WO2014049579A1

WO2014049579A1 - A motor vehicle licence holder

Info

Publication number: WO2014049579A1
Application number: PCT/IB2013/058994
Authority: WO
Inventors: Darryl Edward Albert Cotty
Original assignee: KOOIKER, Bouke, Johannes
Priority date: 2012-09-28
Filing date: 2013-09-30
Publication date: 2014-04-03
Also published as: ZA201502668B

Abstract

A motor vehicle licence holder, a system for determining the position of a motor vehicle using the motor vehicle licence holder, and a related method are disclosed. The holder includes a housing and a radio frequency identification (RFID) component embedded within the housing, the RFID component being configured to store identification information of a motor vehicle thereon. The system used the licence holder, once fitted to the motor vehicle, and further comprises at least one ground station which is communicatively coupled to the A-GPS system over a communication network, the at least one ground station being configured to compute differential location data. The A-GPS system includes a receiver configured to receive A-GPS reference location data of the motor vehicle, the receiver being further configured to receive differential location data from the ground station, and a computation module operable to use the reference location data of the motor vehicle and the differential location data to determine a geographical location of the motor vehicle.

Description

A MOTOR VEHICLE LICENCE HOLDER

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to a motor vehicle licence holder, a system for determining the position of a motor vehicle using the motor vehicle licence holder, and a method thereof.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

A conventional motor vehicle licence holder comprises an adhesive member, wherein a motor vehicle registration document can be attached to a part thereof. A free part of the adhesive member is then attached to a windscreen of the motor vehicle. Other holders include a housing having an adhesive portion. The housing is configured to receive the vehicle registration document and can be attached to a windscreen of the motor vehicle. These holders, however, require a person to stand in close proximity to the motor vehicle in order to read the motor vehicle registration information. Furthermore, these existing licence holders are unable to be used to locate a position of a motor vehicle.

Various systems have been developed in order to determine positions of motor vehicles. Most of these systems require a vehicle locating unit to be fitted or installed in the vehicle. The unit is required to generally determine and communicate its geographical position to a central control room. The geographical information is sent to the control room at intervals or when polled by the system. Generally, the vehicle locating unit includes a location module to determine the position of the unit. This location module typically comprises a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver that uses existing GPS technologies to calculate the position of the unit, and therefore the position of the motor vehicle, and makes use of radio signals from satellites.

A problem with such systems is that in poor signal conditions, e.g., in a city, the radio signals suffer multipath propagation wherein signals bounce off buildings, or the strength of the signals is weakened while passing through walls or tree covers. When a GPS receiver is turned on in such conditions, the GPS receiver may not be able to determine its position due to fragmentary signals, until a clear signal is received continuously for a relatively extended period of time. Various different types of GPS receivers have been developed in an attempt to address the abovementioned problems. The GPS receivers include an Assisted- GPS receiver which uses data from a particular network. However, this type of GPS receiver has cost implications to consumers, in that a network service provider passes the costs of using their network onto consumers. Other systems which are used to overcome the abovementioned problems require the use of a plurality of GPS receivers in order to provide an effective determination of the location of a motor vehicle. These systems are cumbersome and not effective.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative motor vehicle licence holder, a system for determining the position of a motor vehicle using the motor vehicle holder, and a method thereof.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a motor vehicle licence holder, the holder includes:

a housing; and

a radio frequency identification (RFID) component embedded within the housing, the RFID component being configured to store identification information of a motor vehicle thereon.

The RFID component may be retrofitted to the licence holder, wherein the housing may define a slot thereon, shaped and configured to receive the RFID component. Instead, the RFID component may be factory-fitted and thus form an integral part of a licence holder.

The motor vehicle licence holder may include a power supply located within the housing.

In one version, the power supply comprises a rechargeable battery located within the housing. Alternatively, or in addition, the licence holder may include photovoltaic cells which use solar panels in order to generate electrical power. The solar panels may be operable to recharge the rechargeable battery, in use.

In an alternative embodiment, the housing may define a socket to receive a power supply connector from the vehicle's power supply.

An attaching member may be positioned on the housing, the attaching member being operable to attach the licence holder to a body of a motor vehicle where the licence holder is visible from an exterior of the motor vehicle.

The attaching member may be in the form of an adhesive strip to enable an effective attachment of the licence holder to the body of the motor vehicle, in use.

