ES1304790U - INTEGRATED DRIVING AUTHORIZATION SYSTEM (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

Integrated driving authorization system, comprising: - at least one portable slave device (1), capable of being associated with a user of a vehicle, which includes an input/output user interface (3), a first short-range radio frequency connection device (10), a fingerprint sensor (13) and an optical sensor (12) capable of detecting the presence of ethanol in the blood through the epidermis, said sensors contained in a halo of contact (14) of such a size that it allows the simultaneous detection of the user's identity and their blood alcohol level, a first microprocessor (9) with respective software that receives signals from said sensors (12, 13) and provides driving authorization instructions through said first short-range radio frequency connection device (10); and - an authorization device (20) capable of being associated with a respective vehicle (A), which comprises a connection device (23) to a mobile network, a second short-range radio frequency connection device (24), at least one relay (26) capable of enabling and disabling the ignition and/or operation of the vehicle, a microprocessor (22) that contains software capable of controlling said at least one relay, based on the driving authorization instructions received from the connection device (23) to a mobile network and the second connection device (24) by short-range radio frequency; and - at least one master device (40), capable of being associated with a respective administrator (M) of the vehicle (A), comprising a respective device for connecting to a mobile network capable of providing driving authorization instructions to said authorization device (20). (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

DESCRIPTION

INTEGRATED DRIVING AUTHORIZATION SYSTEM

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a driving authorization system capable of verifying the suitability of a user to drive a vehicle who, in turn, obtains a driving authorization from an administrator.

It is understood that this system can refer to any type of vehicle, for example, a car, a means of transport, a bus or other community vehicle, an industrial vehicle, a public works machine, a forklift, railway vehicles, aircraft, etc

Just as an example, this type of driving authorization system can be used to manage a fleet of company vehicles, a fleet of rental cars or, more simply, to manage a family car, the use of which is shared between family members, some of whom may be novice drivers, but in which the ownership, and therefore the objective responsibility for the use of the vehicle, is in the hands of only one of the family members.

The type of fitness to drive to which this system refers is specifically related to alcohol consumption and, therefore, to the driver's blood alcohol level, which, as is well known, is subject to legal restrictions in the Code of the Circulation (articles 186 and 186 bis), in particular with a maximum of 0.5 g/l in Italy for driving vehicles on the road, but this limit could also be readjusted downwards for special needs, vehicles that require the greatest attention possible, novice drivers, etc., situations in which it may be required, also by current regulations, that the blood alcohol level does not exceed, for example, 0.2 g/l, or eventually that it be zero.

To ensure that a driver respects the limits imposed on him, it is possible to perform exhaled air or blood tests, even without extraction through percutaneous tests, to check their suitability.

However, very often a driver gets behind the wheel of a vehicle without prior supervision, which is why the need arises to link the activation of the vehicle both to a check of the identity of the designated driver and to a verification of his suitability.

US patent application No. 2006/0,253,711 A1 describes a locking device from which a mechanical key is extracted only by checking, on the device itself, both the driver's fingerprint and his blood alcohol level through an analysis of the exhaled air associated with the device. speech recognition.

US patent application No. 2017/0,035,332 A1 describes a device similar to the previous one, in which the ignition of the vehicle is authorized electronically.

However, these precautions can be circumvented with the help of a third person.

Chinese patent application No. 101 526447 A describes, on the other hand, a device capable of simultaneously taking a fingerprint and, from the same finger, an amount of sweat, but this way of evaluating the blood alcohol level is not exact because it does not evaluate the percentage of alcohol level present in the blood flow, but precisely in the aforementioned sweat, in addition, this sensor loses its evaluating effectiveness, and therefore its precision, with the passage of time, since the sensitivity of these sensors is due to a oxidation-reduction reaction of the electronic components of the sensor itself; These reactions tend to oxidize over time, which results in a loss of sensitivity over time. Furthermore, it is evident that this evaluation is also related to the humidity of the environment, as well as the temperature, so it is very difficult to obtain an accurate measurement system with this type of sensors, also taking into account that the conductivity trend Depending on the gas concentration, it is a logarithmic function, with which it is possible to obtain the blood alcohol level. This device is located in a housing connected to the vehicle's control panel, and confirmation of identity and suitability produces a signal that causes the engine to start.

Although the device can also be manipulated in this case, it nevertheless turns out that the lack of consent for the ignition blocks the vehicle until the blood alcohol level of the designated driver is within predetermined limits, which can mean hours of wait.

