Abstract:
A personal vehicle security device attaches to a personal vehicle secured to a rigid structure using a security cable. The security device includes a housing securely attached to the personal vehicle. The housing has apertures for receiving security cable. Within the housing are one or more sensors for sensing the electrical continuity of the cable, movement of the security device, and location of the security device. A memory device within the housing stores a unique identification number (UIN) associated with the security device. The security device also includes a controller for receiving signals from the one or more sensors and generating an alert message based on an event indicated by the one or more sensors. The alert message includes the UIN and information regarding the event. A wireless modem within the security device housing transmits the alert message from the security device to a wireless network.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Nos. 61/489,504 and 61/489,355, both filed May 24, 2011, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0002]    The field of the disclosure is related to security devices to secure personal vehicles, such as motorized sport vehicles (e.g., motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles) and non-motorized sport vehicles (e.g., bicycles). 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Theft and other unauthorized use of bicycles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, personal watercraft, and other personal vehicles is an ongoing problem. Although security cables, chains, and locks have been long used in attempts to secure personal vehicles from theft, most such measures can be easily thwarted by a thief using a heavy-duty bolt cutter. 
         [0004]    What is needed is a security device attached to the personal vehicle that can detect and report when a security cable, chain or lock has been cut or otherwise tampered with, and track and report the location of the vehicle after such an event. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    The above and other needs are met by a personal vehicle security device configured to be attached to a personal vehicle that is secured to a rigid structure using a security cable. In a preferred embodiment, the personal vehicle security device includes a housing configured to be securely attached to the personal vehicle. The housing has apertures for receiving opposing ends of the security cable. Within the housing are a continuity sensor, a motion sensor, a location determination module, a memory device, a wireless modem and a controller. The continuity sensor senses electrical continuity through the security cable and generates a continuity signal based on the electrical continuity. The motion sensor senses movement of the personal vehicle security device and generates a motion signal based on the movement. The location determination module determines the location of the personal vehicle security device and generates location information. The memory device stores a unique identification number (UIN) associated with the personal vehicle security device. The controller receives the continuity signal, the motion signal and the location information, and generates an alert message based on an event indicated by the continuity signal, the motion signal or the location information. The alert message includes the unique identification number and information regarding the event. The wireless modem transmits the alert message from the personal vehicle security device to a wireless network, such as a cellular telephone network. 
         [0006]    In some embodiments, the security device includes a key/lock sensor for sensing whether a locking mechanism of the security device is in a locked state or an unlocked state and for generating a locking mechanism signal based thereon. 
         [0007]    In some embodiments, the controller generates the alert message when the motion signal indicates a movement event or the continuity signal indicates a loss of electrical continuity event while the locking mechanism is in a locked state. Such loss of electrical continuity would occur if the security cable was cut or an end of the cable was forcibly removed from its connection to the housing. 
         [0008]    In some embodiments, the controller generates the alert message if the location information indicates a change of location event while the locking mechanism is in a locked state. 
         [0009]    In another aspect, the invention is directed to a personal vehicle monitoring system that combines the personal vehicle security device with a service provider server computer that is in communication a wireless communication network, such as a cellular telephone network, and a wide area communication network, such as the Internet. The server computer receives the alert message transmitted from the personal vehicle security device and generates an alert notification that includes information about the event that triggered the alert message. The server computer then sends the alert notification to a customer to whom the personal vehicle security device is registered. The alert notification may be in the form of an email message, text message, instant message, or other form of electronic message. 
         [0010]    In some embodiments, the monitoring system includes a customer database that is accessible by the server computer. The customer database stores unique identification numbers of personal vehicle security devices in association with contact information for the customers to whom the personal vehicle security devices are registered. The server computer accesses the customer information from the customer database, and, based on the unique identification number in the alert message, identifies the customer to whom the personal vehicle security device is registered. 
         [0011]    In yet another aspect, the invention is directed to a method of monitoring a personal vehicle using a personal vehicle security device attached to the vehicle. In a preferred embodiment, the method includes:
   (a) securing the personal vehicle to a rigid structure using a security cable having opposing ends;   (b) attaching the opposing ends of the security cable to a housing of the personal vehicle security device;   (c) locking a locking mechanism of the personal vehicle security device to secure the security cable to the housing;   (d) sensing electrical continuity through the security cable and generating a continuity signal;   (e) sensing movement of the personal vehicle security device and generating a motion signal;   (f) determining a location of the personal vehicle security device and generating location information;   (g) determining that an event has occurred based on:
       a loss of electrical continuity through the security cable as indicated by the continuity signal;   movement of the personal vehicle security device as indicated by the motion signal; or   a change in location of the personal vehicle security device as indicated by the location information; and   
       (h) generating an alert message based on the event, where the alert message includes a unique identification number associated with the personal vehicle security device and information regarding the event; and   (i) wirelessly transmitting the alert message from the personal vehicle security device.   
