TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates generally to relays and, more particularly, to a smart relay and relay simulator.

BACKGROUND

[0002] A relay is an electrically operated switch that is found in a wide variety of machines and equipment. One example of a relay is found in the starter/ignition system of an automobile or other vehicle. [0003] It is known to remotely operate relays using wireless devices. For example, it is known from WO 2012/097441 to use a wireless-enabled reporting device for tracking and disabling of vehicles by remotely interrupting the starter/ignition system of the vehicle. Wireless-enabled reporting devices require integration of the wireless-enabled reporting devices with vehicle starter switches. Before the introduction of push-button starters or starter switches utilizing small-signal and CAN bus communication, wireless-enabled reporting devices could be installed with ease within the wiring of the vehicles as the ignition switch was hardwired directly with the starter relay. CAN bus communication allows microcontroller and devices of different vehicle subsystems to communicate with each other without a host computer. Through the implementation of CAN bus communication in vehicles, the ignition starter is not directly hardwired with the starter relay. Instead communication is sent on a CAN bus line, wherein a plurality of nodes associated with the plurality of vehicle subsystems are connected on said bus line. Therefore, the installation of wireless-enabled reporting devices in systems utilizing small- signal and CAN bus communication to start a vehicle would require an installer to run wires where the device(s) are located (cabin of vehicle), directly to the starter relay (hood of the vehicle) through the vehicles firewall. The procedure for installing and wiring the device(s) could differ for each vehicle as each vehicle has a different structure. Accordingly, a system, method, and/or apparatus for allowing seamless integration of wireless-enabled reporting devices in vehicles utilizing a small-signal and CAN bus communication for vehicle starting is highly desirable.

[0004] Similarly, a smart relay would be highly desirable, not only for the specific application of ignition/starter systems in vehicles, but more widely for remotely controlling the operation of relays in any other remote machinery, equipment or other apparatus containing a relay.

SUMMARY

[0005] The following presents a simplified summary of some aspects or embodiments of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is not intended to identify key or critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some embodiments of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

[0006] Disclosed herein are various aspects and embodiments of the present invention relating to a smart relay and a relay simulator. Also disclosed herein are a system and method for remotely controlling the starter/ignition of a vehicle using the smart relay.

[0007] One aspect of the present invention is a smart relay comprising a power supply, a radio transceiver for receiving an authorization signal from a wireless-enabled reporting device, a microcontroller connected to the radio transceiver to process the authorization signal and a coil driver circuit to cause actuation of a coil in response to receiving the authorization signal.

[0008] Another aspect of the present invention is a relay simulator comprising a power supply, a microcontroller to receive an authorization signal from a wireless-enabled reporting device and a radio transceiver for transmitting the authorization signal to a smart relay. [0009] A further aspect of the present invention is a system for remotely controlling a starter of a vehicle. The system comprises a wireless-enabled reporting device having a radiofrequency transceiver for communicating with a remote computing device executing an application configured to monitor the vehicle. The system further comprises a smart relay wirelessly connected to the wireless-enabled reporting device for receiving an authorization signal from the wireless-enabled reporting device, wherein the smart relay has a microcontroller to cause actuation of a coil in response to receiving the authorization signal. Optionally, the system further includes a relay simulator connected to the wireless- enabled reporting device for wirelessly communicating with the smart relay.

[00010] Yet a further aspect of the present invention is a method of remotely controlling a starter of a vehicle, the method comprising communicating between a wireless-enabled reporting device having a radiofrequency transceiver and a remote computing device executing an application configured to monitor the vehicle. The method also entails receiving an authorization signal from the wireless-enabled reporting device at a smart relay wirelessly connected to the wireless-enabled reporting device. The method further entails causing actuation of a coil by a microcontroller of the smart relay in response to receiving the authorization signal.

[00011] In a further aspect, the present invention relates to system having the smart relay the optional relay simulator to wirelessly interface with a wireless-enabled usage reporting device installed in vehicles to allow or interrupt vehicle starting.

[00012] Other aspects of the present invention may become apparent from the description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[00013] FIG. 1 is a schematic depiction of a system having a smart relay and an optional relay simulator in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

[00014] FIG. 2 is a schematic depiction of a smart relay in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. [00015] FIG. 3 is a schematic depiction of a relay simulator drawing power from the communication device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

[00016] FIG. 4 is a schematic depiction of a relay simulator with an external power source in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. [00017] FIG. 5 is a system for providing information about a vehicle using an onboard wireless-enabled usage reporting device with which the present invention may be utilized to control the starter/ignition system of the vehicle.

