SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GLOBALLY TRACED A STOLEN VEHICLE

Abstract

System, comprehensive: a vehicle information server that maps a unique vehicle identifier of a stolen vehicle to a network identifier of the stolen vehicle; and a service provider server of a service provider network, programmed to initiate monitoring with respect to the network identifier in response to receiving a message from a vehicle theft system containing the unique vehicle identifier indicating that the stolen vehicle is to be monitored, and receiving the network identifier from the vehicle information server in response to sending the unique vehicle identifier to the vehicle information server, and, upon identifying access of the network identifier to a component of the network, to indicate a physical location of the component and a time of access of the vehicle to the component.

Description

TECHNICAL AREA

[0001] The present invention relates generally to systems and a method for globally tracking stolen vehicles. GENERAL STATE OF THE ART

[0002] Vehicle theft is a problem in the US and around the world. Many anti-theft technologies focus on preventing theft. However, there are few ways to track stolen vehicles in the US, or even globally. After being stolen, many vehicles are exported or dismantled for parts before they can be located.

[0003] Document CN 1 562 675 A discloses a tracking method for monitoring a vehicle in which the registration number is assigned to a network identifier, so that when an access of the network identifier to a component of the Internet is identified, the place and time of the access to the component can be determined. SUMMARY

[0004] To mitigate the problems of the prior art, the present invention proposes a system according to claim 1 and a method according to claim 7. Preferred embodiments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0005] The system therefore includes a vehicle information server that assigns a unique identifier of a stolen vehicle to a network identifier of the vehicle; and a service provider server of a service provider network that is programmed to provide, in response to receiving the network identifier and identifying an access of the network identifier to a component of the network, a physical location of the component and a time of the vehicle's access to the component.

[0006] The procedure therefore involves initiating monitoring with respect to a network identifier that has been assigned by a vehicle information server from a unique vehicle identifier of a stolen vehicle in response to receiving a message from a vehicle theft system; identifying access of the network identifier to a component of the network; and using a mapping of network locations to physical locations to translate a network location of the component into the physical location of the component.

[0007] This may include a non-volatile, machine-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to receive a specification from a vehicle theft system that includes a unique vehicle identifier, the specification indicating that a stolen vehicle matching the unique vehicle identifier is to be monitored; to map the unique vehicle identifier to one or more network identifiers using a vehicle information server that stores a link between unique vehicle identifiers and network vehicle identifiers; to identify one or more of the network identifiers that have accessed a communication network; and to use a mapping of network locations to physical locations to translate network locations of the component into physical locations of the component. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary system for tracking stolen vehicles according to network identifiers and vehicle identifiers; Fig. Figure 2 illustrates an exemplary flowchart of the vehicle theft system that processes information on stolen vehicles; Fig. Figure 3 illustrates an exemplary process of the vehicle information server that assigns network identifiers to vehicle identifiers; and Fig. Figure 4 illustrates an exemplary process of the service provider's server, which performs monitoring regarding network identifiers of stolen vehicles. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0008] Depending on the requirements, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which can be implemented in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be enlarged or reduced to show details of certain components. Accordingly, the specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be understood as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching those skilled in the art the diverse uses of the present invention.

[0009] Fig. Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary system 100 for tracking stolen vehicles 102 according to network identifiers 116 and vehicle identifiers 126. The system includes a vehicle 102 that has communication components 108, such as a telematics control unit (TCU) 108-A and an accessory protocol interface module (APIM) 108-B. The telematics control unit 108-A can use an embedded modem 120 to communicate over a service provider network 118. The accessory protocol interface module (APIM) 108-B can use a local connection with a mobile device 110 to communicate over the service provider network 118. A vehicle information server 124 can be configured to process information generated by the vehicle 102, such as a link between the network identifiers 116 and vehicle identifiers 126 (e.g.,to maintain the VIN of vehicles 102 connected to the service provider network 118. When a vehicle 102 is reported as stolen (e.g., according to the vehicle identifier 126), the vehicle information server 124 provides the network identifiers 116 of the stolen vehicle 102 to the service provider server 128. If the vehicle 102 is then located by the service provider server 128, which is connected to the service provider network 118, the location of the stolen vehicle 102 can be identified. Although in . Fig. Figure 1 shows an exemplary system 100; the illustrated exemplary components are not intended to be restrictive. In fact, system 100 may have more or fewer components, and additional or alternative components and / or implementations may be used. For example, some or all of the operations of the vehicle information server 124 and the vehicle theft system 130 may be combined in some embodiments.

