Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Method and system for remote monitoring and controlling of an object,
preferably vehicle to be
protected
Field of the Invention
The invention pertains generally to a method and a system for remote
monitoring and controlling of
an object to be protected, more particularly to a method and system for the
protection of buildings,
country houses, and for tracking of stolen vehicles.
Background of the Invention
Remote monitoring and controlling means monitoring an event and acts of
intervention of a defined
extent. The object to be protected may be movable or immovable objects,
equally characterized by
constituting pieces of property of some value that can become subjects of
wrongful behavior of un-
authocized persons, i.e. vehicles may be unlawfully appropriated,
unwarrantably used, burglars may
break into buildings, etc.
Several different protective systems have been developed in practice to
prevent, but at least to en-
cumber such unlawful actions, by adopting most up-to-date engineering
achievements to spoil the
expeditiousness of the different, ever newer and more and more sophisticated
wrongful acts.
Beyond the measures commonly termed burglar protection, monitoring of
different other events of
catastrophic character has gained ground due to its great importance, together
with providing the
possibility of making effective counteractions against such events, these
being done in the majority of
cases by expanding, partly understandably, the systems performing primarily
the task of "simple"
burglar protection.
Due to growing intensity of violent actions, one can hardly rely upon active
effective intervention of
outsiders present as eye witnesses at such wrongful acts, further, due to the
working methods of pro-
fessional protective organizations having come into being with such aim, the
remote surveillance of
protected objects utilizing for this purpose primarily the existing
communication systems corre-
sponding to the objectives considered as being of primary importance have
become predominant.
EP 0 366 378 A2 and US 5 276 728 show a long-distance connection provided by
cellular telephone
or other telecommunication means between the vehicle' sensor and an alarm
device. On intrusion into
the vehicle, protection is provided not only by the emission of usual acoustic
and optical signals and
by ignition blocking but further informative-operative protection is ensured
also by the cellular tele-
phone set located in the vehicle by dialing pre-determined telepbone numbers.
The owner or operator
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or other monitoring or protective dispatch center may get information of the
intrusion, listen to the
intruder, and send deterrent massages, or may even decide to stop the stolen
and moving vehicle by
interrupting its ignition circuit or other electronic control unit. Deficiency
of all these actions is that
such relatively simple defects can just as easily and quickly be eliminated
with more or less skill, the
vehicle thieves of our days usually being -unfortunately - in the possession
of rather broad technical
professional knowledge.
With all solutions linked up with a public telecommunication system serious
dii~culty is imposed on
the functioning or operating such a system that in peak-time periods
undisturbed and immediate
communication is not always possible. Such possible and momentary blackouts
cause serious diffi-
culties both in remote monitoring and controlling, i.e. disabling the vehicle
and, depending on the
protective system applied, it may temporarily obstruct the owner as well in
getting into his vehicle.
EP 0 242 099 A2 describes a theft-prevention and site-identification system,
in which the current lo-
ration of the protected object, in particular, of a vehicle or person is
defined by the coordinates pro-
vided by a microprocessor system, named Navsiar Global Positioning System,
GPS. On its activa-
I S tion caused e.g. by unauthorized opcning or starting or change of location
of a vehicle, the micro-
processor identifies itself at a central dispatch office, alarming the latter
and indicating the reason of
alarm. Information of momentary site of the protected object is periodically
actualized by sending
from time to time a train of digital signals to the central dispatch office by
means of cellular tele-
phone. The central dispatch office is also capable of calling the
microprocessor by addressing its in-
dividual identification number, and the central dispatch office is able to
determine the site of the ve-
hicle if the latter has been displaced without activating the microprocessor
protective system. The
system is, of course, provided with several logic inputs and outputs to which
input signal transmit-
ters and sensors and acoustic and optical alarm output devices known from the
field of alarm tech-
piques can be connected, and contains such actuating devices that can be
activated by being ad-
dressed by the protected vehicle also through the use of the cellular
telephone system, causing
thereby obstruction of operation of the protected object or rendering it
inoperative, simply by pro
ducing defects in the functioning of the vehicle or bringing it to be halt
while observing the require
ments of traffic safety. This arrangement neither excludes the possibility of
using) instead of a so
catled normal telephone available on the market, a so-called purpose-oriented
device suitable only for
performing the required functions.