[00018] FIG. 6 shows a vehicle having a wireless-enabled reporting device wirelessly connected to a smart relay. [00019] FIG. 7 is a block diagram depicting the vehicle starter system having the smart relay interfacing with the vehicle electrical box or engine control module (ECM).

[00020] FIG. 8 is a block diagram depicting the relay simulator interfacing with the wireless-enabled reporting device.

[00021] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating, as an example, a method of starting a vehicle using a wireless-enabled reporting device and a smart relay interfacing with a vehicle starter system.

[00022] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating another example, a second method of starting a vehicle using a wireless-enabled reporting device and a smart relay interfacing with a vehicle starter system. DESCRIPTION

[00023] The following description is presented to enable a person skilled in the art to make and use the invention, and is provided in the context of a particular application and its requirements. Various modifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments, variants and applications without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments provided, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the inventive concepts disclosed herein.

[00024] In one aspect of the invention, as depicted by way of example in FIG. 1, a smart relay system 10 includes a smart relay 20 (or intelligent relay) wirelessly coupled to an optional relay simulator 30, whose functions will be described in greater detail below. In the illustrated embodiment, the smart relay 20 is connected to a key or switch 40 and a starter 50. The relay simulator 30 is, in this illustrated embodiment, integrated into a communication device 60 such as, for example, a wireless-enabled reporting device 100. In the illustrated embodiment, the communication device 60 is connected to a vehicle battery 70. In this illustrated embodiment, the smart relay 20 is connected to the vehicle ignition (starter) 50 to enable or inhibit starting of a vehicle. The smart relay 20 may be utilized to control the relay of another machine or apparatus and is thus not limited to use in a vehicle. The communication device 40 is wirelessly connected to a user interface and server system via a data network as shown. [00025] FIG. 2 is a schematic depiction of the smart relay 20 in accordance with one embodiment. The smart relay uses a microcontroller to decide whether or not to actuate the physical coil. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2, the smart relay 20 has a rectifier bridge 21 to extract power and make the relay universal in terms of polarity, a power supply 22 to regulate the voltage to protect downstream components, a microcontroller 23 to control actuation of the physical coil, a radio transceiver 24 for external communication, and a coil driver circuit 25 to drive the physical coil based on one or more signals from the microcontroller. Optionally, the smart relay includes a coil-mimicking element 28 to mimic a coil for compatibility with an external monitoring circuit.

[00026] FIG. 3 is a schematic depiction of the relay simulator 30 in accordance with one embodiment. The relay simulator 30 simulates a relay to the local device (e.g. the wireless-enabled reporting device) and transmits information to the smart relay wirelessly. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 3, the relay simulator 30 draws power from the communication device. The relay simulator 30 in this embodiment has a rectifier bridge 31, a power supply 32, a microcontroller 33 and a radio transceiver 34. This configuration provides“implicit power” by stealing power (i.e. using a power thief paradigm). If the relay simulator is not energized, it will not transmit a signal to the smart relay so therefore the smart relay will not be actuated. In another embodiment, the smart relay may be configured to actuate in the event no signal is received (bidirectional communication). Optionally, the relay simulator includes a coil-mimicking element 38 to mimic a coil for compatibility with an external monitoring circuit.

[00027] FIG. 4 is a schematic depiction of a relay simulator 30 with an external power source (“explicit power”) in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. The relay simulator 30 of FIG. 4 has a power supply 32, microcontroller 33 and radio transceiver 34 as described above. The relay simulator has extra pins to simulate the relay coil, transmit its status and provide bidirectional communication. One output 35 is provided to inform the wireless-enabled usage reporting device that the smart relay has been energized, and that the smart relay requests authorization to actuate the coil, and one input 36 is provided to check if the wireless-enabled usage reporting device would like the coil to actuate or not. Use of the output 35 is optional.

[00028] The microcontroller 33 is also configured to provide encryption of the signals and authentication of the user to prevent unauthorized actuation of the coil, e.g. unauthorized starting of the vehicle. The microcontroller 33 (both in the smart relay, and in the relay simulator) may also include an integrated memory to store the address of each component of the system so they can be paired and so that multiple systems can be located within the same radio range without interference.

