Vehicle security apparatus and method

Anti-theft apparatus adapted for use with a motor-powered vehicle including an operator compartment with an access door and that has an electronic control circuit and an electronic door monitoring circuit operative to sense an opening of said door, said apparatus operative to disrupt said control circuit to disable said vehicle, comprising:

• (a) a transmitter adapted to be carried by a driver of the vehicle and operative to produce a broadcast signal of selected frequency;
• (b) a receiver adapted to be carried by said vehicle and operative to receive the broadcast signal when said transmitter is within a communication range, said receiver operative to produce an out-of-range signal when said receiver fails to receive the broadcast signal;
• (c) a switch circuit including a switch element interposed in the control circuit of said vehicle, said switch element having a switch active state wherein the control circuit of said vehicle is operative and a switch inactive state wherein the control circuit of said vehicle is disrupted;
• and
• (d) a detector circuit interconnected to said door monitoring circuit and operative in response to the opening of said door to produce an arming signal, said switch circuit operative in response to a presence of both said arming signal and said out-of-range signal to produce a disable signal, said switch element responsive to said disable signal to change from the switch active state to the switch inactive state thereby disrupting said control circuit to disable said vehicle.

A method of protecting a motor vehicle from theft accomplished by usurping operation of the vehicle from an operator thereof, displacing the operator out of the vehicle and removing the vehicle away from the operator wherein said vehicle is motor-powered and has an electronic control circuit that allows said vehicle to function and that disables said vehicle when disrupted, comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing first means carried by the operator of said vehicle and second means carried by said vehicle, said first and second means for detecting a distance of separation between said operator and said vehicle;
• (b) interposing a switch element in said control circuit wherein said switch element has a switch active state whereby said control circuit is operative and a switch inactive state whereby said control circuit is disrupted;
• and
• (c) monitoring the distance of separation between said operator and said vehicle and changing said switch element from the switch active state to the switch inactive state when the distance of separation exceeds a threshold distance continuously for a selected time duration.

Anti-theft apparatus adapted to interconnect with an electronic control circuit of a motor-powered vehicle and operative to selectively disrupt the control circuit to disable said vehicle, comprising:

• (a) a transmitter adapted to be carried by a driver of the vehicle and operative to produce a broadcast signal of selected frequency;
• (b) a receiver adapted to be carried by said vehicle and operative to receive the broadcast signal when said transmitter is within a communication range, said receiver operative to produce an out-of-range signal when said receiver fails to receive the broadcast signal;
• (c) an event detector operative to sense an occurrence of a selected event and to produce an arming signal in response to the occurrence;
• and
• (d) a switch circuit including a switch element interposed in the control circuit of said vehicle, said switch element having a switch active state wherein the control circuit of said vehicle is operative and a switch inactive state wherein the control circuit of said vehicle is disrupted, said switch circuit operative in response to said out-of-range signal to cause said switch element to change from the switch active state to the switch inactive state thereby disrupting said control circuit to disable said vehicle only when said arming signal is present.