In EP 0 449 471 A2) the integration of cellular telephone sets into the
vehicle safety system is pro-
posed whereby interfacing means are used by means of which a plurality of
different commercially
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available cellular telephone sets and different vehicle alarm systems may be
interconnected. The in-
terfacing means comprise a control means and a coupling means to connect the
cellular telephone
sets to the coatrol means. This coupling means contains a data library stored
in a memory for storing
the individual protocols required by the communication carried on with the
different cellular tele-
phones, and the system operator performs the adopting of the cellular
telephone and the alarm system
to each other in the course of activating the system. Primary aim of that
system is to utilize the cel-
lular telephone set of the vehicle for remote surveillance of the vehicle)
indicating the unauthorized
events or those causing damage, and providing for the owner or for the person
performing the task of
surveillance the possibility of getting into contact via the telephone
connection with the intruder or, in
case of failure of such an attempt, with the help of the various actuating
means, of drawing the at-
tention of near- by outsiders to the prevailing abnormal state of the vehicle,
as well as of rendering
the unauthorized use of the vehicle impossible.
In both cited documents the methods proposed for remote surveillance of an
object or objects consist
of keeping specific domains of a protected object - movable property or real
estate - under observa-
1 S lion, either continuously or periodically, and on detecting a change of
predetermined character or
extent - i.e. in the case of unauthorized intrusion - a local alarm is
initiated and a remote alarm signal
or an informative massage is transmitted through telecommunication means, to a
predetermined ad-
dress, or the location of the object given its by coordinates obtained from a
reference system, and
after transmission of local alarm, malfunction or inoperability of the
protected object expediently by
means of built-in and concealed actuators, further, by way of remote control
issued by the alarmed
address, the protected object is set, or can be set, into the state of partial
or total inoperability.
Although neither of said documents emphasizes, said operating steps initiated
by unauthorized intru-
sion give not even one percent of total operation of protective systems. In
overwhelining majority of
cases, the alert state is deliberately disarmed also by remote control) e.g.
when the owner returns to
the vehicle. This feature constitutes, at the same time, the Achilles heel of
the system, namely, the
techniques available today permit persons - without causing considerable
expenditure for them,
having once specialized themselves in that kind of money-making having got
hold of the code of re-
mote control or generating in series the known remote control code sequences, -
to disarming the
armed system and to render it thereby ineffective.
Though not representing a substantial item of expenditure compared to the
value of the protected
object) the use of commercial cellular telephone system will anyhow impose an
additional financial
burden on the owner and) if the alarm is not received in an anti-theft
dispatch center specially serving
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for that purpose, a further cellular telephone is required at the owner. It
may be regarded as a further
practical drawback that a cellular telephone can not always be used any time
and anywhere, partly
for technical partly for safety and partly for courtesy reasons) so neither
the commands sent by the
owner to the object through telecommunication means affecting operation of the
object can always
and under all circumstances be issued.
Summary of the Invention
Also, an object of the invention is to propose a method and system which does
not necessitates any
installed alarm system, which can be disarmed almost exclusively only by the
owner or a person
authorized by him, and which is capable of ensuring tracking, without
requiring necessarily a further
cellular telephone for forwarding signals and control commands through
telecommunication links,
having at the same time a long transmission range) and even if getting out of
the area covered by the
telecommunication system, it remains capable of maintaining automatically the
inoperative and dis-
abled state brought about by the issued alarm signal.
One further object is to make the invention suitable for ensuring effective
use of modern site-
detection means applicable to tracing the vehicle also in the course of its
transportation while mov-
ing, without its engine being kept running, e.g. when being transported by
another vehicle, and for
connecting said means to the system complying with the invention.
A further object is to permit repairing an artificially produced defect
(including blocking of restart-
ing) of a vehicle even for a highly skilled technician only if being in the
possession of information
linked up with some identification data of the vehicle knowv only by the owner
(or rightful user) or
his representative.
The invention is based on the recognition that a conventional alarm system can
though be disarmed
with the use of its own means at any time, but this blocking can automatically
be re-activated as long
as it is not prevented by means of a separate individual and specific code
issued by a person author-
ized to do so, and this code may be issued either through telecommunication
means (e.g. by making
use of the cellular telephone system), or at the site of the object. It has
been recognized further that
the multi-level arming/disarming operations of the system serving for guarding
the protected object
can be integrated with the control performed through telecommunication,
considering the aspects of
convenience as well. A much safer and quicker communication link can be
achieved in the data
transmission by utilizing SMS (Short Message Service). The GSM 900 system
renders possible to
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localize (identify the site of) a given cellular telephone and tracing its
movements, when keeping it
concealed in the vehicle and coupled with a site-identification unit.
It has also been recognized that in order to improve the level of safety -
e.g. to eliminate code crack-
ing - two remote control sets may be used, one of which is concealed in the
object and re-activates
the alarm system immediately after the latter has been disarmed. Thereby an
effective disarming is
only possible through a message transmitted to the cellular telephone arranged
hidden in the vehicle.
