WO2006070168A1 - Assisting device for preventing traffic accidents caused by a mobile telephone use - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an assisting device for preventing traffic accidents caused by a mobile telephone use comprising wave detecting means for detecting the mobile telephone operation, means for disturbing a communication using the mobile telephone whose operation is detected, means for time-stampedly recording the mobile telephone operation, interfaces with vehicle and/or the mobile telephone and control units for parametering the inventive device, in particular for activating and deactivating the entire inventive device or the disturbing means only.

Description

 DEVICE FOR AIDING THE PREVENTION OF TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS

LINKED TO

THE USE OF THE PORTABLE PHONE

The invention relates to a device for assisting the prevention of traffic accidents related to the use of a mobile phone

The use of the telephone while driving is regulated in France and in several countries of the European Union. The use of the telephone held in hands is expressly prohibited and, if the hands-free use of the phone is tolerated, careless or dangerous use of this type of device can be blamed on the driver, especially in the event of an accident. However, the prohibition to telephone while driving is not on the agenda, although studies conducted in recent years to assess the impact of the phone on the driver's attention and the statistics of road accidents confirm the dangerousness of this practice. As a result, organizations of all kinds (institutional bodies, associations, employers, suppliers of mobile and automotive equipment, research laboratories, etc.) are mobilizing to change the practices of motorists. The goal is that they use their phone at a standstill and in particular that they do not respond while driving.

The device described here aims to meet this objective by making the use of the mobile phone uncomfortable, if not impossible, particularly if the vehicle is traveling. To achieve this, the device must combine responses to different technical issues. Semantic precision

The hands-free kit is a device that is installed in a motor vehicle to make calls without holding the handset. This kit includes a directional microphone and a speaker, unless you use the one of the car radio. In case of incoming call, the phone can pick up automatically.

The "pedestrian" kit is a set including a small microphone and a headset in the form of a headset or headset.

The regulations on mobile phones at the wheel began to spread in Europe from 2001. If the phone held in hand is a contravention in nine countries of the European Union, the hands-free kit is however tolerated in all countries of the Union. The pedestrian kit has been explicitly banned in Spain since 2002.

Most of the problem of prevention of transport accidents caused by the telephone while driving lies in the means of dissuading the driver to use his phone while driving.

For this purpose, it is known from WO 03/028342, US 2004/215615, EP 0 880 296 and EP 0955 210, devices in connected mode by which the use of a mobile phone is limited. However, these devices require to know the architecture and the internal operating mode of each phone to constrain the operation. Ultimately, these devices and the phones associated with them by connection are specific. This situation is not encountered in the field of vehicle rental, because each user can have a mobile phone of a different type, not corresponding to a specific phone expected. For company vehicle fleets, the problem is the same.

According to the invention, it is proposed to solve this problem a system that makes the phone inoperative in the vehicle. With the invention, it can thus be envisaged to detect the activity of a mobile phone (or equipment communicating by radio wave) in the space circumscribed by the passenger compartment of the vehicle and to act in such a way as to make the telephone, or communication, inoperative. More simply, we can consider a priori that a mobile phone is in use (even if it is not, or even if there is none) and we can cause the scrambling of the reception of the phone mobile as soon as the vehicle is in motion, or even when the engine of this vehicle is running.

The device of the invention thus contributes to preventing transport accidents related to the use of the mobile phone by the driver.

The subject of the invention is therefore a device for preventing the use of a mobile telephone, comprising

- boarded in a vehicle,

a means for measuring a state of operation of the vehicle and

a means for modifying the use of this mobile telephone in this vehicle according to this state, characterized in that it comprises - a scrambler action located in the passenger compartment of the vehicle.

Preferably, the interference concerns the reception interference. As the reception is scrambled, the phone can no longer carry out its operations of synchronization, paging, or receiving communication with any base station. Its reception being neutralized, the mobile phone can no longer transmit, since it does not recognize an available base station in its environment.

In addition, or instead, the invention also relates to a device for preventing the use of a mobile phone, comprising - embedded in a vehicle,

a means for measuring a state of operation of the vehicle characterized in that it comprises

a memory for storing timestamped events of the transmitting activity of this mobile telephone, and an output interface for reading the contents of this memory.

With the control exercised by this permanent time stamp, in case of accident, the user will be convinced to have used the phone during a forbidden period, that during which the vehicle was in motion.