[0010] Vehicle 102 can refer to various types of automobiles, including soft-roaders (crossover utility vehicles - CUVs), off-road vehicles (sport utility vehicles - SUVs), trucks, motorhomes (RVs), boats, aircraft, or other mobile machinery used for transporting people or goods. In many cases, Vehicle 102 can be powered by an internal combustion engine. Alternatively, Vehicle 102 can be a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), powered by both an internal combustion engine and one or more electric motors, such as a series hybrid electric vehicle (SHEV), a parallel hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), or a parallel / series hybrid electric vehicle (PSHEV).

[0011] Vehicle 102 can contain a variety of electronic control units (ECUs) configured to perform and manage various functions of Vehicle 102, powered by the vehicle's battery and / or powertrain. As shown, the example vehicle ECUs are depicted as separate components. However, the vehicle ECUs can share physical hardware, firmware, and / or software, allowing the functionality of multiple ECUs to be integrated into a single ECU. Alternatively, the functionality of several such ECUs can be distributed across a variety of ECUs.

[0012] As shown, an ECU can be a body control unit (104-A) configured to manage various performance control functions, such as exterior lighting, interior lighting, keyless entry, remote start, and checking the status of access points. Another ECU can be an engine control unit (104-B) configured to provide control of engine operating components. It should be noted that these are only examples and that more, fewer, and other ECUs may be included in a given vehicle (102).For example, the vehicle 102 may additionally or alternatively include the following: a transmission control ECU to use sensor data and data from the engine control unit 104-B to calculate how and when to shift gears in the vehicle 102 for optimal performance, fuel efficiency, and shift quality; a climate control management ECU to provide control of heating and cooling system components (e.g., compressor clutch, blower fan, temperature sensors, etc.); and a global positioning system ECU (GPS ECU) to provide vehicle location information.

[0013] The vehicle bus 106 can include various available methods for communication between the vehicle ECUs 104. The vehicle bus 106 can also support communication between the telematics control unit 108A and the vehicle ECUs 104. As some non-limiting examples, the vehicle bus 106 can include one or more vehicle controller area networks (CAN), an Ethernet network, or a media-oriented system transport (MOST) network. It should be noted that the illustrated bus topology is merely an example, and a different number and arrangement of vehicle buses 106 can be used.

[0014] The communication components 108 can include an additional protocol interface module (APIM) 108-B and a telematics control unit 108-A. The APIM 108-B can be configured to support voice commands to and a local connection with a mobile device 110, receive user input via various buttons or other controls, and provide vehicle status information 102 to a driver or other occupants of the vehicle. An example APIM 108-B is the SYNC system provided by the Ford Motor Company of Dearborn, Michigan, USA.

[0015] The APIM 108 can be configured to communicate with mobile devices 110 belonging to vehicle occupants. These mobile devices 110 can be any type of portable computing device, such as mobile phones, tablet computers, smartwatches, laptop computers, portable music players, or other devices capable of communicating with the APIM 108-B.

