Antitheft apparatus and antitheft auxiliary device

• US 6,873,252 B2
• Filed: 06/13/2003
• Issued: 03/29/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation)
• Inventors: Ono, Kouhei
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu, Daniel
• Assistant Examiner(s): Walk, Samuel J.
• Application Number:
  US10/460,475
• Publication Number:
  US 20040075553A1
• Time in Patent Office: 655 Days
• Field of Search: 340/426.16, 340/436, 340/539.1, 340/539.15, 340/539.17, 340/539.21, 340/539.3, 340/568.1, 307/9.1, 307/10.1, 307/10.2
• US Class Current: 340/436
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/1012 Zone surveillance means, e.g. parking lots, truck depots
• 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 25/009 Signalling of the alarm condition to a substation whose identity is signalled to a central station, e.g. relaying alarm signals in order to extend communication range

Abstract

An antitheft apparatus installed in a vehicle A includes determination unit for transferring data to and from at least one different vehicle B, C in a state in which it should not move and determining whether or not the vehicle A exists on the periphery of the different vehicle B, C based on the response state of the different vehicle B, C to a response request sent from the vehicle A, and emergency handling unit for determining that an emergency such as theft of the vehicle A occurs and performing predetermined emergency handling if the determination unit determines that the vehicle A does not exist on the periphery of the different vehicle B, C.

Claims

1. An antitheft apparatus installed in a mobile unit, for preventing the mobile unit from getting stolen, the antitheft apparatus comprising:

a communication unit for short range communication;

a communication control unit for transmitting and receiving data to and from a counterpart using the communication unit when the mobile unit is set in a security mode, wherein the communication control unit transmits a response request signal to the counterpart;

a presence determination unit for determining as to whether or not another mobile unit being set in the security mode exists in a predetermined area, on the basis of a response signal to the response request signal from the counterpart; and

an emergency handling unit for conducting a predetermined emergency process when the presence determination unit determines that another mobile unit does not exist in the predetermined area.

2. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined area is an area in a predetermined radius of the mobile unit.

3. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined area is an area in a predetermined radius of an antitheft auxiliary unit provided in an immobile unit.

4. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a communication start request unit for transmitting a communication start request signal to the counterpart using the communication unit; and

a reply unit for transmitting a reply signal to the communication start request signal to the counterpart using the communication unit, when the communication start request signal is transmitted from the counterpart and the communication control unit accepts the communication start request signal.

5. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a communication termination request unit for transmitting to the counterpart a signal indicating a request for communication termination using the communication unit.

6. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a response request timing setting unit for setting a timing of transmitting the response request signal, wherein;

the communication control unit transmits the response request signal to the counterpart in accordance with the set timing.

7. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the response request timing setting unit sets the timing on the basis of environmental information concerning the mobile unit.

8. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the presence determination unit determines that the another mobile unit does not exist in the predetermined area, when the response signal to the response request signal is not transmitted from the counterpart during a first predetermined time period.

9. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising:

a first time period setting unit for setting the first predetermined time period, wherein;

the presence determination unit makes the determination in accordance with the first predetermined time period set by the first time period setting unit.

10. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the presence determination unit determines that the another mobile unit does not exist in the predetermined area, when the response signal to the response request signal is not transmitted from the counterpart a predetermined number of times.

11. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising:

a number-of-times setting unit for setting the predetermined number of times, wherein;

the presence determination unit makes the determination in accordance with the predetermined number of times set by the number-of-times setting unit.

12. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an identification code storage unit for storing an identification code which identifies the counterpart, wherein;

the communication control unit transmitting and receiving the data to and from the counterpart using the identification code stored in the identification code storage unit.

13. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a security mode setting unit for setting the mobile unit in the security mode when the security mode setting unit determines that a second predetermined time period has elapsed since a user conducted a predetermined action.

14. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising:

a second time period setting unit for setting the second predetermined time period, wherein;

the security mode setting unit makes the determination in accordance with the second predetermined time period set by the second time period setting unit to set the mobile unit in the security mode.

15. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising:

a first security mode cancel unit for canceling the security mode when the first security mode cancel unit determines that a third predetermined time period has elapsed since a user conducted a predetermined action and the mobile unit is set in the security mode.

16. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 15 further comprising:

a third time period setting unit for setting the third predetermined time period, wherein;

the first security mode cancel unit makes the determination in accordance with the third predetermined time period set by the third time period setting unit to cancel the security mode.

17. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising:

a lock code storage unit for storing a lock code used to cancel the security mode; and

a second security mode cancel unit for canceling the security mode when a predetermined condition is satisfied, wherein;

the predetermined condition includes a condition that a code input by a user matches the lock code stored in the lock code storage unit.

18. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 17 further comprising:

a lock code rewrite unit for writing a new code input by the user into the lock code storage unit to update the lock code.

19. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the emergency handling unit notifies an occurrence of an emergency to the surroundings of the mobile unit when the presence determination unit determines that another mobile unit does not exist in the predetermined area.

20. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the emergency handling unit transmits a signal indicating an occurrence of an emergency to a periphery of the mobile unit using the communication unit, when the presence determination unit determines that the another mobile unit does not exist in the predetermined area.

21. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 18 further comprising:

a notification unit for notifying the occurrence of the emergency on the periphery of the mobile unit to surrounding of the mobile unit upon reception of the signal indicating the occurrence of the emergency.

22. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a mobile unit communication device for wide range communication, wherein;

the emergency handling unit determines whether or not the mobile unit falls into an emergency, on the basis of mobile unit information concerning the mobile unit; and

the emergency handling unit transmits emergency information indicating that the mobile unit falls into the emergency to at least one of an emergency facility using the mobile unit communication device and a periphery of the mobile unit using the communication unit, when the emergency handling unit determines that the mobile unit falls into the emergency.

23. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the emergency information includes the mobile unit information.

24. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the counterpart is a plurality of counterparts, the antitheft apparatus further comprising:

a move direction calculation unit for calculating a move direction of the mobile unit on the basis of states of the response signals from the counterparts, wherein;

the mobile unit information included in the emergency information includes information concerning the move direction of the mobile unit calculated by the move direction calculation unit.

25. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the mobile unit information included in the emergency information includes run path information provided as position information accumulates.

26. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the emergency handling unit determines whether or not the another mobile unit falls into an emergency, on the basis of mobile unit information concerning the mobile unit; and

the emergency handling unit transmits emergency information indicating that the another mobile unit falls into the emergency to at least one of an emergency facility and a periphery of the mobile unit using the communication unit, when the emergency handling unit determines that the another mobile unit falls into the emergency.

27. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 26, further comprising:

an emergency information transmission unit for transmitting the emergency information to at least one of the emergency facility and the periphery of the mobile unit using the communication unit, when the mobile unit receives the emergency information.

28. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the emergency information transmission unit increments a count value and adds the incremented count value to the emergency information.

29. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the emergency information transmission unit determines whether or not the emergency information transmission unit transmits the emergency information on the basis of an elapsed time since a first transmission time of the emergency information.

30. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the emergency information transmission unit determines whether or not the emergency information transmission unit transmits the emergency information on the basis of distance between a first transmission point of the emergency information and a current position of the mobile unit.

31. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

a data preparation unit for preparing data transmitted to the counterpart on the basis of a header part of data transmitted from the counterpart, wherein:

the communication control unit transmits the data prepared by the data preparation unit to the counterpart.

32. The antitheft apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising:

an information unit for informing a user that the counterpart to which the response request signal is to be transmitted does not exist, when it is determined that the counterpart does not exist.

33. An antitheft auxiliary device for transferring data to and from an antitheft apparatus including:

a communication unit;

a communication control unit for transmitting and receiving data to and from a counterpart using the communication unit when the mobile unit is set in a security mode, the communication control unit for transmits a response request signal to the counterpart;

a presence determination unit for determining as to whether or not another mobile unit being set in the security mode exists in a predetermined area, on the basis of a response signal to the response request signal from the counterpart; and

an emergency handling unit for conducting a predetermined emergency process when the presence determination unit determines that the another mobile unit does not exist in the predetermined area,

the antitheft auxiliary device provided in an immobile unit,

the antitheft auxiliary device comprising;

a response unit for transmitting the response signal to the response request signal, when the response unit receives the response request signal from the antitheft apparatus.

34. The antitheft system comprising:

a plurality of antitheft apparatuses installed in mobile units; and

an antitheft auxiliary device provided in an immobile unit, wherein;

each of antitheft apparatuses includes;

a communication unit;

a communication control unit for transmitting and receiving data to and from the other antitheft apparatuses and the antitheft auxiliary device using the communication unit when the mobile unit is set in a security mode, the communication control unit for transmits a response request signal to the other antitheft apparatuses and the antitheft auxiliary;

a presence determination unit for determining as to whether or not another mobile unit being set in the security mode exists in a predetermined area, on the basis of a response signal to the response request signal from the other antitheft apparatuses and the antitheft auxiliary; and

an emergency handling unit for conducting a predetermined emergency process when the presence determination unit determines that the another mobile unit does not exist in the predetermined area; and

the antitheft auxiliary device includes;

a response unit for transmitting the response signal to the response request signal, when the response unit receives the response request signal from the antitheft apparatuses.