Further, it has been realized that in the vehicle such an artificial defect
may be produced which is
"life-like", not causing sudden stopping, and which can be repaired even by a
skilled technician only
if being in possession of information stored in the data base of the computer
concerning actual loca-
tion of a specific fuse or some other disconnecting device (e.g. relay) hidden
elsewhere in every case.
It has also been realized that arming/disarming may take place directly from
the cellular telephone
and, in the peak periods of telephone trallic) disarming, i.e. opening of the
vehicle, may be emitted by
an acoustic transmitter generating DTMF sounds or by the cellular telephone
acoustically, i.e. with-
out resorting to the GSM central dispatch oi~ce.
It has been recognized as well that the task of forwarding information
concerning property protection
can be provided also by a single-purpose communication apparatus of some
design simpler than a
cellular telephone of general purpose, also operating at the frequency range
of the cellular telephone,
but owing to its simple setup, it can be produced cheaper and installed
simpler) and the number of
external auxiliary elements required for its application is also lower.
In order to accomplish the set aim, on the one hand, a method suitable for
remote surveillance of
protected objects without built-in alarm system is proposed comprising the
steps of on leaving the
object to be protected introducing at least one malfunction of the object by
disconnecting operational
connections between several parts of the electrical, electronic or
electromechanical network of the
object via means inserted in a hidden manner into said network, and preferably
remote activating
said means; on returning to said object, canceling said introduced state;
inserting a control means
into the canceling path of said means introducing at least one malfunction of
the object to be pro-
tected, said control means being activable and de activable by an unique
secret owner code; activat-
ing said control means before leaving said object to be protected and after
introducing at least one
malfunction of the object; de-activating said control means on returning to
and before the access to
the protected object, well before canceling said introduced state of said
means for introducing at least
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one malfunction of the object; locally and/or remotely signaling to the owner
any unauthorized at-
tempt for de-activating said control means.
In cases where the object to be protected is associated with an alarm system,
the proposed method
comprising the steps of activating the monitoring continuously or periodically
of selected regions of
the object to be protected; at the same time introducing at least one
malfunction of the object; on own
demand deactivating the monitoring and malfunctioning; in other cases)
initializing a local alarm in
cases of changes in levels of one or more predetermined monitored values;
simultaneously transmit-
ting an alarm signal to at least one predetermined remote address) with
declaring the current position
of the object in certain cases; controlling further malfunction of the object
from said remote address;
maintaining the state of local and remote alarm in an unchangeable and
uncancelable manner, and;
under proper conditions canceling said state through local and/or remote
entering and validating a
personal canceling code.
In the course of achieving the aim an anti-theft apparatus has been developed
comprising user acti-
vated and deactivated means for causing malfunction of a protected object
without any installed
alarm systan, said means are inserted preferred in the electrical system of
said object and comprising
enabling/ disabling means, being in communication with remote means for
activating and deactivat-
ing said means for causing, transmitting a unique secret user code upon
activation to the enabling/
disabling means, wherein said apparatus further comprising means for enabling
or interrupting the
connection between said means for causing and the enabling/disabling means;
said means for ena-
bung or interrupting is arranged in a hidden manner in or at the protected
object and in communica-
tion with a further remote control held by the user and operable with at least
one changeable secret
user code, said means for enabling or interrupting transmits a signal to the
user each time when the
means for causing receives a deactivating signal.
In cases where the object to be protected is associated with an alarm system,
the system for remote
controlling an object to be protected, comprising a hidden alarm center with
remote control; one or
more sensor means connected to input means of said alarm center; one or more
optical and/or acous-
tical signaling means connected to output means of said alarm center; one or
more operating means
causing at least malfunction in the normal operation of said object;
communicating means for bi-
directional communication with a cellular telephone means; interface means
connected to the alarm
canter and the communicating means; uninterruptible power supply means,
wherein the interface
means having a remote control which transmits a secret personal code upon
activation, is in opera-
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tional connection W th said alarm center, continuously maintaining the
activated monitoring state of
said alarm center.
Further substantial and advantageous features of the invention are detailed in
the subclaims.
Brief Desc ~tion of the Drawings
The invention is described more detailed with reference to the accompanying
drawings, in which
Figure 1 is the block diagram of a first embodiment of the system according to
the inven-
hon,
Figure 2 shows a possible arrangement of the interface unit of the embodiment
shown in
Fig. I and its system connections,
Figures 3 to 5 illustrate in simplified form further possible arrangements of
functional connec-
Lions between interface unit and alarm center unit.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment
The invention is described with reference to its application accomplishing
remote monitoring and
controlling of a vehicle and an apartment, but 'rt can be adopted and applied
without restriction
within the claimed scope of protection.
