electrically interposed in the direct current power transmission circuit; and a controller having inputs to receive signals from the electrical activity and motion sensors and an output to communicate with and control the switch. The electrical activity sensor has an electrical activity sensor output producing an electrical activity output signal
81 Citations
125 Claims
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1. A battery saver for a vehicle having a direct current power transmission circuit including a battery, said battery saver comprising:
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a. an electrical activity sensor coupled to the direct current power transmission circuit, said electrical activity sensor having an electrical activity sensor output producing an electrical activity output signal functionally related to electrical activity sensed on the direct current power transmission circuit;
b. a switch electrically interposed in the direct current power transmission circuit; and
c. a controller, including an input and an output, the input of said controller being electrically coupled to the electrical activity sensor output and the output of said controller being electrically coupled to said switch, said controller analyzing the electrical activity output signal of said electrical activity sensor to determine a load on the direct current power transmission circuit and said controller transmitting a disabling signal to said switch thereby opening said switch when the electrical activity output signal varies by a preset amount from a predetermined ambient condition level. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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18. A method of protecting the charge in a battery for a vehicle, the battery interposed in a direct current power transmission circuit, comprising the steps of:
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a. enabling a constant current source interposed in the direct current power transmission circuit, that under an ambient condition supplies a predetermined ambient condition level voltage over the direct current power transmission circuit;
b. electrically disconnecting the battery from the direct current power transmission circuit;
c. detecting a final voltage level on the direct current power transmission circuit; and
d. electrically disconnecting the constant current source from the direct current power transmission circuit if the final voltage level varies by a preset amount from the predetermined ambient condition level voltage.
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31. A battery analyzer for a vehicle having a direct current power transmission circuit including a battery, and having a starter that when activated produces electrical activity on the direct current power transmission circuit, said battery analyzer comprising:
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a. an electrical activity sensor electrically coupled to the direct current power transmission circuit, said electrical activity sensor having an electrical activity sensor output producing an electrical activity output signal functionally related to electrical activity detected on the direct current power transmission circuit;
b. a battery condition reporting module electrically interposed in the direct current power transmission circuit and reporting battery condition data encoded in a battery condition signal received on the direct current power transmission circuit; and
c. a controller, including an input and an output, the input of said controller being electrically coupled to the electrical activity sensor output and the output of said controller electrically coupled to the direct current power transmission circuit, said controller analyzing the electrical activity output signal of said electrical activity sensor when the starter is activated to determine the battery condition, and said controller transmitting on the direct current power transmission circuit the battery condition signal containing the battery condition data to said battery condition reporting module. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53)
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46. A method of analyzing and reporting the charge in a battery for a vehicle, the vehicle having a starter that produces electrical activity on a direct current power transmission circuit when the starter is activated, the battery interposed in the direct current power transmission circuit, the method comprising the steps of:
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a. analyzing the electrical activity on the direct current power transmission circuit as the starter is activated to obtain battery condition data for the battery;
b. transmitting on the direct current power transmission circuit to a battery condition reporter module a battery condition signal containing the battery condition data;
c. reproducing the battery condition data at the battery condition reporter module from battery condition signal; and
d. reporting the battery condition data via a user interface.
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54. An accident safety system for a vehicle having a direct current power transmission circuit including a battery, said accident safety system comprising:
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a. a motion sensor having a motion sensor output, said motion sensor detecting vibration within the vehicle and producing a motion sensor output signal functionally related to the vibration detected within the vehicle, b. a switch electrically interposed in the direct current power transmission circuit; and
c. a controller, including an input and an output, the input of said controller being electrically coupled to the motion sensor output and the output of said controller being electrically coupled to said switch, said controller analyzing the motion sensor output signal of said motion sensor to identify whether the motion sensor output signal contains a vibration signature of a collision involving the vehicle, and said controller transmitting a battery-disabling signal to said switch thereby opening said switch when said motion sensor output signal matches the vibration signature to a preset degree. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56, 58, 59, 60)
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57. A method of minimizing the probability of having an electrical short circuit in a direct current power transmission circuit in a vehicle after a collision involving the vehicle, a battery interposed in the direct current power transmission circuit, the method comprising the steps of:
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a. detecting vibration within the vehicle caused by the collision;
b. analyzing the vibration to identify a vibration signature for the vibration;
c. electrically disconnecting the battery from the direct current power transmission circuit when the vibration matches a vehicle collision vibration signature to a preset degree.
