Control device comprising a housing

Abstract

Control device comprising a housing. This control device (1), particularly for a motor vehicle, comprises a housing (4). The housing (4) has a marking (14) integrated into a housing surface (12) on an outer side of the housing (10). To increase the protection of the control device (1) against possible tampering, the marking (14) is located at least partially on a corner (20) on the housing surface (12). See Figure 1 for abbreviations.

Description

Title of the invention: Control device comprising a housing

[0001] The invention relates to a control device, in particular for a motor vehicle, comprising a housing, in which the housing has, on an external side of the housing, a marking integrated into a surface of the housing.

[0002] A control device such as the one mentioned above is known, for example, as a tachograph, also called a trip recorder, for a motor vehicle. The tachograph records and stores, among other things, data relating to the driver's journey, such as the driving and rest times of a motor vehicle driver, and also data relating to the vehicle in accordance with legal requirements. Due to the high need for protection of this data, the tachograph has a closed and tamper-proof housing as its device casing. Protection against tampering of the known tachograph is achieved, for example, by means of a seal affixed to the casing or a tamper-evident seal affixed to the casing.

[0003] For high probative value, among other things, of driver journey data recorded by the tachograph, it is necessary that its entry, processing, and storage be protected against tampering. Tampering could occur, for example, by accessing the tachograph housing and a system card or a tachograph device motherboard located within the housing.

[0004] The object of the invention is to create a control device of the type mentioned above which has increased security against manipulation.

[0005] The object is reached according to the invention by means of a control device of the type mentioned above, characterized in that the marking is disposed at least partially on a corner disposed on the surface of the casing.

[0006] The marking represents an identification feature of the control device, in particular of the control device housing. Removing the marking, and therefore the identification feature, for example to replace it with another marking, will cause significant damage to the corner. This damage is due, in particular, to the integration of the marking into the housing surface. Thus, removing the marking also removes part of the housing at the same time.

[0007] The marking integrated into the housing surface can, for example, be cut or incised into the housing surface. For example, the marking can also be chemically etched onto the housing surface. Another possibility is that the marking is an application of paint that penetrates the housing surface. As an example, the marking can be laser-engraved onto the housing surface; this is then a marking laser. For example, such a laser marking can be integrated into the housing surface of the enclosure during a laser process in the manufacture of the control device.

[0008] Such tampering is particularly easy to detect because of the corner damage that occurs automatically when the marking is removed. Such tampering could, for example, be caused by replacing an opened, and thus damaged, housing with an undamaged one, in order to access the inside of the control device, particularly electronic components located inside the housing, such as a system board. Such a change of housing is a sure indication of unauthorized opening of the housing and therefore of tampering. To prevent such a change of housing from being immediately recognizable, the new housing must bear the same marking, i.e., the same identifying characteristic, as the original housing of the control device.Therefore, the original marking on the new housing should be removed and replaced with the marking corresponding to the original housing. However, due to damage to the corner, which is also easily recognizable visually, such an unauthorized change can still be easily detected. A particular advantage of the invention is that it provides reliable protection against unauthorized replacement of the control device housing in a simple manner.

[0009] The design of the control device according to the invention, with the special marking located on a corner, itself positioned on the housing surface, also offers the advantage of particularly high durability and protection against unintentional damage. The control device according to the invention can, in principle, be any control device that needs to be protected against tampering. Preferably, the control device is a control device for a motor vehicle. In particular, the control device can be a device integrated into a motor vehicle. Such a device integrated into a motor vehicle is intended to be installed in a prepared installation space, for example, in a dashboard or cockpit, or generally in the driver's cab of a motor vehicle.

[0010] The invention advantageously improves the security of the control device housing. The housing surface, which can and generally is homogeneous, is susceptible to the removal of markings, for example laser markings, by means of milling, grinding, or rubbing. Consequently, such removal by abrasion can be easily and reliably detected due to the associated damage present on the housing surface outside the housing, and more specifically on the corner located on the housing surface.

[0011] To prevent the marking from being erased by an abrasive process (grinding, milling, etc.) and the subsequent restoration of the housing's surface structure, a wedge is positioned on the housing and equipped with at least part of the marking. The marking preferably includes basic information, allowing, for example, the identification of the control device (e.g., in the form of a QR code or an alphanumeric serial number), which—if it needs to be modified, i.e., manipulated—must in all cases be removed and reapplied. A wedge structure with the wedge and at least part of the marking can be integrated either in relief on the housing or recessed into the housing, for example, the housing's base or the front panel of the housing.It is particularly advantageous for the corner to have clear edges, meaning clearly defined and especially sharp, as these can be used to verify any modifications, i.e., tampering, thus further improving the detection potential. Furthermore, it is particularly advantageous for the corner to be as flat as possible, i.e., to have an acute angle. The sharper the corner angle, the better the visibility of any removal of casing material from the corner.