This knowledge will be of a nature to make him respect the regulation. In addition, or instead, the invention also relates to a device for preventing the use of a mobile phone, comprising

- boarded in a vehicle,

a means for measuring a state of operation of the vehicle and

a means for modifying the use of this mobile telephone in this vehicle according to this state, characterized in that it comprises

an automatic activation means which activates it every time the vehicle engine is put into service, and

a manual means of putting into service or stopping the means for modifying the use,

a detector for detecting an end of a phase of use of the mobile telephone, and

a means for automatically restarting at the end of this phase the means for modifying the use of this mobile telephone in this vehicle when the manual means of stopping the means for modifying the use has been previously solicited.

With this additional device, the user must, whenever he wants to call, disarm the prevention device. This positive action is also likely to make him comply with regulations that say that it is forbidden to call while driving, or that concerns the safety instructions of his company.

As an option and according to the case, the device for assisting the prevention of traffic accidents related to the use of a mobile phone of the invention comprises, in a manner embedded in a vehicle: - detection means of waves of a length between 500

MHz and 2.5 GHz to detect the activity of the mobile phone,

means for disrupting a communication implementing the mobile phone whose activity has been detected, by filtering, breaking the communication, or acting on the loudspeaker of the mobile phone, time-stamped recording means of the activity of the mobile telephone, in particular the reception of a call, the end of a call, and / or the activity of a user of the mobile phone, in particular the putting on or off of the device according to the invention,

interfaces with the vehicle, in particular with the vehicle engine or with electronic devices of the vehicle providing information to the time-stamped recording means, and / or with the mobile phone,

- Control members for setting the device according to the invention, in particular to activate and deactivate the entire device according to the invention or the only means of disturbance.

Used coercively (permanent disruption) or incentive

(disruption on activation) and provided with a tracking system of its activity, such a device can initiate a virtuous circle tending to remove dangerous behaviors. The present invention is characterized by the relevant combination of technical means constituting a homogeneous unit and complies with the above mentioned regulations.

The invention will be better understood on reading the description which follows and on examining the figures which accompany it. These are presented only as an indication and in no way limitative of the invention. The figures show: - Figure 1: a schematic representation of a device according to the invention;

- Figure 2: a schematic representation of a jammer or other forms of the invention. FIG. 1 shows, according to the invention, a device 1 for preventing the use of a mobile telephone 2. The mobile telephone 2 is intended to communicate with a base station 3 of a mobile telephone network. For example, the network 3 is a GSM network operating in the 850-960 MHz and 1750-1850 MHz bands, or a PCS network around 1900 MHz, or a UMTS network around 2100-2200 MHz or other. For these networks sub-bands are reserved for uplinks (from phone 2 to station 3), others to downlinks.

The prevention device is here preferably a programmable device. It would be conceivable, however, to provide a cable circuit. The programmable device comprises in principle a microprocessor 4 connected by a bus 5 of address and data commands to a program memory 6, to a data memory 7, to means 8 and 9 for measuring the operating state of the device. vehicle, and means 10 and 1 1 to change a mobile phone use. In practice, the means 8 and 9 respectively comprise an engine operation detector (typically a detector of the presence of a signal of the engine revolution counter indicating that the engine is running), and or a vehicle motion detector (typically a detector the presence of a speedometer signal indicating that the vehicle is moving forward). The corresponding sensors 8 and 9 are connected to the bus 5.

The means to change the functioning of the mobile phone are simply means that prevent it from working. Indeed the means 10 and 1 1 comprise in one case essentially a jammer 10 shown in detail in Figure 2. A program 12 stored in the memory 6 thus comprises for this purpose a first instruction 13 for detecting the commissioning of the vehicle and or the engine. When the detection 13 is made, the program 12 launches an instruction 14 for automatic activation of the prevention. For example the jammer 10 is armed or even directly started. At the same time, a series circuit 1 1 validates this arming or this start. The representation of the circuit 1 1 is here schematic. Just as well, this circuit 1 1 could play on the power supply of the jammer 10. Alternatively, the circuit 11 corresponds to a subroutine stored in the memory 6. Preferably, the circuit 1 1 includes a possibility of action by the user. For example, the circuit 1 1 is activated by a control button of a man-machine interface with the microprocessor 4. The circuit 1 1 being closed systematically at the end of step 14, the jammer can then be put into service simply . However, during a subsequent phase, the user can perform a prevention disarming instruction, opening the circuit 1 1. The program 12 then comprises a verification loop launched continuously, for example with a periodicity of the millisecond, or second, or whatever. In this loop, the microprocessor 4 during a test 16 detects whether the protection has been disarmed by the user or not. If it is not the case, during a subsequent test, it checks that the vehicle is not moving. If the vehicle is stopped, nothing happens, the jammer remains stopped. Communication with the mobile phone is possible. On the other hand, if the vehicle rolls, the jammer is put into service by an instruction 18 consecutive to the test 17. The jammer then emits a jamming which prevents communications. Optionally, the test 17 can be replaced or supplemented by a test 19 which takes into consideration the state of running or stopping of the engine.