[0016] The APIM 108-B can be configured to communicate with the mobile device 110 via a transport link 112. The transport link 112 can be a data link between the APIM 108-B and the mobile device 110. In many examples, the APIM 108-B can include a wireless transceiver 114 (e.g., a BLUETOOTH controller, a ZigBee® transceiver, a WLAN transceiver, etc.) configured to communicate with a compatible wireless transceiver on the mobile device 110. Additionally or alternatively, the APIM 108-B can communicate with the mobile device 110 via a wired transport link (not shown), such as a USB connection between the mobile device 110 and a USB subsystem of the APIM 108-B.

[0017] The APIM 108-B can be assigned to or otherwise associated with one or more predefined network identifiers 116 to facilitate communication between the APIM 108-B and the mobile device 110. For example, the wireless transceiver 114 can have a network address identifier of a Media Access Control address (MAC address) 116, which serves to uniquely identify the wireless transceiver 114 to the mobile device 110. WLAN packets or packets sent by the APIM 108-A are addressed using the MAC address as originating from the MAC address, and WLAN packets or other packets destined for the APIM 108-B are addressed using the MAC address of the APIM 108-B as the destination address. The APIM 108-B can access the service provider network 118 using the transport link 112 to the mobile device 110.The service provider network 118 can include one or more interconnected communication networks, such as the Internet, a mobile network, a satellite link network, a local area network or a wide area network, as non-restrictive examples.

[0018] The TCU 108A can be configured to communicate between the vehicle 102 and the service provider network 118 via a transport link 112 without using the mobile device 110. In many examples, the TCU 108A can include an embedded modem 120 configured to communicate wirelessly with, or be in communication with, the service provider network 118. The embedded modem 120 of the TCU 108A can have an Integrated Circuit Card Identifier (ICCID) that uniquely identifies a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) of the TCU 108A. The SIM can be inserted into a SIM card slot of the embedded modem 120 or can be hardwired to the embedded modem 120. The ICCID can be referred to as a serial number of the embedded modem 120 and can be used to uniquely identify the embedded modem 120 over the service provider network 118.

[0019] The communication components 108 can store the network identifiers 116 of the communication components 108 in the computer-readable memory 122. A computer-readable memory medium 122 (also referred to as a processor-readable medium or memory 122) comprises a non-volatile (e.g., physical) medium involved in providing data (e.g., instructions) that can be read by a computer. For example, the APIM 108-B can store the network identifier of the MAC address 116 in a memory 122 of the APIM 108-B, and the TCU 108-A can store the ICCID network identifier 116 in a memory 122 of the TCU 108-A.

[0020] The vehicle information server 124 can be configured to maintain information created by the vehicle 102, such as a link between the network identifiers 116 and vehicle identifiers 126 (e.g., VIN) of vehicles 102 connected to the service provider network 118. In one example, the vehicle information server 124 can receive links between the network identifiers 116 and the vehicle identifiers 126 for the vehicle 102 with respect to the built-in process from a manufacturer of the vehicle 102. In another example, the vehicle 102 can be configured to send the network identifiers 116 and its vehicle identifier 126 to the vehicle information server 124, for example, via a transport connection 112 from the vehicle 102 through the service provider network 118.

[0021] These links between the vehicle identifiers 126 and the network identifiers 116 can be maintained by the vehicle information server 124 in a data store. The data store can include different types of mechanisms for storing, accessing, and retrieving different types of data, including a hierarchical database, a group of files in a file system, an application database in a proprietary format, a relational database management system (RDBMS), etc. Each of these data stores is generally enclosed in a computing device that uses a computer operating system, such as one of those mentioned above, and is accessed via a network in one or more of the many ways. A file system can be accessed by a computer operating system and can contain files stored in different formats.An RDBMS generally uses the structured query language (SQL) in addition to a language for creating, storing, editing and executing stored processes, such as the PL / SQL language mentioned above.