 
         [0024]    In some embodiments, the method also includes:
   (j) communicating the alert message via a communication network to a service provider server computer;   (k) operating on the alert message to extract the unique identification number and information regarding the event;   (l) accessing a customer database containing customer information stored in association with unique identification numbers, each of which is assigned to a corresponding personal vehicle security device;   (m) determining customer information associated with the unique identification number extracted from the alert message;   (n) generating an alert notification containing the event information extracted from the alert message; and   (o) sending the alert notification to the customer identified by the customer information associated with the unique identification number extracted from the alert message.   
 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0031]    Further features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, appended claims, and accompanying figures, wherein elements are not to scale so as to more clearly show the details, wherein like reference numbers indicate like elements throughout the several views, and wherein: 
           [0032]      FIG. 1  depicts a functional block diagram of a personal vehicle monitoring system according to an embodiment of the invention; 
           [0033]      FIG. 2  depicts components of a personal vehicle security device according to an embodiment of the invention; 
           [0034]      FIG. 3  depicts a functional block diagram of a personal vehicle security device according to an embodiment of the invention; and 
           [0035]      FIG. 4  depicts a process for operating a personal vehicle security device according to an embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0036]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , a personal vehicle monitoring system  10  includes a personal vehicle security device  12  in wireless communication with a wireless network  16 , such as a cellular communication network or WiFi network, connected to a wide area communication network  18 , such as the Internet. A customer mobile communication device  14 , such as a smart phone or tablet computer, is also in wireless communication with the wireless network  16 . A service provider server computer  20  is also in communication with the wide area communication network  18 . A customer database  22  is accessible to the service provider server computer  20 . 
         [0037]      FIG. 2  depicts various components of one embodiment of the personal vehicle security device  12  in a disassembled configuration. The security device  12  of this embodiment includes an outer housing  24 , an inner housing  30 , an electronics module  32 , a battery  34 , a set of keys  36  and a security cable  38 . When the device  12  is assembled, the electronics module  32  and battery  34  are preferably disposed within the inner housing  30 , and the outer housing  24  securely covers and at least partially encloses the inner housing  30 . The inner housing  30  is configured to be semi-permanently attached to a portion of a bicycle, motorcycle, scooter, moped, all-terrain vehicle, personal watercraft, or other motorized or non-motorized vehicle. Such vehicles are referred to herein as “personal vehicles.” 
         [0038]    The security cable  38  is preferably a heavy-duty braided steel cable covered by a flexible plastic coating. Stainless steel connectors  40   a  and  40   b  are securely attached at each end of the cable  38 . The cable  38  forms a continuous electrically conductive circuit from the connector  40   a  to the connector  40   b . The cable  38  is preferably of sufficient length to wrap around a portion of the personal vehicle to which the inner housing  30  is attached and around a sturdy structure to which the personal vehicle is to be secured for safekeeping. 
         [0039]    A locking mechanism is disposed within the inner housing  30 , or alternatively, within the outer housing  24 . The locking mechanism is operable to engage the connectors  40   a  and  40   b  when the connectors  40   a  and  40   b  are inserted into apertures  26   a  and  26   b  in the outer housing  24 . The locking mechanism is operated by inserting one of the keys  36  into a key aperture  28  in the outer housing  24  and rotating the key  36  to a locked position or unlocked position. Thus, to secure the personal vehicle, the cable  38  is wrapped around a portion of the personal vehicle and around the structure to which the personal vehicle is to be secured, the connectors  40   a  and  40   b  are inserted into the apertures  26   a  and  26   b , and the key  36  is rotated to lock the locking mechanism. One example of a personal vehicle security system having a mechanical structure similar that described herein, but not the electronics, is the Modulus™ 1018S Security System manufactured by Kryptonite. 
         [0040]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , a preferred embodiment of the electronics module  32  includes a microprocessor controller  44 , wireless modem  46 , location determination module  48 , memory module  50 , continuity sensor  52 , motion sensor  54  and key/lock sensor  56 . Power for the electronics module  32  is provided by the battery  34 , which may be a lithium ion battery or other type battery commonly used in cellular telephones. In some embodiments used on motorized personal vehicles, power for the electronics module  32  may also be provided by a cable connected to the battery of the personal vehicle to which the security device  12  is attached. 
