A vehicle fleet alarm system and corresponding vehicle

Abstract

A vehicle fleet alarm system comprising a plurality of vehicles configured to contain objects associated with respective identifiers and comprising tags configured to send presence data, and a remote control apparatus configured to receive from a vehicle fleet manager inventory lists associated to respective vehicles comprising identifiers associated with objects that are to be present on the respective vehicles. Each vehicle comprises an integrated reader and an integrated electronic controller configured to detect a theft attempt and, in response to such detection: the integrated electronic controller is configured to send (404b) a first notification indicating said theft attempt to the vehicle fleet manager and send (414) a scan request to the integrated reader; the integrated reader is configured to receive and send presence data to the electronic controller; the integrated electronic controller is configured to receive such data and to obtain and send (414) indications of presence of the objects indicative of a presence of such objects in the vehicle; and the remote control apparatus is configured to determine if an indication of presence has been obtained for each object whose identifier is comprised in the inventory list of the vehicle and, if at least one indication of presence has not been obtained, to generate and send (412) a second notification indicative of stolen objects to the vehicle fleet manager.

Description

[0001] A vehicle fleet alarm system and corresponding vehicle

[0002] TEXT OF THE DESCRIPTION

[0003] Technical field

[0004] The embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a vehicle fleet alarm system.

[0005] In particular, various embodiments of the present disclosure relate to solutions for vehicle fleet alarm systems comprising an object management function.

[0006] Technological Background

[0007] The activities of delivering objects or parcels or, more generally, the activities (commercial and non-commercial) that reguire the transport of objects by means of a vehicle, for example, a vehicle belonging to a vehicle fleet, are very widespread, ranging from logistics and transport to services, for example, maintenance services or the like.

[0008] Therefore, the security of such vehicles is essential, not only to protect the objects transported, but also to ensure greater well-being of the drivers and greater reliability of the transport activity.

[0009] Usually, the vehicles of a fleet can be eguipped with anti-theft systems implemented through alarms, for example, acoustic alarms, which are activated in response to an attempt to access the vehicle by an unauthorized individual.

[0010] Such anti-theft systems are implemented through additional hardware devices, for example, ad-hoc hardware devices, thus resulting in a lack of connection between such additional hardware implementing the anti-theft function and the components integrated in the vehicle.

[0011] Furthermore, eguipping vehicles in a fleet with such additional hardware devices involves a non-negligible expense.

[0012] Therefore, solutions to facilitate a greater connection between the hardware devices used to implement an anti-theft function and the vehicles themselves would be advantageous to increase the efficiency of the fleet and reduce the costs necessary for its eguipment. Object and summary

[0013] An object of one or more embodiments is to facilitate the resolution of the problems described above.

[0014] According to one or more embodiments, the purpose described above can be achieved by an alarm system for fleets of vehicles, for example vehicles for both commercial and non-commercial activities, which uses components integrated in the vehicle.

[0015] Therefore, the present detailed description refers to a vehicle fleet alarm system comprising:

[0016] - a plurality of vehicles configured to contain objects associated with respective identifiers, said objects comprising respective tags configured to send presence data comprising said respective identifiers; and

[0017] - a remote control apparatus configured to receive from a vehicle fleet manager inventory lists associated to respective vehicles, said inventory lists comprising identifiers associated with objects that are to be present on the respective vehicles; wherein each vehicle in said plurality of vehicles comprises:

[0018] - an electronic controller integrated in the vehicle; and

[0019] - a reader integrated in the vehicle; wherein said integrated electronic controller is configured to detect a theft attempt and, in response to the detection of said theft attempt: said integrated electronic controller is configured to send a first notification indicating said theft attempt to the vehicle fleet manager and to send a scan request to said integrated reader; said integrated reader is configured to, in response to reception of the scan request, receive the presence data sent by the objects contained in the vehicle and send said presence data to said integrated electronic controller; said integrated electronic controller is configured to receive said presence data, to obtain, based on said presence data, indications of presence of said objects contained in the vehicle indicative of a presence of said objects in said vehicle, and to send said indications of presence; and said remote control apparatus is configured to determine if an indication of presence has been obtained for each object associated with an identifier comprised in the inventory list associated to said vehicle and, if at least one indication of presence has not been obtained for at least one object associated with an identifier comprised in said inventory list, to generate and send a second notification indicative of absent objects to the vehicle fleet manager.

[0020] In a preferred embodiment, the operation of detecting, via said integrated electronic controller, a theft attempt is performed via at least one of:

[0021] - a perimetric anti-theft device of the vehicle;

[0022] - a volumetric anti-theft device of the vehicle;

[0023] - a volumetric anti-theft device of the vehicle comprising a lifting detector of said vehicle;

[0024] - a device configured to detect a disconnection of a battery of said vehicle;

[0025] - a device configured to detect an ignition of said vehicle with an unauthorized key; and

[0026] - a device configured to detect a towing of said vehicle, preferably, when a motor of said vehicle is off.

[0027] According to a further preferred feature, said remote control apparatus is configured to store a list of additional objects associated to said vehicle, said list of additional objects comprising identifiers associated with objects that are not to be present on the vehicle and for which said integrated reader has received respective presence data; and said remote control apparatus is configured to determine if an indication of presence has been obtained for each object associated with an identifier comprised in the list of additional objects associated to said vehicle and, if at least one indication of presence has not been obtained for at least one object associated with an identifier comprised in said list of additional objects, to send, via said second notification, indications related to absent additional objects to the vehicle fleet manager; preferably wherein if at least one indication of presence has not been obtained for at least one object associated with an identifier comprised in the list of additional objects associated to said vehicle: said remote control apparatus is configured to send said second notification comprising said indications related to absent additional objects to a driver of the vehicle; or said second notification comprising said indications related to absent additional objects is sent by the vehicle fleet manager to said driver of the vehicle.

[0028] Again preferably, in response to the detection of said theft attempt:

[0029] - said integrated electronic controller is configured to send said first notification indicating said theft attempt to a driver of the vehicle, preferably to a mobile device of said driver of the vehicle; or said first notification indicating said theft attempt is sent by the vehicle fleet manager to said driver of the vehicle, preferably to said mobile device of said driver of the vehicle.

[0030] According to a further preferred feature, said alarm system comprises an acoustic and / or visual alarm and, in response to the detection of said theft attempt, said integrated electronic controller is configured to activate said acoustic and / or visual alarm, and to, after a time interval, deactivate said acoustic and / or visual alarm and send to the vehicle fleet manager a third notification indicating the deactivation of said acoustic and / or visual alarm; preferably wherein the operation of sending, via the integrated electronic controller, said first notification to the vehicle fleet manager is performed before the activation operation of the acoustic and / or visual alarm; and wherein the operation of sending, via the integrated electronic controller, said scan request to said integrated reader is performed after the deactivation operation of said acoustic and / or visual alarm, preferably in response to the opening of at least one door by a driver of the vehicle.

[0031] According to a preferred embodiment, said integrated electronic controller is configured to send said indications of presence to an additional remote apparatus configured to couple the remote control apparatus with the vehicle fleet manager; said additional remote apparatus is configured to receive from said vehicle fleet manager said inventory lists and to transmit said inventory lists to the remote control apparatus; said additional remote apparatus is configured to compare the identifiers associated with objects for which an indication of presence has been obtained with the identifiers comprised in said inventory list associated to said vehicle, obtaining a first set of identifiers comprising the identifiers comprised in said inventory list for which an indication of presence has been received and a second set of identifiers comprising the identifiers comprised in said inventory list for which an indication of presence has been received, and to send said first set of identifiers and said second set of identifiers to the remote control apparatus; and said remote control apparatus is configured to determine if, based on said first set of identifiers and said second set of identifiers, an indication of presence has been obtained for each object associated with an identifier comprised in said inventory list associated to said vehicle.

[0032] According to a preferred embodiment, said integrated electronic controller is configured to send said indications of presence to the remote control apparatus; said remote control apparatus is configured to compare the identifiers associated with objects for which an indication of presence has been obtained with the identifiers comprised in said inventory list associated to said vehicle, obtaining a first set of identifiers comprising the identifiers comprised in said inventory list for which an indication of presence has been received and a second set of identifiers comprising the identifiers comprised in said inventory list for which an indication of presence has not been received; and said remote control apparatus is configured to determine if, based on said first set of identifiers and said second set of identifiers, an indication of presence has been obtained for each object associated with an identifier comprised in said inventory list associated to said vehicle.

[0033] According to a preferred embodiment, if at least one indication of presence has not been obtained for at least one object associated with an identifier comprised in the inventory list associated to said vehicle: said remote control apparatus is configured to send said second notification indicative of absent objects to a driver of the vehicle; or said second notification indicative of absent objects is sent by the vehicle fleet manager to said driver of the vehicle; wherein, preferably, said second notification is sent:

[0034] - to a mobile device of the driver of the vehicle, and / or

[0035] - to an additional electronic controller integrated in the vehicle or to said electronic controller integrated in the vehicle. According to a preferred embodiment, said integrated electronic controller is configured to send an additional notification to the vehicle fleet manager, said additional notification being indicative of a deactivation of said alarm system by a driver of said vehicle.

[0036] One or more embodiments refer to a corresponding vehicle.

[0037] The solutions as described in this detailed description therefore facilitate obtaining a greater connection between the hardware devices used to implement an anti-theft function and the vehicles themselves, increasing the efficiency of the fleet and reducing the costs necessary for its equipment.

[0038] Brief description of the figures

[0039] One or more embodiments will now be described, purely by way of example, with reference to the attached figures, in which:

[0040] - Figure 1 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a system for managing objects in vehicles of vehicle fleets according to embodiments of the present description;

[0041] - Figure 2 illustrates the block diagram of Figure 1 and a fleet manager interface according to embodiments of the present description;

[0042] - Figure 3 illustrates an exemplary use of such a system for managing objects in vehicles of vehicle fleets according to embodiments of the present description; and

[0043] - Figure 4 illustrates an exemplary use of an alarm system in vehicles of vehicle fleets according to embodiments of the present description.

[0044] The figures are reproduced to clearly illustrate the relevant aspects of the embodiments and are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0045] Detailed description of exemplary embodiments

[0046] In the following description, one or more specific details are illustrated in order to provide a thorough understanding of exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. The embodiments may be achieved without one or more of the specific details or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In other cases, known operations, materials, or structures are not illustrated or described in detail so that certain aspects of the embodiments will not be obscured. A reference to “an / one embodiment” within this disclosure is intended to indicate that a particular configuration, structure, or feature described with respect to the embodiment is comprised in at least one embodiment. Therefore, phrases such as “in an / one embodiment” or the like that may appear in one or more places in this specification do not necessarily refer to exactly the same embodiment.

[0047] Furthermore, particular configurations, structures or features may be combined in any suitable way in one or more embodiments.

[0048] The references used herein are provided merely for convenience and therefore do not define the extent of protection or the scope of the embodiments.

[0049] In all figures herein and in all the detailed description that follows, unless the context indicates otherwise, similar parts or elements are indicated by similar references / numbers and a corresponding description will not be repeated for brevity.

[0050] As previously stated, solutions as described herein try to facilitate obtaining greater connectivity between the hardware devices used to implement an anti-theft function and the vehicles themselves, increasing the efficiency of the fleet and reducing the costs necessary for its equipment.

[0051] Embodiments of solutions as described herein try to facilitate the achievement of such objective, for example, by integrating some of the functions performed by such additional hardware devices directly in the vehicle, for example, by using the control unit or one or more electronic control units (so-called “Electronic Control Unit” or ECU) of the vehicle.

[0052] In fact, by integrating some of the functions performed by such additional hardware devices directly in the vehicle, it is possible to obtain a greater and more reliable connection between the components configured to perform such alarm functions and the components configured to perform other functions of the vehicle.