[0022] The service provider server 128 can be configured to manage communications over the service provider network 118. For example, the service provider server 128 can be configured to monitor devices connected to the service provider network 118 (e.g., mobile devices 110, embedded modems 120, etc.) to ensure that the connected devices are authorized to use the communication services of the service provider network 118. For example, the service provider server 128 can authorize the devices based on network identifiers 116, such as ICCID and / or MAC address. The service provider server 128 can also be configured to log or otherwise monitor the use of the services of the service provider network 118.Monitoring can be performed, for example, to ensure that connected devices are using services they are authorized to use, to simplify billing for services used, and / or to identify network bottlenecks or congestion. In one example, the service provider server 128 can maintain a list of stolen vehicle identifiers 132, network identifiers 116, and stolen vehicle identifiers 102, which are to be monitored.

[0023] The vehicle theft system 130 can be configured to receive information about stolen vehicles 102. In one example, if a vehicle theft is reported by law enforcement, law enforcement can provide the vehicle identification number 126 to the vehicle theft system 130. In another example, the vehicle theft system 130 can receive information about a stolen vehicle 102 from the owner of the vehicle 102 (who, for example, calls or otherwise sends a message to the vehicle theft system 130). Upon receiving information about the stolen vehicle 102, the vehicle theft system 130 can be configured to take actions to assist in the recovery of the vehicle 102. Further aspects of the operation of the vehicle theft system 130 and other elements of the system 100 are described in more detail below.

[0024] Fig. Figure 2 illustrates an example process 200 of the vehicle theft system 130, which processes information on stolen vehicles 102. Process 200 can be initiated in operation 202 in response to the vehicle theft system 130 receiving information on a vehicle 102 that has been reported stolen.

[0025] In process 204, the vehicle theft system 130 sends a message to the vehicle information server 124 requesting the network identifiers 116 associated with vehicle identifier 126. In process 206, the vehicle theft system 130 receives the network identifiers 116 of vehicle 102 from the vehicle information server 124. Further aspects of the operation of the vehicle information server 124 are discussed below in relation to process 300.

[0026] In process 208, the vehicle theft system 130 requests that the service provider server 128 of the service provider network 118 perform monitoring of the network identifiers 116 of vehicle 102. In process 210, the vehicle theft system 130 receives information about the location of the lost vehicle 102. Further aspects of monitoring and identifying the location of vehicle 102 are discussed below in relation to process 400.

[0027] In process 212, the vehicle theft system 130 sends the location of the lost vehicle 102 for retrieval. In one example, the vehicle theft system 130 can send the location of the lost vehicle 102 to law enforcement. In another example, the vehicle theft system 130 can send the location of the lost vehicle 102 to the owner of the vehicle 102. After process 212, process 200 ends.

[0028] Fig. Figure 3 illustrates an example process 300 of the vehicle information server 124, which maps network identifiers 126 to vehicle identifiers 116. Process 300 can be initiated in operation 302 in response to the vehicle information server 124 receiving a request to identify network identifiers 116 that are associated with a received vehicle identifier 126 of the stolen vehicle 102. In one example, the request can be received by the vehicle information server 124 from the vehicle theft system 130.

[0029] In operation 304, the vehicle information server 124 retrieves the network identifiers 116 that are assigned to a received vehicle identifier 126 of vehicle 102. In one example, the vehicle information server 124 accesses a data store that maps network identifiers 116 to vehicle identifiers 126 in order to retrieve the network identifiers 116 of the stolen vehicle 102. In operation 306, the vehicle information server 124 sends the retrieved network identifiers 116 back to the requester. In one example, the vehicle information server 124 sends the network identifiers 116 in response to a lookup to the vehicle theft system 130. After operation 306, process 300 ends.

[0030] Fig.Figure 4 illustrates an example process 400 of the service provider server 128, which performs monitoring for network identifiers 116 of stolen vehicles 102. Process 400 can be initiated in operation 202 in response to the service provider server 128 receiving network identifiers 116 of vehicles 102 to monitor for their presence on the service provider network 118. For example, the service provider server 128 can receive information about the network identifiers 116 of a stolen vehicle 102. This information can be received from the vehicle theft system 130 by the service provider server 128. In another example, the service provider server 128 can add the received network identifiers 116 to the list of identifiers of stolen vehicles 132.