The technical problem underlying the present invention is to provide an authorization system that is integrated into the vehicle, but that allows some flexibility in the operation, while making it as safe as possible to bypass system security.

This problem is solved by an integrated system like the one specified above, which is characterized by the fact that it comprises:

• at least one portable slave device, capable of being associated with a user of a vehicle, including an input/output user interface, a first short-range radio frequency connection device, a fingerprint sensor and at least one sensor capable of detecting the presence of ethanol in the blood through the epidermis, said sensors being contained in a contact halo of such a size that it allows the simultaneous detection of the identity of the user and their blood alcohol level, a first microprocessor with its respective software that receives signals from said sensors and provides driving authorization instructions through said first short-range radio frequency connection device; and

• an authorization device, capable of being associated with a respective vehicle, which includes a device for connecting to a mobile network, a second short-range radio frequency connection device, at least one relay capable of enabling and disabling the ignition and/or or the operation of the vehicle, a microprocessor containing software capable of controlling said at least one relay based on the driving authorization instructions received from the mobile network connection device and the second short-range radio frequency connection device; and

• at least one master device, capable of being associated with a respective vehicle manager, comprising a respective mobile network connection device capable of providing driving authorization instructions to said authorization device.

The main advantage of the integrated system according to the present invention lies in allowing remote management of the vehicle based on the simultaneous verification of the identity and the value of the blood alcohol level, that is, the ethanol present in the user's blood, with the possibility for the vehicle administrator to unlock the vehicle and issue temporary permits, for example in case of emergency and under his/her own responsibility, to a user based on the detected blood alcohol level.

Preferably, the sensors sensitive to the presence of ethanol in the blood through the epidermis are of the type that use a laser diode, that is, an optoelectronic device. capable of emitting a laser beam emitted from the active region of a semiconductor whose structure is similar to that used in the manufacture of LEDS.

In particular, the use of tunable laser diode analyzers (TLD analyzers) for the gas phase, designed to measure the concentration of certain gaseous species, such as ethyl alcohol, within a gas mixture using the technique of laser absorption spectrometry.

A modulatable laser is a laser whose operating wavelength can be varied in a controlled manner over a significant range of wavelengths.

The advantage of tunable diode laser absorption spectrometry over other concentration measurement techniques is its ability to achieve very low detection limits (on the order of ppb).

Detection of ethanol with the above techniques is described, for example, in Detection of Ethanol Using a Tunable Interband Cascade Laser at 3. 345gm, Hui GAO, Liang XIE, Ping GONG, and Hui WANG -Photonic Sensors, 2018; and in Breath Analysis Using Laser Spectroscopic Techniques: Breath Biomarkers, Spectral Fingerprints, and Detection Limits, Chuji Wang and Peeyush Sahay, Sensors (Basel), 2009; 9(10): 8230-8262.

The present invention is described below according to a preferred example of embodiment thereof, provided for illustrative and non-limiting purposes with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

* Figures 1A and 1B show, respectively, perspective views of the front and rear of an integrated system slave device according to the invention;

* Figure 2 shows a block diagram illustrating an authorization device of the integrated system according to the invention;

* Figure 3 shows a diagram illustrating the interaction of a car with an integrated authorization system according to the invention, consisting of a slave device, an authorization device and a master device activated by a system administrator; and

* Figure 4 shows a block diagram illustrating the driving authorization procedure carried out by the integrated system according to the invention.

With reference to Figures 1A and 1B, a slave device, of the integrated system which will hereinafter be referred to as a whole, is indicated by the number 1. It is portable and has a flattened body in the shape of a parallelepiped box, defined by a respective casing 2, which on one of its front faces presents a user interface 3 which, in this example of embodiment, is made with a touch-type screen and which includes an alphanumeric keyboard 4 with send and consent keys, and a charging indicator 5.

The slave device further comprises a power key 6, located on the edge of one of its corners, and a connection port 7, arranged in the center of a lower edge of the housing 2.

The connection port 7 must be able to guarantee the charging of a battery 8 contained in the housing 7, and may be of a type that guarantees both the charging of a battery and data communication. Said port 7 can be, for example, USB-C type.

The slave device 1 comprises inside a first microprocessor 9 and an antenna 10, both powered by said battery 8, which also provides power to the user interface 3.

On the side of the housing 2 opposite to that of the user interface 3, the slave device 1 comprises a sensor assembly 11 having a laser diode 12, connected to the first microprocessor 9, and a fingerprint sensor 13, of the type which detects fingerprint ridges when you swipe your finger.

