Antitheft system for a motor vehicle

• US 6,064,298 A
• Filed: 01/26/1998
• Issued: 05/16/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Zimmer, Herbert
• Primary Examiner(s): Lefkowitz, Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): GOINS, DAVETTA WOODS
• Application Number:
  US09/013,296
• Time in Patent Office: 841 Days
• Field of Search: 340/426, 340/825.31, 340/825.54, 340/825.34, 340/825.69, 340/905, 340/902, 70/277, 307/10.5, 307/10.3, 307/10.4, 342/44
• US Class Current: 340/426.11
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/04 operating on the propulsion system, e.g. engine or drive motor
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0008 General problems related to the reading of electronic memory record carriers, independent of its reading method, e.g. power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00373 whereby the wake-up circuit is situated in the lock
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00611 by using inductive transmission
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00777 by induction
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00309 operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 70/7062 Electrical type [e.g., solenoid]

Abstract

An antitheft system for a motor vehicle includes a transponder having a charging capacitor which is wirelessly charged by energy signals from a transceiver. The level of the energy being transmitted depends on the quality of an inductive transmission between the transponder and the transceiver. Too little energy is transmitted if the exciting frequency of a transceiver oscillating circuit does not correspond to its resonant frequency due to component tolerances. In order to ensure that the charging capacitor is always quickly and properly charged, the exciting frequency is varied within a predetermined frequency range during a charging phase so that it passes in the vicinity of the resonant frequency at least once.

Claims

1. An antitheft system, comprising:

a stationary unit having a first oscillating circuit with an antenna;

a portable unit having a second oscillating circuit with a coil, and an energy accumulator connected to said second oscillating circuit; and

an oscillator oscillating with an oscillator frequency and having an output variable used as exciting variable with an exciting frequency for causing an oscillation of said first oscillating circuit, the exciting frequency changing for a first, predetermined period of time within a predetermined frequency range as soon as an energy supply of said stationary unit is switched on, to transmit energy signals inductively from said antenna to said coil, for at least partially charging said energy accumulator of said portable unit.

2. The antitheft system according to claim 1, wherein:

said stationary unit is a transceiver disposed in a motor vehicle;

said portable unit is a portable transponder having an item of code information, said transponder modulates the oscillation of said first oscillating circuit within a second, predetermined period of time as a function of the code information of said first oscillating circuit as soon as said energy accumulator is at least partially charged, for supplying said transponder with energy from said energy accumulator; and

an evaluation unit receives the oscillation of said first oscillating circuit, senses the modulated oscillation, demodulates the code information from the modulated oscillation, compares the code information with an item of reference code information in a comparator and transmits an enable signal for a security assembly upon a correspondence between the code information and the reference code information.

3. The antitheft system according to claim 1, wherein the exciting frequency is changed within the predetermined frequency range in prescribed increments.

4. The antitheft system according to claim 1, wherein the exciting frequency is changed continuously within the predetermined frequency range.

5. The antitheft system according to claim 2, wherein said first oscillating circuit of said transceiver has a resonant frequency changing at every exciting frequency in prescribed increments.

6. The antitheft protection system according to claim 1, including an adjustable frequency divider changing the exciting frequency.

7. The antitheft system according to claim 3, including a generator having a variable control parameter, said oscillator changing the exciting frequency, and the output variable of said oscillator depending upon the variable control parameter of said generator.

8. The antitheft system according to claim 2, wherein said transponder is disposed on an ignition key, and said transceiver receives the energy supply upon turning the ignition key in an ignition lock.

9. The antitheft system according to claim 1, wherein the exciting frequency is changed only within a predetermined period of time after the energy supply is switched on.

10. The antitheft system according to claim 1, including a coil inductively coupling said transponder to said antenna.

11. The antitheft system according to claim 2, wherein the security assembly is a door lock.

12. The antitheft system according to claim 2, wherein the security assembly is an immobilizer.