[0031] In operation 404, service provider server 128 monitors service provider network 118 to determine whether any of the network identifiers 116 of the stolen vehicle 102 are detected by components of service provider network 118. For example, service provider server 128 can log or otherwise monitor the use of service provider network 118 according to the network identifiers 116, such as ICCID and / or MAC address. Service provider server 128 can, for instance, examine the logged or monitored data to determine which network services, if any, have detected traffic from one of the devices on the list of devices to be monitored.Additionally or alternatively, the service provider server 128 can provide the list of identifiers of stolen vehicles 132 to radio masts, routers or other network devices in the service provider network 118 to enable these devices to carry out monitoring with regard to the stolen vehicle 102.

[0032] In operation 406, the service provider server 128 determines whether any of the network identifiers 116 from the list of stolen vehicle identifiers 132 have been found to be currently or recently connected to the service provider network 118. In one example, the service provider server 128 can monitor recently logged usage information to identify whether any of the listed network identifiers 116 have connected to or used the service provider network 118. In another example, the service provider server 128 can actively receive a notification from other network devices monitoring the list of stolen vehicle identifiers 132 that any of the network identifiers 116 have been found. If any of the network identifiers 116 of the stolen vehicle 102 are found, control passes to operation 408. If not, control passes to operation 410.

[0033] In operation 408, the service provider server 128 identifies the physical location of the network access of the stolen vehicle 102. For example, the service provider server 128 can use a mapping of network components to geographic locations to identify the physical location of the network identifiers 116 of the stolen vehicle 102 from the service provider network 118. The service provider server 128 can use the mapping to the logged information relating to the network identifiers or part numbers of the network devices that located the network identifiers 116 and translate this information into a physical location where the stolen vehicle 102 was located at the time the access was recorded. After operation 408, control passes to operation 412.

[0034] In operation 410, the service provider server 128 identifies the last known connection location of the stolen vehicle 102. For example, the service provider server 128 can analyze logged history information to determine if any of the network identifiers 116 are found on the list of stolen vehicle identifiers 132 in the network history log. If so, control passes to operation 408. If not, an unknown location is reported for the stolen vehicle 102, and control passes to operation 412.

[0035] In operation 412, service provider server 128 determines whether the location of the stolen vehicle 102 has changed since the previous location update. If so, control passes to operation 414 to send an update of the location of the stolen vehicle 102. Otherwise, control passes to operation 416. In other examples, location updates can be provided by service provider server 128 regardless of whether the location of vehicle 102 has changed.

[0036] In process 414, the service provider server 128 updates the vehicle theft system 130 with respect to the location of the stolen vehicle 102. In one example, the service provider server 128 provides the service provider network 118 with the identifier of the physical location of access to the stolen vehicle 102.

[0037] In process 416, the service provider server 128 determines whether monitoring of the stolen vehicle 102 should continue. For example, if the stolen vehicle 102 has been located or if monitoring is no longer desired, the service provider server 128 can receive a message from the vehicle theft system 130 indicating that one or more network identifiers 116 should no longer be monitored. If this is the case, control passes to process 404. Otherwise, process 400 ends.

[0038] The computing devices described herein, such as the ECUs 104, the communication components 108, the mobile devices 110, the vehicle information server 124, the service provider server 128, and the vehicle theft system 130, generally contain computer-executable instructions, the instructions being capable of being executed by one or more computing devices as listed above. The computer-executable instructions may be assembled or interpreted by computer programs created using a variety of programming languages ​​and / or technologies, including, but not limited to, either alone or in combination, Java™, C, C++, C#, Visual Basic, JavaScript, Python, Perl, PL / SQL, etc. Generally, a processor (e.g., a microprocessor) receives instructions from, for example, memory, a computer-readable medium, etc.and executes these instructions, thereby carrying out one or more processes, including one or more of the processes described herein. Such instructions and other data may be stored and transmitted using a variety of computer-readable media.