The first microprocessor 9 contains a memory and a software for recording and controlling the fingerprints detected by the fingerprint sensor 13: this software includes a phase of learning the fingerprint of a user designated as a driver whose suitability must be checked, which It is done by having the user and the first microprocessor 9 communicate through the user interface 3.

Furthermore, the first microprocessor 9 also includes a laser diode sensor management software 12 that can detect the presence of ethyl alcohol molecules through the epidermis, and detect and evaluate the presence of alcohol in the user's blood, and/ or calculate your blood alcohol level.

It should be noted that the fingerprint sensor 13 and the laser diode 12 are contained in a contact aureole 14 approximately the size of a fingertip; therefore, with a diameter not exceeding 10-15 mm. In this way, the user can check the presence of alcohol in the blood and also verify his identity with a single contact between the halo and his finger, thus avoiding the two checks taking place separately.

The halo 14, of a slightly sunken ergonomic type and recognizable by a specific color at the bottom, is located on the electronic motherboard on which the aforementioned sensors 12, 13 are located, which is inserted into the device and has the pins connections required to connect to the microprocessor 9.

The microprocessor 9 and the RFID antenna 10 constitute a radio frequency connection device that operates at short range, similar to normal electronic vehicle keys.

The radio connection enabled by the antenna 10 can be of the RFID type, radio frequency, capable of identifying the identity of the slave device using a cryptographic key, and works with a limited radius of action, on the order of a few meters, to be able to operate. in the vicinity of a vehicle A for which the user, indicated with P, intends to be authorized.

An authorization device, indicated as a whole with 20, is installed in vehicle A inside the vehicle body, so that it cannot be manipulated without specialized technical intervention. The authorization device 20 comprises an electronic board 27 that includes a buffer battery 21, connected to the electrical network of vehicle A, indicated with B, so that it is recharged when the vehicle is in operation, and conserves sufficient energy for the operation of the vehicle. authorization device.

On the authorization device card there is also a second microprocessor 22, a SIM card 23 in a special reader, which allows the authorization device to connect to a mobile network and send and receive data in digital format, an RFID receiver 24 connected to the second microprocessor, capable of receiving an identification signal from a slave device and thus verifying its identity, and a GPS locator 25, capable of providing the second microprocessor with data relating to the geographical position of vehicle A. The SIM card reader includes a respective antenna to connect with said mobile network.

The SIM card reader, which carries a valid SIM card, constitutes a device for connecting to a mobile network, which allows the authorization device 20, long-range communication with a vehicle manager, who can receive in particular information about the position of the vehicle and on the suitability or unsuitability for driving detected in the user.

The RFID receiver, for its part, constitutes a second short-range radio frequency connection device, capable of communicating with the slave device 1 if it is at a short distance from the vehicle, and of recognizing it in relation to other radio frequency connection devices. .

The authorization device further comprises a relay 26 that is connected to the engine of vehicle A, indicated as a whole with E, to enable or disable its operation.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the relay 26 is connected to the fuel pump 30 that connects the fuel tank 31 to the propulsion 32 of vehicle A.

In any case, it is understood that this relay could be connected to another activation part of the E motor, which could be thermal, hybrid or electric. In this case, the relay could deactivate the connection between the vehicle's batteries and the electric motor that functions as a propulsion.

The integrated authorization system, which may comprise an unlimited number of slave-type devices, also includes at least one master device, indicated by 40, which is the exclusive domain of an administrator M. This device may conveniently consist of a smartphone and a app installed on it, which carries out a recognition procedure of both the device on which it is installed and the administrator who has access to it, to prevent the system from being manipulated by third parties. However, it is understood that there may be multiple administrators recognizable by the master device 40, or multiple administrators M, each with its own master device 40, each of them enabled to operate on the authorization device 20.

In this way, the master device 40 has a respective third microprocessor, an antenna and a SIM card to communicate with a mobile network, its own user interface and one or more devices to recognize the identity of the administrator, which include a fingerprint reader, a microphone for voice recognition, a video camera for facial recognition. It also includes a memory that contains the identification numbers of the SIM cards 23 of the authorization devices 20 installed in the vehicle or vehicles managed by the administrator M.

The operation of the described system is carried out with reference to the diagram in Figure 4.

In a phase prior to the use of vehicle A, the administrator M, through his master device 40 or directly on the slave device 1, activating a management mode with a PIN, can authorize a user P to register his biometric data recognition that the slave device 1 is capable of detecting, that is, in this example, the fingerprint.

These data are checked and validated by administrator M.

When user P wishes to be authorized to drive vehicle A, he must be in the vicinity of the vehicle, that is, within the range of the RFID antenna 10, which can thus communicate with the on-board authorization device 20.

