Keyless entry system for automotive devices with compact, portable wireless code transmitter, and feature for preventing users from locking transmitter in vehicle

A keyless entry system for an automotive vehicle comprising:

• vehicle devices including a door lock;
• actuators, each associated with and responsive to a corresponding control signal to operate a corresponding vehicle Device to a given operating position, said actuators including a door lock actuator for operating a vehicular door lock between a locked and an unlocked position;
• a compact, portable wireless transmitter producing a radio signal indicative of a present unique code in response to reception of a demand signal;
• manual switches, each mounted on the external surface of a vehicle body for operation fron outside of the vehicle and operable for initiating operation of the corresponding one of said vehicle devices to a desired state, said manual switches including a door lock switch for reversing the position of said door lock acutator between said locked and unlocked positions;
• a controller connected to said manual switches and responsive to operation of one of said manual switches to produce said demand signal, said controller receiving said unique code-indicative radio signal from said transmitter, comparing said unique code to a second preset code stored in said controller, and producing a control signal for operating the one of said actuators corresponding to the operated manual switch, said controller responsive to the closure and locking states of vehicle doors and producing a second demand signal when the vehicle doors are closed and locked, so as to test for transmission and reception of said code-indicative radio signal, said controller producing a disabling signal in response to detection of said code-indicative radio signal following projection of said second demand signal;
• and
• a disabling means, associated with said controller and responsive to said disabling signal to disable operation of said controller for operating said door lock actuator.

A keyless entry system for an automotive vehicle comprising:

• vehicle devices including a door lock which is operable between a locking state and an unlocking state;
• a first detector associated with said door lock for detecting the locking and unlocking state of the latter;
• a second detector for detecting closure of vehicle doors;
• actuators for corresponding vehicle devices, said actuators including a door lock actuator for operating a vehicular door lock between a locked and an unlocked position;
• a compact, portable wireless transmitter producing a radio signal indicative of a present unique code in response to reception of a demand signal;
• manual switches mounted on an external surface of a vehicle body for operation from the outside of the vehicle, each switch corresponding to one of said vehicle devices, said manual switches including a door lock switch for reversing the position of said door lock actuator between said locked and unlocked positions;
• a controller connected to receive a signal from and responsive to operation of one of said manual switches to produce said demand signal, said controller receiving said unique code indicative radio signal from said transmitter, comparing said unique code and a preset code stored therein, and producing a control signal in response to one of said actuators corresponding to an operated manual switch for actuating the corresponding vehicle device to the desired position, said controller being associated with said first and second detector for producing a second demand signal when the vehicle doors are closed and locked in order to test for production of the code-indicative radio signal by said transmitter in the vehice, said controller producing a disabling signal when said code-indicative radio signal is produced in response to said second demand signal;
• and
• a disabling means associated with said controller and responsive to said disabling signal to disable operation of said controller for operating said door lock actuator.

A keyless entry system for an automotive vehicle comprising:

• vehicle devices including a door lock and a trunk lid lock which are each operable between a locking state and an unlocking state;
• actuators associated with corresponding vehicle devices including a door lock actuator and trunk lid lock actuator;
• a compact, portable wireless transmitter producing a radio signal indicative of a preset unique code in response to reception of a demand signal;
• manual switches mounted on the external surface of a vehicle body for operation from the outside of the vehicle, each corresponding to one of said vehicle devices, said manual switches including a door lock switch for reversing the position of said door lock actuator between said locked and unlocked positions;
• a controller connected to receive a signal from and responsive to operation of one of said manual switches to produce said demand signal, said controller receiving said unique code indicative radio signal from said transmitter, comparing said unique code and a preset code stored therein to produce a control signal in response to one of said actuators corresponding to an operated manual switch for actuating the corresponding vehicle device, said controller responsive to a first state wherein vehicle doors are closed and locked and a second state wherein said trunk lid is locked, said controller being responsive to one of said first and second states to produce a second demand signal for checking for production of said code-indicative radio signal by said transmitter in the vehicle, and said controller producing a disabling signal when the code-indicative radio signal is produced in response to said second demand signal;
• and
• a disabling means responsive to said disabling signal to disable operation of said controller for operating said door lock actuator and trunk lid lock actuator.