[0053] The alarm function described herein is implemented in vehicle fleets that also comprise a function for the management and detection of objects transported by such vehicles, that is, comprising a function that allows the tracking of objects transported by vehicles of a vehicle fleet during the transport and / or delivery of such objects.

[0054] Note that an example of an object management system comprised in vehicles of vehicle fleets is described below, therefore, the present solution relating to the alarm function described herein may also apply to different systems, for example, to systems comprising part of the elements described below or to systems comprising additional elements with respect to those described below.

[0055] An object management function according to embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed by means of components integrated in the vehicle, for example, by means of the infotainment system of the vehicle and the control unit or one or more electronic control units (so-called “Electronic Control Unit” or ECU) of the vehicle.

[0056] Note that components configured to perform the alarm function and / or the object management function may also be configured to perform other functions (that is, to perform both alarm functions and / or object management functions and other functions of the vehicle).

[0057] For example, both the control unit or one or more electronic control units and the infotainment system of a vehicle can be configured to perform both alarm functions and / or object management functions and other functions, further increasing such connection and the possible interactions between them.

[0058] Furthermore, such choice of integrating some of the functions performed by such additional hardware devices directly inside the vehicle can advantageously allow not to have to add any component to implement the functions related to the management of objects and, possibly, to the visualization of alarms related to error conditions in the vehicle load, and to reduce the number of additional components used to implement the alarm functions.

[0059] In this way, vehicles belonging to a fleet can limit the equipment with additional hardware devices, and, therefore, in addition to the increase in efficiency resulting from the integration of such alarm functions and / or such object management function directly on the vehicle, it is possible to reduce the costs necessary for the equipment of a fleet.

[0060] For example, a further advantage of such integration may be a higher reliability of alarm functions and / or object management functions, since such functions may no longer depend on a battery powering additional hardware devices used in known solutions. Note that although RFID (so-called “Radio-Frequency IDentification”) tags and integrated readers implementing an RFID scanner function are considered in the following description, any other type of tags and any other type of reader may be considered.

[0061] For example, any type of tag that, when associated with an object that is loaded onto a corresponding vehicle, allows the reader integrated in such vehicle to obtain data related to such object automatically (that is, without the need for operations by an operator of such vehicle), as a result of simply loading the object comprising such tag in the vehicle itself.

[0062] For example, the tag may not be a physical tag, but a digital tag associated with an object and containing an identifier of the respective object, therefore, alternative solutions may consider physical tags and / or digital tags.

[0063] Furthermore, such alternative solutions may, for example, consider an integrated reader implemented via a camera or via camera systems, or an integrated reader configured to detect data relating to objects loaded onto the vehicle via a Bluetooth communication protocol and / or via LoRa communication systems (so-called “Long Range”).

[0064] Therefore, in addition to an alarm function, solutions as described herein enable an object management function to be achieved in vehicles of a vehicle fleet.

[0065] Solutions as described herein comprise a system for managing objects comprised in vehicles of vehicle fleets.

[0066] Such vehicles comprise an integrated reader, for example, a reader implementing an RFID scanner function, configured to detect data relating to objects comprised in the respective vehicles in response to the loading of such objects into such respective vehicles.

[0067] Solutions as described herein are based on the placement of a physical tag on a corresponding object, for example, a package to be delivered or a tool to be used to perform a particular activity, for example, a tag implementing RFID technology, such physical tag being configured to use, for example, radio waves to send data relating to the corresponding object to a reader integrated in a vehicle, for example, a vehicle of a fleet.

[0068] The data relating to the objects contained in the tags may comprise, for example, an identifier of the object, a recipient of the object, notes relating to the delivery or use of the object, details of the destination of the object, details relating to expected delivery times, and / or the like, that is, information that allows the object to be identified and / or facilitates the transportation and / or delivery of the object.

[0069] For example, such a scanner function (for example, RFID) may allow the tracking of objects transported within the vehicles of a fleet to be facilitated, for example, by allowing the detection of whether a given object is in a given vehicle, whether a given object is missing from a given vehicle, or the like.

[0070] Figure 1 illustrates a block diagram 10 of an example of a system for managing objects in vehicles 100 of vehicle fleets, for example, vehicles for commercial and non-commercial activities, that is, commercial vehicle fleets (that is, fleets of vehicles used to deliver or collect goods, passengers or employees performing a field service) or non-commercial vehicle fleets (that is, fleets of vehicles used, for example, in activities other than those previously described), according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0071] It should be noted that some components of such a system 10 for managing objects in vehicles 100 of vehicle fleets may not be present in embodiments of the present solution or may be implemented through one or more equivalent blocks.

[0072] Note that embodiments of the present solution may comprise additional blocks to those described for the management system 10 of Figure 1 .

[0073] The management system 10 comprises:

[0074] - a plurality of vehicles (note that, for the sake of clarity, only one vehicle 100 is illustrated in Figure 1 , and, since the other vehicles in such plurality of vehicles are equivalent to the vehicle 100, the block diagram of a system 10 comprising a plurality of vehicles can be obtained in a simple way by starting from the block diagram of Figure 1 and repeating the block relating to the vehicle 100 several times); and

[0075] - a remote control apparatus 122.

[0076] Each vehicle 100 in such plurality of vehicles comprises at least:

[0077] - an electronic controller 102 integrated in the vehicle 100, for example, a control unit, an electronic control unit, a microcontroller, a microprocessor, a control logic, or any other processing device integrated in such vehicle 100, comprising a wireless communication interface configured to communicate with the remote control apparatus 122, for example, by means of an asynchronous communication protocol (for example, a Message Queuing Telemetry Transport, MQTT protocol);

[0078] - a reader 118 integrated in the vehicle 100 configured to detect the presence of objects in the vehicle 100, for example, a reader configured to implement an RFID scanner function; and

[0079] - a visualization device 120 integrated in the vehicle 100, for example, a visualization device integrated in the infotainment system of such vehicle 100.

[0080] Figure 2 illustrates the block diagram 10 of Figure 1 coupled 20 to a fleet manager interface 200 according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0081] Figure 2 also illustrates exemplary communication signals sent by the management system blocks 10 and the fleet manager interface 200, therefore, the description of communication signals hereinafter will refer to such Figure 2.

[0082] The remote control apparatus 122 is configured to receive, for example, from a vehicle fleet manager operating via an interface (for example, the interface 200 of Figure 2), one or more inventory lists comprising one or more identifiers relating to respective objects to be transported by one or more vehicles 100 belonging to the vehicle fleet, for example, via an inventory list notification signal ILn, and / or one or more changes to such inventory lists for one or more vehicles belonging to the vehicle fleet, for example, via an inventory change notification signal IMn.

[0083] Each of such inventory lists may be associated with a corresponding vehicle 100 and may comprise identifiers relating to objects to be transported by such vehicle 100, for example, to successfully perform one or more tasks.

[0084] The remote control apparatus 122 is configured to, in response to the reception of such inventory list notification signal ILn, transmit, for example, via the asynchronous communication protocol, the one or more received inventory lists to the corresponding one or more vehicles 100, for example, via an inventory update notification signal IUn, in particular, to the electronic controllers 102 of the respective one or more vehicles 100. Each vehicle 100 is then configured to receive from such remote control apparatus 122, via the electronic controller 102 which, for example, receives such inventory update notification signal IUn, and, in particular, via the wireless communication interface comprised in such electronic controller 102, the corresponding inventory list.

[0085] Such electronic controller 102 may be configured to store such inventory list, for example, in a memory contained in the electronic controller 102 or external to it.

[0086] The electronic controller 102 is further configured to send, for example, in response to the reception of such an inventory update notification signal IUn or in response to a driver request to visualize such a list (for example, a request received via a signal of feedback Fi), the corresponding inventory list to the visualization device 120 integrated in the vehicle 100, for example, via the wireless communication interface or via wired communication, for example, via the object visualization signal OV.

[0087] The visualization device 120 integrated in the vehicle 100 is configured to receive, for example, via such an object visualization signal OV, and to visualize the corresponding inventory list.

[0088] Such visualization operation may be performed, for example, in response to the selection of a notification by the driver, for example, a popup notification, comprising information about the objects to be transported.

[0089] Therefore, solutions as described herein allow fleet managers to define one or more inventory lists, in particular, one or more inventory lists for one or more vehicles in the fleet, for example, one inventory list for each vehicle in the fleet.

[0090] Each of the one or more inventory lists may contain identifiers of one or more objects to be transported by a corresponding vehicle.

[0091] Furthermore, each of the one or more inventory lists may contain, for each of such objects, additional information relating to, for example, a name of the object, a recipient of the object, notes relating to the delivery or use of the object, details of the destination of the object, details relating to expected delivery times, contact information of a customer associated with such object (for example, name, address, telephone number, or the like), details relating to the use of such object, and / or the like, that is, information that allows the object to be identified and / or facilitates the transport and / or delivery operations thereof.

[0092] As previously described, in embodiments of the present solution the remote control apparatus 122 may be further configured to receive, for example, via an inventory change notification signal IMn, one or more changes to the one or more inventory lists for one or more vehicles belonging to the vehicle fleet, thereby enabling the fleet manager to modify the one or more inventory lists determined previously.

[0093] Such changes may be, for example, the modification of one or more of the objects in the list (for example, by modifying one or more of the additional information), the insertion of one or more new objects to be transported by the vehicle 100, and / or the deletion of one or more objects that are no longer to be transported by the vehicle 100.

[0094] In such a case, the remote control apparatus 122 may be configured to produce one or more additional inventory lists, for example, one additional inventory list for each inventory list for which changes have been received, based on the one or more changes received.

[0095] The remote control apparatus 122 may be configured to transmit, for example, via the asynchronous communication protocol, for example, via the inventory update notification signal IUn, the one or more additional inventory lists to the corresponding one or more vehicles affected by such received changes.

[0096] Each vehicle 100 comprised among the one or more vehicles affected by such received modifications can then be configured to receive from such remote control apparatus 122 and via the electronic controller 102, for example, via the inventory update notification signal IUn, and, in particular, via the wireless communication interface comprised in the electronic controller 102, the corresponding additional updated inventory list containing the updated identifiers of the objects that are to be transported in the vehicle 100.

[0097] Such electronic controller 102 can be configured to store such additional updated inventory list in place of the previous inventory list, for example, in a memory contained in the electronic controller 102 or external to it.

[0098] Therefore, the electronic controller 102 may be configured to send, for example, in response to the reception of such an inventory update notification signal IUn or in response to a request from a driver to visualize such a list (for example, a request received via a signal of feedback Fi), the corresponding additional inventory list received via the wireless communication interface to the visualization device 120 integrated in the vehicle 100, for example, via the object visualization signal OV.

[0099] The visualization device 120 integrated in the vehicle 100 may be configured to receive from such an electronic controller 102 integrated in the vehicle 100 the corresponding additional inventory list and to visualize such additional inventory list (for example, in place of the previous inventory list).

[0100] Such visualization device 120 integrated in the vehicle 100 may be configured to visualize the corresponding additional inventory list in response to the selection of a notification by the driver, for example, a popup notification, wherein such notification may comprise information about new objects to be transported, updated object information, and / or objects that no longer need to be transported.

[0101] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the visualization device 120 integrated in the vehicle 100 may be configured to detect feedback, for example, feedback provided by the driver in response to the visualization of the corresponding inventory list, and / or any other event that concerns an update on the presence of objects in the vehicle 100, and to transmit such feedback, for example, via a signal of feedback Fi, to the electronic controller 102 integrated in the vehicle 100.

[0102] Examples of feedback regarding updates on the presence of objects in the vehicle 100 may be: delivered object, failures in the delivery of an object, reasons for failures, or the like.

