WO2005088575A1

WO2005088575A1 - Automatic calling system for preventing vehicle burglar

Info

Publication number: WO2005088575A1
Application number: PCT/KR2004/001970
Authority: WO
Inventors: Chi-Kyoung Kim
Original assignee: Chi-Kyoung Kim
Priority date: 2004-03-18
Filing date: 2004-08-05
Publication date: 2005-09-22
Also published as: KR100632303B1; CN1671164A; KR20050093050A

Abstract

Disclosed is an automatic calling system for a vehicle antitheft that, if a vibration sensor installed within a vehicle senses the vehicle theft, sends a message to a terminal or a telephone of a relevant user and notify the vehicle theft to the user. The inventive automatic calling system comprises a wireless terminal or a wire or wireless telephone of the user; and an automatic calling device. The automatic calling device comprises a transmitting/receiving section connected with a base station, a memory, an operating key, an opening and closing switch, a staring switch, an authenticating and discriminating section for comparing information that is received from the user with information about the wireless terminal or the wire or wireless telephone inputted in the memory to thereby discriminate the user authentication according to whether a match is found or not, and a controlling section form controlling the operation of the whole system.

Description

AUTOMATIC CALLING SYSTEM FOR PREVENTING VEHICLE BURGLAR

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a vehicle antitheft system and, more specifically, to an automatic calling system for a vehicle antitheft which previously prevents the vehicle theft by sensing whether the vehicle is robbed or damaged using a vibration sensor and sending a message to the terminal or the telephone of a relevant user, thereby monitoring the status of the vehicle at a real time even in a long distance.

BACKGROUND ART A conventional vehicle antitheft system that has been widely used is constituted to warn the driver of a vehicle or those around the vehicle of the vehicle tlieft by sensing the shock applied to the vehicle or the starting of the vehicle using a vibration sensor and, upon abnormality, automatically generating alarm. Meanwhile, the conventional vehicle antitheft system has problems in that, since an alarm within a vehicle sounds continuously at predetermined time intervals until a driver stops the alarm noise, the alarm make a noise around the vehicle, and, since the driver does not hear the sound of the alarm in case that the driver is remote from the vehicle, the driver cannot recognize promptly the status of the vehicle. Further, lately, there have been happened frequently a case that an intruder who accesses having dishonest motive temporarily stops the alarm within the vehicle and enters the vehicle without permission. Thus, an alternative plan for preventing such a case is required.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the invention to provide an automatic calling system for preventing a vehicle theft, for sensing whether the vehicle is robbed or damaged using a vibration sensor installed within the vehicle, sending a message to a terminal or a telephone of an user if it is abnormal, and generating alarm, thereby monitoring the status of the vehicle at a real time even in a long distance. The above objects are accomplished by an automatic calling system for sensing theft or damage of a vehicle through a vibration sensor within the vehicle and notifying the sensed status to a user, the system comprising: a wireless terminal or a wire or wireless telephone of the user; and an automatic calling device installed in the vehicle for previously setting a telephone number of the wireless terminal or the wire or wireless telephone, and automatically transmitting an alarm signal to the telephone number if the alarm signal is generated from the vibration sensor, thereby notifying theft or damage of the vehicle to the user. Further, the automatic calling system comprises: a transmitting/receiving section connected with a base station for communicating with the wireless terminal or the wire or wireless terminal; a memory for storing information of password of the user's own for an user authentication, a calling telephone number of the wireless terminal or the wire or wireless telephone, and information of a control signal for controlling the vehicle; an operating key for setting various operations and information; an opening and closing switch for controlling the operation of an opening and closing controller for opening and closing a door of the vehicle by on- off control; a starting switch for controlling the operation of a starting controller for controlling ON/OFF of the starting of the vehicle by on-off control; an authenticating and discriminating section for comparing information about the wireless terminal or the wire or wireless telephone that is received from the user with information about the wireless terminal or the wire or wireless telephone that is previously inputted in the memory, thereby discriminating the user authentication according to whether a match is found or not; and a controlling section for storing various information inputted by the operating key into the memory, detecting the telephone number stored in the memory if the alarm signal is generated from the vibration sensor, and transmitting the stored telephone number together with the alarm signal to the transmitting/receiving section, the controlling section transmitting information about the wireless terminal or the wire or wireless telephone to the authenticating and discriminating section to authenticate the user if the control signal is received from the wireless terminal or the wire or wireless telephone of the user, thereby interrupting the control signal and instructing a execution command to a relevant module.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram for showing an automatic calling system according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a block diagram for schematically showing an automatic calling device according to the invention; Fig. 3 is a flow diagram for showing the operation of an automatic calling device according to the invention; Fig. 4 is a flow diagram for showing in detail Fig. 3; and Fig. 5 is a flow diagram for showing a motion for remotely controlling a vehicle through a terminal or a wire or wireless telephone according to the invention.

BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The invention will be described in further detail by way of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram for showing an automatic calling system for preventing a vehicle theft according to the invention, and Fig. 2 is a block diagram for schematically showing an automatic calling system according to the invention. Referring to Fig. 1, an automatic calling system 1 according to the invention comprises a vehicle 10 which is mounted with a vibration sensor 11 for sensing a vibration generated by a shock or a starting of the vehicle, a wireless terminal 40 or a wire or wireless telephone 60 for notifying a relevant user (or driver) of an alarm signal generated from the vibration sensor 11, and a base station 20, a mobile communication network 30 and a telephone office 50 for sending a message to the wireless terminal 40 or the wire or wireless telephone 60. Thus, if the vibration due to the shock or the starting of the vehicle 10 is sensed by the vibration sensor 11, the message for notifying theft or damage of the vehicle is sent to a user through the terminal of the user, wherein, while the message is sent through the base station 20 and the mobile communication network 30 when transmitting using the wireless terminal 40, it is sent through the base station 20 and the telephone office 50 when transmitting using the wire or wireless telephone 60. Here, the terms "terminal" is used as meaning that unifies the wireless terminal 40 and the wire or wireless telephone 60. Hereinafter, they are referred to as "terminal" for convenience. The mobile communication network 30 adopts a communicating method such as CDMA or GSM. Further, conversely, the user may remotely control the vehicle by connecting to the base station 20 through the communication networks (for example, mobile communication network and PSTN) using the wireless terminal 40 or the wire or wireless telephone 60, respectively. The vehicle 10 is installed with various application programs including the vibration sensor 11 and an alarm 12 to mount an automatic calling device 100 for automatically calling the user when the vehicle is robbed and damaged. The user' s terminals 40 and 60 are installed with an option and an operating system for controlling the vehicle. The above automatic calling device 100, as shown in Fig.2, comprises the vibration sensor 11 for sensing the vibration of the vehicle 10, a opening and closing switch 102, a starting switch 103, a transmitting/receiving section 104, a controlling section 105, a memory 106, a timer 107, a operating key 108, an authenticating and discriminating section 109, and an alarm operating switch 110. Specifically, the vibration sensor 11, as described above, consists of a sensor for sensing the vibration of the vehicle 10, wherein it senses by classifying an generation cause such as whether the sensed vibration is generated by the shock applied form the outside or whether it is generated by the starting of the vehicle. The opening and closing switch 102 controls the operation of an opening and closing controller which serves to open and close a door of the vehicle by on-off control. The starting switch 103 controls the operation of a starting controller for controlling ON/OFF of the staring of the vehicle by on-off control. The transmitting/receiving section 104 is connected with the base station 20 for performing data communication with the terminals 40 and 60. The memory 106 stores each telephone number corresponding to the user' s terminals 40 and 60. Further, in case that there are a number of users, it stores database of each user' s password. Further, it classifies information about a control command signal for controlling the vehicle 10. The timer 107 performs a function for notifying the time of a vehicle theft and then notifying the limited operation time of the alarm 119 that will be described hereinafter. The operating key 107 serves to manipulate various operations and information, wherein it inputs a vehicle number of the vehicle 10 and a telephone number of the terminals 40 and 60 and sets each user' s password for authenticating the user. Further, it sets ON/OFF of the alarm-operating switch 110. The authenticating and discriminating section 109, if a predetermined control signal is received through the transmitting/receiving section 104 from the user' s terminals 40 and 60, compares the telephone number that is received from the terminals 40 and 60 with the telephone number that is previously inputted in the memory 106 and then