Alternatively, and preferably, the scrambler is actually put into operation only if, moreover, a mobile phone activity is detected. Indeed, the prevention system includes a scrambling device that is not necessarily permanent (even when the prevention system is armed). Preferably, the scrambling device, unless it has been configured to scramble permanently, scrambles only after also detecting an incoming or outgoing call. In contrast, if the radio frequency activity of the mobile phone results from the switching on or off of the phone, a change of cell coverage (hand-over), receipt of SMS type message, the prevention device does not provide interference. It is easy to take into account this non-dangerous activity of the mobile phone because for these last operations, the mobile phone does not emit radio signals or emits them for a long time (a delay makes it possible not to take them into account). With the jammer's antenna we do not do not detect them. On the other hand, all transmissions with uplink usage are detected (because the jammer antenna receives the signaling and the data transmitted by the mobile phone). The scrambler that detects these rising signals is then put into service to scramble them. Its jamming activity being maintained for a few seconds, the downstream signals are also scrambled. The phone can not synchronize with the other party. Whatever the situation, the loop includes an instruction 20 for recording an event in the memory 7. This event informs on the one hand on the date and the state of the system. Whenever the event to be recorded is the same as a previous event, you can save it. Preferably the state of the system may include that of the instantaneous speed of the vehicle. Thus, in the manner of a controller, the memory 7 provides information on the activation and deactivation phases of the jammer 10. These phases correspond on the one hand to the stopping and rolling of the vehicle.

But the time-stamped storage is not limited to that of putting the device in and out of service. Preferably, all events relating to telephone activity (scrambled or not) are also stored, especially if the uplink is used. The device of the invention is a behavior analysis tool, intended to improve the practices of drivers.

The memories also correspond to the operations of deactivation by the user of the jammer 10 using the circuit 1 1. In this case, after the test 16, it appears that the protection is no longer activated since the The user has deactivated it by the instruction 15. In this case, on the one hand the jammer is not really put into service, but on the other hand, by an instruction 21, it causes the recording in the memory 7 an event indicating that the user has voluntarily deactivated the prevention. The dates of the calls made or received are then also stored in the memory 7.

Preferably the latter situation continues until the end of a first call issued or received. Indeed, the jammer 1 1 includes an antenna 24 (scrambling) which can also be used to receive signals. When an emitted or received call occurs, the phone 2 transmits high power signals to the base station 3. This power is significantly higher than the radio signals it receives from the base station 3. The antenna 24 captures this emission. The scrambler 10 then comprises a detector that detects the activity of the mobile phone. When this activity stops, a test 22 makes it possible to detect it. Preferably in the invention, the activation operation 14 of the prevention is then re-undertaken. It is again necessary for the user to disable it a second time by the instruction 15 if this user wants to send or receive another phone call.

All the operations on the disabling device being recorded in the memory 7, it is possible to read the latter using an external interface 23.

The device therefore comprises the integration into a vehicle of the following functions:

- detection of the activity of a mobile phone, or equipment communicating by radio waves,

- disruption of communication,

- time-stamped tracing of the telephone activity and the user's activity (for example, putting the device on or off),

- Interfaces with the vehicle control organs, with its possible on-board electronics, with tools to retrieve the information traced and if necessary with the telephone handset;

The device according to the invention makes it possible to preserve the faculty of circumscribing its use in a given space. For this purpose, the antenna 1 is placed under the dashboard of the vehicle. It emits a signal with a weak power, intermediate between that emitted on average by the mobile phone and that received by the latter. Typically the power of the jammer is 40 dB below the watt. This power effectively scrambles all downstream signals. It does not spread to another nearby vehicle.

