Vehicle engine operation

• US 10,807,562 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2019
• Issued: 10/20/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tracker Network Limited (HM Treasury)
• Original Assignee: Tracker Network Limited (HM Treasury)
• Inventors: Whitlock, Roderick
• Primary Examiner(s): Kuntz, Curtis A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kingston, Shawna M
• Application Number:
  US16/399,442
• Publication Number:
  US 20190389425A1
• Time in Patent Office: 539 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/1003 Alarm systems characterised by arm or disarm features
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/1004 Alarm systems characterised by the type of sensor, e.g. current sensing means using door lock sensors B60R25/1001
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/1018 Alarm systems characterised by features related to the general power supply
• 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: F02D 2041/1432 the system including a filter, e.g. a low pass or high pass filter
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/00 Electrical control of supply of combustible mixture or its constituents F02D43/00 takes precedence ; control of engine starters F02N11/08, electrical control of engine ignition timing F02P5/145
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/042 for stopping the engine
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/062 for starting F02D41/061 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/0848 with means for detecting successful engine start, e.g. to stop starter actuation
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 2200/063 Battery voltage
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0816 Indicating performance data, e.g. occurrence of a malfunction
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0841 Registering performance data recording measured values G01D; information storage G11B
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40039 Details regarding the setting of the power status of a node according to activity on the bus
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/40215 Controller Area Network CAN
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/40273 the transportation system being a vehicle

Abstract

Disclosed is a system for detecting an operating state of a vehicle engine. The system comprises: an input coupled to a power line of a vehicle; means to filter out relatively high frequency transient noise components of a signal received from the power line; a first detector for receiving the filtered signal and detecting when transient noise associated with the power line rises above a first threshold and generating a first detection signal in response thereto; a second detector for receiving the filtered signal and detecting when the transient noise falls below a second threshold, which is lower than the first threshold, and generating a second detection signal in response thereto; and means for generating a first output signal in response to the first detection signal and a second output signal in response to the second detection signal.

Claims

1. A system for detecting an operating state of a vehicle engine, the system comprising:

an input to couple in a signal from a power line of a vehicle;

a low-pass filter to output a filtered signal by filtering the signal received from the power line to remove transient noise components of the signal;

a first detector to receive the filtered signal and detect when transient noise in the filtered signal rises above a first voltage threshold and generate a first detection signal in response thereto;

a second detector to receive the filtered signal and detect when transient noise in the filtered signal falls below a second voltage threshold, which is lower than the first voltage threshold, and generate a second detection signal in response thereto, wherein the first voltage threshold and the second voltage threshold are variable and are tuned to operate with different vehicles with different levels of noise voltage; and

a circuit to generate a first output signal in response to the first detection signal and a second output signal in response to the second detection signal.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first voltage threshold is set at a level that is higher than a level of transient noise associated with signaling activity on a controller area network of the vehicle when the engine is running.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the second voltage threshold is set at a level that is lower than a level of transient noise associated with signaling activity on a controller area network when the vehicle engine is switched off.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the input rejects any DC component of the signal received from the power line.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the input rejects noise frequencies that exceed frequencies associated with alternator operation.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein a cut-off frequency of the low-pass filter exceeds 1 kHz.

7. The system of claim 1,

wherein the first voltage threshold is higher than the second voltage threshold and wherein the first detector comprises a low-gain signal path and the second detector comprises a high-gain signal path, whereby signals from the first path are in the same signal level range as signals from the second path.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the first and second paths include threshold detectors, which operate over the same signal range of operation.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the first threshold is arranged to indicate the operation of a high current electrical ignition system for starting a vehicle engine.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the second threshold is arranged to indicate that the engine has been switched off.

9. A security system for a vehicle comprising:

an input to couple in a signal from a power line of a vehicle;

a low-pass filter to output a filtered signal by filtering the signal received from the power line to remove transient noise components of the signal;

a first detector to receive the filtered signal and detect when transient noise in the filtered signal rises above a first voltage threshold and generate a first detection signal in response thereto;

a second detector to receive the filtered signal and detect when transient noise in the filtered signal falls below a second voltage threshold, which is lower than the first voltage threshold and generate a second detection signal in response thereto, wherein the first voltage threshold and the second voltage threshold are variable and are tuned to operate with different vehicles with different levels of noise voltage; and

a circuit to generate a first output signal in response to the first detection signal and a second output signal in response to the second detection signal;

wherein the security system is configured to arm in response to the second output signal and to disarm in response to the first output signal.

10. The security system of claim 9, comprising a movement detector, which is arranged to trigger an alarm signal if a respective vehicle is moved while the system is armed.

11. The security system of claim 10, wherein the alarm signal is communicated to a detector, which is remote from the vehicle.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause a computing device to:

output a filtered signal by filtering a signal received from a power line of a vehicle to remove transient noise components of the signal;

detect when transient noise in the filtered signal rises above a first voltage threshold and generate a first detection signal in response thereto;

detect when transient noise in the filtered signal falls below a second voltage threshold, which is lower than the first voltage threshold and generate a second detection signal in response thereto, wherein the first voltage threshold and the second voltage threshold are variable and are tuned to operate with different vehicles with different levels of noise voltage;

and generate a first output signal in response to the first detection signal and a second output signal in response to the second detection signal.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the first voltage threshold is set at a level that is higher than a level of transient noise associated with signaling activity on a controller area network of the vehicle when the engine is running.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the second voltage threshold is set at a level that is lower than the level of transient noise associated with signaling activity on a controller area network when the vehicle engine is switched off.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the input rejects any DC component of the signal received from the power line.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the input rejects noise frequencies that exceed frequencies associated with alternator operation.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein a cut-off frequency of the low-pass filter exceeds 1 kHz.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12,

wherein the first voltage threshold is higher than the second voltage threshold and wherein the first detector comprises a low-gain signal path and the second detector comprises a high-gain signal path, whereby signals from the first path are in the same signal level range as signals from the second path.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the first and second paths include threshold detectors, which operate over the same signal range of operation.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the first threshold is arranged to indicate the operation of a high current electrical ignition system for starting a vehicle engine.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the second threshold is arranged to indicate that the engine has been switched off.