[0103] In such a case, the electronic controller 102 integrated in the vehicle 100 may be further configured to receive such feedback, for example, via the signal of feedback Fi sent by the visualization device 120 integrated in the vehicle 100, and to send, for example, via the wireless communication interface, such feedback to the remote control apparatus 122.

[0104] The remote control apparatus 122 may then be configured to receive such feedback from the vehicle 100, that is, from the vehicle integrating such electronic controller 102, and to transmit the feedback Fi to the vehicle fleet manager (for example, via the fleet manager interface 200) and / or to produce an additional inventory list comprising changes obtained as a function of such feedback Fi (for example, by removing from the list the identifier of a delivered object or the like).

[0105] Note that the remote control apparatus 122 may, in response to a request from the fleet manager indicating to receive or silence the feedbacks Fi, send or not send one or more feedbacks Fi to the vehicle fleet manager, respectively.

[0106] Note that such a signal to silence the feedbacks Fi may be sent for all vehicles in the fleet or for a subset of the vehicles in the fleet and / or may have different values for different vehicles in the fleet, for example, indicating to receive the feedbacks for a subset of the vehicles in the fleet and not to receive the feedbacks for the remaining part of the vehicles in the fleet.

[0107] Each vehicle 100 in the plurality of vehicles is configured to contain the one or more objects whose identifiers are comprised in the corresponding inventory list.

[0108] Such one or more objects comprise a corresponding tag, for example, an RFID tag or any other type of tag which, when associated with an object transported on a vehicle 100, is configured to send, for example, via an object detection signal OD, data indicating the presence of the respective object inside the vehicle 100 to the integrated reader 118.

[0109] The integrated reader 118 is configured to receive and send such data indicating the presence of the respective object, for example, contained in the object detection signal OD, to the electronic controller 102.

[0110] Such electronic controller 102 is configured to receive, for each object inside the vehicle 100, such data indicating the presence of the respective object, for example, via the reception of the object detection signal OD, and to obtain, on the basis of such received data, an object presence signal Dobj comprising, for each object inside the vehicle 100, an indication of presence of the object inside the vehicle 100, for example, a variable indicative of the identifier of each present object.

[0111] The electronic controller 102 is further configured to send such object presence signal Dobj to the remote control apparatus 122 or to the interface 200.

[0112] Therefore, the remote control apparatus 122 or the interface 200 may be configured to determine if such object presence signal Dobj comprises an indication regarding the presence of the objects in the vehicle 100 for each object whose identifier is comprised in the inventory list of such vehicle 100, for example, by comparing the indications of presence comprised in such object presence signal Dobj (for example, the identifiers of the present objects comprised in such object presence signal Dobj) with the identifiers of the objects to be transported by the vehicle 100 comprised in the corresponding inventory list.

[0113] Such a determination operation, for example, by comparison, allows obtaining information relating to the presence or absence of objects whose identifiers are comprised in the inventory list of the corresponding vehicle 100.

[0114] For example, such information relating to the presence or absence of objects whose identifiers are comprised in the inventory list of the corresponding vehicle 100 may comprise, for each object whose identifier is comprised in the inventory list of the corresponding vehicle 100, a pair of values comprising the identifier of the object itself and a binary value indicating the presence or absence of such object in the vehicle 100.

[0115] If the interface 200 is configured to perform such a determination operation, such interface 200 is further configured to send such information relating to the presence or absence of the objects to the remote control apparatus 122.

[0116] Accordingly, the remote control apparatus 122 is configured to determine, based on such information regarding the presence or absence of objects (obtained, for example, by comparison, or received from the interface 200), if an indication of presence has been obtained for each object corresponding to an identifier in the inventory list of the vehicle 100, for example, by verifying whether there is information indicating an absence among such information.

[0117] For example, such a verification operation may be performed by verifying whether there exists at least one pair of values whose binary value indicating the presence or absence of the respective object in the vehicle indicates the absence of such respective object.

[0118] If at least one indication of presence has not been obtained for at least one object corresponding to an identifier in the inventory list, that is, if such verification operation detects that at least one information indicating an absence is present, the remote control apparatus 122 is further configured to generate and send a missing object notification signal MOn, for example, an alarm signal, containing the identifier of the at least one absent object, to the corresponding vehicle 100, for example, to the integrated electronic controller 102 comprised in such vehicle 100.

[0119] The integrated electronic controller 102 is configured to receive such missing object notification signal MOn, for example, via the wireless communication interface, and to send such notification to the integrated visualization device 120.

[0120] The integrated visualization device 120 is further configured to visualize a missing object notification (for example, a pop-up notification indicative of a missing object) to a vehicle operator, for example, the driver of the vehicle. 100, based on such received missing object notification signal MOn.

[0121] Thus, to summarize, solutions as described herein comprise management systems 10 for vehicle fleets comprising a plurality of vehicles and a remote control apparatus 122.

[0122] Each vehicle 100 in the plurality of vehicles comprises:

[0123] - an electronic controller 102 integrated in the vehicle 100, comprising a wireless communication interface configured to communicate with the remote control apparatus 122;

[0124] - a visualization device 120 integrated in the vehicle 100; and

[0125] - a reader integrated in the vehicle 100, for example, an RFID reader or the like; and is configured to contain objects, each such object being associated with an identifier and comprising a corresponding tag, for example, an RFID tag or the like, configured to send, for example, via an object detection signal OD, data indicating the presence of the object in the vehicle 100.

[0126] The reader integrated in the vehicle 118 is configured to receive, for each of such objects, data indicating the presence of the object in the vehicle 100, for example, via such object detection signal OD, and to send, for example, again via such object detection signal OD, such received data to the integrated electronic controller 102. The integrated electronic controller 102 is configured to receive, for each of such objects, data indicating the presence of the object in the vehicle 100, for example, via the object detection signal OD, to obtain, based on such received data, an indication of presence of the objects, and to send the indication of presence of the objects, for example, to the remote control apparatus 122 or to the interface 200 for a vehicle fleet manager, for example, via the object presence signal Dobj.

[0127] The remote control apparatus 122 is configured to receive, for example, via the inventory list notification signal ILn, from a vehicle fleet manager, for example, operating via an interface 200, an inventory list comprising at least one identifier associated with at least one object that is to be present on the vehicle 100, and to transmit, for example, via the inventory update notification signal IUn, the inventory list to the vehicle 100, in particular, to the electronic controller 102 integrated in such vehicle 100.

[0128] The integrated electronic controller 102 is configured to receive the inventory list from the remote control apparatus 122, for example, via the inventory update notification signal IUn, and to send such inventory list to the integrated visualization device 120, for example, via the object visualization signal OV.

[0129] The integrated visualization device 120 is configured to visualize the inventory list.

[0130] The remote control apparatus 122 is further configured to determine, for example, based on such information regarding the presence or absence of the objects (obtained, for example, by comparison, or received from the interface 200), if an indication of presence has been obtained for each object associated with an identifier in the inventory list, and, if at least one indication of presence has not been obtained for at least one object associated with an identifier in the inventory list, to generate and send, for example, via the missing object notification signal MOn, an alarm signal to the integrated electronic controller 102.

[0131] The integrated electronic controller 102 is configured to send the alarm signal to the integrated visualization device 120, for example, the missing object notification signal M0n.

[0132] The integrated visualization device 120 is configured to receive the alarm signal, for example, such missing object notification signal MOn, and to visualize, based on the alarm signal, an alarm notification.

[0133] In embodiments of the present solution, the integrated electronic controller 102 can be configured to send, for example, via such object presence signal Dobj, the indication of presence of the object to the remote control apparatus 122.

[0134] The remote control apparatus 122 can be configured to compare the identifiers associated with objects for which an indication of presence has been received, that is, the identifiers received via the object presence signal Dobj, with the identifiers comprised in the inventory list, obtaining a first set of identifiers comprising the identifiers comprised in the inventory list for which an indication of presence has been received (that is, the identifiers associated with objects for which the presence in the vehicle 100 has been verified) and a second set of identifiers comprising the identifiers comprised in the inventory list for which an indication of presence has not been received (that is, the identifiers associated with objects that should be transported by the vehicle 100, but for which the presence has not been detected).

[0135] In such a case, the remote control apparatus 122 may be configured to determine if, based on the first set of identifiers and the second set of identifiers, an indication of presence has been obtained for each object associated with an identifier in the inventory list.

[0136] Alternatively, as previously described, the integrated electronic controller 102 may be configured to send the indication of presence of the object to an additional remote apparatus, for example, to the interface 200, configured to couple the remote control apparatus 122 with the vehicle fleet manager.

[0137] Such additional remote apparatus 200 may be configured to receive from the vehicle fleet manager the inventory list comprising at least one identifier associated with at least one object that is to be present on the vehicle 100, and to transmit the inventory list to the remote control apparatus 122;

[0138] Furthermore, such additional remote apparatus 200 may be configured to compare the identifiers associated with objects for which an indication of presence has been received, that is, the identifiers received via the object presence signal Dobj, with the identifiers comprised in the inventory list, obtaining a first set of identifiers comprising the identifiers comprised in the inventory list for which an indication of presence has been received (that is, the identifiers associated with objects for which the presence in the vehicle 100 has been verified) and a second set of identifiers comprising the identifiers comprised in the inventory list for which an indication of presence has not been received (that is, the identifiers associated with objects that should be transported by the vehicle 100, but for which the presence has not been detected), and to send the first set of identifiers and the second set of identifiers to the remote control apparatus 122.

[0139] Therefore, the remote control apparatus 122 may again be configured to determine if, based on the first set of identifiers and the second set of identifiers, an indication of presence has been obtained for each object associated with an identifier in the inventory list.

[0140] In embodiments of the present solution, the remote control apparatus 122 may be configured to receive a change in the inventory list from the vehicle fleet manager, to produce an updated inventory list based on the change, and to transmit the updated inventory list to the vehicle 100.

[0141] In such a case, the integrated electronic controller 102 may be configured to receive the updated inventory list from the remote control apparatus 122, and to send the updated inventory list to the integrated visualization device 120.

[0142] The integrated visualization device 120 may be configured to visualize the updated inventory list.

[0143] The remote control apparatus 122 may be further configured to determine, for example, based on such information regarding the presence or absence of the objects (obtained, for example, by comparison, or received from the interface 200), if an indication of presence has been obtained for each object associated with an identifier of the updated inventory list and, if at least one indication of presence has not been obtained for at least one object associated with an identifier of the updated inventory list, to generate and send, for example, via the missing object notification signal MOn, an alarm signal to the integrated electronic controller 102.

[0144] In embodiments of the present solution, the integrated visualization device 120 may be configured to detect inventory feedback, for example, the signal of feedback Fi, from a driver of the vehicle 100, regarding the inventory list and / or the updated inventory list, and to transmit the inventory feedback Fi to the integrated electronic controller 102.

[0145] In such a case, the integrated electronic controller 102 may be configured to receive inventory feedback Fi from integrated visualization device 120 and send inventory feedback Fi to the remote control apparatus 122.

[0146] The remote control apparatus 122 may be configured to receive the inventory feedback Fi from the vehicle 100, and transmit such inventory feedback Fi to the vehicle fleet manager and / or produce a second inventory list based on inventory feedback Fi.

[0147] In embodiments of the present solution, the remote control apparatus 122 may be further configured to determine if at least one indication of presence of an object that is not associated with an identifier of the inventory list has been received (that is, if the presence of an object that was not intended to be transported by the vehicle 100 has been verified) and, if at least one indication of presence of an object that is not associated with an identifier of the inventory list has been received, to generate and send an alarm signal to the integrated electronic controller 102.

[0148] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the object visualization signal OV may be such as to allow the visualization, via the visualization device 120 integrated in the vehicle 100, of a Webportal application 104, and, in particular, an interface of such Webportal application 104 for the driver.