[00029] In another implementation, the radio transceiver 34 may be integrated into another component of the system.

[00030] The smart relay and relay simulator may be used in a variety of machines, equipment or any other suitable apparatus having a relay to remotely control the actuation of the relay. One exemplary implementation of the smart relay and the relay simulator is now described with reference to the relay of a vehicle in order to remotely control the actuation of the relay in a vehicle ignition/starter system. This technology enables the starter/ignition of a vehicle to be controlled remotely or automatically to prevent unauthorized use of a vehicle for which a leasing, financing, rental or insurance obligation has been breached.

[00031] In the system illustrated by way of example in FIG. 5, a wireless-enabled usage reporting device (or“wireless-enabled reporting device”) 100 is installed in a vehicle 50 such as an automobile, truck, van, motorcycle, etc. Each wireless-enabled reporting device 100 comprises a processor 120 for processing data, a memory 130 for storing data, a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver 140, e.g. a Global Positioning System (GPS) chip, for determining a current position or location of the vehicle from signals emitted by a constellation of orbiting navigation satellites 145. The current position data may thus constitute one element of the data that the wireless-enabled reporting device collects and processes. Each wireless-enabled reporting device 100 may include one or more sensors 160 for collecting data about the vehicle and its environment. For example, these sensors may be accelerometers to measure driving behavior (rapid acceleration, hard turns and hard braking). Additionally, the wireless-enabled reporting device 100 has the processor 120 coupled to the memory 130 for performing various onboard computations on the raw collected data, e.g. computing, calculating or otherwise determining a risk score or (conversely) a confidence score based on the data, the risk score or confidence score being indicative of a risk associated with usage of the vehicle. This may be used for a variety of reasons, e.g. monitoring a vehicle that has been financed, leased, rented or insured.

[00032] The wireless-enabled reporting device 100 further includes a wireless transceiver 150 (e.g. radiofrequency cellular transceiver) for transmitting data such as the confidence score about the vehicle 50 to a remote computing device 200. The data is transmitted wirelessly to a base station tower 202 and through a network gateway 204 of a wireless network (which may implement GSM, LTE, CDMA, etc.) that is connected to the Internet or other data network 210. Wireless data transfer may be accomplished using GPRS, EDGE, LTE, or any other wireless data packet protocol. In addition to transmitting the confidence score, the other data transmitted over the air by the wireless-enabled usage reporting device 100 may be raw data, processed data (i.e. new data generated by locally processing the raw data) or a combination of both. [00033] The remote computing device 200 may be a single computer connected to the data network, web-based server, server cluster, cloud service or any other distributed computing environment. The remote computing device 200 may be a desktop personal computer, laptop, palmtop, notebook or any mobile device, wireless communications device, or portable electronic device like a tablet, smart phone, cell phone, etc. The remote computing device 200 includes a processor 220 coupled to a memory 230 for storing and executing an application for remotely monitoring the vehicle 50 and for remotely disabling the starter/ignition system of the vehicle, either in response to user input or automatically (programmatically) when a predetermined disablement condition is detected by the processor 220.

[00034] In the embodiment depicted by way of example in FIG. 6, the vehicle 50 includes a wireless-enabled reporting device 100 that is wirelessly connected to a smart relay 20 via an optional relay simulator 30 (i.e. a relay adapter apparatus) to constitute a starter interrupter system for the vehicle (acting as a remote“ignition kill switch”) to remotely disable the starter/ignition system of the vehicle 50. The starter interrupter system can be configured to only allow a vehicle to be started when an authorization signal is received from a wireless-enabled reporting device installed in the vehicle. In a variant, a disablement signal to disable the vehicle, i.e. the opposite of an authorization signal, can be utilized. In the event that a vehicle user attempts to start the vehicle, if the wireless- enabled reporting device authorizes the vehicle to be started, the wireless-enabled reporting device transmits a wireless signal indicating its authorization to the smart relay. Alternatively, the wireless-enabled reporting device can transmit a first signal to the relay simulator (relay adapter apparatus) which in turn transmits a wireless signal to the smart relay to start the vehicle. The smart relay may thus entirely replace the OEM starter relay of the vehicle. The wireless-enabled reporting device and relay simulator may be installed and concealed in various locations in the vehicle.

