Circuit for selectively producing switching signals, especially for a vehicle door locking, a vehicle, system and method equipped therewith for protecting areas of risk as well as a system, system components and method for hermetically transferring validatable data

• US 8,665,077 B2
• Filed: 08/18/2003
• Issued: 03/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microchip Technology Germany GmbH (Microchip Technology Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: IDENT Technology AG (Microchip Technology Incorporated)
• Inventors: Richter, Wolfgang, Donat, Stefan, Rosenbeck, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Zimmerman, Brian
• Assistant Examiner(s): EUSTAQUIO, CAL J
• Application Number:
  US10/524,933
• Publication Number:
  US 20060261672A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,851 Days
• Field of Search: 340/426.16, 340/5.2, 307/149
• US Class Current: 340/425.5
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01516 using force or pressure sensing means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2325/101 Bluetooth
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/2027 with data signals passing through the human body
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00404 starting with prompting the lock
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00777 by induction
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2209/65 using means for sensing the user's hand
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00309 operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00563 using personal physical data of the operator, e.g. finger prints, retinal images, voicepatterns

Abstract

The invention relates to a circuit for selectively producing switching signals, in particular signals used for locking vehicle doors, a vehicle provided with said circuit, a system and method for protecting areas of risk and a system, components and method for hermetically transferring validated data. For automotive engineering, it is desired that certain switching processes in or outside the vehicle like the opening of a door, the actuation of a start button or the activation of a parking brake be carried out exclusively by a driver. The aim of said invention is to develop the solutions which make it possible to advantageously produce distinctive signals for coordinating a switching process. For this purpose, the inventive method for generating switching signals consists in producing said signals according to the selective activation of a switching device by a user. The inventive circuit is characterized in that the device signal is emitted towards the user and is transmitted by the user during the actuation of the switching device. The switching signal is produced by said device.

Claims

1. A method for the controlling of a plurality of switches each capable of generating a respective device-specific control signal, the method comprising the step of:

providing a device comprising a first conductive surface and establishing through said first conductive surface a first capacitive coupling with a first body part of a user;

providing in said device a plurality of electrically insulated function switch units each comprising a respective capacitive touch button operable to establish a respective second capacitive coupling between an associated switch unit and a second body part of the user wherein the first capacitive coupling is arranged remote from the second capacitive couplings and a body of the user bridges the first and second capacitive coupling of the device when the second body part of the user is in proximity to the capacitive touch button;

generating an alternating-current and feeding the alternating-current to a second conductive surface of the device wherein the second conductive surface is operable to establish a plurality of third capacitive couplings with said plurality of electrically isolated function switch units, wherein each function switch unit individually modulates the alternating-current to generate an electric field through the respective second capacitive coupling which is applied to the second body part of the user as a unidirectional signal in proximity to the respective second capacitive coupling;

and wherein a signal generated by modulating the alternating current is received at the first conductive surface through the body when the second body part of the user is in proximity to the capacitive touch button; and

decoding the received signal in said device to control a function defined by the respective function switch unit.

2. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the device is a motor vehicle.

3. The method defined in claim 2, wherein a plurality of first conductive surfaces are arranged in seats of said motor vehicle.

4. The method defined in claim 1, wherein each function switch unit comprises a register with an identification number and wherein the method further comprises to bit-wise feed an electronic switch with said identification number in the function switch unit to vary the loading of the alternating-current.

5. The method defined in claim 4, wherein a plurality of first conductive surfaces are arranged in seats of said motor vehicle and wherein each seat is associated with a respective receiver to decode function signals received by an associated first capacitive coupling.

6. The method defined in claim 5, wherein each function switch unit is powered rectifying a current of the received signal and charging a power supply capacitor with the rectified current.

7. The method defined in claim 6, wherein the second conductive surface is formed by a conductive foil and the function switch units are arranged above said foil and are capacitively coupled with said foil.

8. A device comprising a plurality of switches each capable of generating a respective device-specific control signal, the device comprising:

a first conductive surface configured to establish through said first conductive surface a first capacitive coupling with a first body part of a user and a plurality of electrically insulated function switch units each comprising a respective capacitive touch button operable to establish a respective second capacitive coupling between an associated switch unit and a second body part of the user wherein the first capacitive coupling is arranged remote from the second capacitive couplings and a body of the user bridges the first and second capacitive coupling of the device when the second body part of the user is in proximity to the capacitive touch button;

a control unit operable to generate an alternating-current and to feed the alternating-current to a second conductive surface of the device, wherein the second conductive surface is operable to establish a plurality of third capacitive couplings with said plurality of electrically insulated function switch units, wherein each function switch unit individually modulates the alternating-current to generate an electric field through the respective second capacitive coupling which is applied to the second body part of the user as a unidirectional signal in proximity to the respective second capacitive coupling;

and wherein when the second body part of the user is approximate the first capacitive coupling a signal is transmitted through the body by the respective second capacitive coupling and received by the first capacitive coupling and the control unit decodes the received signal to control a function of the device defined by the respective function switch unit.

9. The device according to claim 8, wherein the device is a motor vehicle.

10. The device according to claim 9, wherein a plurality of first conductive surfaces are arranged in seats of said motor vehicle.

11. The device according to claim 8, wherein each function switch unit comprises a register with an identification number and wherein the method further comprises to bit-wise feed an electronic switch in the function switch unit said identification number to vary the loading of the alternating-current.

12. The device according to claim 11, wherein each function switch unit is capacitively coupled with said control unit through a conductive foil.

13. The device according to claim 12, wherein each function switch unit comprises a rectifier and storage capacitor for storing a DC operating voltage derived from said alternating current.