         [0041]    As described in more detail hereinafter, the microprocessor controller  44  is operable to execute firmware instructions to monitor signals from the sensors  52 ,  54  and  56 , to receive location coordinates from the location determination module  48 , to send and receive messages via the wireless modem  46 , and to access the memory  50 . The wireless modem  46  is preferably a cellular or satellite transceiver. The location determination module  48  is preferably a Global Positioning System (GPS) module, but could be implemented using other location determination technologies, such as based on proximity to cellular towers. The continuity sensor  52  is preferably a circuit for monitoring whether an open-circuit or closed-circuit exists between the connectors  40   a  and  40   b  of the security cable when the connectors are inserted into the apertures  26   a  and  26   b  of the outer housing  24 . The motion sensor  54 , such as a single-axis or multi-axis accelerometer, generates signals based on motion of the security device  12 . The key/lock sensor  56  is preferably a contact switch, magnetic switch or other switching device coupled to the locking mechanism which opens or closes a circuit based on the locked or unlocked state of the locking mechanism. The memory module  50  may be a SIM card, flash memory card, or other type of memory device. 
         [0042]      FIG. 4  depicts a preferred embodiment of a process  100  for operating the personal vehicle security device  12  based on firmware instructions executed by the microprocessor controller  44 . Once the security cable has been wrapped around a secure structure and threaded through a portion of the personal vehicle, the connectors  40   a  and  40   b  are inserted into the apertures  26   a  and  26   b  in the outer housing  24  of the device  12  (step  102 ). The key  36  is then inserted into the key aperture  28  and rotated to lock the locking mechanism and arm the security device (step  104 ). After a time delay (such as 10 seconds) to allow motion of the vehicle to settle down, the controller  44  reads the state of the motion sensor  54 , the cable continuity sensor  52  and the key/lock sensor  56  (step  108 ), and gets location coordinates from the GPS module  48 . Data from these sensors is written to a status message that is transmitted from the wireless modem  46  (step  110 ). 
         [0043]    In one preferred embodiment, once the security device  12  has been armed, the controller  44  continues to monitor output signals from the motion sensor  54  and the continuity sensor  52  (step  112 ). The GPS module  48  and the wireless modem  46  are preferably powered down at this point to preserve battery life. As long as the continuity sensor  52  indicates that the security cable  38  is continuous (step  114 ) and the motion sensor  54  senses no motion (step  124 ), no alert messages are generated and the controller  44  continues monitoring the sensors  52  and  54  (step  112 ). 
         [0044]    If the continuity sensor  52  detects a lack of continuity in the security cable (step  114 ) indicating that the cable  38  has been severed or a connector  40   a  or  40   b  has been forcibly removed, the controller  44  reads the state of the motion sensor  54  (step  116 ) and activates the GPS module  48  to take a position reading (step  128 ). The controller  44  then generates an alert message containing a cable continuity status indicator (no continuity), a motion status indicator (moving or stationary), a time stamp, and position coordinates from the GPS module  48 , and transmits the alert message via the wireless modem  46  (step  130 ). The controller  44  then waits some predetermined time (step  132 ), such as one minute, and repeats the process starting at step  112 . 
         [0045]    If the motion sensor  54  detects movement of the security device  12  (step  124 ), such as may occur when someone tries to forcibly removed the device  12  from the personal vehicle, or otherwise move the vehicle from its secured location, the controller  44  reads the state of the continuity sensor  52  (step  126 ) and activates the GPS module  48  to take a position reading (step  128 ). The controller  44  then generates an alert message containing the cable continuity status indicator, the motion status indicator, position coordinates from the GPS module  48 , a time stamp, and the identification number of the security device  12  (which may be the phone number or serial number of the wireless modem  46 ), and transmits the alert message via the wireless modem  46  (step  130 ). The controller  44  then waits some predetermined time (step  132 ), such as one minute, and repeats the process starting at step  112 . 
         [0046]    In a preferred embodiment, the security device  12  periodically performs a status check and transmits a corresponding status message, even when no movement is sensed by the motion sensor  54  and no cable discontinuity has been detected. As shown in  FIG. 4 , after a predetermined time has elapsed since the device was armed or since a previous status check, such as two hours (step  134 ), the controller  44  reads the state of the motion sensor  54  (step  136 ), reads the state of the continuity sensor  52  (step  138 ) and activates the GPS module  48  to take a position reading (step  140 ). The controller  44  then generates a status message containing the cable continuity status indicator, the motion status indicator, position coordinates from the GPS module  48 , a time stamp, and the identification number of the security device  12 , and transmits the status message via the wireless modem  46  (step  142 ). This process repeats after the predetermined time has elapsed since the previous status message transmission (steps  134 - 142 ). 