[00035] The starter interrupter system incorporating the smart relay may be configured to be automatically triggered by an asset management application executing on the remote computing device 200 or in response to a manual command input by a user at the remote computing device 200 via this asset management application, e.g. in response to a non-payment notification, a drop in the confidence score below a predetermined minimum threshold or a geo-fencing violation. The onboard wireless-enabled usage reporting device 100 may also be used to disengage the starter interrupter when the late payment has been made or the confidence score rises above the threshold. Disengagement of the starter interrupter may be done automatically by the asset management application or manually by a user interacting with the asset management application.

[00036] The wireless-enabled usage reporting device 100 may be configured to disable the vehicle in response to a vehicle disablement signal received wirelessly by the device 100 or, alternatively, automatically in response to detecting a predetermined vehicle disablement condition determined locally by the processor 120 of the device 100.

[00037] In one implementation, if the wireless-enabled reporting device 100 has been shut down or disabled, the smart relay 20 of the vehicle is automatically disabled. In this implementation, the starter/ignition of the vehicle can only be actuated provided the wireless-enabled reporting device 100 is actively transmitting an authorization signal to the smart relay 20. The wireless signals transmitted may be encrypted using any known cryptographic techniques, including private key or public encryption.

[00038] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a smart relay module 300. The module 300 comprises a microcontroller 310, a wireless transceiver 315, an antenna 320, input/output ports 330, an internal relay circuit (providing the functionality of the smart relay) 340, a power thief circuit 350, optional LEDs 360 and a power supply 370.

[00039] FIG. 8 is a block diagram depicting a relay simulator module 400. The relay simulator module comprises a microcontroller 410, a wireless (radiofrequency) transceiver 415, an antenna 420, input/output ports 430, a relay simulator circuit 440, LEDs 450 and a power supply 460. [00040] FIGS. 9 and 10 are flowcharts depicting methods 500, 550 of starting a vehicle with the starter interrupter system described above. The methods 500, 550 are each initiated when a user presses the vehicle starter switch 502, e.g. a push-button starter on the dashboard of the vehicle. [00041] In a first embodiment (i.e. a bidirectional communication paradigm), which is depicted in FIG. 9, the smart relay queries (at step 504) the wireless-enabled reporting device to seek permission to actuate the starter coil. The smart relay receives (step 506) an authorization signal in response to the query (or alternatively receives a deny signal or no signal at all). In other words, in this bidirectional communication paradigm, when the smart relay is energized, it will transmit a signal to ask for permission to actuate the coil. The smart relay may receive an answer to actuate the coil, to not actuate the coil, or it may receive no answer. When no answer is received, depending on the configuration of the smart relay, it may either actuate the coil, not actuate it, or stay in the last state (last received signal). The smart relay is then actuated to start the vehicle (step 508) in response to receiving the authorization (positive indication) from the wireless-enabled reporting device.

[00042] In a second embodiment of the method 550 (unidirectional communication), which is depicted in FIG. 10, the wireless-enabled reporting device has previously sent a pre-authorization signal to the smart relay (at step 552) which stores this pre-authorization and is thus ready to actuate the coil in response to the user pressing the vehicle starter switch. When the user presses the vehicle start button at step 554, the smart relay checks that the pre-authorization signal has been received at step 556 and, if so, then the smart relay actuates the starter coil to start the vehicle at step 558. [00043] In another implementation, the smart relay 20 may be configured to receive a wireless signal directly from the wireless-enabled reporting device 100 (i.e. without using a relay simulator). The wireless transceiver 315 of the smart relay may receive the wireless signal indicating that the wireless-enabled usage reporting device has authorized the vehicle to be started. If a wireless signal is received, the microcontroller 310 may be configured to allow actuation of the internal relay and consequently start the vehicle.

[00044] It is to be understood that the singular forms“a”,“an” and“the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to“a device” includes reference to one or more of such devices, i.e. that there is at least one device. The terms“comprising”,“having”,“including”,“entail ing” and“containing”, or verb tense variants thereof, are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of examples or exemplary language (e.g.“such as”) is intended merely to better illustrate or describe embodiments of the invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed.

[00045] This invention has been described in terms of specific embodiments, implementations and configurations which are intended to be exemplary only. Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, having read this disclosure, that many obvious variations, modifications and refinements may be made without departing from the inventive concept(s) presented herein. The scope of the exclusive right sought by the Applicant(s) is therefore intended to be limited solely by the appended claims.