Keyless entry system for automotive vehicle with power consumption saving feature

A keyless entry system for automotive vehicle devices including a door lock allowing operation of said devices by authorized users of the vehicle without the need for a mechanical key, comprising:

• a plurality of electrically operable actuators, each connected to one of said vehicle devices;
• a plurality of manual switches, each of which is connected to one of said vehicle devices, and mounted on a vehicle body at a position nearby the corresponding one of said vehicle device to be operated, said manual switch being normally open and being closed when it is manually operated;
• a transmitter small enough to fit in a clothing pocket and normally operating in a stand-by state in which it anticipates reception of a demand signal, said transmitter responding to said demand signal by broadcasting a radio signal indicative of a unique code which identifies said transmitter;
• and
• a controller mounted on the vehicle body and electrically connected to said actuator and said manual switch, incorporating a power supply system which includes said manual switch and is normally inactive so as not to supply electric power to said controller, which is responsive to operation of said manual switch and which connects said power supply system to said controller for supplying electric power to said controller for a given period of time, said controller being responsive to the connection of said power supply for broadcasting said demand signal to said transmitter, for identifying which vehicle device is to be operated in accordance with which manual switch has been operated, for receiving said unique code from said transmitter, for comparing said unique code with a preset code when said radio signal from said transmitter is received within said given period of time, for producing said control signal for said identified vehicle device and for sending said control signal to the corresponding one of said actuators when said unique code matches said preset code, wherein said power supply system is disconnected from said controller after said given period to deactivate said controller.

A keyless entry system for an automotive vehicle device for actuating the vehicle device to a first active state and a second inactive state, comprising:

• an electrical actuator connected to said vehicle device and responsive to a control signal for switching an operating state of said vehicle device between said first and second states;
• a manual switch mounted on a vehicle body at a position near said vehicle device to be operated, said manual switch being normally open and being closed when it is manually operated;
• a transmitter normally operating in a stand-by state in which it anticipates reception of a demand signal, said transmitter responding to said demand signal by outputting a radio signal indicative of a unique code which identifies said transmitter;
• and
• a controller mounted on the vehicle body and electrically connected to said actuator and said manual switch, incorporating a power supply system which includes said manual switch and is normally inactive so as not to supply electric power to said controller, said power supply system responding to actuation of said manual switch which connects said power supply system to said controller for supplying electric power to said controller, said controller being responsive to the connection of said power supply for broadcasting said demand signal to said transmitter for a first given period of time, said controller being held in a stand-by state for receiving said radio signal from said transmitter for a second given period of time subsequent to said first period of time, for comparing said unique code upon reception from said transmitter to a preset code when said radio signal from said transmitter is received within said second given period of time, and for producing said control signal if said unique code matches said preset code, wherein said power supply system is disconnected from said controller after said second given period to deactivate said controller.

A keyless entry system for automotive vehicle devices including a door lock allowing operation of said devices by authorized users of the vehicle without the need for a mechanical key, comprising:

• a plurality of electrically operable actuators, each actuator connected to one of said vehicle devices;
• a plurality of manual switches, each of which is connected to one of said vehicle devices, and mounted on a vehicle body at a position nearby the corresponding one of said vehicle devices to be operated, said manual switch being normally open and being closed when it is manually operated;
• a transmitter small enough to fit in a clothing pocket and normally operating in a stand-by state in which it anticipates reception of a demand signal, said transmitter responding to said demand signal by broadcasting a radio signal indicative of a unique code which identifies said transmitter;
• and
• a controller mounted on the vehicle body and electrically connected to said actuator and said manual switch, incorporating a power supply system which includes said manual switch and is normally inactive so as not to supply electric power to said controller, which is responsive to operation of said manual switch which connects said power supply system to said controller for supplying electric power to said controller, said controller being responsive to the connection of said power supply for broadcasting said demand signal to said transmitter for a given first period of time, for identifying which vehicle device is to be operated in accordance with which manual switch has been operated, for receiving said unique code from said transmitter, for maintaining said stand-by state for reception of said unique code for a given second period of time, for comparing said received unit code with a preset code when said radio signal from said transmitter is received within said second given period of time, for producing said control signal for said identified vehicle device and for sending said control signal to the corresponding one of said actuators when said unique code matches said preset code, wherein said power supply system is disconnected from said controller after said second given period to deactivate said controller.