Automobile remote-control system

• US 4,835,531 A
• Filed: 02/06/1987
• Issued: 05/30/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/1986
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: ALPS Electric Company Limited (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: ALPS Electric Company Limited (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Sato, Kazuo
• Primary Examiner(s): YUSKO, DONALD
• Application Number:
  US07/011,636
• Time in Patent Office: 844 Days
• Field of Search: 340/825.31, 340/825.44, 340/825.69, 340/825.72, 340/825.54, 340/825.63, 340/825.64, 455/228, 455/343, 455/68
• US Class Current: 340/12.16
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00587 by battery
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00793 by Hertzian waves
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00182 operated with unidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 19/24 using time shift of pulses

Abstract

An automobile remote-control system is disclosed. This system is characterized such that: a transmitter includes a carrier oscillating circuit for oscillating a carrier with a frequency higher than a radio broadcasting frequency band or a telephone transmitting-and-receiving frequency band; an operation voltage of this carrier oscillating circuit is turned ON/OFF by a drive control circuit; the carrier oscillating circuit is turned ON for a preset period prior to the transmission of the code thereby to transmit a leader pulse signal; the carrier oscillating circuit is subsequently turned ON in a pulse-like configuration at an interval corresponding to the code thereby to transmit a code pulse signal; a receiver receives the signal from the transmitter through a radio receiving antenna or a telephone transmitting-and-receiving antenna; the receiver is kept in an operation-state by a periodic operation control circuit at a cycle shorter than a continuance time of the leader pulse signal; when the leader pulse signal is detected by a detecting circuit, the receiver is held in the operation-state by an operation holding circuit; and the code pulse signal is converted into a code in accordance with a pulse interval by a code converting circuit.

Claims

1. In an automobile remote control system in which a preset code is transmitted from a remote transmitter, said code is received by a receiver installed in an automobile, and an actuator is operated in accordance with said code received by said receiver,

the improvement comprising:

said transmitter being provided with a carrier oscillating circuit for oscillating a carrier with a predetermined frequency, a power source for supplying an operating voltage to said carrier oscillating circuit, and a data generating circuit for turning said operating voltage to said carrier oscillating circuit ON and OFF selectively to transmit a code signal composed of a leader pulse signal which is ON for a predetermined leader time period and, subsequently, a series of data pulse signals during a predetermined data time period representing said preset code, wherein said data pulse signals from said transmitter have a uniform pulse width and are spaced apart either by a first data time period to indicate a binary "1" or a different, second data time period to indicate a binary "0";

said receiver being connected to an antenna installed in the automobile to receive said code signal, and having a receiving circuit, an operating circuit for operating said receiving circuit to receive the data pulse signals of said code signal received by the antenna, and a processing circuit for processing the received data pulse signals into binary information in accordance with said first and second data time periods and providing an output to the actuator in accordance with said code represented by said binary information.

2. An automobile remote-control system according to Claim 1, wherein said operating circuit includes a timable circuit for generating a series of timing pulses of a relatively short pulse width spaced apart by a predetermined cycle period which is shorter than the leader time period of said leader pulse signal of said code signal received from said transmitter, a power source circuit for providing an operating voltage to said receiving circuit in response to an enabling signal, and a detecting circuit for detecting synchronous receipt of both a timing pulse from said timable circuit and said leader pulse signal of said code signal and for providing in response thereto an enabling signal to said power source circuit for enabling it to provide the operating voltage to operate said receiving circuit continuously for a predetermined operating time period, wherein said operating time period is sufficiently longer than said data time period of said code signal to allow receipt of said data pulse signals representing the preset code, said receiver otherwise being kept in a non-operated standy condition.

3. An automobile remote-control system according to claim 1, wherein the antenna is used for an automobile radio or an automobile telephone installed in the automobile, the carrier frequency used by said carrier oscillating circuit of said transmitter is higher than the frequencies of the corresponding broadcasting bands of the automobile radio or telephone connected to the antenna, and said receiver includes a distributor for routing the higher frequency carrier signal from said transmitter to said receiver.

4. An automobile remote-control system according to claim 2, wherein said detecting circuit includes and AND circuit receiving an output from said receiving circuit and said timing pulse output of said timable circuit, a multi-vibrator for providing a continuing output for said predetermined operating time period in response to a high output from said AND circuit, and an OR circuit for providing an enabling output to said power source circuit in response to either the timing pulse output of said timable circuit or the continuing output of said multi-vibrator.