The embodiment of Figure 1 presenting only an advantageous example for
accomplishing remote
surveillance of a vehicle constituting the object to be protected, contains an
uninterrupted power
supply 1 linked up with an alarm center unit 2 of an alarm system built into
the vehicle in known
manner. Said alarm center unit 2 (e.g. of type Enforcer 100 B-4 manufactured
by SECO-ALARM
Inc., USA) incorporates a radio-frequency receiver stage 3 which is in
functional connection with a
part of the alarm system, i.e. with remote control 4 serving, in a known way,
for arming and dis-
arming of the alarm center unit 2. To inputs of the alarm center unit 2 sensor
means 5 shown only by
symbols, and to outputs of the alarm center unit 2 acoustic and/or optical
signaling means 6 and ac-
tuating means 7 are connected. Sensor means 5 may be sensors responsive to the
opening of vehicle
doors, trunk and hood, impact sensors, wheel lifting sensors, ultrasonic or
radar type space sensors,
while as acoustic and/or optical signaling means 6 several lamps, the horn of
the vehicle, or a sepa-
rate siren may be used. Actuating means 7 are usually relays or magnet valves
inserted into the elec-
tric or electronic system, fuel supply etc. of the vehicle. The design,
circuitry and operation of the
listed means are well disclosed in the related literature, e.g. Odon Ferenczi:
"Rudiments of Protection
Against Car Thieves" (Technical Publishing Co., Budapest, 1994) or on page 14
of the booklet
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"Safety and Comfort Electronics of Vehicles" published by Bosch A.G., Germany,
in "Series of
Technical Information Booklets" (OMIKK, Budapest) 1994), hereby incorporated
by reference. To
one of the outputs of the alarm center unit 2 linked up with the acoustic
and/or optical signaling
means 6 or with one of the actuating means 7 a starting input 81 of a logical
interface unit 8 is con-
s nected. Alternative connections are is indicated in Figure 1 by a broken
lines.
The logical interface unit 8 - though not specifically shown in the figure for
the sake of better intelli-
gibility - is also linked up with power supply 1. Structural details of the
logical interface 8 are shown
also by an example of Figure 2, in the block diagram of Figure I only the
connection of bus 82 of
logical interface 8 to bus 91 of a telephone interface 9 is indicated. Since
with the presented em-
bodiment a cellular telephone 10 available on the market is used as
telecommunication means per-
forming two-way communication, as a preferred solution, the telephone
interface 9 is constituted by
a kit serving for installing cellular telephone 10 into the vehicle.
Accordingly, the telephone interface
9 is linked up through its high-frequency output to an external aerial 11,
through its first audio-
frequency input 93 to a microphone 12 accommodated in the vehicle, through its
second audio-
frequency output 94 to a speaker 13 also located in the vehicle, and through
its connector 95 to the
cellular telephone 10. This embodiment can be realized e.g. by any of the
cellular telephones and car-
speakerphone sets of the Nokia Oy. (Finland) commercially available, the
relevant detailed technical
information being accessible e.g. via Internet on address http:fwww. club.
nokia. com, but of course
any assembly capable of performing the outlined task and made by any other
manufacturer can also
be used. First output 83 of logical interface 8 is led to a group of further
actuating means 14, its sec-
ond output 84 is suitable for arming and disarming the alarm center unit 2,
said second output being
connected parallel W th the arming push-button of a further remote control I S
identical with the re-
mote control 4. The remote control 15 is installed hidden at different places
of the various vehicles,
of which records, kept together with the identification number of each vehicle
are stored in computer
memory by the special workshop performing installation of the system.
The actuating means 14 consists of relays 141 to 145 in the present case. The
first relay 141 is con-
nected to the starting circuit of the engine, to which also the heating
circuit of the passenger space is
attached. To the second relay 142 the engine disabling setup is connected,
causing - through releas-
ing a hidden relay - e.g. in the circuit of the electric fuel pump - a "life-
like" defect , which can be
repaired in a vehicle repair workshop only, the defect showing itself by
skipping of the vehicle, then
by its coming to a halt, and since the relay is hidden to different places in
each vehicle as stored in
the computer memory, the "defect" cannot be repaired at the site. The third
relay 143 is in functional
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connection with the air-conditioning system. The fourth relay 144 is a
switching device, while the
fifth relay 145 is functionally linked up with a servomotor driving an
atomizer-type tracer.