[0012] Advantageous developments of the invention are indicated below.

[0013] According to an advantageous development of the invention, the housing surface is flat in at least one area of ​​the housing surface surrounding the corner. In other words, this means that there is a flat area of ​​the housing surface within which the corner is located. This makes it particularly easy to detect any modifications, i.e., damage, to the corner, and, for example, to identify them using a template.

[0014] In principle, the corner can be designed in any way. However, the detectability of damage to the corner is further improved if, according to an advantageous development of the invention, the corner is made as a prism-shaped projection on the outer side of the housing or as a prism-shaped recess on the outer side of the housing.

[0015] According to an advantageous development of the invention, a lateral surface of the prism adjoins an area of ​​the housing surface surrounding the corner without any indentation. This means that the lateral surface of the prism, which may in particular be a first lateral surface of the prism, rises without any indentation from the area of ​​the housing surface surrounding the corner (if the corner is designed as a projection, i.e., in relief) or descends from it (if the corner is designed as a recess, i.e., in concave). Another term for "without indentation" could also be "continuous".

[0016] According to another advantageous development of the invention, the wedge has the shape of a right-angled triangular prism, a lateral surface of the prism being arranged perpendicularly to an area of ​​the housing surface surrounding the wedge. This surface The lateral face of the prism can, in particular, be a second lateral surface of the prism. Forming the wedge as a right-angled triangular prism offers the advantage of simplified manufacturing of the control device, especially the control device housing. Furthermore, it is particularly easy to detect damage to the wedge, for example, using a template.

[0017] In principle, it is possible to position the corner on any part of the housing. According to an advantageous development of the invention, however, the housing comprises a basic housing body and a front panel, and the corner is positioned on the basic housing body. Thus, the corner can be incorporated into the housing particularly easily during its manufacture. Preferably, the front panel closes the housing body.

[0018] According to another advantageous development of the invention, the housing has a basic housing body and a front panel, and the corner is disposed on the front panel. For example, the corner can be disposed in an area of ​​the front panel which, when the control device is mounted in a vehicle, is directly visible from the outside, for example, in the driver's cab of the motor vehicle. This makes it particularly easy to detect any damage to the corner. In principle, it is also conceivable that a corner according to the invention may be disposed on both the basic housing body and the front panel of a housing having a basic housing body and a front panel.

[0019] In principle, it is conceivable, for example, that the housing could be a metal casing. The manufacture of the control device can be advantageously simplified further if, according to another development of the invention, at least a part of the housing, in particular the part of the housing with the corner, is a plastic injection-molded part. In particular, a basic housing body can advantageously be a plastic injection-molded part.

[0020] According to an advantageous development of the invention, the wedge is positioned on the housing, in particular on the housing base, in the direction of demolding. Thus, in the tool, in particular the injection molding tool, no slide is required to produce the wedge for manufacturing the housing, in particular the housing base. Moreover, this method makes it possible to obtain a homogeneous housing surface without a sliding profile in the wedge area. A uniform and homogeneous housing surface prevents the removal and reinsertion of the housing material in this area without leaving traces.

[0021] According to another advantageous development of the invention, the marking has a first marking portion disposed on the corner and a second marking portion disposed in an area of ​​the housing surface surrounding the corner. Preferably, in a view, particularly a top view, of the marking, the first marking portion and the The second part of the marking forms a uniform, or closed, image. This is particularly true when the first and second parts of the marking are directly adjacent to each other, except for the difference in height caused by the corner. The corresponding arrangement of the first and second parts of the marking makes the restoration of a damaged marking even more difficult.

[0022] For example, one could imagine that the marking is an application of paint that penetrates the surface of the housing. However, according to an advantageous development of the invention, the marking is a laser marking. The laser marking is integrated into the housing surface using a laser process, preferably during the manufacture of the control device. In this way, it is possible to mark the housing in a particularly simple and reliable manner. Such a marking is also particularly resistant to accidental damage and exhibits very good durability.

[0023] The control device according to the invention is preferably a control device for a motor vehicle. For example, the control device could be a tolling device or a telematics device. According to an advantageous development of the invention, the control device is a tachograph, in particular a digital tachograph. The invention advantageously contributes to ensuring a particularly high level of protection against tampering with the tachograph. It is also conceivable that the control device could be a tachograph that also has other functions, in particular the functions of a telematics device and / or a tolling device, and thus represents a combination of a tachograph with one or more other devices, in particular a telematics device and / or a tolling device.

[0024] The invention also includes combinations of features of the embodiments described.

[0025] Examples of embodiments of the invention are described in more detail below with the aid of the sketched and schematic representations of the drawings.