[0149] The Webportal application 104 may comprise a plurality of applications, for example, a first object management application 106 and a second notification application 108.

[0150] Note that a Webportal application 104 may be considered as a website or a web application and may use the same languages, for example, HTML (“HyperText Markup Language”), CSS (“Cascading Style Sheets”), JavaScript, or the like.

[0151] Note that, unlike mobile applications for iOS or Android operating systems, a Webportal application 104 is not present in application stores, for example, Google Play, App Store, or the like, therefore, a user cannot independently install a Webportal application from the car / Webportal itself, but can obtain it, for example, by subscribing to an online “service”.

[0152] Such online service can therefore be used both by the fleet manager, for example, via a web page, and by the driver of the vehicle 100, for example, via an application installed and updated (for example, via over- the-air updates received, for example, via the wireless communication interface of the electronic controller 102, in real time) on the electronic controller 102 and visualized by the visualization device 120 (for example, by a visualization device comprised in the infotainment system).

[0153] Note that such application 104 can also be a Webwidget application, that is, a web application incorporated as an element of a host web page but substantially independent of the host page, with limited or no interaction with the latter.

[0154] Note that similar considerations also apply to Webwidget-type applications 104 with regard to the use of the service.

[0155] The first object management application 106 may be configured to send object visualization signals OV to the visualization device 120 and to receive signals of feedback Fi therefrom.

[0156] Such first object management application 106 comprises at least one inventory visualization block 110 configured to:

[0157] - receive, via an inventory update signal in the IUA application (containing the same indications as the inventory update notification signal IUn) sent by the second notification application 108, the inventory list relating to the vehicle 100, possibly modified;

[0158] - receive, via a missing object signal in the MOA application (containing the same indications as the missing object notification signal MOn) sent by the second notification application 108, the one or more identifiers of the one or more absent objects;

[0159] - receive, via the signal of feedback Fi, feedback from the operator, that is, the driver of the vehicle 100, via the visualization device 120; and / or

[0160] - send, for example, via the object visualization signal OV, the received inventory list relating to the vehicle 100 to the integrated visualization device 120 in the vehicle 100.

[0161] Such inventory visualization block 110 may be further configured to send to the remote control apparatus 122 the inventory list relating to the vehicle 100, for example, via an object feedback signal (not illustrated in Figure 1 or 2 for greater clarity of the drawings).

[0162] The first object management application 106 may further comprise a login block 112 and a logout block 114.

[0163] The login block 112 may be configured to receive, for example, from the driver and via the visualization device 120 integrated in the vehicle 100, login data and to send such login data to the remote control apparatus 122, for example, via respective login signals (not illustrated in Figure 1 or 2 for clarity of the drawings).

[0164] The logout block 114 may be configured to receive, for example, from the driver and via the visualization device 120 integrated in the vehicle 100, logout data and to perform a logout operation from the object management application 106 based on such logout data.

[0165] The second notification application 108 may comprise a front-end notification block 1 16 configured to:

[0166] - receive such inventory update notification signal IUn sent by the remote control apparatus 122 comprising the inventory list relating to the vehicle 100, possibly modified;

[0167] - receive such missing object notification signal MOnsent by the remote control apparatus 122 comprising the one or more identifiers of the one or more absent objects;

[0168] - send, in response to the reception of the inventory update notification signal IUn, the inventory update signal in the application IUA, containing the indications of the inventory update notification signal IUn, to the first object management application 106; and / or

[0169] - send, in response to the reception of the missing object notification signal MOn, the missing object signal MOA in the application, containing the indications of the missing object notification signal MOn, to the first object management application 106.

[0170] To summarize, in embodiments of the present solution, the integrated electronic controller 102 may be configured to run an application 104, preferably a webportal or webwidget type application, and to send visualization signals to the integrated visualization device 120, for example, the inventory update signal in the IUA application and / or the missing object signal in the MOA application, and the integrated visualization device 120 may be configured to receive such visualization signals and to visualize, based on such visualization signals, an interface of the application 104, for example, an interface for the operator of the vehicle 100.

[0171] The application 104 may comprise an object management application 106 and a notification application 108.

[0172] The notification application 108 may be configured to manage, for example, via the front-end notification block 116, the receiving operation, for example, via the inventory update notification signal IUn, of the inventory list, and to send, for example, via the inventory update signal in the IUA application, such inventory list to the object management application 106.

[0173] Such object management application 106 may be configured to receive the inventory list from the notification application 108 and to manage the operation of sending, for example, via one or more object visualization signals OV, the inventory list to the integrated visualization device 120 and the operation of receiving and sending the alarm signal, for example, via the missing object signal in the MOA application, to the integrated visualization device 120.

[0174] The remote control apparatus 122 may comprise a WebPortal environment 124, a CIOT environment 126, configured to allow communication with specific vehicles of the plurality of vehicles and to activate or deactivate one or more management services for each of such vehicles, and a CCL 128, configured to comprise one or more components for managing a catalog comprising such one or more management services.

[0175] Such one or more management services comprise the object management service described above, and, for example, possible variants of such service (for example, an object management service where the operator feedbacks are deactivated) or other different services.

[0176] The CCL 128 may be configured to receive an unsubscription / subscription signal U / Si from the fleet manager, for example, via a fleet manager interface 200.

[0177] Such unsubscription / subscription signal U / Si may indicate, for example:

[0178] - to unsubscribe or subscribe, for example, a corresponding fleet manager interface 200 and / or a user who can use such interface (that is, a fleet manager), to a management service, and / or - to activate or deactivate a management service independently for each vehicle of a fleet, that is, to insert or remove a given vehicle 100 from the plurality of vehicles comprised in and managed by the management system 10.

[0179] Note that such CCL 128 may be configured to receive a given unsubscription / subscription signal U / Si to a given management service if such management service is comprised in such a catalogue comprising such one or more management services, wherein such catalogue may be modified as a function of such one or more components for the management of the catalogue.

[0180] For example, such activation or deactivation of a management service independently for each vehicle of the fleet may be advantageous, for example, in the case where a given vehicle 100 cannot be used for a given period of time and therefore the management service associated with it may be temporarily suspended.

[0181] The CCL 128 may be configured to notify to the CIOT environment 126, for example, via a second unsubscription / subscription signal II / S2, such an indication to, for example, unsubscribe or subscribe such fleet manager to a management service and / or to activate or deactivate the management service independently for each vehicle of the fleet.

[0182] Therefore, the remote control apparatus 122 may be configured to, in response to a request from a vehicle fleet manager:

[0183] - subscribe or unsubscribe the vehicle fleet manager to / from the management system 10, for example, via the subscription to a management service of a new fleet manager interface 200 or as a user who can use an interface 200 previously subscribed to the management system 10; and / or

[0184] - insert or remove a given vehicle 100 from the plurality of vehicles comprised in the management system 10, for example, in the event that a vehicle 100 is to be inserted into the fleet, removed from the fleet, temporarily suspended from the fleet, or the like.

[0185] The CIOT environment 126 may comprise an Internet of Things, loT, node (so-called “loT hub”) 136 and an activation management block 138.

[0186] The activation management block 138 may comprise a (de)activation service block 142 configured to receive the second unsubscription / subscription signal II / S2 from the CCL 128 and to send, based on the indications of such received second unsubscription / subscription signal II / S2, an activation service signal AS to the WebPortal environment 124.

[0187] The Internet of Things node 136 may comprise an event broker 140 configured to receive from the WebPortal environment 124 the inventory update notification signal IUn and / or missing object notification signal MOnand to send such received signals to the vehicle 100.

[0188] The WebPortal environment 124 may comprise a WebPortal back- end block 130, an inventory management block 132, and an API (so-called “Application Programming Interface”) and event display block 134, wherein such inventory management block 132 and such API and event display block 134 may be comprised in a management application back-end block.

[0189] The WebPortal back-end block 130 may comprise a WebPortal notification system 144, a vehicle and / or manager list block 146, and a static resource storage block 148.

[0190] The vehicle and / or manager list block 146 may be configured to receive from the activation management block 138 the activation service signal AS and, for example, to modify vehicle and / or fleet manager lists based on such activation service signal AS.

[0191] Such vehicle and / or fleet manager lists may comprise, for each fleet, identifiers for each vehicle of the plurality of vehicles in the fleet and identifiers for each fleet manager of that fleet.

[0192] For example, a fleet manager list may comprise information about managers who may use such a fleet management system, for example, via an associated fleet manager interface 200, and about a corresponding fleet that they are authorized to manage.

[0193] For example, a fleet manager list may be modified in the event that a fleet manager unsubscribes or subscribes to a management service, for example, an identifier of a corresponding fleet manager interface 200 and / or an identifier of a user who may use an already subscribed interface (that is, a fleet manager) may be added to the list.

[0194] For example, a list of vehicles may comprise information about vehicles that are part of fleets managed via such a management system and about a corresponding fleet in which each of them is comprised.

[0195] For example, a list of vehicles can be modified in the event that a management service for a given vehicle in the fleet is activated or deactivated, for example, if a given vehicle cannot be used for a given period of time and therefore the service associated with it can be temporarily suspended, or if a new vehicle is to be added to a fleet or a no longer operational vehicle is to be removed.

[0196] The notification system of the WebPortal 144 can be configured to receive from the inventory management block 132, possibly comprised in the back-end block of the management application, the inventory update notification signal IUn and / or missing object notification signal MOnand to send such received signals to the Internet of Things node 136.

[0197] The API and event display block 134 can comprise an API display block 152 comprising, for example, a front API display block and a partner API display block.

[0198] The API and event display block 134, for example, via the API display block 152, may be configured to (note that, in variant embodiments, a subset of such operations may be performed):

[0199] - receive such object feedback signal from the inventory visualization block 110 containing the inventory list related to the vehicle 100;

[0200] - receive the inventory change notification signal IMn, for example, from the fleet manager interface 200, comprising one or more changes to one or more inventory lists for one or more vehicles belonging to the vehicle fleet;

[0201] - receive the inventory list notification signal ILn, for example, from the fleet manager interface 200, comprising one or more inventory lists comprising one or more identifiers related to respective objects to be transported by one or more vehicles belonging to the vehicle fleet;

[0202] - receive an inventory check notification signal ICn, for example, from the fleet manager interface 200, comprising, for each object whose identifier is comprised in the inventory list of a vehicle 100 of the fleet, an indication of presence or absence of the object within the vehicle 100;

[0203] - receive the login signal from the login block 112, containing login data;

[0204] - send such received object feedback signal, for example, to the fleet manager interface 200;

[0205] - send such received inventory change notification signal IMnto the inventory management block 132;

[0206] - send such received inventory list notification signal ILnto the inventory management block 132;

[0207] - send such received inventory check notification signal ICnto the inventory management block 132;

[0208] - send the received login signal, for example, to an operator management block configured to manage such operators, that is, drivers of respective vehicles (note that, for clarity of the drawings, such operator management block is not illustrated in Figure 1 or Figure 2).

[0209] The inventory management block 132 may comprise an inventory notification block 150 configured to:

[0210] - receive the inventory change notification signal IMnfrom the API and event display block 134, comprising one or more changes of one or more inventory lists for one or more vehicles belonging to the vehicle fleet;

[0211] - receive the inventory list notification signal ILnfrom the API and event display block 134, comprising one or more inventory lists comprising one or more identifiers relating to respective objects to be transported by one or more vehicles belonging to the vehicle fleet;

[0212] - receive the inventory check notification signal ICn from the API and event display block 134, comprising, for each object whose identifier is comprised in the inventory list of a vehicle 100 of the fleet, an indication relating to the presence or absence of the object inside the vehicle 100;

[0213] - determine, in response to the reception of the inventory change notification signal IMnand / or the reception of the inventory list notification signal ILn, the inventory update notification signal IUn comprising one or more inventory lists comprising one or more identifiers relating to respective objects that are to be transported by one or more vehicles belonging to the vehicle fleet, possibly modified according to the one or more received modifications, and send such inventory update notification signal IUn to the WebPortal back-end 130; and

[0214] - determine, in response to reception of the inventory check notification signal ICn, the missing object notification signal MOncomprising at least one identifier of at least one missing object based on the indication of presence or absence of each object contained in such inventory check notification signal ICn, and send such missing object notification signal MOn to the WebPortal backend 130.