Preferably, the adhesive strip is resistant to high temperatures so as to be able to endure high temperature conditions when the licence holder is exposed to such conditions.

The holder may include a position location system which is communicatively coupled to the RFID component, the position location system being operable to provide geographical location data for the motor vehicle.

The position location system may include a global positioning system (GPS) which is communicatively coupled to the RFID component and which can determine the location of the motor vehicle.

In a preferred embodiment, the GPS is in a form of an Assisted GPS (A-

GPS).

A display member may be located on the housing, the display member being configured to display motor vehicle information, with the motor vehicle information being visible from outside the motor vehicle.

In one version, the RFID component comprises a dual frequency RFID component capable of operating in a first frequency range for long range, high speed reading, and also in a second frequency range for Near Field Communications (NFC) to enable proximal interrogation by an electronic device. In an alternate version, the RFID component comprises a first RFID tag capable of operating in a first frequency range for long range, high speed reading, and a second RFID tag capable of Near Field Communications (NFC) to enable proximal interrogation by an electronic device.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for determining the location of a motor vehicle, the system including:

a motor vehicle licence holder as defined above, the motor vehicle licence holder being positioned on a body of the motor vehicle;

at least one ground station which is communicatively coupled to an A-GPS system over a communication network, the at least one ground station being configured to compute differential location data;

the A-GPS system including:

a receiver configured to receive A-GPS reference location data of the motor vehicle through reference satellites, the receiver being further configured to receive differential location data from the at least one ground station; and

a computation module operable to use the A-GPS reference location data of the motor vehicle and the differential location data so as to determine a geographical location of the motor vehicle.

The communication network is, preferably, a wireless network. The wireless network may, preferably, use a short-range radio frequency for communication.

The at least one ground station may include a Differential Global Positioning System (D-GPS).

In a preferred embodiment, the at least one ground station may further include Assisted Global Positioning System (A-GPS) in order to compute the differential location data

The system may include a plurality of ground stations in communication with the A-GPS through an existing communication network. The system may include a database storing the ground station's information including multiple unique identifiers, each identifier associated with the ground stations and their respective fixed location data.

The ground stations may include an interrogation module operable to interrogate the database, in order to retrieve fixed location datum and compute the differential location data by differentiating the fixed location data and reference location data received from reference satellites.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of determining the position of a motor vehicle, the method including:

providing a motor vehicle licence holder as defined above, the motor vehicle licence holder being positioned on a body of the motor vehicle;

receiving over an existing communication network a differential location data from at least one of the ground stations and the unique identifier of the at least one ground station, when the motor vehicle is in the vicinity of the ground station;

receiving A-GPS reference location data of the motor vehicle from the reference satellite; and

computing a geographical location of the motor vehicle using the differential location data and the A-GPS reference location data thereby to provide a more precise geographical location of the motor vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 a shows a simplified diagrammatic view of a motor vehicle licence holder, in accordance with the invention;

Figure 1 b shows a side view of the motor vehicle licence holder of Figure 1 a;

Figure 2 shows various internal components of the motor vehicle licence holder of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 shows a system for determining the location of a motor vehicle, in accordance with the invention; and Figure 4 shows a flow diagram of a method of determining the location of a motor vehicle, in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of an embodiment of the present disclosure. It will be evident, however, to one skilled in the art that the present disclosure may be practised without these specific details of any specific manner.

With reference to Figures 1 a to 3 of the drawings, reference numeral 10 generally indicates a motor vehicle licence holder in accordance with the invention. The motor vehicle licence holder 10 includes a housing 12 and a radio frequency identification (RFID) component 14 (Figure 2). The motor vehicle licence holder 10 is attachable to a body of a motor vehicle 100. In particular, the motor vehicle licence holder 10 is attachable to a windscreen 102 of the motor vehicle 100 (see Figure 3) in order to be visible from outside the motor vehicle 100.

The licence holder 10 is suitable to carry motor vehicle registration information on the motor vehicle 100. A motor vehicle includes a motor car, truck, trailer, motor van or any other suitable vehicle. The licence holder 10 has a power supply 1 1 (see Figure 2), for example, a rechargeable battery. In a preferred embodiment, the licence holder 10 includes photovoltaic cells which use solar panels 16 in order to generate electrical power and hence recharge the rechargeable battery

1 1 , in use. The use of solar panels 16 allows for a continuous supply of power to the rechargeable battery 1 1 which is housed in the housing 12 of the licence holder 10.