In another embodiment instead of cellular telephone 10 a purpose~riented
transceiver unit, e.g. the
type marking GSM Modul M 1 manufactured by Siemens GmbH. operating in the GSM
900/DCS
1850 system is installed.
In Figure 2 the logical interface 8 is shown more detailed. Main constituent
of said logical interface
unit 8 is a logic circuitry capable of controlling the reception and emission
of acoustic signals, and
controlling, as required, the cellular telephone 10, the alarm center unit 2
and the actuating means
14, respectively and ensure co-operation with external supplementary units. In
the preferred case the
logical interface 8 comprises a microcontroller 85, e.g. the microcontroUer
type PIG 16C 65 manu-
factured by Microchip inc., USA. This eight-bit microcontroller 85 being in
digital data-transmitting
coupling with a DTMF decoder 86, with a driver 87 and a voice recorder 88. The
logical interface 8,
in addition to those listed, contains an audio amplifier 89 performing
amplification of analog signals
in a way to be detailed later. The DTMF decoder 86 can be realized with the
MT8870D of MTTEL
Inc., and is coupled to the microcontroller 85 as a four-bit decoder. The
driver 86 amplifies the con-
trol signals issued by the microcontroller 85 to make them suitable for
operating the actuating means
14, i.e. the relays 14I to 145 in the present example, and is realized by the
integrated circuit type
ULN 2003. The voice recorder 88 is realized by the chip ISD 1016 of the firm
Information Storage
Devices, operating as a dictaphone, performing analog recording and playback
of audio-fi-equency
signals fed to its input, in a duration of 16 seconds per chip. The audio
amplifier 89 fulfils the role of
a voltage amplifier and can be realized with any discrete component or
integrated circuit available on
the market. Hints on concrete dimensioning and connection of said circuits can
be found in the data
sheets of components or in application papers issued by the manufacturers or
in the following items
of informative technical literature: H. Lohninger: "Angewandte
Mikroelektronik" Vo. 2, 1V~1" Ver-
lag, DE; Klasche: "Professionelle Schaltungstechnik" Vol.3, Franzis Verlag,
DE. To realize the mi-
crocontroller 85 further assistance may be acquired from the development
system of type marking
PIC-Start 16 B 1 issued by the firm Conrad Elektronic, Nirschau, DE. The
standard protocol RS
232 series communication port of the microcontroller 85 forms also the
communication connection
851 of the logical interface 8 so that it is suitable for connecting a site-
locating unit known per se,
such as e.g. a GPS signal transmitter.
To a first input 891 of the audio amplifier 89 a microphone 12 installed in
the vehicle is connected,
said microphone 12 being preferably a condenser-type either fomung part of a
speakerphone set as
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described in connection with Figure 1 or constitutes a separate demand
installed specifically for that
purpose. To a second input 892 of the audio amplifier 89 a signal output of a
DTMF transmitter 17
is galvanic connected. The DTMF transmitter 17 is a commercially available
device, but it may be
substituted by the DTMF coder circuit type MT8880 of the firm MITEL and by a
keypad linked up
with it. To the output 893 of the audio amplifier 89 also an analog input 861
of the DTMF decoder
86 is connected.
Also the input/output terminal of the voice recorder 88 is connected to an
output 893 of the audio
amplifier 89 and respectively to the analog audio-frequency signal input of
cellular telephone 10.
This latter is not shown in detail in the drawing since the allocation of
terminals of cellular tele-
phones 10 are product-dependent. The input/output terminal of the voice
recorder 88 serves for for-
warding analog signals, whereas its input 882 is linked up with output 852 of
the microcontroller 85
and receives the digital signals selecting between recording and playback
modes and serving for
startlstop of the operation. In Figure 2 a further cellular telephone 18 is
shown at the notified remote
address but, according to the reasons explained, this control means need not
necessarily be suitable
for wireless operation. Thus) as shown by the figure) the controller cellular
telephone 18 is in con-
nection with the logical interface 8 either through the GSM center 18 or
through the microphone 12.
By this arrangement the possible difficulty of disarming the alarm center unit
2 in peak periods by
means of the cellular telephone 18 is prevented. In such cases by simply
holding the speaker of the
cellular telephone l8 near to the microphone 12) the latter will receive
acoustically the emitted
DTMF sounds and the proper code, disarming thereby the alarm center unit 2.
