Vehicle disable system
AssigneeDelphi Technologies, Inc.
InventorsR. Clarkson Griffin, Gerald P. Hunt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vehicle disable system including an onboard computer linked to a throttle control relay. The onboard computer is capable of communicating to a remote control center by way of telecommunications link. If certain security protocols are breached, the control center communicates a shutdown command to the vehicle by way of the telecommunications link and the vehicle initiates a shutdown procedure for incapacitating the vehicle throttle controls.
Claims24
A vehicle disable system, comprising:
- an onboard computer;
- and
- a communications system linked to said onboard computer, said communications system is capable of communicating to a remote control center by way of a telecommunications link;
- wherein said onboard computer includes means for acting on a shutdown command from said remote control center, and means for interrupting a throttle command signal generated by a throttle position sensor.
A method for incapacitating a vehicle, comprising the steps of:
- receiving information into a control center;
- and
- sending from said control center, by way of a wireless communication, a shutdown command to an onboard computer mounted in said vehicle;
- wherein said onboard computer is configured to initiate a shutdown sequence that places said vehicle in an idle mode by disabling a throttle position sensor.
A method for incapacitating a vehicle, comprising the steps of:
- receiving a signal initiated by the vehicle driver;
- checking the validity of the signal according to a predetermined protocol;
- and
- incapacitating the vehicle if the step of checking the validity of the signal violates the terms of the predetermined protocol, wherein said incapacitating step includes forcing the vehicle engine into an idle mode by disabling a throttle position sensor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.