In an alternative embodiment, the housing 12 may define a socket 17 to receive a power supply connector from the vehicle's power supply (via a wiring harness).

In a preferred embodiment, the licence holder 10 has a generally square- shaped housing 12, with curved corners. In an alternative embodiment, the housing 12 can be rectangular, triangular or circular. It will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that the size and shape of the licence holder 10, in particular, the housing

12, may be regulated by a particular country's motor vehicle-related regulations. The housing 12 is divided into an inner portion 18 and an outer portion 20 by a channel-shaped portion within which an attaching member 22 is located. The division of the housing 12 into the inner portion 18 and the outer portion 20 is clearly illustrated in Figure 1 a. The attaching member 22 is distributed along the periphery of the channel-shaped portion. Such an arrangement of the attaching member 22 ensures an even distribution of the attaching member 22 on the housing 12.

The housing 12 is made of durable heat resistant material in order to be able to withstand long exposure to sun rays, such as ultra-violet rays. The material of the housing 12 should also be able to withstand infra-red rays. Furthermore, the material of the housing 12 is non-toxic and suitable for the purpose of embedded electronic circuitry.

The attaching member 22 attaches the licence holder 10 to the body of the motor vehicle 100 where the licence holder 10 is visible from an exterior of the motor vehicle 100. In an example embodiment, the attaching member 22 is in the form of an adhesive strip and a respective peel-off protector to enable an effective attachment of the licence holder to the body of the motor vehicle 100. In use, a user will peel off the peel-off protector in order to attach the licence holder 10 onto the motor vehicle 100. Preferably, the adhesive strip is resistant to high temperatures so as to be able to endure high temperature conditions when the licence holder 10 is exposed to such conditions.

A display member, such as a printed adhesive label 24, is located on the housing 12, preferably on the outer portion 20 of the housing 12. The adhesive label 24 is printed with legible, human readable text pertaining to the motor vehicle registration information, as prescribed by the particular country's laws and regulations.

Referring to Figure 2, the RFID component 14 is located on the inner portion 18 of housing 12 of the licence holder 10. The RFID component 14 is configured to store identification information of a motor vehicle and the identification of an A-GPS system (described in more detail further below) thereon. The RFID component 14 may take one of two forms.

In one version, the RFID component 14 comprises a dual frequency passive RFID tag 14A capable of operating in a first frequency range for long range, high speed reading, and also in a second frequency range for Near Field Communications (NFC) to enable proximal interrogation by an electronic device, such as a mobile smart phone device. In an alternate version, the RFID component 14 comprises a first passive RFID tag 14B capable of operating in the first frequency range, for long range, high speed reading, and a second passive RFID tag 14C, capable of Near Field Communications (NFC), to enable proximal interrogation by an electronic device.

Clearly, although both possible RFID versions are shown in Figure 2, it is possible for the housing 12 to only implement either version i.e. either RFID tag 14A or RFID tags 14B and 14C. The housing 12 includes an antenna 15 to facilitate the operation of the RFID tags 14A, 14B and 14C. In an envisaged embodiment, the first frequency range is the UHF range (860MHz~960MHz or 902MHz~928MHz), and the second frequency range is the 13.56MHz range for NFC.

The RFID tags 14A, 14B and 14C may conform to the Advanced Encryption Standards (AES-128) for the encryption of the electronic data that resides in the RFID tags.

The RFID tags 14A or 14B and 14C may be retrofitted to the licence holder 10. The housing 12 defines a slot (not shown) thereon, with the slot being shaped and configured to receive the RFID tags 14A or 14B and 14C therein. In an alternative embodiment, the RFID tags 14A or 14B and 14C are factory-fitted and thus form an integral part of the licence holder 10. The RFID tags 14A, 14B and 14C are passive RFID tags and thus do not require a power supply. This will ensure that the licence holder 10 does not require a substantial amount of electrical power, in use, thus allowing it to be enduring, robust and cost effective.