In Figures 3, 4 and 5 three further embodiments of anti-sabotage protection
are shown which belongs
to the fundamental objectives of the invention, namely the prevention of
disarming the alarm center
unit 2. In a possible arrangement shown in Figure 3 the enabling output 853 of
the microcontroller
85 of the logical interface 8 is galvanic connected to the enabling input of a
microcontroller 21 of the
alarm center unit 2. Though not shown in the Figure, also the output of the
radio-frequency receiver
stage 3 of the alarm center unit 2 is linked up in the factory W th said
enabling input 211 of the mic-
rocontroller 21.
In Figure 4 a variant is shown wherein through driver 87 of the
microcontroller 85 one of the actu-
ating means 14, e.g. the relay 141 is used for switching the power of the
alarm center unit 2, said
relay 141 being inserted into the supply line of the alarm center unit 2.
Different from the previous
vanant) wherein instead of issuing the enablingldisabling signal by the radio-
fi-equency receiver stage
3 for the microcontroller 21 said enabling/disabling signal is issued by the
microcontroller 85, here
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the unchangeable basic setting of alarm center unit 2 is utilized emitting an
alarm signal immediately
when powered on, independently of any other settings.
The arrangement mentioned in conjunction with Figure 1 is shown more detailed
in Figure 5 wherein
a further remote control I S hidden in the vehicle is operated expediently
from the enabling output
853 of the microcontroller 85.
In a further possible embodiment at least one of the sensors 5 is directly
connected to the logical in-
terface 8.
In operation, on leaving the vehicle, the alarm center unit 2 is armed by
means of the remote control
4 forming part of the alarm system installed concealed in the vehicle, at the
same time the actuating
means 14 become activated ensuring thereby inoperability or at least
malfunction of the protected
object (vehicle) by means of performing the measures listed in the
introduction.
In the case of normal, usual course of events, when the owner returns to the
vehicle, tvvo possibilities
are available him to disarm the protected status:
According to one possibility the alarm center unit 2 is disarmed by its own
remote control 4 in the
usual way, then entering the vehicle within a preset period of time monitored
by the microcontroller
85 of the logical interface 8, and inputting the individual and unique code,
deactivating thereby the
actuating means 14, and restoring the vehicle into operative and functioning
state. Said code may be
fed into the microphone 12 through the keypad linked up with the audio
amplifier 89 of the logical
interface 8 with said DT'MF transmitter or, in lack of said keypad, with a
DTMF acoustic device
being available, through the latter, or in the possession of a suitable
controller-type cellular telephone
18 (e.g. NOKIA 2110), in the course of entering the code without radio-
frequency connection, the
cellular telephone 18 is used for feeding the code into microphone 12.
According to the another more elegant and convenient but more expensive
possibility, instead of us-
ing the remote control 4 for disarming the alarm center unit 2 and entering
the disarnting code sepa-
rately, the cellular telephone 10 hidden in the vehicle and forming part of
the proposed system is
called up by means of the controller cellular telephone 18 and, having
established the connection, the
DT'IVff code is entered. Both in this case and in the case outlined before the
DT'MF code entered into
DTMF decoder 86 is translated into a four-bit signal and transferred to the
input 854 of the micro-
controller circuit 85. By means of a program stored in the microcontroller 85
the identity with the
pre-set code is checked and, in case of identity, the relays 141 to 145 of the
actuating means 14 are
powered off'by micro~ontroUer circuit 8~ through its output 855 with the
intervention of driver 87.
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In abnormal i.e. alarm case, the acoustic and/or optical signaling means 6 of
the alarm center unit 2
are activated, simultaneously triggering the logicai interface 8 coupled to
it, by which a calling in-
struction is issued to the associated cellular telephone 10. At least one time
before leaving the vehi-
cle) an actual call number is dialed into the memory of cellular telephone 10,
e.g. in the following
way: the acoustic and/or optical means 6 is forced to operate by the user
after which - in accordance
with the foregoing - the cellular telephone 10 gets into service state. Now,
the alarm message (e.g.
"IIVT'RUSION TOOK PLACE") to be stored is entered and the actual call number
is dialed, after
which, by switching off said acoustic and/or optical means 6 the cellular
telephone 10 will be dis-
connected automatically, but retains said call number for unrestricted period.
On an alarm event the
cellular telephone 10 switches on as before, then it automatically dials the
entered call number and
transmits the message. Should the called number be busy, or in the case of
ineffective call due to
some other reason, for the sake of sure transfer of the message, this call is
automatically repeated by
the cellular telephone 10 at preset intervals (say after every minute) as
preset on the scale of the mi-
crocontroller 85, as long as the owner of the telephone 10 does not stop these
calls manually.