         [0047]    If the position coordinates determined during one of the periodic status checks are different from the position coordinates determined during a prior status check, the controller  44  generates an alert message indicating that the security device  12  has moved even though no movement has been sensed by the motion sensor  54  and no cable discontinuity has been detected. Although this is an unlikely scenario, it is possible that it could occur if the personal vehicle is secured to a trailer, and the trailer has been stolen, and the motion sensor  54  has either malfunctioned or the controller  44  has been programmed to ignore signals from the motion sensor  54 . 
         [0048]    In a preferred embodiment, as long as the device  12  is armed, the controller  44  continues monitoring the sensors  52 ,  54  and  56  (step  112 ) and doing periodic status checks. When the key/lock sensor  56  detects that the locking mechanism has been unlocked using the key (step  144 ), the controller  44  powers down the device  12  (step  146 ). 
         [0049]    Depending on the particular personal vehicle application, the device  12  may be programmed differently than described above to accommodate situations that are specific to the particular type of personal vehicle. For example, when used on a floating personal watercraft that is secured to a dock or mooring, monitoring of the motion sensor  54  may be disabled to avoid false alarms caused by normal wave motion. Alternatively, the controller  44  may be programmed to generate an alert message only if the acceleration or velocity sensed by the motion sensor  54  indicates that the personal watercraft is moving away from its mooring or is operating under power. 
         [0050]    With reference to  FIG. 1 , status and alert transmissions from the security device  12  are communicated through the wireless network  16  and the Internet  18  to the service provider server  20  where the messages are processed. Using the identification number of the security device  12  contained in the status or alert message, the server  20  accesses the customer database  22  and determines the contact information for the customer associated with the identification number. The server  20  then generates a status or alert notification and sends the notification to the customer using the customer&#39;s preferred mode of communication, such as via email, text message or instant message. Preferably the status and alert notifications generated by the server  20  will include information provided in the message transmitted from the device  12 : cable continuity status, motion status, position coordinates and time stamp. Alert notifications will also preferably include an indication of what triggered the alert, which would be either a cable discontinuity (severed cable), movement of the device  12 , or a change in position coordinates detected during a periodic status check. The status and alert notifications may be communicated via the Internet  18  and wireless network to the customer&#39;s mobile communication device  14  or other device as indicated by the customer&#39;s preferences stored in the customer database  22 . 
         [0051]    In one embodiment of the invention, the security device  12  may be operated in a travel mapping mode wherein location data from the position determination module  48  is logged at predetermined time intervals (e.g., every 60 seconds) during a trip, so that a customer can later download the stored location data of a trip in a travel map file. The travel map file can be uploaded, for example, to a mapping software suite in the customer&#39;s mobile communication device  14  or other computing device to provide a visual representation of where the security device  12  has traveled while travel mapping mode was activated. The software suite can be proprietary and/or can be compatible with other mapping applications such as, for example, Google® Maps. The data from a travel mapping mode session can be saved, for example, in the memory module  50 , on the server  20 , in the customer database  22  or other storage location. In one embodiment, the travel map file data may transferred from the security device  12  using, for example, a USB cable or the like connected to a data interface on the device  12 , such as a USB interface. In a related embodiment, the travel map data may be transferred wirelessly from the security device  12  using the wireless modem  46 . 
         [0052]    In some embodiments, a software application is provided for the customer&#39;s mobile communication device  14  to enable communication between the device  14  and the service provider server  20  via the Internet  18 . Using the software application, the customer may interact with the server  20  to cause the server  20  to send control messages to the security device  12  to change its operational settings. For example, the customer may use the software application to remotely (1) arm and disarm the security device, (2) initiate a status check and transmission of a status message, (3) program the controller  44  to ignore motion sensor signals (as in the example discussed above), (4) remotely configure the data logging intervals (for example, when in travel mapping mode), such as 10, 30, or 60 second intervals, (5) enable the sending of status messages upon the occurrence of certain events, such as arrival at or departure from certain locations, landmarks, or zone of compliance, or exceeding some threshold of miles traveled, (6) change the various power modes of the device from full power to power saver mode. In addition to using the software application on the customer&#39;s mobile device  14 , in some embodiments the user may access a webpage to control settings of the security device  12  and to see a map showing the current location of the security device  12 . 
         [0053]    The foregoing description of preferred embodiments of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. The described preferred embodiments are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the disclosure to the precise form(s) disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiments are chosen and described in an effort to provide the best illustrations of the principles of the disclosure and its practical application, and to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the concepts revealed in the disclosure in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the disclosure as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally, and equitably entitled. 
         [0054]    Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means for” performing a specified function, or “step for” performing a specific function, is not to be interpreted as a “means” or “step” clause as specified in 35 U.S.C. §112, ¶ 6. In particular, the use of “step of” in the claims herein is not intended to invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, ¶ 6.