[0039] With regard to the processes, systems, procedures, heuristics, etc., described herein, it is understood that while the steps of such processes, etc., have been described as occurring in a specific sequence, such processes could be carried out using the described steps in a sequence that differs from the sequence described herein. It is also understood that certain steps could be performed simultaneously, other steps added, or certain steps described herein omitted. In other words, the present descriptions of processes serve the purpose of illustrating certain embodiments and should in no way be interpreted as limiting the claims.

Claims

[1] System, encompassing: a vehicle information server that maps a unique vehicle identifier of a stolen vehicle to a network identifier of the stolen vehicle; and a service provider server of a service provider network, programmed to initiate monitoring with respect to the network identifier in response to receiving a message from a vehicle theft system containing the unique vehicle identifier indicating that the stolen vehicle is to be monitored, and receiving the network identifier from the vehicle information server in response to sending the unique vehicle identifier to the vehicle information server, and, upon identifying access of the network identifier to a component of the network, to indicate a physical location of the component and a time of access of the vehicle to the component. [2] System according to claim 1, wherein the service provider server maintains a mapping of network locations to physical locations and the service provider server is programmed to use the mapping to translate a network address of the component into the physical location of the component. [3] System according to claim 1, wherein the service provider server maintains a protocol of a network usage history and the service provider server is further programmed to access the protocol of the network usage history in order to identify a second component of the network to which the stolen vehicle was previously connected and to indicate a physical location of the second component and a time of access to the vehicle theft system. [4] System according to claim 1, wherein the network identifier is an Integrated Circuit Card Identifier (ICCID) of a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) of an embedded modem used by a vehicle telematics control unit to communicate over the network. [5] System according to claim 1, wherein the network identifier is a network identifier of a Media Access Control address (MAC address) of an Auxiliary Protocol Interface Module controller, which is used by the vehicle to communicate over the network by using a mobile device connected to the Auxiliary Protocol Interface Module controller via a local connection. [6] System according to claim 1, wherein the service provider server is further programmed to abort monitoring with respect to the network identifier in response to receiving a message from the vehicle theft system requesting that monitoring be stopped. [7] Procedures, comprehensive: Initiating monitoring regarding a network identifier that corresponds to a unique vehicle identifier of a stolen vehicle, in response to receiving a message from a vehicle theft system; Receiving information containing the unique vehicle identifier indicating that the stolen vehicle is to be monitored; Receiving the network identifier from a vehicle information server in response to sending the unique vehicle identifier to the vehicle information server; Identifying network identifier access to a network component; and Using a mapping of network locations to physical locations to translate a component's network location into the component's physical location. [8] Method according to claim 7, further comprising determining the network identifier according to an assignment of unique vehicle identifiers to network identifiers maintained by the vehicle information server. [9] Method according to claim 7, further comprising updating the vehicle theft system with respect to the physical location of the component in order to indicate an approximate location of the stolen vehicle. [10] The method of claim 9, further comprising: Continue monitoring for network identifier; Identifying a second access of the network identifier to a second component of the network; Using the mapping of network locations to physical locations to translate a network location of the second component into a physical location of the second component; and Updating the vehicle theft system with respect to the physical location of the second component. [11] Method according to claim 7, wherein the network identifier is an Integrated Circuit Card Identifier (ICCID) of a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) of an embedded modem used by a vehicle telematics control unit to communicate over the network. [12] Method according to claim 7, wherein the network identifier is a network identifier of a Media Access Control address (MAC address) of an Auxiliary Protocol Interface Module controller used by the vehicle to communicate over the network by using a mobile device connected to the Auxiliary Protocol Interface Module controller via a local connection. [13] Method according to claim 7, further comprising terminating the monitoring with respect to the network identifier in response to receiving a second message from the vehicle theft system.

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