In a keyless entry system for operating vehicle devices including a door lock by means of a combination of manual switches mounted on a vehicle body, a wireless, portable transmitter adapted to produce a radio signal indicative of a unique code and a controller mounted on the vehicle for receiving said unique code and for comparing said unique code with a preset code stored in the controller and operating a selected one of the vehicle devices corresponding to the operated one of said manual switches when said codes match, a theft-preventing method comprising the steps of:

• initially activating said transmitter to transmit said unique code-indicative radio signal and measuring an initial signal strength of the unique code-indicative radio signal;
• detecting a first condition in which the vehicle door is closed;
• detecting a second condition in which said door lock has just been operated to a locking state;
• activating said transmitter in response to establishment of said first and second conditions and measuring a second signal strength of said unique code-indicative radio signal;
• comparing said initial signal strength and said second signal strength and deriving the difference therebetween;
• and
• disabling keyless entry system operation when said difference is smaller than a predetermined reference value after a given period of time expires.

In a keyless entry system for operating vehicle devices including a door lock by mean of a combination of manual switches mounted on a vehicle body, a wireless, portable transmitter adapted to produce a radio signal indicative of a unique code and a controller mounted on the vehicle for receiving said unique code and for comparing said unique code with a preset code stored in the controller to operate a vehicle device corresponding to the operated one of said manual switches, a theft preventing method comprising the steps of:

• initially activating said transmitter to transmit said unique code indicative radio signal and measuring an initial signal strength of the unique code-indicative radio signal;
• thereafter performing keyless entry operation in response to operation of said manual switches by comparing said unique code and said preset code and operating the vehicle devices corresponding to the operated one of said manual switches when said codes match;
• detecting a first condition in which the vehicle door is closed;
• detecting a second condition in which said door lock has just been operated to a locking state;
• activating said transmitter in response to establishment of said first and second conditions and measuring a second signal strength of said unique code indicative radio signal;
• comparing said initial signal strength and said second signal strength and deriving the difference therebetween;
• and
• disabling keyless entry operation when said difference is smaller than a predetermined reference value after a given period of time expires.

A keyless entry system for an automotive vehicle for operating various vehicle devices including a door lock and a steering lock, comprising:

• a portable wireless transmitter operable for transmitting a unique code indicative signal encoded to carry a first preset unique code stored in said transmitter;
• actuators, each associated with corresponding vehicle devices for operating the latter to a desired state, said actuators including a steering lock actuator associated with said steering lock for operating the latter between a locking state and an unlocking state and a door lock actuator for operating a vehicle door lock between a locked and an unlocked position;
• manual switches for signalling said keyless entry system to operate a corresponding one of said vehicle devices;
• a first detector for detecting a door close position for outputting a first detector signal in response thereto;
• a second detector operable for detecting a predetermined steering lock condition to output a second detector signal when said steering lock condition is detected;
• a third detector for detecting whether or not a vehicle door or doors is closed;
• a fourth detector for detecting whether or not said door lock is locked;
• a controller mounted on the vehicle and operable to transmit a first demand signal for triggering said transmitter and receiving said unique code indicative signal, comparing the received unique code with a second preset code, and producing a control signal to operate at least one of said actuators only when the received unique code matches said second preset code, said controller responsive to said first and second detector signals to transmit said control signal to said steering lock actuator for performing steering locking and unlocking operation, said controller detecting the closure and locking state of said vehicle doors to transmit a second demand signal when the vehicle doors are closed and locked, so as to test for transmission of said code-indicative radio signal, said controller producing a disabling signal when said code-indicative radio signal is continuously or periodically received for a given period of time following transmission of said second demand signal;
• and
• a disabling means associated with said controller and responsive to said disabling signal for disabling operation of said controller for operating said door lock actuator.