The licence holder 10 includes a position location system 26 which is communicatively coupled to the RFID component 14 (RFID tags 14A or 14B and 14C). In use, the position location system 26 provides the geographical location of the motor vehicle 100. The position location system 26 is in a form of a global positioning system (GPS), preferably an Assisted GPS (A-GPS). In use, the A-GPS circuitry will be able to identify the GPS location of a moving motor vehicle 100. The A-GPS system can also use, as an example, a SiRFstarlll receiver (or similar device) in order to search for A-GPS reference location data at a relatively fast rate. A SiRFstarlll receiver includes a microcontroller which interprets signals from reference satellites in order to determine the position of the motor vehicle 100. In a preferred embodiment, the A-GPS module, such as the GC864-Quad V2 or GC864-Quad automotive V2 (or similar), may incorporate an integrated GSM SIM card holder 28. The licence holder 10 as disclosed herein will provide for an effective identification of the motor vehicle 100. The dual RFID component 14 will be encoded with identification information of the motor vehicle 100. In use, a reader (not shown) or a scanning device emits radio waves and interrogates the RFID tags 14A or 14B and 14C. The dual frequency RFID component 14 responds with the identification information of the motor vehicle 100. The identification information of the motor vehicle 100 can then be used for various applications.

With reference also to Figure 3, a system 200 for determining the location of a motor vehicle 100, in accordance with the invention, is shown. The system 200 includes a motor vehicle licence holder 10 located on the windscreen 102 of the motor vehicle 100. The system 200 also includes a plurality of ground stations 202 and an A-GPS system 26.

The A-GPS system 26 and the plurality of ground stations communicate with each other over a communication network 204, preferably, an existing communication network 204.

The communication network 204 is a wireless network, such as a GSM network, which uses a short-range radio frequency for communication.

Each of the ground stations 202 includes a Differential Global Positioning System (D-GPS) in order to provide accurate GPS coordinates. In a preferred embodiment, the ground stations 202 (in addition) include Assisted Global Positioning System (A-GPS). The D-GPS and the A-GPS enables the ground stations 202 to be able to compute a differential location data

A database 206 which is pre-populated by information relating to the plurality of ground station 202 can form part of the system 200. Alternatively, the database 206 can form part of a network service provider and hosted by the service provider. The database 202 can be pre-populated with plurality of ground stations information and multiple unique identifiers, each identifier associated with the ground stations 202 and their respective fixed location data.

Each ground station 202 can include an interrogation module (not shown) which interrogates the database 206 in order retrieve its own fix location data. Once the fixed location data is retrieved, a ground station computation module (not shown), computes a differential location data by differentiating the fixed location data and reference location data received from reference satellites. The ground station 202 then broadcasts the differential location data.

The A-GPS system includes a receiver (not shown) configured to receive A- GPS reference location data of the motor vehicle 100 through reference satellites. The A-GPS reference location data is received through a conventional manner, where the receiver receives location and time information from the known GPS satellites (herein referred to as reference satellites). Once the motor vehicle 100 is in close proximity with the ground station 202, the receiver of the A-GPS system will receive the differential location data from the ground station 202. An A-GPS computation module (not shown) uses the A-GPS reference location data of the motor vehicle 100 and the differential location data so as to determine a geographical location of the motor vehicle 100. In particular, the A-GPS computation module uses the differential location data in order to offset the A-GPS reference location data. This will ensure that a precise position of motor vehicle 100 is determined.

Referring to Figure 4 of the drawings, a simplified flow diagram of a method of determining the position of a motor vehicle, as hereinbefore described, is generally indicated by reference numeral 300. It will be noted that in one example embodiment, the flow diagrams of the example method shown in Figure 4 may be employed by the system 200 of Figure 2. However, the method may also be employed in other systems not described in this application.

The method 300 comprises maintaining a database, at block 302, the database 206 containing multiple identifiers, each of the multiple identifiers being associated with ground stations 202.

The method 300 further comprises receiving, at block 304, a differential location data from at least one of the ground stations when the motor vehicle is in the vicinity of the ground station 202.

The method 300 further comprises receiving, at block 306, receiving A-GPS reference location data of the motor vehicle 100 from the reference satellite.

The method 300 further comprises computing, at block 308, a geographical location of the motor vehicle 100 using the differential location data and the A-GPS reference location data thereby to provide a more precise geographical location of the motor vehicle 100 The present invention thus provides a motor vehicle licence holder 10 which can be used to provide a more precise location of a motor vehicle 100 in an efficient manner. In one particular, non-limiting application, the motor vehicle licence holder 10 will be able to pinpoint the GPS location of a moving motor vehicle by interfacing with the array of fixed ground stations 202 located around the perimeter of a traffic light intersection. By establishing the GPS co-ordinates of the mobile A-GPS motor vehicle license holder 10 when a certain condition (e.g. red traffic light ON) is triggered, an accurate determination of whether licence holder 10 has entered, or is within, the traffic light intersection when the traffic light turned red (thereby enabling identification of vehicle, so that related law enforcement procedures may be implemented).