[0215] Figure 2 illustrates the block diagram 10 of Figure 1 coupled 20 to a fleet manager interface 200 according to embodiments of the present disclosure and the sent communication signals described previously (therefore, in order to promote brevity and conciseness of this document, such description will not be repeated hereinafter).

[0216] Note that the parts, elements and / or components that have already been described with reference to Figure 1 are indicated with the same references previously used in that figure and, therefore, the description of such previously described elements will not be repeated hereinafter in order not to burden the present disclosure.

[0217] The fleet manager interface 200 may comprise an API server block 202, a function block 204, and an inventory block 206.

[0218] The API server block 202 may comprise an API display block 208 configured to receive from the function block 204 the inventory change notification signal IMn, the inventory list notification signal ILn, and / or the inventory check notification signal ICn, and to send such received signals to the remote control apparatus 122.

[0219] The function block 204 may comprise a service unsubscription / subscription block 210 and an object management block 212.

[0220] The service unsubscription / subscription block 210 may be configured to send, in response to indications from a fleet manager, the unsubscription / subscription signal U / Si to the remote control apparatus 122, for example, to unsubscribe or subscribe, for example, a fleet manager interface 200 or a user who can use such an interface, that is, a fleet manager, from / to a management service and / or to activate or deactivate the management service independently for each vehicle in the fleet as previously described.

[0221] The object management block 212 may be configured to receive from the inventory block 206:

[0222] - an inventory change signal IM comprising indications related to the one or more changes of the one or more inventory lists for the one or more vehicles belonging to the vehicle fleet;

[0223] - an inventory list signal IL comprising indications related to the one or more inventory lists comprising the one or more identifiers relating to the respective objects to be transported by the one or more vehicles belonging to the vehicle fleet; and / or

[0224] - an inventory verification signal IC comprising, for each object whose identifier is comprised in the inventory list of a vehicle 100 of the fleet, indications related to the presence or absence of the objects inside the vehicle 100.

[0225] The object management block 212 may be further configured to determine and send to the API server block 202:

[0226] - the inventory change notification signal IMn, based on the received inventory change signal IM;

[0227] - the inventory list notification signal ILn, based on the received inventory list signal IL; and / or

[0228] - the inventory check notification signal ICn, based on the inventory verification signal IC.

[0229] The inventory block 206 may comprise an inventory verification block 214 and an inventory change block 216.

[0230] The inventory verification block 214 may be configured to receive the object presence signal Dobj (if the interface 200 is configured to receive such signal instead of the remote control apparatus 122) comprising, for each object inside a vehicle 100, indications related to the presence of the objects inside the vehicle 100, for example, a variable indicative of the identifier of each present object.

[0231] Such inventory verification block 214 may be configured to perform such an operation of determining if such received object presence signal Dobj comprises an indication relating to the presence for each object whose identifier is comprised in the inventory list of a vehicle 100 concerned.

[0232] For example, as previously described, such an operation may be performed by comparing the indications of presence comprised in such object presence signal Dobj (for example, the identifiers of the present objects comprised in such object presence signal Dobj) with the identifiers of the objects to be transported by the vehicle 100 comprised in the corresponding inventory list.

[0233] In this way, such inventory verification block 214 may be further configured to determine, for example, by means of such comparison, the inventory verification signal IC including, for each object whose identifier is comprised in the inventory list of the fleet vehicle 100 concerned, indications related to the presence or absence of the objects inside it.

[0234] For example, as previously described, such inventory verification signal IC may comprise, for each object whose identifier is comprised in the inventory list of the vehicle 100 concerned, a pair of values comprising the identifier of the object itself and a binary value indicating the presence or absence of such object in the vehicle 100.

[0235] Note that, if the remote control apparatus 122 is configured to determine if at least one indication of presence of an object that is not associated with an identifier in the inventory list has been received (that is, if the presence of an object that was not intended to be transported by the vehicle 100 has been verified), such inventory verification block 214 may be further configured to detect identifiers present in such object presence signal Dobj but absent from the inventory list.

[0236] For example, such inventory verification block 214 may be configured to determine such inventory verification signal IC to comprise, in addition to what was previously described, information relating to identifiers present in such object presence signal Dobj but absent from the inventory list.

[0237] The inventory change block 216 may be configured to send the inventory change signal IM and / or the inventory list signal IL to the function block 204 based on indications received from a fleet manager, for example, indicating changes to existing inventory lists or new inventory lists to be sent to vehicles.

[0238] Figure 3 illustrates an exemplary use 30 of such an object management system 10 in vehicles of vehicle fleets according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0239] In the following, a scenario is considered, for example, in which a fleet manager 302 uses an object management system 10 according to the block diagram of Figure 1 or Figure 2.

[0240] The fleet manager 302 may access the fleet manager interface 200 (referred to as 300ain Figure 3), for example, via an authentication performed with respective login credentials, and may then initiate an eligibility process 304 and a subscription process 306 for a given vehicle, that is, a process for adding that given vehicle to those that can be managed via the management system 10 and, in particular, to the vehicle fleet concerned.

[0241] The eligibility process 304 comprises:

[0242] - entering, by the fleet manager 302 and via the fleet manager interface 300a, a vehicle identification number VIN, for example, into a list of vehicles, and

[0243] - obtaining a confirmation of eligibility, for example, via such fleet manager interface 300a.

[0244] Such a list of vehicles may comprise, for example, the identification numbers of vehicles belonging to a vehicle fleet concerned, that is, the vehicle fleet to which such a given vehicle is to be added.

[0245] The subscription process 306 comprises subscribing, by the fleet manager 302 and via the fleet manager interface 300a, such a given eligible vehicle, that is, added to the vehicle fleet concerned, to the previously described management services, for example, via the service unsubscription / subscription block 210.

[0246] Once such a given vehicle is subscribed in the management services via the subscription process 306, such a given eligible vehicle may be considered to belong to the vehicle fleet concerned and may utilize the previously described management functionalities.

[0247] Note that such eligibility process 304 and subscription process 306 may be performed only once and kept valid as long as it is desired to use such a given vehicle in the vehicle fleet concerned and such fleet management functionalities.

[0248] Step 308 illustrated in Figure 3 represents the beginning of a typical daily use of such management system 10.

[0249] At a step 310, a fleet manager 302 may assign, for example, via a request sent from the fleet manager interface 300ato the remote control apparatus 122, one or more data to be associated with respective tags of respective objects, for example, data relating to the objects contained in the tags described above.

[0250] Thus, such fleet manager 302 may generate 312, for example, via a request sent from fleet manager interface 300ato remote control apparatus 122, an inventory list for each vehicle 100 (referred to as 300b in Figure 3) comprised in a fleet and configured to transport objects containing tags. As previously described, such inventory list may comprise, for example, one or more identifiers for the one or more objects to be present, that is, transported, by a given vehicle 100 configured to transport objects containing a tag.

[0251] Such fleet manager 302 may further assign 312 each of the generated inventory lists to corresponding vehicles configured to transport objects comprising a tag, for example, by sending, via the inventory list signal IL, the inventory list notification signal ILn, and the inventory update notification signal IUn, each of such inventory lists to the electronic controller 102 integrated in the corresponding vehicle 100 via the remote control apparatus 122.

[0252] At a step 316, the inventory lists of the vehicles 100 configured to transport objects comprising a tag may be updated, for example, by sending, via the inventory change signal IM, the inventory change notification signal IMn, and the inventory update notification signal IUn, one or more changes of such inventory lists (or one or more modified inventory lists) to the electronic controller 102 integrated in the corresponding vehicle 100 via the remote control apparatus 122.

[0253] In response to the generation 312 of an inventory list associated with a given vehicle 100 and / or to the update 316 of such inventory list, the electronic controller 102 integrated in such vehicle 100 can be configured to receive 314 a notification from the remote control apparatus 122 comprising such inventory list, possibly updated, via the inventory update notification signal IUn and to send 314, via the inventory update signal IUA in the application and the object visualization signal OV, such received notification to the visualization device 120 integrated in the vehicle 100 which can be configured to visualize such notification.

[0254] Such visualization device 120 integrated in the vehicle 100 may be configured to visualize such received inventory list, optionally updated, in response to selection 318 of such notification, for example, a pop-up notification, by the driver and / or to visualize such inventory list, optionally updated, in response to selection 318 of the object management application 106 by the driver, for example, via such visualization device 120 integrated in the vehicle 100, for example, the visualization device of the vehicle infotainment system. In a time interval Si, the doors of the vehicle 100 remain open to perform operations for loading and unloading objects, for example, delivery operations or activities related to such objects.

[0255] During the time that such doors remain open, that is, during the time interval Si, the integrated reader 118 may be configured to detect the presence of objects inside the vehicle 100 at predetermined time intervals, for example, every 10 seconds, until the doors DC are closed.

[0256] After the doors are closed, the integrated reader 118 may be configured to scan the objects present in the vehicle 100, that is, to detect the presence of such objects.

[0257] Note that the correlation between the object scanning operation and the closing of the doors of the vehicle 100 is purely exemplary, in fact, such scanning can also occur in response to other factors, for example, in response to a request from the operator, or periodically during transport.

[0258] Such integrated reader 118 is therefore configured, as described above, to send to the electronic controller 102, via the object detection signal OD, the data indicating the presence of the objects inside the vehicle 100 obtained through such detection operation.

[0259] The electronic controller 102 is configured, as described above, to receive such data indicating the presence of the objects inside the vehicle 100 and to obtain, based on such received data, an object presence signal Dobj comprising, for each object inside the vehicle 100, an indication relating to the presence of the object inside the vehicle 100.

[0260] The electronic controller 102 is further configured to send such object presence signal Dobj to the remote control apparatus 122 or to the interface 200.

[0261] The remote control apparatus 122 is configured to determine, as described above, if an indication of presence has been obtained for each object corresponding to an identifier of the inventory list of the vehicle 100, and, if at least one indication of presence has not been obtained for at least one object, the remote control apparatus 122 is further configured to generate and send, for example, in step 322, a missing object notification signal MOn, for example, an alarm signal, containing the identifier of the at least one absent object, to the vehicle 100 corresponding to, for example, the integrated electronic controller 102 comprised in such vehicle 100. Such an alarm signal may be notified, for example, in step 320, to the operator via the visualization device 120, for example, by sending to such visualization device 120 the missing object signal MOA in the application, such an alarm signal being indicative of the type of error detected and being usable to signal such non-correspondence to the driver of the vehicle 100.

[0262] Note that, as previously described, such an alarm signal may comprise information regarding objects associated with identifiers present in the object presence signal Dobj (that is, present in the vehicle 100) but absent from the inventory list (that is, not intended to be transported in the vehicle 100).

[0263] Thus, the fleet manager 302 may monitor and review 324 inventory lists, for example, via the fleet manager interface 200, for example, in real time and may generate 326 one or more reports related to such lists.