Preferably the scrambling power is adapted by a prior measurement, during idle periods, on the received radio power, the power of the jammer there being greater than 3 dB.

Figure 2 shows scrambler 10 and other useful circuits for storage. The jammer 10 thus comprises a generator 26 of disturbance signals. Typically the generator 26 comprises a saw tooth generator at between 1 KHz and 1 MHz which attacks a control input of a voltage-controlled oscillating stage 27. The signal of the stage 27 oscillates in a mobile telephone frequency band. The stage 27 itself drives an amplification stage 28 connected to the antenna 24. For the GSM, the chain 26-28 scrambles the frequency range (of reception preferably) between 880 and 960 MHz. A similar second channel 29 processes the reception band between 1710 and 1884 MHz. Other channels are conceivable for other bands, or for other standards.

The radioelectric portion of the jammer 10 also preferably comprises a reception part with an antenna 30, a circuit 31 for measuring a voltage relative to the activity of the mobile phone in the uplink, a circuit 32 for coupling with the resonance of the received signal. , an amplifier 33. The detected signals are thus detected, quantified (preferably by all or nothing: present or absent) and their presence is stored in relation to the date on which they were detected. The memory 6 and the memory 7 may be of the RAM type, preferably saved, or Flash type, non-volatile. The processor 4, upon receipt of these signals, takes the date in its internal clock and stores it in correspondence of the present configurations of the vehicle, and or the prevention system itself, and or the activity of the mobile phone. The device according to the invention allows to activate and deactivate the complete device on the one hand, the only function of disturbance on the other hand, manually or by a configuration command or occurrence of an event.

The implementation of these various elements and their possible justification are detailed below.

The first version of the prevention device is used to equip motor vehicles. It is designed as an accessory, which can be easily installed and removed. The device has a simple interface, even rudimentary with the vehicle (power, detection of the engine activity) and with the system for recovering stored data. For example, the bus 5 is connected to the serial port of the vehicle computer network.

In a second version, the device can be interface or incorporated into the electronic comfort tools already embedded in the vehicles, usually behind the dashboard, whether in original equipment by the car manufacturer or aftermarket by the manufacturers and installers of navigation, tracking and fleet management products.

Device operation and call detection data can be retrieved with fleet tracking information, a local connection, or any remote transmission equipment. Conversely, it does not disturb this system, often based on the use of radio transmission networks (mobile telephony or WiFi, for example).

The behavior of the device can be configured according to the organs with which it interfaces and services required by the user.

It is possible in particular to activate and deactivate the complete device or only the disturbance function, to allow or not the incoming and / or outgoing calls of the telephone (or of the communicating equipment), to authorize or not the ringing of the handset, if the telephone is in operation. mode connected to the vehicle network. These different behavior parameters can be activated in various ways: by software or hardware configuration, by a command emanating from one of the interfaces of the device or on occurrence of an event (time, position indication, stop and closure of the vehicle, etc.). ) The legislation concerning the jamming of mobile telephone communications is very restrictive, since it prohibits the use of jamming or filtering devices, except for defense and public security missions.

To disrupt telephone communications in a vehicle, the solution today lies in a narrow corridor, between the need to make mobile phones inoperative by car and the prohibition to disrupt mobile radio networks.

If traffic accidents are considered to be a public health issue, a process that disrupts telephone communications in a space circumscribed by the passenger compartment of the vehicle (car or truck cabin, for example), while leaving it to the public. user the ability to disable the device, fits into this framework. It is also part of a logic of empowering users whose phone and vehicle are the main tools of work. It must also allow to release the user from any legal proceedings for the use of the device. The device has a double adjustment capacity: to delimit the space in which the radio waves will be detected and to delimit the space in which the communications will be disturbed.

The device may have to detect any type of radio wave communication.

