Remote-control system for closures

• US 5,136,548 A
• Filed: 06/03/1991
• Issued: 08/04/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Daimler Chrysler Company LLC (Stellantis NV)
• Original Assignee: Mercedes-Benz AG (Mercedes-Benz Group AG)
• Inventors: Lindmayer, Martin, Claar, Klaus
• Primary Examiner(s): Pihulic, Daniel T.
• Application Number:
  US07/709,318
• Time in Patent Office: 428 Days
• Field of Search: 367/903, 367/197, 367/137, 367/2, 340/825.57, 318/286
• US Class Current: 367/2
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00261 the keyless data carrier having more than one function
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00785 by light
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00928 for garage doors
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00182 operated with unidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 367/903 Transmit-receive circuitry

Abstract

A remote-control system for closures with a movable hand transmitter with at least one transmission key, this transmitter generating and radiating directed coded control signals upon actuation of the transmission key of the hand transmitter. At least one first receiver unit is tuned to receive the control signals radiated from the hand transmitter and is arranged on a motor vehicle and triggers switching effects on a remotely controllable vehicle locking after the received control signals have been identified as acceptable. At least one second receiver unit is tuned to receive control signals radiated as a result of the actuation of the transmission key of the hand transmitter for remotely controlling a remotely controllable access control device external to the motor vehicle. This second receiver unit is arranged outside the motor vehicle and triggers switching effects on the access control device after the received control signals have been identified as acceptable. An electrical circuit is provided for preventing at least the triggering of switching effects by the second receiver unit when the control signal radiated as a result of a single actuation of the transmission key of the hand transmitter is received simultaneously by the first and the second receiver unit, by causing to arrive at the second receiver unit only a control signal which significantly differs from the control signal radiated as a result of the actuation of the transmission key of the hand transmitter for remotely controlling the access control device. At least one transmitter is fixed to the motor vehicle, this transmitter being randomly electrically activatable from a passenger space of the motor vehicle independently of the hand transmitter. The transmitter is arranged on the outside of the motor vehicle for direct radiation to the outside of control signals coded in accordance with the control signals radiated by the hand transmitter. This ensures that only one code has to be impressed on the control signals of the hand transmitter in order to make it possible to use the hand transmitter for the direct remote control both of the vehicle locking and of the access control device.

Claims

1. A remote-control system for closures, comprising:

a portable hand held transmitter which generates and radiates directed coded control signals upon actuation of a transmission key on the hand held transmitter;

at least one first receiver unit arranged on a motor vehicle, which first receiver unit it tuned to receive the control signals radiated from the hand held transmitter, and which triggers switching effects on a remotely controllable vehicle locking device after received control signals have been identified as acceptable;

at least one second receiver unit tuned to receive control signals radiated as a result of the actuation of the transmission key of the hand held transmitter for remotely controlling a remotely controllable access control device external to the motor vehicle, said second receiver unit being arranged outside the motor vehicle and triggering switching effected on the access control device after received control signals have been identified as acceptable;

electrical means for preventing at least the triggering of switching effects by the second receiver unit simultaneously with the triggering of switching effects by the first receiver unit in response to a control signal, which is radiated by the hand transmitter as a result of one single actuation of said transmission key and is received simultaneously by the first and the second receiver unit, and

at least one additional transmitter fixed to the motor vehicle, said transmitter being randomly electrically activatable from a passenger space of the motor vehicle independently of the hand transmitter, said transmitter being arranged on the outside of the motor vehicle for direct radiation to the outside of control signals coded in accordance with the control signals radiated by the hand transmitter.

2. The remote-control system according to claim 1, wherein the electrical circuit is arranged external to the motor vehicle.

3. The remote-control system according to claim 2, wherein the electrical circuit external to the vehicle includes means for causing the second receiver unit to trigger a switching effect on the access control device only after the control signal that is radiated in response to a single actuation of the hand transmitter is received more than once by the second receiver unit.

4. The remote-control system according to claim 3, wherein the second receiver unit includes a second receiver and a comparator, and further comprising a counting stage coupled to the second receiver and containing an intermediate read-write store and a timer, said intermediate store storing each control signal received by the second receiver, the timer being started by the second receiver, wherein upon receipt of the same control signal twice within a period of time defined by the timer, the counting stage sends the control signal last stored in the intermediate store to the comparator of the second receiver unit, with the contents of the intermediate store being erased after the expiry of the defined period of time.

5. The remote-control system according to claim 4, further comprising an additional circuit internal to the motor vehicle, which automatically causes the control signal to be radiated at least twice by the transmitter fixed to the vehicle, upon a single random activation of the transmitter fixed to the motor vehicle.