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61. A system for communicating data over an existing direct current power transmission circuit including a battery comprising:
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a. a switch electrically interposed in the direct current power transmission circuit, b. a controller, having an output electrically coupled to said switch, said controller encoding the data in a data signal by transmitting to said switch a sequence of battery enabling and disabling signals, the time between enabling and disabling signals comprising the data signal; and
c. a receiver electrically coupled to the direct current power circuit, said receiver receiving the data signal and decoding the data signal into data. - View Dependent Claims (62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70)
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71. A method for communicating data over an existing direct current power transmission circuit including a battery comprising the steps of:
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a. providing a switch electrically interposed in the direct current power transmission circuit to disconnect the battery from the circuit when the switch is open;
b. opening and closing the switch in predetermined time intervals thereby encoding the data and forming a data signal transmitted on the direct current power transmission circuit, the time periods between closings of the switch representing the data in the data signal; and
c. decoding the data signal into received data at a receiver electrically coupled to the direct current power transmission circuit. - View Dependent Claims (72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90)
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79. A theft-deterrence system for a vehicle having a direct current power transmission circuit including a battery, and having an ignition switch that when in motion produces electrical activity on the direct current power transmission circuit, said theft-deterrence system comprising:
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a. an electrical activity sensor coupled to the direct current power transmission circuit, said electrical activity sensor having an electrical activity sensor output producing an electrical activity output signal functionally related to a voltage detected on the direct current power transmission circuit;
b. a battery-disconnect switch electrically interposed in the direct current power transmission circuit; and
c. a controller, including an input, an output and a system state register, the input of said controller being electrically coupled to the electrical activity sensor output and the output of said controller being electrically coupled to said battery-disconnect switch, said controller analyzing the electrical activity output signal of said electrical activity sensor to identify when the electrical activity output signal contains an electrical signature of an ignition switch in motion, and said controller calculating a theft-deterrence value based on analyzing the electrical activity and transmitting a battery-disabling signal to said battery-disconnect switch when the theft-deterrence value surpasses a predetermined battery-disconnect threshold level.
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91. A method of deterring theft of a vehicle having a direct current power transmission circuit including a battery, and having an ignition switch that when in motion produces an electrical activity signal unique to said motion on the direct current power transmission circuit, said method comprising the steps of:
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a. setting a system state register in a controller to a value representing a theft-deterrence system in an armed state;
b. analyzing the electrical activity signal on the direct current power transmission circuit and identifying therefrom when the ignition switch is in motion;
c. calculating a theft-deterrence value based on identified electrical activity; and
d. transmitting a battery-disabling signal when the theft-deterrence value surpasses a predetermined battery-disconnect threshold level. - View Dependent Claims (92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97)
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98. A battery saver for a vehicle having a direct current power transmission circuit including a battery, said battery saver comprising:
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a. an electrical activity sensor coupled to the direct current power transmission circuit, said electrical activity sensor having an electrical activity sensor output producing an electrical activity output signal functionally related to a voltage detected on the direct current power transmission circuit;
b. a switch electrically interposed in the direct current power transmission circuit;
c. a controller, including an input and an output, the input of said controller being electrically coupled to the electrical activity sensor output and the output of said controller being electrically coupled to said switch, said controller analyzing the electrical activity output signal of said electrical activity sensor to determine a load on the direct current power transmission circuit; and
d. an intelligent module electrically interposed in and sensing electrical activity on the direct current power transmission circuit, said intelligent module having an output electrically coupled to an electronic accessory and deactivating the electronic accessory from an active state when said intelligent module senses the electrical activity on the direct current power transmission circuit falling a preset amount below a predetermined ambient condition level. - View Dependent Claims (99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108)
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109. A method of protecting charge in a battery for a vehicle, the vehicle having an engine that produces electrical activity on a direct current power transmission circuit when the engine is active, the battery and an electronic accessory interposed in the direct current power transmission circuit, the method comprising the steps of:
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a. enabling a constant current source electrically in series with the battery, that under an ambient condition supplies an ambient condition level voltage over the direct current power transmission circuit;
b. electrically disconnecting the battery from the direct current power transmission circuit;
c. detecting a voltage level on the direct current power transmission circuit; and
d. deactivating the electronic accessory from the direct current power transmission circuit if the electronic accessory is active and the voltage level varies by a preset amount from the ambient condition level voltage. - View Dependent Claims (110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125)
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119. A safety and security system comprising for a vehicle having a direct current power transmission circuit including a battery, said safety and security system comprising:
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a. an electrical activity sensor coupled to the direct current power transmission circuit, said electrical activity sensor having an electrical activity sensor output producing an electrical activity output signal functionally related to electrical activity sensed on the direct current power transmission circuit;
b. a motion sensor having a motion sensor output, said motion sensor detecting vibration and producing from the motion sensor output a motion sensor output signal functionally related to the vibration detected;
c. a switch electrically interposed in the direct current power transmission circuit;
d. a constant current source electrically in parallel with said switch, said constant current source, when enabled and said battery is disabled, supplying to the direct current power transmission circuit under a predetermined ambient condition an ambient condition level voltage; and
e. a controller, including an input and an output, the input of said controller being electrically coupled to the electrical activity sensor output and the motion sensor output, and the output of said controller being electrically coupled to said switch and said constant current source;
said controller analyzing the electrical activity output signal of said electrical activity sensor and transmitting a current source enabling signal to said constant current source to determine a load on the direct current power transmission circuit and said controller transmitting a disabling signal to said switch thereby opening said switch when the electrical activity output signal varies by a preset amount from the ambient condition level voltage, said controller analyzing the motion sensor output signal of said motion sensor to identify whether the motion sensor output signal contains a vibration signature of a collision involving the vehicle, and said controller transmitting a battery-disabling signal to said switch thereby opening said switch when said motion sensor output signal matches the vibration signature to a preset degree; and
said controller determining the load on the direct current power transmission circuit while said battery-disconnect switch is open and said constant current source is enabled;
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Specification