[0026] The figures represent the following:

[0027] [Fig-1] a control device in a perspective view,

[0028] [Fig.2] an enlarged section of the control device according to [Fig.1] in a different perspective view,

[0029] [Fig.3] a marking of a control device housing according to [Fig.1] in a perspective view,

[0030] [Fig.4] a marking according to [Fig.3] in a modified form in a perspective view,

[0031] [Fig.5], [Fig.6], [Fig.7] another marking in different views and

[0032] [Fig.8], [Fig.9], [Fig.10] another marking in different views.

[0033] The corresponding elements are all designated with the same reference numbers in all the figures. The various figures represent and illustrate respectively individual features of embodiments of the invention and therefore do not necessarily show the invention as a whole with all its features each time.

[0034] Figure 1 shows a control device 1 for a motor vehicle. The control device 1 is designed as a device installed in a motor vehicle. In the embodiment shown here, the control device 1 is a tachograph for a motor vehicle. The motor vehicle can be, for example, a truck or a small van.

[0035] In addition to the control device 1, [Fig. 1] shows an installation frame 2, which may be present, for example, in a cockpit or dashboard of a motor vehicle not shown here for the installation of the control device 1. The control device 1 has a housing 4, which housing 4 has a housing base body 6 and a front panel 8 closing the housing base body 6. [Fig. 1] does not show a battery compartment arranged, for example, in a first recess 3 of a rear wall 7 of the housing base body 6 and a plug-in connection arranged, for example, in a second recess 5 of the rear wall 7.

[0036] On an external side of the housing 10, the housing 4 has a marking 14 integrated into a housing surface 12 of the housing 4. In the embodiment shown here, the marking 14 is integrated into the housing surface 12 of the base body of the housing 6.

[0037] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the housing 4 also has a similar marking 15 on the outer side of the housing 10, which is integrated into the housing surface 12 of the housing 4, more specifically into the housing surface 12 of the front panel 8 of the housing 4. This marking 15 is located on a corner, not shown in detail here, located on the housing surface 12 of the front panel 8. This corner and the aforementioned marking 15 can, for example, correspond in their design to one of the corners described below with the respective associated marking.

[0038] According to [Fig. 2], it is clear that the housing 4, in addition to the marking 14, which is a first marking, also has a second marking 16 on the outer side of the housing 10, which is integrated into the housing surface 12 of the housing 4, and more specifically also – like the first marking 14 – into the housing surface 12 of the housing base body 6 of the housing 4. Furthermore, a third marking 18 is located between the first marking 14 and the second marking 16 on the housing 4. The third marking 18 could be, for example, a barcode printed on the housing surface 12 of the housing 4. However, it is also possible, for example, that the third marking 18, in particular the barcode, is either a laser marking and is integrated into the surface of the housing 12 of the housing 4 by means of a laser process.

[0039] The housing base body 6 can be a plastic injection molded part. The first marking 14 and the second marking 16 can both be laser markings and can be integrated into the housing surface 12 of the housing 4, more precisely into the housing base body 6 of the housing 4, by means of a laser process.

[0040] From an enlarged view according to [Fig. 3], it is clear that the first marking 14 is located on a first corner 20 located on the housing surface 12. The second marking 16 is located on a second corner 22 located on the housing surface 12. The first corner 20 with the first marking 14 and the second corner 22 with the second marking 16 protrude from the housing surface 12. The housing surface 12 is flat in an area 24 of the housing surface 12 surrounding the first corner 20 and the second corner 22.

[0041] The corner 20 having the first marking is designed as a prism-shaped projection 26 on the outer side of the housing 10 of the housing 4. In this case, a first lateral surface 28 of the first prism 26 is formed without a recess on the area 24 surrounding the first corner 20. Furthermore, the first corner 20 has the shape of a right-angled triangular prism 26, in which a second lateral surface 30 of the prism 26 is arranged perpendicularly to the area 24 of the housing surface 12 surrounding the corner 20. Corresponding to the first corner 20, the second corner 22 is designed accordingly and has the shape of a second right-angled triangular prism 32.

[0042] Figure 4 also shows the first marking 14, the second marking 16, and the third marking 18 in a view similar to Figure 3. Unlike the representation in Figure 3, Figure 4 shows the first marking 14 in two parts: an upper part 34 of the first marking 14 in Figure 4 showing the first marking 14 in an undamaged state, and a lower part 36 of the first marking 14 in Figure 4 showing the first marking 14 in a damaged and partially removed state. It can be seen that the corner 20 bearing the first marking 14 changes shape when the marking 14 is removed (for the undamaged marking 14, see upper part 34), for example, to apply a different marking; in this case, it becomes lower and generally smaller (see lower part 36). Such a change is easily recognizable visually, and the tampering can therefore be easily detected.The lower part 36 of the first marking 14 may, for example, have been caused by an abrasion of, for example, 0.03 mm of the first marking 14 (in its undamaged state, see upper part 34).

