Vehicle part identification system and method

Details Vehicle part identification system and method Vehicle part identification system and method

1998-06-12

2001-11-13

Hofsass, Jeffery A. (Department: 2632)

Communications: electrical

Selective

Intelligence comparison for controlling

C340S870030, C701S029000, C701S032000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06317026

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices and methods that are intended to identify the individual parts of a vehicle, thereby allowing those parts to be identified if stolen. More specifically, the present invention relates to electronic identification systems where individual electronic assemblies are identified with a unique code that can be identified electronically through a computer interface.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Every year thousands of cars, trucks and other vehicles are stolen. Many of those vehicles are taken apart and the individual parts are resold. The individual parts rarely contain vehicle identification numbers. Consequently, it is nearly impossible to determine if a used part came from a stolen vehicle or from a legitimate supplier.
Thieves also commonly break into vehicles and steal parts from those vehicles. For example, every year thousands of radios are stolen from vehicles. To combat such thefts, vehicle manufactures have begun to distribute the electronic components of the radio throughout the vehicle. Consequently, if the main radio unit is stolen from a vehicle's dashboard, the electronics of the stolen radio would be incomplete and the radio would not work. Since the radio will not work if stolen, the incentive to steal radios is reduced.
However, thieves steal other parts of vehicles besides the radio. One of the parts being increasingly stolen is the vehicle's air bag. Air bags are stolen and are resold to repair shops. The repair shops install the air bags into vehicles owned by other people. As a result, the operation of the air bag cannot be disabled when the air bag is stolen. If the air bag were to become disabled when removed, an unknowing person can be unnecessarily killed in an accident.
For this reason, different theft deterrent approaches have been developed for protecting the air bag. A common approach for protecting air bags from theft is to encase the air bag in a protective shield when the vehicle is not in use. This approach is exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,560 to LiCausi, entitled Air Bag Anti-Theft Device and U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,067 to Kim, entitled Anti-Theft Device For Automobiles And Air Bags. The problem associated with such prior art devices is that it requires the driver of the vehicle to install a bulky shield over the air bag each time he/she leaves the vehicle. The driver must also remove the bulky shield each time he/she enters the vehicle. As such, installing such theft prevention shields is a cumbersome, time consuming activity for the vehicle driver. As a result, the driver will inevitably not apply the shield if he/she is leaving the vehicle for only a short time. This leaves the vehicle and its air bag vulnerable to theft.
A need therefore exists for an air bag theft deterrent system that passively protects the air bag, deters theft and does not disable the air bag if it is stolen. This need is met by the present invention as described and claimed below.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a system and method for detecting stolen electronic assemblies that have been illegally added to a second vehicle. When a vehicle is manufactured, each of the electronic assemblies within the vehicle is provided with a unique identification code that can be accessed electronically. The codes for the various electronic assemblies are assigned to the vehicle in which those assemblies were originally manufactured. When the vehicle is inspected or serviced, the electronic identification code from each electronic assembly can be read. The various electronic identification codes are compared to an authorized identification code that identifies the vehicle in which the various electronic assemblies are contained. If the identification code from one of the electronic assemblies does not match the authorized identification code for the vehicle, then it can be determined that the electronic assembly in question is not original to the vehicle. The identification code of the non-original electronic assembly is then compared to a list of electronic identification codes for stolen electronic assemblies. If a match is found between the non-original electronic assembly and the list of stolen parts, an indication is provided.


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