Further, by means of the locating adapter (e.g. by a GPS signal transmitter)
coupled to the commu-
nication coupler 851 the location of the vehicle can be quickly and accurately
determined, even if it
was taken without starting of its engine, by lifting it with a winch onto a
transport vehicle used by
the thieves.
However, further alternative uses of the system according to the invention are
also possible. If a
fixed telephone set (connected to a digital telephone exchange) with DTMF
capability is available, or
the owner of the protected object has a second cellular telephone 18 of type
GSM 900 (or perhaps
DCS 1800), further DTMF codes may be added to the call number of the concealed
cellular tele-
phone 10. If an alarm message is sent by the concealed cellular telephone I O
the owner of the second
cellular telephone may temporarily shut off the alarm call. Then, after a
preset period of time, e.g.
after 5 minutes, by sending another DTMF codes also stored in the cellular
telephone set i 8, the
telecommunication link may be restored. So, he can decide (if the alarm signal
of the cellular tele-
phone 10 have ceased in the meantime) whether the alarm call was caused by an
incidental interfer-
ence (issued by one of the signal transmitters of the building), or the alarm
continues to prevail on
the cellular telephone 18, confirming thereby the unauthorized access.
So, a needless hurry to get to the protected remote object can be avoided.
Alternatively, the system
can be operated by means of said DTMF codes so that the issued decoded signals
carry control in-
fom~ation to the starting circuit of the engine. Or, the over may switch on by
means of such infor-
CA 02276174 1999-06-25
WO 99/21742 PCT/HU97/00070
-13-
oration e.g. the air-conditioning system or sprinkler system of his country
house situated many miles
away, saving thereby considerable sum of money and time.
But, by means of a series of DTMF information, the owner can disable the alarm
center unit 2 of his
vehicle, since the second remote control 15 hidden in the vehicle re-arms the
alarm system if it was
previously disabled by the first remote control 4. Namely, the opening pulse
is led also to the actu-
ating push-button of the remote control 15 arranged hidden in the vehicle,
preventing thereby the in-
trusion into the vehicle by the immediate re-arming of the alarm system. By
this method, code
catching can also be prevented, to which many alarm systems are exposed at
present. The effective
de-activating signal can be issued by the owner himself only via his second
controlling cellular tele-
phone 18 to the cellular telephone 10 concealed in the vehicle. The decoded
signal disconnects the
closed protective circuit of the alarm center unit 2 and disconnects the
cellular telephone 10.
The benefits of the invention are outstanding - including also its
practicality - when comparing it
with the present state of the art. Even in comparison with the protective
systems of buildings making
use of utilizing the most up-to-date wired telephone networks, any
transmission system of informa-
tion relating to unauthorized intrusion can easily be made ineffective by
severing the telephone lines
or by incidental line faults, all these being of utmost importance especially
in the case of property
protecting surveillance systems or banking institutions.
In the case of vehicles, safety is improved by the invention by preventing the
possibility of putting
the vehicle in operation, so it can only be taken away by winching it onto
another vehicle. In this
case, however, by connecting to the controller an adapter available on the
market, the route of the
thieves can be followed. The special arrangement of aerial of the cellular
telephone proposed may
reveal the kind of protection as the proposed system will more and more become
known. Therefore,
it will be expedient to use concealed sheet aerials or hybrid aerials having
an appearance similar to
that of conventional antenna suitable for operating both a radio and a
cellular telephone. By the use
of a microphone 12 mentioned for conveyance of information, the immediate
disarming of the alarm
center unit 2 is rendered possible even during busy hours.
In case of coupling sensors 5 of the alarm system to parts of the vehicle
unavoidable generating some
kind of signal upon direct or indirect movement of the vehicle, e.g. to the
chassis, crank, said sensors
5 will sensing the rotation of wheels or a mechanical fuel pump, then in the
case of any displacement
or shifting of the vehicle or priming of the engine by any means, information
will be sent to the alarm
center unit 2 and, in a way already described, to the owner or to the security
organization performing
the duty of remote surveillance.
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_14-
In the foregoing the invention has been described in connection with the
remote surveillance of vehi-
cles. Our proposal, however) can be applied not only to the protection and
remote surveillance of
mobile objects but also to that of real assets as well. So, hereinafter, with
reference to the statements
made in conjunction with remote surveillance of vehicles, the functional
discrepancies and those as-
s sociated with the arrangement of circuits and components presenting
themselves in the case of re-
mote surveillance of buildings will be briefly described.