[0043] Another example in the form of another marking 38 is shown in [Fig. 5] in a plan view and in Figures 6 and 7 in various perspective views. The additional marking 38 is partially located on a corner 40 situated on a housing surface 12 of a control device housing. The corner 40 is designed as a prism-shaped recess 42 in the outer side of the control device housing. In this embodiment, the corner 40 thus protrudes into the housing surface 12.

[0044] The additional marking 38 has a first part of a marking 39 disposed on the corner 40 and a second part of a marking 41 which is disposed in an area of ​​the housing surface 12 surrounding the corner 40. In addition, the additional marking 38 has a third part of a marking 43 disposed in the area of ​​the housing surface 12 surrounding the corner 40.

[0045] Unlike the embodiment shown in Figures 5, 6, and 7, the embodiment shown in Figures 8, 9, and 10 has a different marking 44, which is partially located on a corner 46 situated on a housing surface 12 of a control device housing. The corner 46 is designed here as a prism-shaped projection 48 on the outer side of the control device housing. Figure 8 shows a plan view of the marking 44, and Figures 9 and 10 show different perspective views of the marking 44.

[0046] The other marking 44 shown here has a first part of a marking 45 disposed on the corner 46 and a second part of a marking 47 disposed in an area of ​​the housing surface 12 surrounding the corner 46. In addition, the other marking 44 has a third part of a marking 49 which is disposed in the area of ​​the housing surface 12 surrounding the corner 46.

[0047] Overall, the embodiments show how a control device 1 can be configured which has increased protection against possible manipulations.

[0048] In the case of a plastic injection-molded part, no slide is required in the tool to form the corner; the corner can simply be integrated when positioned in the demolding direction. This ensures a homogeneous housing surface without a sliding profile. An arrangement in the demolding direction, such that easy demolding is possible during manufacturing and no slide is required in the tool for corner formation, means, with reference to the representation and orientation of the housing shown, for example, in Figures 2 to 4, that a raised corner points to the right, and a recessed corner, i.e., a corner that is indented, points to the left. A uniform housing surface prevents the cutting and reinserting of material in this area, i.e., in the area of ​​the housing surface containing and surrounding the corner. If the housing material is removed, The corner is significantly altered. For example, in the case of a QR code marking, the square shape is lost. In all cases, the corner becomes shorter. This can be easily verified both visually (size, perpendicularity) and using a template. Simply remove a few hundredths of a millimeter from the casing material. Another inspection feature is, ideally, the corner edges. If these are heavily rounded, this also indicates manipulation of the corner shape and therefore of the information contained in the marking on the corner. The structure and shape of the corner can be freely chosen, provided it is fundamentally feasible. In the case of a marking consisting of plain text, the corner can also be narrower than the text itself. Multiple corners per lettering are also possible.However, this option is only recommended for plain text information, because otherwise the readability of the codes will be impaired.

Claims

Demands

1. Control device (1), in particular for a motor vehicle, comprising a housing (4), in which the housing (4) has, on an external side of the housing (10), a marking (14) integrated into a surface of the housing (12) of the housing (4), characterized in that the marking (14) is disposed at least partially on a corner (20) disposed on the surface of the housing (12).

2. Control device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the housing surface (12) is designed to be flat at least in an area (24) of the housing surface (12) surrounding the corner (20).

3. Control device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the corner (20; 40; 46) is made in the form of a prism-shaped projection (26; 48) on the outer side of the housing (10) or in the form of a prism-shaped recess (42) in the outer side of the housing (10).

4. Control device (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that a lateral surface (28), in particular a first one, of the prism (26) adjoins an area (24) of the housing surface (12) surrounding the corner (20) without a recess.

5. Control device (1) according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the wedge (20) has the form of a right-angled triangular prism (26), in which a lateral surface (30), in particular a second, of the prism (26) is arranged perpendicular to an area (24) of the housing surface (12) surrounding the wedge (20).

6. Control device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing (4) has a housing base body (6) and a front panel (8) and that the corner (20) is disposed on the housing base body (6).

7. Control device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing (4) has a basic housing body (6) and a front panel (8) and that the corner is disposed on the front panel (8).

8. Control device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least a part of the housing (4) is an injection-molded plastic part.

9. Control device (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that the wedge (20) is arranged on the housing (4) in the direction of demolding.

10. Control device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the marking (38; 44) has a first marking part (39; 45) disposed on the corner (40; 46) and a second marking part (41; 47) disposed in an area of ​​the housing surface (12) surrounding the corner (40; 46).

11. Control device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the marking (14) is a laser marking.

12. Control device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control device (1) is a tachograph.

Images