It concerns waves with a length between 500 MHz and 2.5 GHz. In this range of frequencies, include:

- the international standard for GSM mobile communication (Global System for Mobile) and its derivatives: DCS-1800 (Digital Cellular System - 1800 MHz), HSCSD (High Speed Circuit Switched Data), GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) and EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution),

- PCS-1900 (Personal Communication Systems - 1900 MHz), CDMA (Multiple Access Division Code) and TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) standards, - DECT standards (Digital European Cordless)

Telecommunication), Personal Handy System (PHS), Mobile Satellite Service (MSS),

- 3rd generation mobile communication standards: Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Terrestrial Radio Interface (UTRA), Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA), Wideband TDMA (W-TDMA), TD-CDMA (Time Division) CDMA), ODMA (Oportunity Driven Multiple Access).

The detection principle is based on the ability to:

- capture the transmission of the telephone (upstream) or any type of equipment communicating by radio waves,

- treat this emission to generate an electrical signal,

- analyze this signal to determine the component of the program: interference, sending or receiving a call, ringing, communication, breaking the call, switching on or off the phone (or communicating equipment), change cover cell (hand-over), etc.

Depending on the configuration of the device, the detection can be active permanently or only when certain conditions are fulfilled, for example the vehicle's engine is on. The process used to disrupt communication may be various natures: interference, jamming, filtering, breaking the communication, acting on the loudspeaker (creating noise, injecting tones or messages, etc.).

The configuration of the device allows a range of use of the disturbance very varied. The disturbance can be applied at different stages of the call (reception of call, ringing, communication ...). It can discriminate certain types of communication - only incoming calls, for example. It can be active permanently or only when certain conditions are met, for example when the vehicle is traveling.

The device is provided with a time-stamped recording system of the events inherent to the operation of the device: switching on, transmitting or receiving a telephone call, terminating the communication, etc. The trace information may be transmitted streamwise on a local interface or stored in the device to be viewed or retrieved off-line.

The device has various interfaces with various levels of opening, allowing it to communicate with: - the vehicle: engine (on / off), odometer, data bus, etc.,

- electronics embedded in the vehicle (on-board computer, fleet management or tracing or positioning box, etc.); this embedded electronics is not necessarily integrated into the vehicle: it can take the form of communicating mobile equipment installed in the vehicle, but extractable at any time,

- the telephone handset or the communicating equipment, if it has a compatible interface,

- tools for repatriation or consultation of information traced on physical junction (type of communication port) or on radio link

(of any kind),

- if necessary, an independent time stamp source.

A practice analysis tool, capable of exploiting phone, driver and vehicle tracing files, can provide the fleet manager with a better understanding of the practices and users a position of hindsight, allowing them to improve the practices, the organization, the equipment and in so doing, the efficiency of the work.

Variations of the device may be designed to provide ready-to-use solutions, opportunities limited to a specific hardware configuration of a facility or a specific use.

Variations of the device make it possible to take into account the technological advance and the evolution of the needs, in particular:

- introduction of new types of handsets and "all-in-one" equipment (pocket videophone, personal communicator, mobile office, etc.) to enriched services and interfaces,

- commissioning of new mobile communication networks,

- taking into account positioning systems (Galileo ...),

- modification of the onboard systems (first and second-line) offer in vehicles, - automatic switch-off and re-ignition of the engine when the vehicle is stopped, evolution of the vehicle data bus,

- installation of the device in other types of vehicles (boats, planes, etc.).

Claims

1 - Device for preventing the use of a mobile telephone, comprising - embedded in a vehicle, a means for measuring a state of operation of the vehicle and - A means for modifying the use of this mobile phone in this vehicle according to this state, characterized in that it comprises - a scrambler action located in the passenger compartment of the vehicle. 2 - Device according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a memory for storing time-stamped events of its activation or shutdown or of the mobile phone's emissive activity, and an output interface for reading the contents of this memory. 3 - Device according to one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that it comprises an automatic activation means which activates it every time the vehicle engine is put into service. 4 - Device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it comprises a manual means of putting into service or stopping the means for modifying the use, a detector for detecting an end of a phase of use of the mobile telephone, and a means for automatically restarting at the end of this phase the means for modifying the use of this mobile telephone in this vehicle when the manual means stopping means to modify the use has been previously solicited. 5 - Device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the means for measuring the operating state of the vehicle comprises a sensor for measuring that the vehicle is moving relative to the ground. 6 - Device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the means for measuring the state comprises a sensor for measuring the operating state of a motor of the vehicle. 7 - Device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the means for changing the use comprises means for preventing use. 8 - Device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the means for modifying the use includes means for putting into use a hands-free use of the telephone.