This proximity is signaled on the user interface 3 of the slave device 1, and the user P can then proceed to identify and verify the suitability for driving by means of the sensor set 11, which checks both data simultaneously. User P will also be the person entrusted with the key K for starting the vehicle, which, however, is completely separate and independent from the integrated authorization system described here.

If user P passes the identification and breathalyzer suitability test, slave device 1 transmits an authorization signal to authorization device 20, which activates relay 26 to allow user P to operate vehicle A with his key K This authorization can only be valid for a time interval, and only remains valid if the slave device 1 remains in the vicinity of vehicle A, which can be detected by the authorization device 20 through its RFID antenna 24.

If the entire procedure is successful, the administrator M is not questioned, but can eventually detect the movement of vehicle A which is transmitted by the authorization device 20 thanks to the GPS locator 25.

If, on the other hand, eligibility is denied by the slave device 1, the user P will be able to communicate remotely with the administrator P through the slave device 1, but passing through the authorization device 20 that can connect to the master device 40 of administrator M. In this way, user P and administrator M may not know each other, and can communicate through vehicle A.

In this phase, if administrator M deems it necessary, he can verify the location of vehicle A; You can also authorize another previously registered P-user or remotely register the identity and biometric data of another user. In this phase, the administrator M can decide to communicate directly, by telephone, with the user P, knowing his identity.

When certain conditions are met, the administrator may also unlock the authorization to drive vehicle A even if the eligibility conditions do not comply with the strictest limits, that is, in case of urgency and real and proven need of the user to use the vehicle with an assumption of responsibility for this purpose, possibly referring to less strict limits, always within the legal limits established by current regulations.

In this case, to unlock this authorization, the integrated system may ask the administrator M to verify his identity, for example with an unlock PIN.

To the integrated driving authorization system described above, an expert in the sector, in order to respond to subsequent and contingent needs, can make numerous additional modifications and variations, all of which are, however, within the scope of protection of the present invention, as defined in the attached claims.

Claims (9)

1. Integrated driving authorization system, which includes: • at least one portable slave device (1), capable of being associated with a user of a vehicle, which includes an input/output user interface (3), a first short-range radio frequency connection device (10), a fingerprint sensor (13) and an optical sensor (12) capable of detecting the presence of ethanol in the blood through the epidermis, said sensors contained in a contact halo (14) of such a size that it allows detection simultaneous identification of the user's identity and his blood alcohol level, a first microprocessor (9) with a respective software that receives signals from said sensors (12, 13) and provides driving authorization instructions through said first short-range radio frequency connection device (10); and • an authorization device (20) capable of being associated with a respective vehicle (A), which comprises a connection device (23) to a mobile network, a second short-range radio frequency connection device (24), at least a relay (26) capable of enabling and disabling the ignition and/or operation of the vehicle, a microprocessor (22) containing software capable of controlling said at least one relay, based on the driving authorization instructions received from the device connection (23) to a mobile network and the second connection device (24) by short-range radio frequency; and • at least one master device (40), capable of being associated with a respective administrator (M) of the vehicle (A), comprising a respective device for connecting to a mobile network capable of providing driving authorization instructions to said device. authorization (20). 2. Integrated authorization system according to claim 1, wherein said user interface (3) comprises a touch screen with a keyboard (4). 3. Integrated authorization system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said at least one sensor sensitive to the presence of ethanol in the blood through the epidermis (12) comprises a laser diode. 4. Integrated authorization system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the contact halo (11) has a diameter of no more than 15 mm. 5. Integrated authorization system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said first microprocessor (9) contains a memory and software for registration and control of the fingerprints detected by the fingerprint sensor (13), which provides a phase of learning the fingerprint of a user designated as a driver whose suitability must be checked, carried out by causing the user and the first microprocessor (9) to communicate through the user interface (3). 6. Integrated authorization system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first short-range radio frequency connection device is of the RFID type, capable of identifying the identity of the slave device using a cryptographic key. 7. Integrated authorization system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the authorization device comprises a GPS locator (25), capable of providing the second microprocessor with data related to the geographical position of the vehicle (A). 8. Integrated authorization system, according to any one of the previous claims, in which the master device (40) is made up of a smartphone and an app installed therein, which carries out a recognition procedure for both the device on which it is located. installed as well as the administrator who has access to it, to prevent the system from being manipulated by third parties. 9. Integrated authorization system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the master device (40) comprises its own user interface and one or more administrator identity recognition devices (M).