[0264] Note that such an object management function implemented via the object management system 10 may allow to:

[0265] - detect, via the remote control apparatus 122 or the interface 200, whether all objects that are required to be present on a vehicle 100 are actually present, for example, via such a comparison operation, as previously described;

[0266] - detect, via the remote control apparatus 122 or the interface 200, whether there is at least one object in the vehicle that was not intended to be transported by such vehicle 100, for example, by detecting, via the comparison operation, whether an object for which an indication of presence has been obtained does not correspond to an identifier of the objects comprised in the inventory list of the vehicle 100, and, in such a case, for example, send a notification signal to the driver (for example, via the inventory verification signal IC, the inventory check notification signal ICn, and the missing object notification signal MOn) via the visualization device 120;

[0267] - alert (preferably in real time) the driver of the vehicle if an object is missing or different from an expected object, for example, send a notification signal to the driver via the missing object notification signal MOn, for example, via the visualization device 120;

[0268] - geolocalize the objects present in the vehicle, tracking their movements; and / or - estimate the weight of the vehicle load, if information on the weight of the object is present among the data contained in the tag of the objects.

[0269] Figure 4 illustrates an exemplary use 30 of a fleet vehicle alarm system according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0270] Such an alarm system uses an object management system 10 according to any of the previously described embodiments.

[0271] Note that, as previously stated, such an object management system 10 may also comprise components other than those described herein, for example, it may not comprise some of the described components or it may comprise additional components to those described.

[0272] Such an alarm system may be implemented using components of the object management system 10, for example, via the previously described integrated electronic controller 102.

[0273] Alternatively, such an alarm system may be implemented via a different electronic controller present in the vehicle, for example, a control unit, an electronic control unit, a microcontroller, a microprocessor, a control logic, or any other processing device integrated in such vehicle 100.

[0274] Therefore, such an alarm system may be implemented by limiting the required additional hardware and by increasing, using such object management system 10 and / or electronic controllers integrated in the vehicle, the connection and interoperability between the alarm function, the object management function, and the other functions of the vehicle.

[0275] Such an alarm system may provide, in the event of an attempted theft in one or more vehicles of a vehicle fleet, a notification of attempted theft to the fleet manager and / or to the driver of the one or more vehicles in which the attempted theft was detected.

[0276] In this way, if the notification of attempted theft is also sent to the driver of the one or more vehicles in which the attempted theft was detected, such an alarm system allows to increase the safety of the drivers.

[0277] In fact, such drivers can be warned of theft attempts before approaching the vehicle, in order to avoid potentially dangerous encounters with thieves, and can immediately alert the competent authorities.

[0278] Furthermore, such an alarm system can provide the fleet manager and / or the driver of the one or more vehicles where the theft attempt has been detected with information about the objects that have been stolen (if any), that is, the missing objects.

[0279] In this way, it is possible to verify in real time whether something has been stolen from the vehicle load, and, if so, which object has been stolen.

[0280] This function can be useful, for example, to quickly verify whether all valuables are still present on board of a vehicle after a theft attempt and, if not (that is, if such valuables are absent), to be able to react to the theft in a timely way, without the need to manually verify the vehicle load.

[0281] If this information about the stolen objects is also provided to the driver of the one or more vehicles where the theft attempt was detected, it is possible to know which activities scheduled for the day, for example, which deliveries or which services, can still be carried out with the remaining objects.

[0282] Then, those activities that can still be carried out with the remaining objects can be completed without delay, since these activities do not have to be suspended for manual control of the vehicle load following the theft attempt, saving time and resuming normal activity more quickly.

[0283] In addition, for example, it is possible to notify customers in advance of activities that cannot be completed because the objects required for their completion are missing.

[0284] In addition, by having information about the objects that have been stolen, it is possible to supply again the vehicle with the missing objects (that is, supply again the objects that have been stolen in order to replace them promptly, if possible) so that it is still possible to complete the activities scheduled for the day, without having to suspend them for manual load control, that is, to verify which objects are still present and which are not, following the attempted theft, therefore, saving time and resuming normal activity more quickly also in this case.

[0285] Note that, although in the following description such notifications, that is, the notification of attempted theft and the information about the objects that have been stolen, are described in a certain order and are sent in response to certain events, such notifications may also be sent in a different order, or in response to different events depending on the embodiment considered.

[0286] Similarly, the operations of activating and deactivating the alarm, verifying the inventory to see if any objects have been stolen, and other operations performed by the vehicle fleet alarm system may also be performed in different orders.

[0287] Therefore, solutions according to the present disclosure refer to a vehicle fleet alarm system comprising:

[0288] - a plurality of vehicles configured to contain objects to be transported associated with respective identifiers, such objects comprising respective tags, for example, RFID tags, configured to send presence data comprising such respective identifiers; and

[0289] - a remote control apparatus 122 configured to receive from a vehicle fleet manager, for example, via an interface 200, inventory lists associated to respective vehicles 100, such inventory lists comprising identifiers associated with objects that are to be present, that is, transported, on the respective vehicles 100.

[0290] Each vehicle 100 in such plurality of vehicles comprises:

[0291] - an electronic controller integrated in the vehicle 100, for example, the integrated electronic controller 102 or any other electronic controller integrated in the vehicle 100; and

[0292] - a reader 118 integrated in the vehicle 100, for example, a reader configured to implement an RFID scanner function.

[0293] Such integrated electronic controller, for example, the integrated electronic controller 102, is configured to detect a theft attempt and, in response to the detection of such theft attempt:

[0294] - such integrated electronic controller is configured to send, for example, in a step 404b as described below, a first notification indicating such theft attempt, that is, the attempted theft notification, to the vehicle fleet manager and to send, for example, in a step 414 as described below, a scan request to such integrated reader 118 so as to initiate a scan of the load of the vehicle 100;

[0295] - such integrated reader 118 is configured to, in response to reception of the scan request, receive the presence data sent by the objects contained in the vehicle 100 and send such presence data to such integrated electronic controller 102;

[0296] - such integrated electronic controller is configured to receive such presence data, to obtain, for example, again in such step 414 and based on such presence data, indications of presence of such objects contained in the vehicle 100 indicative of a presence of such objects in the vehicle 100 (for example, including variables indicative of the identifiers of the objects comprised in such vehicle 100), and to send, for example, again in such step 414, such indications of presence; and

[0297] - such remote control apparatus 122 is configured to determine, for example, via the inventory notification block 150 and, in particular, via the inventory management block 132, if an indication of presence has been obtained for each object associated with an identifier comprised in the inventory list associated with such vehicle 100 and, if not, that is, if at least one indication of presence has not been obtained for at least one object associated with an identifier comprised in such inventory list, to generate and send, for example, in a step 412 as described below, a second notification, for example, the missing object signal in the MOA application, indicative of absent objects to the vehicle fleet manager, that is, comprising information regarding objects that have been stolen.

[0298] In response to the locking 400 of a vehicle by the corresponding driver, the alarm system according to the present disclosure is activated.

[0299] The alarm system is configured to, in response to a theft attempt 402, detect such theft attempt and, in response to such detection, send 404b such theft attempt notification to the fleet manager to inform him / her of the theft attempt 402 and the vehicle subject to such theft attempt.

[0300] For example, such theft attempt detection operation 402 may be performed by one or more of:

[0301] - a vehicle perimetric (anti-theft) control, that is, a detection system configured to monitor what happens outside the vehicle and, in particular, along its perimeter, for example, by monitoring one or more of the opening or closing state of the doors (that is, of all doors, including those on the roof, those for opening the bonnet and the luggage compartment), the state of the vehicle backlighting, or the like;

[0302] - a volumetric (anti-theft) control, that is, a detection system configured to monitor, via motion sensors, any suspicious activity that occurs inside the vehicle 100, such volumetric control comprising, for example, a perimetric alarm and a motion detector;

[0303] - a volumetric control with lifting, comprising a volumetric control and a vehicle lifting detector so as to detect any unauthorized lifting of the vehicle 100;

[0304] - devices for detecting the ignition or shutdown state of the vehicle (for example, by detecting ignition states with unauthorized keys) and / or the state of the vehicle electrical network (for example, by detecting activity on such vehicle electrical network) such as, for example, the disconnection of a battery of such vehicle 100; and

[0305] - devices for detecting a towing of the vehicle 100, for example, when the motor is off but the vehicle is moved.

[0306] Therefore, in embodiments according to the present disclosure, the operation of detecting, via the integrated electronic controller, for example, the integrated electronic controller 102 or any other electronic controller integrated in the vehicle 100, a theft attempt may be performed via at least one of:

[0307] - a perimetric anti-theft device of the vehicle 100;

[0308] - a volumetric anti-theft device of the vehicle 100;

[0309] - a volumetric anti-theft device of the vehicle 100 comprising a lifting detector of such vehicle 100;

[0310] - a device configured to detect a disconnection of a battery of the vehicle 100;

[0311] - a device configured to detect an ignition of the vehicle 100 with an unauthorized key; and

[0312] - a device configured to detect a towing of the vehicle 100, preferably, when a motor of such vehicle 100 is off.

[0313] Note that such first notification indicating the attempted theft, that is, the attempted theft notification, may be sent in response to any of the previously described methods for performing such an operation of detecting the attempted theft.

[0314] Note that such second notification, for example, the missing object signal in the MOA application, indicative of missing objects, that is, including information about objects that have been stolen, is usually sent in response to detections made by:

[0315] - the perimetric anti-theft system of the vehicle 100;

[0316] - the volumetric anti-theft system of the vehicle 100; and

[0317] - the volumetric anti-theft system of the vehicle 100 including a lifting detector of such vehicle 100. In fact, usually, in other cases no objects may be removed from the vehicle during the attempted theft, so such signal indicative of absent objects may not detect any missing objects.

[0318] For example, as previously described, the electronic controller 102 or any other electronic controller present in the vehicle, for example, a control unit, an electronic control unit, a microcontroller, a microprocessor, control logic, or the like, may be configured to perform such theft attempt detection operation 402 and, in response to such detection, may be further configured to send to the fleet manager, for example, via the fleet manager interface 200, such theft attempt notification.

[0319] Such alarm system may be further configured to, in response to such detection, send 404asuch attempted theft notification to the driver of the vehicle in which such attempted theft 402 was detected to inform him / her of an attempted theft in progress.

[0320] For example, such electronic controller 102 (or any other electronic controller present in the vehicle) may be configured to, in response to such detection, send to the user, for example, to a mobile device of the user, for example, via message, email, or the like, such attempted theft notification.

[0321] Furthermore, such a theft attempt notification may be sent 404a, from the vehicle fleet manager, for example, via the interface 200, to the driver of the vehicle in which such theft attempt 402 was detected.

[0322] Therefore, in embodiments according to the present disclosure, in response to the detection of a theft attempt:

[0323] - the integrated electronic controller may be configured to send, for example, in such step 404a, the first notification indicating said theft attempt, that is, the theft attempt notification, to a driver of the vehicle 100, preferably to a mobile device of such driver of the vehicle 100; or

[0324] - the first notification indicating the attempted theft may be sent, for example, again in such step 404a, by the vehicle fleet manager to the driver of the vehicle 100, preferably to the mobile device of the driver of the vehicle 100.

[0325] Such an alarm system may comprise an acoustic and / or visual alarm, for example, an alarm siren, a flashing light system, and / or the like.

[0326] In such a case, in response to the detection of the theft attempt, the alarm system may be configured to activate 406 the acoustic and / or visual alarm for a certain time interval T.

[0327] After such time interval T, the alarm system may be configured to deactivate 408 the acoustic and / or visual alarm and to send 410 to the fleet manager, for example, via the electronic controller 102 (or any other electronic controller present in the vehicle) and the fleet manager interface 200, a vehicle status update notification indicating a transition from a state in which the acoustic and / or visual alarm is activated 406 to a state in which the acoustic and / or visual alarm is deactivated 408.

[0328] Therefore, in embodiments according to the present disclosure, the alarm system described herein may comprise an acoustic and / or visual alarm, for example, an anti-theft alarm siren, and, in response to the detection of a theft attempt, the integrated electronic controller may be configured to activate, for example, in such step 406, such acoustic and / or visual alarm.