Claims

1 . A motor vehicle licence holder, the holder includes:

a housing; and

2. The motor vehicle licence holder of claim 1 , wherein the housing defines a slot therein, the slot being shaped and configured to receive the RFID component, thereby enabling the RFID component to be retrofitted to the licence holder.

3. The motor vehicle licence holder of claim 1 , wherein the RFID component is factory-fitted and thus forms an integral part of the licence holder.

4. The motor vehicle licence holder of any preceding claim, wherein the holder includes a power supply located within the housing.

5. The motor vehicle licence holder of claim 4, wherein the power supply comprises a rechargeable battery located within the housing.

6. The motor vehicle licence holder of claim 4, wherein the holder includes photovoltaic cells which use solar panels to provide the required electrical power.

7. The motor vehicle licence holder of claim 4, wherein the housing defines a socket to receive a power supply connector from the vehicle's power supply.

8. The motor vehicle licence holder of any preceding claim, wherein an attaching member is fitted to the housing, the attaching member being operable to attach the licence holder to a body of a motor vehicle where the licence holder is visible from an exterior of the motor vehicle.

9. The motor vehicle licence holder of claim 8, wherein the attaching member comprises an adhesive strip to enable an effective attachment of the licence holder to the body of the motor vehicle, in use.

10. The motor vehicle licence holder of claim 9, wherein the adhesive strip is resistant to high temperatures so as to be able to endure high temperature conditions when the licence holder is exposed to such conditions.

1 1 . The motor vehicle licence holder of any preceding claim, wherein the holder includes a position location system which is communicatively coupled to the RFID component, the position location system being operable to provide geographical location data for the motor vehicle.

12. The motor vehicle licence holder of claim 1 1 , wherein the position location system includes a global positioning system (GPS) which is communicatively coupled to the RFID component and which can determine the location of the motor vehicle.

13. The motor vehicle licence holder of claim 12, wherein the GPS is in a form of an Assisted GPS (A-GPS).

14. The motor vehicle licence holder of any preceding claim, wherein a display member is located on the housing, the display member being configured to display motor vehicle information, with the motor vehicle information being visible from outside the motor vehicle.

15. The motor vehicle licence holder of any preceding claim, wherein the RFID component comprises a dual frequency RFID component capable of operating in a first frequency range for long range, high speed reading, and also in a second frequency range for Near Field Communications (NFC) to enable proximal interrogation by an electronic device.

16. The motor vehicle licence holder of any of claims 1 to 14, wherein the RFID component comprises a first RFID tag capable of operating in a first frequency range for long range, high speed reading, and a second RFID tag capable of Near Field Communications (NFC) to enable proximal interrogation by an electronic device.

17. A system for determining the location of a motor vehicle, the system including: a motor vehicle licence holder as defined above, the motor vehicle licence holder being positioned on a body of the motor vehicle;

at least one ground station which is communicatively coupled to an A-GPS system over a communication network, the at least one ground station being configured to compute differential location data; the A-GPS system including:

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the communication network is a wireless network that uses a short-range radio frequency for communication.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the at least one ground station includes a Differential Global Positioning System (D-GPS).

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the at least one ground station further includes Assisted Global Positioning System (A-GPS) in order to compute the differential location data

21 . The system of any one of claims 17 to 20, which includes a plurality of ground stations in communication with the A-GPS through an existing communication network.

22. The system of claim 21 , which includes a database for storing each ground station's information, including multiple unique identifiers, each identifier being associated with the ground stations and their respective fixed location data.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the ground stations include an interrogation module operable to interrogate the database, in order to retrieve fixed location datum and compute the differential location data by differentiating the fixed location data and reference location data received from reference satellites.

24. A method of determining position of a motor vehicle, the method including: providing a motor vehicle licence holder as defined above, the motor vehicle licence holder being positioned on a body of the motor vehicle; receiving over an existing communication network a differential location data from at least one of the ground stations and the unique identifier of the at least one ground station, when the motor vehicle is in the vicinity of the ground station;