Among the sensors 5 of the alarm system obviously developed for building
protecting, a sensor 5 can
also be found by which the undisturbed connection with the alarm center unit
is continuously moni-
tored through a built-in permanent link and, in the case of line interruption,
overload, intentional line
breakage) etc., the logical interface 8 is set into operation and a telephone
is activated. In buildings
said actuating means 14 are installed to initiate interventions affecting the
use of the building, so in-
terrupting the supply of electric power, water, gas and heating of the
building, or of blocking the op-
eration of automatic electric locking devices of doors and windows) etc.
Miniature TV-cameras can
also be expediently included in the list of actuating means, informing through
wired or wireless
communication links the security dispatch center also by means of moving
pictures of current events
at the site, following the activation of the alarm center unit 2.
Of course, the same cellular telephone system located in the protected area
can be utilized for in-
forming the owner by incoming written or verbal messages by a terminal
connected to the wired tele-
communication nehvork, and connection can be established through a door-
speakerphone system
between a visitor calling from the door and the owner of the protected object,
without letting the
visitor know that the called person is momentarily not at home. The system
proposed can easily be
completed through addition of a few items of system installed by a person
skilled in the art, rendering
the system capable of informing the security dispatch center of damages caused
by the forces of na-
ture immediately after their occurrence.
Anti-sabotage protection of the system according to the invention and used in
remote surveillance of
buildings can be provided by coupling a self sealing relay stage to the
switching means (not shown in
the drawings) for awning the remote alarm center unit 2. The self sealing of
the relay stage can be
deactivated by means of the logical interface 8, by transmitting an individual
and unique code via the
cellular telephone 18. The alarm center unit 2 will be armed in conventional
way by means of a
switch.
Utilizing the intrinsically intelligence of the proposed system, automatic
indication of sabotage acts
e.g. disconnection of supply voltage, destruction of electronic components by
high-voltage pulses,
CA 02276174 1999-06-25
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-15-
intentional damaging of system and causing short-circuits can be accomplished.
In such cases a short
sabotage-signaling message is sent by the microcontroller 85 through the
cellular telephone set 10 to
the owner without enabling for the intruder to disabling the telephone
connection, while the route of
the intruder can be displayed on a display means of the supervisory system.
The frequency coupling
of the cellular telephone prevents the possibility of severing any
connections.
Through microphone 12 the owner may receive e.g. acknowledgement of execution
of his command
signals issued in DTMF mode. Such command signals may be issued e.g. to
reconnect the boilers in
stalled in the building after several days of absence before starting home,
switching on and off air
conditioning) electric heating and numerous other applications) such as e.g.
constituting part of the
admission system of department stores.
Both in the case of mobile and immobile assets an aerial not show in the
drawings may be installed
to starts operation when the normal aerial of the system is damaged, broken
off, etc.
Of course) it is also possible to install in the presented embodiment two
alarm center units 2 and two
logical interfaces 8 constituting different units combined with a single
purpose-oriented circuit and
with a single common microcontroller 85. In the areas lying outside the region
covered by the cellu
lar telecommunication servicx, calls received by the controlling cellular
telephone 18 may be diverted
to a paging system, providing information of hazardous lack of power supply of
the system, e.g. due
to excessive exhaustion of storage batteries - yet while the system is still
capable of operating - by
forwarding brief messages or telegrams, or through sensors 5 of the alarm
center unit 2 adjustments
can be made to distinguish between minor impacts (indicating authorized or
unauthorized taking of
the vehicle) and stronger impacts occurring at bumps or major collisions.
Instead of DTMF codes
verbal messages or other known standard protocols may also be used, e.g. the
G3 standard used for
facsimile messages, ensuring quicker data transmission.
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference
to preferred embodi
meats thereof originally equipped with an alarm system, it will be understood
by those skilled in the
art that various changes in detail and operation may be made therein without
departing from the
spirit and scope of the invention.
CA 02276174 1999-06-25
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16
List of reference numerals
1 power supply
2 alarm center unit
21 micro~ontroller circuit
211 input
214 input
3 receiver stage
4 remote control
5 signal transmitter
6 acoustic and/or optical
signaling means
7 actuator means
8 logical interface
81 starting input
82 bus
IS 83 output
84 output
85 microcontroller
851 communication connection
852 output
853 output
854 input
855 output
86 DTN1F decoder
861 input
862 output
87 driver
88 voice recorder
881 input
882 input
883 output
89 audio amplifier
891 input
892 input
893 output
9 telephone interface
91 bus
92 output
93 input
94 output
95 connector
10 cellular telephone
11 aerial
12 microphone
13 loudspeaker
14 actuating means
15 remote control
16 GSM center
17 D'T11~ transmitter
18 cellular telephone