discriminates the user authentication according to whether a match is found or not. The alarm-operating switch 110, if the vibration sensor 112 senses an abnormal status, controls the operation of the alarm 12 that is installed in the vehicle 10 by on-off control to generate alarm sound. While the controlling section 105 controls operation of the whole system, it stores information inputted by the operating key 108 into the memory 106. Further, if the vibration sensor 11 senses the abnormal status, the controlling section 105 instructs an operation command to the alarm-operating switch 110. Further, after the controlling section 105 detects the user' s telephone number stored in the memory 106, it transmits information of the relevant telephone number and the alarm signal to the transmitting/receiving section 104. At this time, the controlling section 105 classifies the vibration (for example, the vibration due to a shock generated from the outside or the vibration due to a starting of the vehicle) sensed by the vibration sensor 1 1 , and then transmits the classified information to the user' s terminals 40 and 60. Further, conversely, if the controlling section 105 receives a predetermined control signal through the authenticating and discriminating section 109 that controls the vehicle 10 from the terminals 40 and 60, it sends the telephone number received from the terminals 40 and 60 to the authenticating and discriminating section 109, and then, if the authentication is accepted, interprets the received control signal based on information stored in the memory 106, thereby instructing an execution command to a relevant module. The manner of operation of the above automatic calling device 100 will be explained particularly with reference to the flow diagrams in Figs. 3 to 5. Fig. 3 is a flow diagram for showing the operation of an automatic calling system according to the invention, Fig. 4 is a flow diagram for showing in detail Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is a flow diagram for showing a motion for remotely controlling a vehicle through a terminal or a wire or wireless telephone according to the invention. As shown in Fig. 3, if power is supplied to the automatic calling device 100 of the invention so that the device 100 is on, a user inputs the calling telephone number of the terminals 40 and 60, which the user intends to use, through the operating key 108. (SI, S2) That is, as shown in Fig. 4, the password of the user' s own for a user registration is inputted and then the authentication through login is accepted. Then, the calling telephone number of the user' s own is inputted. (S21 ~ S24) At this time, the telephone number may be the telephone number of the wireless terminal 40 or the telephone number of the general wire or wireless telephone. Further, in case that there are a number of users, it is preferable to classify the password according to each of the users and register it. Further, the priority order is given in the calling telephone numbers inputted by the users. If there is another calling telephone number, the relevant telephone number thereof is inputted, and then the priority order is reset. As a result, when automatically calling, the telephone number having a top priority order is called. (S25) This allows the user to identify at a real time by changing the terminal according to the moving of the user, whether the user has the terminal or not, and the circumstance for receiving signal, and to remotely control the vehicle using various terminals even in a long distance. Then, if there is no telephone number for inputting, the user registration process is closed. (S26) As such, after inputting the calling telephone number, the control signal is set so that the user may perform a basic control of the vehicle such as the opening and closing of the door of the vehicle or ON/OFF of the starting of the vehicle using terminals 40 and 60. (S3) Preferably, the control signal may be set to be classified according to a number of a button of the terminals 40 and 60 to allow the user to easily control. Further, preferably, the user may change the number for security. For example, as shown in the following table 1, the number ' of the button of the terminals 40 and 60 may be set as a command signal for opening the door of the vehicle, the number ^2' may be set as a command signal for closing the door of the vehicle, the number ^λ3 ' may be set as a starting on command signal of the vehicle, and the number ' may be set as a starting off command signal of the vehicle. [Table 1 ]