[0329] Preferably, such integrated electronic controller may be further configured to deactivate, for example, in such step 408, the acoustic and / or visual alarm, for example, after a given time interval T, and to send, for example, in step 410 and via interface 200, to the vehicle fleet manager a third notification indicating the deactivation of such acoustic and / or visual alarm, that is, such vehicle status update notification.

[0330] If such alarm system is configured to provide information regarding objects that have been stolen (if any), that is, missing objects, such electronic controller 102 or any other electronic controller present in the vehicle may be configured, as previously described, to send 414 a load scan request to the integrated reader 118.

[0331] Note that, for example, such sending 414 of the load scan request to the integrated reader 118 may occur after a certain time interval from the deactivation of the acoustic and / or visual alarm (if any), in response to an opening 418 of a door by the driver of the vehicle (in such case, step 414 should be illustrated after step 418 of Figure 4), or in response to any other condition.

[0332] Therefore, in embodiments according to the present disclosure, the operation of sending, for example, at step 404b and via the integrated electronic controller, the first notification, that is, the notification of attempted theft, to the vehicle fleet manager can be performed before the activation operation, for example, at step 406, of the acoustic and / or visual alarm.

[0333] Furthermore, the operation of sending, for example, in step 414 and via the integrated electronic controller, the scan request to the integrated reader 118 may be performed after the deactivation operation, for example, in such step 408, of such acoustic and / or visual alarm, preferably in response to the opening of at least one door by a driver of the vehicle 100.

[0334] The integrated reader 118 may be configured to, in response to reception of the load scan request, receive from the objects present in the vehicle the object detection signal OD comprising data indicating the presence of the objects remaining inside the vehicle 100.

[0335] In addition, such integrated reader 118 may be configured to send such data indicating the presence of the objects remaining, that is, the objects not stolen, via the object detection signal OD to the electronic controller 102 or to such other electronic controller present in the vehicle.

[0336] Such electronic controller 102 or such other electronic controller present in the vehicle can be configured to generate 414, as a function of the received object detection signal OD, the object presence signal Dobj comprising, for each object remaining inside the vehicle 100, an indication relating to the presence of such remaining object, for example, a variable indicative of the identifier of each object remaining in the vehicle 100 following the theft attempt 402.

[0337] Such electronic controller 102 or such other electronic controller present in the vehicle can be further configured to send 414 to the interface 200 such object presence signal Dobj.

[0338] For example, such object presence signal Dobj can be received by the interface 200 via the inventory verification block 214 previously described.

[0339] Alternatively, such object presence signal Dobj may be received by the interface 200 via a block relating to an attempted theft condition comprised in such interface 200, and, in particular, in the inventory block 206.

[0340] Such inventory verification block 214 or such attempted theft condition block may be configured to:

[0341] - receive such object presence signal Dobj;

[0342] - perform such operation of determining if such received object presence signal Dobj comprises an indication relating to the presence for each object whose identifier is comprised in an inventory list relating to the vehicle subject to such attempted theft; and

[0343] - determine, for example, via the comparison operation described above, the inventory verification signal IC including, for each object whose identifier is comprised in the inventory list relating to the vehicle subject to such attempted theft, indications related to the presence or absence of the objects inside it.

[0344] In such a case, the interface 200 may be further configured to send the inventory check notification signal ICn, obtained based on such inventory verification signal IC, to the remote control apparatus 122 (as previously described).

[0345] Therefore, in embodiments according to the present disclosure, such an integrated electronic controller, for example, the integrated electronic controller 102 or any other electronic controller integrated in the vehicle 100, may be configured to send, for example, in such step 414, the indications of presence to an additional remote apparatus, for example, the interface 200, configured to couple the remote control apparatus 122 with the vehicle fleet manager.

[0346] Such additional remote apparatus 200 may then be configured to receive from such vehicle fleet manager the inventory lists and to transmit such inventory lists to the remote control apparatus 122.

[0347] Furthermore, such additional remote apparatus 200 may be configured to compare the identifiers associated with objects for which an indication of presence has been obtained with the identifiers comprised in such inventory list associated with such vehicle 100, that is, to perform the comparison operation described above, obtaining:

[0348] - a first set of identifiers comprising the identifiers comprised in such inventory list for which an indication of presence has been received, and

[0349] - a second set of identifiers comprising the identifiers comprised in such inventory list for which an indication of presence has not been received, and to send such first set of identifiers and such second set of identifiers, for example, via the inventory verification signal IC and the inventory check notification signal ICn (as described above), to the remote control apparatus 122.

[0350] Such remote control apparatus 122 may then be configured to determine if, based on such first set of identifiers and such second set of identifiers, for example, received via the inventory check notification signal ICn, an indication of presence has been obtained for each object associated with an identifier comprised in such inventory list associated with the vehicle 100.

[0351] Alternatively, such electronic controller 102 or such other electronic controller present in the vehicle may be configured to send 414 such object presence signal Dobj to remote control apparatus 122.

[0352] In this case, such remote control apparatus 122 may be configured to:

[0353] - receive such object presence signal Dobj;

[0354] - perform such operation of determining if such received object presence signal Dobj comprises an indication of presence for each object whose identifier is comprised in an inventory list relating to the vehicle subject to such theft attempt; and

[0355] - determine, for example, through the previously described comparison operation, information, for each object whose identifier is comprised in the inventory list relating to the vehicle subject to such theft attempt, related to the presence or absence of the objects therein.

[0356] Therefore, in embodiments according to the present disclosure, such an integrated electronic controller, for example, the integrated electronic controller 102 or any other electronic controller integrated in the vehicle 100, may be configured to send, for example, in step 414, indications of presence to the remote control apparatus 122.

[0357] In this case, such remote control apparatus 122 may be configured to compare the identifiers associated with objects for which an indication of presence has been obtained with the identifiers comprised in the inventory list associated with such vehicle 100, obtaining:

[0358] - a first set of identifiers comprising the identifiers comprised in such inventory list for which an indication of presence has been received, and

[0359] - a second set of identifiers comprising the identifiers comprised in such inventory list for which an indication of presence has not been received. Furthermore, such remote control apparatus 122 may be further configured to determine if, based on such first set of identifiers and such second set of identifiers, for example, received via the inventory check notification signal ICn, an indication of presence has been obtained for each object associated with an identifier comprised in such inventory list associated with such vehicle 100.

[0360] Therefore, the remote control apparatus 122 may be configured to determine or to receive from the interface 200 such information relating to the presence or absence of the objects comprised in the vehicle subject to such theft attempt.

[0361] Therefore, such remote control apparatus 122 may be configured to verify, for example, via the inventory notification block 150 comprised in the inventory management block 132, if an indication of presence has been obtained for each object corresponding to an identifier of the inventory list of such vehicle subject to such theft attempt, for example, by verifying whether there is information indicating an absence among such information.

[0362] If at least one indication of presence has not been obtained for at least one object corresponding to an identifier in the inventory list, that is, if at least one object has been stolen following the theft attempt, the remote control apparatus 122 may be further configured to generate and send 412 the missing object notification signal MOncontaining the identifier of the at least one stolen object to the fleet manager, for example, via the interface 200, thereby allowing the fleet manager to be able to monitor both the status of the vehicle and the status of the vehicle inventory.

[0363] Furthermore, if, prior to the theft attempt 402, objects were present on the vehicle whose identifiers were not comprised in the vehicle inventory list (for example, objects that should not have been transported in such vehicle but were nevertheless present on the vehicle), sending the missing object notification signal MOn as described above does not detect a possible absence of such objects, therefore, not warning of the fact that one of such objects whose identifiers are not comprised in the inventory list may have been stolen.

[0364] To solve this problem, it is possible to configure, for example, the remote control device 122 so that it stores a second list relating to the vehicle 100, that is, a list of additional objects, including those objects whose identifiers are not comprised in the inventory list but which are nevertheless transported by the vehicle 100.

[0365] In this way, if at least one indication of presence has not been obtained for at least one object whose identifier is not comprised in the inventory list of the vehicle 100, but is comprised in the list of additional objects, that is, if at least one object that should not have been transported in such vehicle, but which is nevertheless present in such vehicle, has been stolen following the theft attempt, the remote control device 122 may be further configured to generate and send 412 the missing object notification signal MOncontaining the identifier of the at least one additional stolen object to the fleet manager, for example, via the interface 200, thus allowing the fleet manager to know more comprehensively which objects have been stolen.

[0366] Therefore, solutions as described herein may comprise a remote control apparatus 122 configured to store a list of additional objects associated with such vehicle 100, such list of additional objects comprising identifiers associated with objects that are not to be present on the vehicle 100 (for example, because they are to be transported by another vehicle in the fleet) and for which such integrated reader 1 18 has received respective presence data (that is, that are actually present inside the vehicle 100).

[0367] Such remote control apparatus 122 may be configured to determine, for example, via the inventory notification block 150 and via the inventory management block 132, if an indication of presence has been obtained for each object associated with an identifier comprised in the list of additional objects associated with such vehicle 100 and, if at least one indication of presence has not been obtained for at least one object associated with an identifier comprised in such list of additional objects, to send, for example, again in such step 412, via such second notification, that is, via the missing object notification signal MOA, indications related to absent additional objects to the vehicle fleet manager.

[0368] It is also noted that, like other notification signals, also such second notification, that is, such missing object notification signal MOA, comprising said indications related to absent additional objects may be sent 416 to the driver of the vehicle 100.

[0369] Therefore, if at least one indication of presence has not been obtained for at least one object associated with an identifier comprised in the list of additional objects associated with such vehicle 100:

[0370] - such remote control apparatus 122 may be configured to send, for example, in step 416, such second notification MOA comprising said indications related to absent additional objects to a driver of the vehicle 100; or

[0371] - such second notification MOA comprising said indications related to absent additional objects may be sent, for example, again in such step 416, by the vehicle fleet manager to such driver of the vehicle 100, for example, via the interface 200.

[0372] In addition, such remote control apparatus may be further configured to, if such information regarding the objects that have been stolen is also to be provided to the driver of the vehicle in which the theft attempt has been detected, send 416 such missing object notification signal MOncontaining the identifier of the at least one stolen object to a mobile device of the user, for example, by message, email, or the like, and / or to the integrated electronic controller 102 of the vehicle in which the theft attempt has been detected.

[0373] Note that, again, such a missing object notification signal MOn containing the identifier of the at least one stolen object may be sent 416, from the vehicle fleet manager, for example, via the interface 200, to the driver of the vehicle in which such theft attempt 402 was detected.

[0374] Therefore, in embodiments according to the present disclosure, if at least one indication of presence has not been obtained for at least one object associated with an identifier comprised in the inventory list associated with such vehicle 100:

[0375] - the remote control apparatus 122 may be configured to send, for example, in step 416, the second notification, for example, the missing object signal MOA in the application, indicative of absent objects, that is, objects that have been stolen, to a driver of the vehicle 100; or

[0376] - such second notification indicative of absent objects may be sent, for example, again in such step 416, by the vehicle fleet manager to the driver of vehicles 100, for example, via such interface 200.

[0377] Preferably, such second notification MOA may be sent, for example, again in such step 416: - to a mobile device of the driver of vehicles 100, and / or

[0378] - to an additional electronic controller 102 integrated in the vehicle 100, that is, the integrated electronic controller 102 described above and configured to perform such object management function, or to any other controller integrated in the vehicle 100, for example, an integrated electronic controller configured to perform such alarm function.

[0379] When the vehicle in which the theft attempt was detected is unlocked 418 by the driver, the alarm system is deactivated 420.

[0380] In response to the unlocking 418 of the vehicle by the driver, the alarm system may be configured to send 410 to the fleet manager, for example, via the electronic controller 102 (or any other electronic controller present in the vehicle) and the fleet manager interface 200, a vehicle status update notification indicating a transition from a state in which the alarm system of the vehicle in which the theft attempt was detected is active 400- 418 to a state in which such alarm system is inactive 420.