6. The remote-control system according to claim 5, further comprising a timer for fixing a time interval, during which the transmitter fixed to the vehicle radiates the control signal repeatedly after a single random activation of the transmitter fixed to the vehicle.

7. The remote-control system according to claim 1, in which the electrical circuit is arranged in the motor vehicle.

8. The remote-control system according to claim 7, further comprising an auxiliary transmitter arranged in the motor vehicle and coupled to the electrical circuit, said auxiliary transmitter being automatically activated by said electrical circuit upon the activation of the hand transmitter, said electrical circuit being coupled to the first receiver unit, when a control signal of the hand transmitter is received by the first receiver unit, the automatic activation of the auxiliary transmitter causing the immediate radiation of a signal by the auxiliary transmitter which is similar to but differs significantly from the control signal of the hand transmitter, and is superposable on the control signal of the hand transmitter.

9. The remote-control system according to claim 8, wherein the transmitter fixed to the vehicle is the auxiliary transmitter, and further comprising two different signal sources for the signal to be radiated by the transmitter fixed to the vehicle, said signal sources being coupled to the transmitter fixed to the vehicle.

10. The remote-control system according to claim 1, further comprising means for dividing the control signals radiatable from the hand transmitter in the form of code-words into an invariable object-specific or vehicle-specific basic code-word portion and a variable portion;

and

a storage device in the access control device that stores the basic code-word portion, wherein only the basic codeword portion is radiated by the transmitter fixed to the motor vehicle.

11. The remote-control system according to claim 10, further comprising an erasing device in the access control device for erasing the content of the storage device.

12. The remote-control system according to claim 11, further comprising an entry device in the access control device which allows a new entry of a code in the storage device.

13. The remote-control system according to claim 12, further comprising a switchable connection coupled between the second receiver and an input of the storage device of the access control device and via which a new code can be entered in the storage device by the radiation of a coded control signal to the second receiver.

14. The remote-control system according to claim 7, further comprising an auxiliary transmitter in the access control device and coupled to the second receiver unit, said auxiliary transmitter being automatically activated when a control signal is received by the second receiver unit, the automatic activation of the auxiliary transmitter causing the immediate radiation of a signal by the auxiliary transmitter which is similar to but differs significantly from the control signal of the hand transmitter, and is superposable on the control signal of the hand transmitter.

15. The remote-control system according to claim 1, further comprising an indicator device coupled to the second receiver unit which, when a control signal is received, is switched on by the second receiver unit independently of the identifiability of the received control signal as acceptable.

16. The remote-control system according to claim 3, further comprising an additional circuit internal to the motor vehicle, which automatically causes the control signal to be radiated at least twice by the transmitter fixed to the vehicle, upon a single random activation of the transmitter fixed to the motor vehicle.

17. The remote-control system according to claim 3, further comprising means for dividing the control signals radiatable from the hand transmitter in the form of code-words into an invariable object-specific or vehicle-specific basic code-word portion and a variable portion;

and

a storage device in the access control device that stores the basic code-word portion, wherein only the basic codeword portion is radiated by the transmitter fixed to the motor vehicle.

18. The remote-control system according to claim 8, further comprising means for dividing the control signals radiatable from the hand transmitter in the form of code-words into an invariable object-specific or vehicle-specific basic code-word portion and a variable portion;

and

a storage device in the access control device that stores the basic code-word portion, wherein only the basic codeword portion is radiated by the transmitter fixed to the motor vehicle.

19. The remote-control system according to claim 10, further comprising an entry device in the access control device which allows a new entry of a code in the storage device.

20. The remote-control system according to claim 19, further comprising a switchable connection coupled between the second receiver and an input of the storage device of the access control device and via which a new code can be entered in the storage device by the radiation of a coded control signal to the second receiver.

21. The remote-control system according to claim 2, further comprising an auxiliary transmitter in the access control device and coupled to the second receiver unit, said auxiliary transmitter being automatically activated when a control signal is received by the second receiver unit, the automatic activation of the auxiliary transmitter causing the immediate radiation of a signal by the auxiliary transmitter which is similar to but differs significantly from the control signal of the hand transmitter, and is superposable on the control signal of the hand transmitter.

22. The remote-control system according to claim 3, further comprising an indicator device coupled to the second receiver unit which, when a control signal is received, is switched on by the second receiver unit independently of the identifiability of the received control signal as acceptable.

23. The remote-control system according to claim 8, further comprising an indicator device coupled to the second receiver unit which, when a control signal is received, is switched on by the second receiver unit independently of the identifiability of the received control signal as acceptable.