Thus, the control signals that are set as the numbers ' and 2' controls ON/OFF of the opening and closing switch 102 in the automatic calling device 100 to control opening and closing of the door of the vehicle, and the control signals that are set as the numbers 3 ' and ' controls ON/OFF of the starting switch 103 to control ON/OFF of the starting of the vehicle. If the above steps are finished, the vibration sensor 11 within the vehicle 10 is driven, thereby sensing whether the vibration resulted from a shock of the vehicle or a starting of the vehicle is generated or not. (S4 and S5) If the vibration is sensed and then the alarm signal is generated from the vibration sensor 11 , the alarm operating switch 110 is on to generate the alarm sound.

Further, the user' s calling telephone number that is inputted previously is detected and then the relevant telephone number is dialed to send the message, thereby notifying theft or damage of the vehicle to the user. (S6 ~ S8) For example, if the vibration sensor 11 senses the vibration due to a shock of the outside, the alarm sound is generated and the text message such as "Vehicle Number 0000, Occurrence of Damage" is sent to the inputted telephone number. Meanwhile, if the vibration sensor 11 senses the vibration due to a starting of the vehicle, the alarm sound is generated and the text message such as "Vehicle Number 0000, Occurrence of Theft" is sent to the inputted telephone number. At this time, the alarm operating switch 110 is set turned off, thereby making it possible not to generate the alarm sound. Further, the number of times of notification is set, thereby making it possible to repeatedly send a message at a predetermined time interval. Meanwhile, when receiving the message of theft or damage from the vehicle 10 or controlling the vehicle in a long distance, in case of substituting a lock key due to the loss of the lock key, the vehicle may be controlled by the operation shown in Fig. 5. That is, if receiving the signal through the base station 20 from the wireless terminal 40 or the wire or wireless telephone 60, the automatic calling system 110 within the vehicle 10 compares the telephone number relevant to the received signal with the inputted telephone number. (SI 00 and SI 01) As a result, while, if a match is found, the received control signal is interpreted without special authentication, if a match is not occurred, it is required that the password of each user is inputted to the wireless terminal 40 or the wire or wireless telephone 60 of the user. (SI 02 and SI 03) Then, after comparing the inputted password with the password that is stored previously in the memory 115 and then discriminating whether a match is found or not, if they a match is not occurred, it is required to input a password again. Further, if a match is found, the received control signal is interpreted. (SI 04 ~ SI 06) As a result, a control command according to the received control signal is transmitted to the opening and closing switch 102 or the starting switch 103, thereby instructing opening and closing of the door of the vehicle or ON/OFF of the starting. (S I 07)

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY From the foregoing, according to the invention, there are effects in that the vibration sensor of the vehicle senses theft and damage of the vehicle at a real time and, simultaneously, the alarm message is sent to the terminal of the user, thereby allowing the user to identify the fact of vehicle theft even in a long distance. Further, there are another effects in that the user remotely controls opening and closing of the door of the vehicle and ON/OFF of the starting using the wireless terminal or the wire or wireless telephone, thereby preventing theft of the vehicle at once in a long distance, and the user can use the system of the invention in stead of the lock key even in case of losing the lock key.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. An automatic calling system for sensing theft or damage of a vehicle through a vibration sensor within the vehicle and notifying the sensed status to a user, the system comprising: a wireless terminal or a wire or wireless telephone of the user; and an automatic calling device installed in the vehicle for previously setting a telephone number of the wireless terminal or the wire or wireless telephone, and automatically transmitting an alarm signal to the telephone number if the alarm signal is generated from the vibration sensor, thereby notifying theft or damage of the vehicle to the user.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the automatic calling device comprises: a transmitting/receiving section connected with a base station for communicating with the wireless terminal or the wire or wireless terminal; a memory for storing information of password of the user's own for an user authentication, a calling telephone number of the wireless terminal or the wire or wireless telephone, and information of a control signal for controlling the vehicle; an operating key for setting various operations and information; an opening and closing switch for controlling the operation of an opening and closing controller for opening and closing a door of the vehicle by on-off control; a starting switch for controlling the operation of a starting controller for controlling ON/OFF of the starting of the vehicle by on-off control; an authenticating and discriminating section for comparing information about the wireless terminal or the wire or wireless telephone that is received from the user with information about the wireless terminal or the wire or wireless telephone that is previously inputted in the memory, thereby discriminating the user authentication according to whether a match is found or not; and a controlling section for storing various information inputted by the operating key into the memory, detecting the telephone number stored in the memory if the alarm signal is generated from the vibration sensor, and transmitting the stored telephone number together with the alarm signal to the transmitting/receiving section, the controlling section transmitting information about the wireless terminal or the wire or wireless telephone to the authenticating and discriminating section to authenticate the user if the control signal is received from the wireless terminal or the wire or wireless telephone of the user, thereby interpreting the control signal and instructing a execution command to a relevant module.

3. A system according to claim 2, the automatic calling device further comprises an alarm operating switch for selectively controlling ON/OFF of the operation of the alarm to generate an alarm sound when the alarm signal is generated.