[0381] Therefore, in embodiments according to the present disclosure, the integrated electronic controller may be configured to send, for example, in the step 410, an additional notification to the vehicle fleet manager, that is, such vehicle status update notification, such additional notification being indicative of a deactivation, for example, in step 418 following the unlocking of the vehicle, of the alarm system as described herein by the driver of such vehicle 100.

[0382] Therefore, the solution described in detail herein, allows to obtain a vehicle fleet alarm system comprising:

[0383] - a plurality of vehicles configured to contain objects associated with respective identifiers, such objects comprising respective tags configured to send presence data comprising such respective identifiers; and

[0384] - a remote control apparatus configured to receive from a vehicle fleet manager inventory lists associated to respective vehicles, such inventory lists comprising identifiers associated with objects that are to be present on the respective vehicles.

[0385] Each vehicle in such plurality of vehicles comprises:

[0386] - an electronic controller integrated in the vehicle; and

[0387] - a reader integrated in the vehicle.

[0388] Such integrated electronic controller is configured to detect a theft attempt and, in response to the detection of such theft attempt:

[0389] - such integrated electronic controller is configured to send a first notification indicating such theft attempt to the vehicle fleet manager and send a scan request to such integrated reader;

[0390] - such integrated reader is configured to, in response to reception of the scan request, receive the presence data sent by the objects contained in the vehicle and send such presence data to such integrated electronic controller;

[0391] - such integrated electronic controller is configured to receive such presence data, to obtain, based on such presence data, indications of presence of such objects contained in the vehicle indicative of a presence of such objects in the vehicle, and to send such indications of presence; and

[0392] - such remote control apparatus is configured to determine if an indication of presence has been obtained for each object associated with an identifier comprised in the inventory list associated with the vehicle and, if at least one indication of presence has not been obtained for at least one object associated with an identifier comprised in said inventory list, to generate and send a second notification indicative of absent objects to the vehicle fleet manager.

[0393] Solutions as described herein also refer to a vehicle comprised in a vehicle fleet alarm system according to the present disclosure and configured to contain objects associated with respective identifiers, such objects including respective tags configured to send presence data including such respective identifiers.

[0394] Such vehicle comprises an integrated electronic controller and an integrated reader, such integrated electronic controller being configured to detect a theft attempt and, in response to the detection of such theft attempt:

[0395] - such integrated electronic controller is configured to send a first notification indicating such theft attempt to the vehicle fleet manager and send a scan request to such integrated reader;

[0396] - such integrated reader is configured to, in response to reception of the scan request, receive the presence data sent by the objects contained in the vehicle and send such presence data to such integrated electronic controller; and

[0397] - such integrated electronic controller is configured to receive such presence data, to obtain, based on such presence data, indications of presence of objects contained in the vehicle indicative of a presence of such objects in the vehicle, and to send such indications of presence.

[0398] Therefore, it can be understood how the solution described in the present detailed description can promote a greater connection between the hardware devices used to implement an anti-theft function and the vehicles themselves, also reducing the costs necessary for equipping such vehicles.

[0399] Furthermore, such alarm system can provide a fleet manager and / or a driver of one or more vehicles in which an attempted theft has been detected:

[0400] - a notification of attempted theft, so as to facilitate obtaining the advantages previously described; and / or

[0401] - information relating to the objects that have been stolen (if any), that is, the missing objects, in order to facilitate obtaining the advantages described above and avoiding a manual verification of the load of such vehicles, saving time.

[0402] Notwithstanding the basic principles, the details and the embodiments may vary, even significantly, with respect to what has been described, purely by way of example, without departing from the extent of protection.

[0403] The extent of protection is defined by the annexed claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A vehicle fleet alarm system comprising:- a plurality of vehicles configured to contain objects associated with respective identifiers, said objects comprising respective tags configured to send presence data comprising said respective identifiers; and- a remote control apparatus (122) configured to receive from a vehicle fleet manager inventory lists associated to respective vehicles (100), said inventory lists comprising identifiers associated with objects that are to be present on the respective vehicles (100); wherein each vehicle (100) in said plurality of vehicles comprises:- an electronic controller (102) integrated in the vehicle (100); and- a reader (118) integrated in the vehicle (100); wherein said integrated electronic controller (102) is configured to detect a theft attempt and, in response to the detection of said theft attempt: said integrated electronic controller (102) is configured to send (404b) a first notification indicating said theft attempt to the vehicle fleet manager and send (414) a scan request to said integrated reader (118); said integrated reader (118) is configured to, in response to reception of the scan request, receive the presence data sent by the objects contained in the vehicle (100) and send said presence data to said integrated electronic controller (102); said integrated electronic controller (102) is configured to receive said presence data, to obtain (414), based on said presence data, indications of presence of said objects contained in the vehicle (100) indicative of a presence of said objects in said vehicle (100), and to send (414) said indications of presence; and said remote control apparatus (122) is configured to determine (150; 132) if an indication of presence has been obtained for each object associated with an identifier comprised in the inventory list associated to said vehicle (100) and, if at least one indication of presence has not been obtained for at least one object associated with an identifier comprised in said inventory list, to generate and send (412) a second notification (MOA) indicative of absent objects to the vehicle fleet manager.

2. The alarm system according to claim 1 , wherein the operation ofdetecting, via said integrated electronic controller (102), a theft attempt is performed via at least one of:- a perimetric anti-theft device of the vehicle (100);- a volumetric anti-theft device of the vehicle (100);- a volumetric anti-theft device of the vehicle (100) comprising a lifting detector of said vehicle (100);- a device configured to detect a disconnection of a battery of said vehicle (100);- a device configured to detect an ignition of said vehicle (100) with an unauthorized key; and- a device configured to detect a towing of said vehicle (100), preferably, when a motor of said vehicle (100) is off.

3. The alarm system according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein: said remote control apparatus (122) is configured to store a list of additional objects associated to said vehicle (100), said list of additional objects comprising identifiers associated with objects that are not to be present on the vehicle (100) and for which said integrated reader (118) has received respective presence data; and said remote control apparatus (122) is configured to determine (150; 132) if an indication of presence has been obtained for each object associated with an identifier comprised in the list of additional objects associated to said vehicle (100) and, if at least one indication of presence has not been obtained for at least one object associated with an identifier comprised in said list of additional objects, to send (412), via said second notification (MOA), indications related to absent additional objects to the vehicle fleet manager; preferably wherein if at least one indication of presence has not been obtained for at least one object associated with an identifier comprised in the list of additional objects associated to said vehicle (100): said remote control apparatus (122) is configured to send (416) said second notification (MOA) comprising said indications related to absent additional objects to a driver of the vehicle (100); o said second notification (MOA) comprising said indications related to absent additional objects is sent (416) by the vehicle fleet manager to said driver of the vehicle (100).

4. The alarm system according to any of the previous claims, wherein, in response to the detection of said theft attempt: said integrated electronic controller (102) is configured to send (404a) said first notification indicating said theft attempt to a driver of the vehicle (100), preferably to a mobile device of said driver of the vehicle (100); or said first notification indicating said theft attempt is sent (404a) by the vehicle fleet manager to said driver of the vehicle (100), preferably to said mobile device of said driver of the vehicle (100).

5. The alarm system according to any of the previous claims, wherein said alarm system comprises an acoustic and / or visual alarm, and wherein, in response to the detection of said theft attempt, said integrated electronic controller (102) is configured to activate (406) said acoustic and / or visual alarm, and to, after a time interval (T), deactivate (408) said acoustic and / or visual alarm and send (410) to the vehicle fleet manager a third notification indicating the deactivation of said acoustic and / or visual alarm; preferably wherein the operation of sending (404b), via the integrated electronic controller (102), said first notification to the vehicle fleet manager is performed before or after the activation operation (406) of the acoustic and / or visual alarm; and wherein the operation of sending (414), via the integrated electronic controller (102), said scan request to said integrated reader (118) is performed after the deactivation operation (408) of said acoustic and / or visual alarm, preferably in response to the opening of at least one door by a driver of the vehicle (100).

6. The alarm system according to any of the previous claims, wherein: said integrated electronic controller (102) is configured to send (414) said indications of presence to an additional remote apparatus (200) configured to couple the remote control apparatus (122) with the vehicle fleet manager; said additional remote apparatus (200) is configured to receive from said vehicle fleet manager said inventory lists and to transmit said inventory lists to the remote control apparatus (122); said additional remote apparatus (200) is configured to compare the identifiers associated with objects for which an indication of presence has been obtained with the identifiers comprised in said inventory list associatedto said vehicle (100), obtaining a first set of identifiers comprising the identifiers comprised in said inventory list for which an indication of presence has been received and a second set of identifiers comprising the identifiers comprised in said inventory list for which an indication of presence has not been received, and to send said first set of identifiers (IC; ICn) and said second set of identifiers (IC; ICn) to the remote control apparatus (122); and said remote control apparatus (122) is configured to determine if, based on said first set of identifiers (ICn) and said second set of identifiers (ICn), an indication of presence has been obtained for each object associated with an identifier comprised in said inventory list associated to said vehicle (100).

7. The alarm system according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein said integrated electronic controller (102) is configured to send (414) said indications of presence to the remote control apparatus (122); said remote control apparatus (122) is configured to compare the identifiers associated with objects for which an indication of presence has been obtained with the identifiers comprised in said inventory list associated to said vehicle (100), obtaining a first set of identifiers comprising the identifiers comprised in said inventory list for which an indication of presence has been received and a second set of identifiers comprising the identifiers comprised in said inventory list for which an indication of presence has not been received; and said remote control apparatus (122) is configured to determine if, based on said first set of identifiers (ICn) and said second set of identifiers (ICn), an indication of presence has been obtained for each object associated with an identifier comprised in said inventory list associated to said vehicle (100).

8. The alarm system according to any of the previous claims, wherein if at least one indication of presence has not been obtained for at least one object associated with an identifier comprised in the inventory list associated to said vehicle (100): said remote control apparatus (122) is configured to send (416) said second notification (MOA) indicative of absent objects to a driver of the vehicle (100); orsaid second notification (MOA) indicative of absent objects is sent (416) by the vehicle fleet manager to said driver of the vehicle (100); wherein, preferably, said second notification (MOA) is sent (416):- to a mobile device of the driver of the vehicle (100), and / or- to an additional electronic controller integrated (102) in the vehicle (100) or to said electronic controller integrated in the vehicle (100).

9. The alarm system according to any of the previous claims, wherein said integrated electronic controller (102) is configured to send (410) an additional notification to the vehicle fleet manager, said additional notification being indicative of a deactivation (418) of said alarm system by a driver of said vehicle (100).

10. A vehicle (100) comprised in a vehicle fleet alarm system according to any of the previous claims and configured to contain objects associated with respective identifiers, said objects comprising respective tags configured to send presence data comprising said respective identifiers; wherein said vehicle (100) comprises:- an electronic controller (102) integrated in the vehicle (100); and- a reader (118) integrated in the vehicle (100); said integrated electronic controller (102) being configured to detect a theft attempt and, in response to the detection of said theft attempt: said integrated electronic controller (102) is configured to send (404b) a first notification indicating said theft attempt to the vehicle fleet manager and send (414) a scan request to said integrated reader (118); said integrated reader (118) is configured to, in response to reception of the scan request, receive the presence data sent by the objects contained in the vehicle (100) and send said presence data to said integrated electronic controller (102); and said integrated electronic controller (102) is configured to receive said presence data, to obtain (414), based on said presence data, indications of presence of said objects contained in the vehicle (100) indicative of a presence of said objects in said vehicle (100), and to send (414) said indications of presence.

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