FIELD OF THE INVENTION:

The invention, in general, relates to an intelligent license plate system, and in more particular to a system used to detect tampering of license plates, track license plates, identify vehicles in real time sending programmable updates to a management system, track movements of vehicles, calculate speed of vehicles and to make the license plate of the vehicles electronically readable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:

The automobile or car license plate is normally a piece of rectangular metal or plastic with a Government assigned number which is stuck either at the front or at the back or on both front and back of the vehicle in a visible place so that Government Authority or anybody can notice the License Plate number. The License Plate Tag is renewed annually from Department of Transport. The drawbacks of the prevailing system are that:

1. It is very easy to remove or steal or change the License Plate in a car. This makes it possible to commit a crime using somebody else's license plate.

2. It is very hard to determine whereabouts of stolen license plate.

3. If a license plate tag has expired or not renewed, it is very hard to determine whether the corresponding automobile is still operational and on the road.

4. If an accident is committed by a car, it is very hard to pinpoint a car to the crime unless there is witness to the crime and the witness reports the car License Plate number. Also it is impossible to prove the presence of the car at the crime scene at a specific time.

5. If there is any zone restriction or time restriction for a car, it is very hard to track whether the car is following it or not.
A few Intelligent License Plate solutions have previously been described. But these solutions address some specific issues like:

1. Ensuring that the License Plate is Tamper Proof. For example, if the License
Plate is removed from a car, it is not installable.

2. Having hologram features making it difficult to counterfeit.

3. Some have RFID tag features which are readable only at a few points in a city on certain roads to determine:

a. Any toll fee that needs to be charged

b. Whether the License Plate detected is a legally active license plate

4. Does not address areas or regions or roads where there are no detection devices As seen, existing approaches include many limitations due to which crime, theft and terrorist activities are on the rise. The proposed invention addresses the following:

1. Detects removal of license plate from the car

2. A car having our Electronic License Plate can be tracked by Government Authority Management system at any time

3. Once Daily or once weekly or programmable update from License Plate to the Government Authority Management System at any time

4. Automatic checking in Government Authority Management System if the License Plate has been renewed

5. If an automobile enters any unauthorized zone or time restricted access zone, Government Authority can get alert

6. For any road accident, Government authority can find out all the vehicles which crossed a particular road at a particular time

7. Car movement data logging in the License Plate - downloadable to Government Authority Management System whenever required for analysis

8. Detection of toll road access and charging

9. Over speed alert

10. Electronically readable RFID tag readable by Police or Authority on the road

The proposed design of Electronic License Plate covers all the above features. Any subset of the features mentioned above or programmable subsets can be enforced based on the requirement of Governing Authority.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION:

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a system for detecting removal of license plate from the vehicle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a system wherein the license plate can be tracked by a Government Authority management system.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a system wherein programmable updates can be sent to Government Authority management system regarding the location and speed of the vehicle.

Yet another more object of the invention is to provide a system to automatically check whether the license plate has been renewed.

One more object of the invention is to provide a system to check whether the automobile has entered any unauthorized or time restricted access zone.

Another object of the invention is to provide a system to find out all the vehicles which crossed a particular road at a particular time.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a vehicle movement data logging in the license plate, which can then be downloaded to the Government Authority management system at any time.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an electronically readable RFID tag in the license plate readable by Police or Authority on the road.

The other objects of the invention will be clear from the following detailed description

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:

The system in accordance with this invention envisages means for detecting license plate tampering and to provide an intelligent license plate system which can be tracked by Government Authority Management system at any time.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention there is provided a micro controller which receives inputs from various modules of the license plate management system and operates based on the inputs received. The micro controller also communicates with the Central control unit i.e. the management system facilitating data communication between the intelligent license plate system and the management system.

In accordance with one more embodiment of the invention there is provided a means for supplying power to the Intelligent License Plate system with power saving features which ensures conservation of battery energy and longevity in battery power.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention there is provided a non-tamperable RFID tag which can be read by both the Micro-controller module in the Intelligent License Plate system as also the external RFID reader that can be installed on roadside or carried by authorized agencies. This is done to detect whether the license plate is legally active.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention there is provided a means for detecting the movement of vehicle, in order to facilitate better power management and accordingly when the vehicle is in idle state, some of the electronic modules can be put in very low power or power off condition to save power.

The intelligent license plate system further comprises a GPS receiver, used to process the GPS satellite data and provide positional information for logging.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, there is provided a wireless module and wireless antenna for use in mobile communication. GPRS or any other kind of mobile data communication are used to send periodical updates to the management system and in case of any tamper detected, updates are sent as per the preset frequency to track the movement and location of the license plate.

In accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention, the data communication between the intelligent license plate system and the remote management system is encrypted for reasons for data security

The features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the ensuing detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the ensuing detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

Figure 1 is a block diagram showing a high level implementation of the High Security Intelligent License Plate System

Figure 2 is a flowchart which depicts the firmware for Microcontroller

Figure 3 depicts the communication from intelligent license plate to central control server

Figure 4 shows an intelligent license plate

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The Block Diagram as shown in Figure (1) portrays a high level implementation of the High Security Intelligent License Plate Electronics. It is possible that the same or similar functionality can be designed in numerous different ways and also variations in design is possible by supporting subset or superset of the features depicted in the block diagram above. Some of the possible variations in the design are:

1. Instead of a Micro-controller or a CPU, a hardwirized fixed state-machine based implementation doing the same functionality

2. The method of communication may be different from Wireless communication as mentioned in the block diagram

3. The method of determination of tamper to the License Plate may differ from design to design

4. The power input to the system may be different from what has been shown in the block diagram

5. The method of saving power may differ from design to design

6. The method of unique identification like RFID tag etc may differ from one solution to other So as mentioned, even though there are different ways of implementation to the Intelligent License Plate solution, the fundamental architecture remains the same as depicted in the block diagram.

As depicted in figure 1, power can be supplied to the Intelligent License Plate System, using eithera Solar Panel (1), Car Battery (2) or a rechargeable or non-rechargeable Battery Pack (3). The Solar Panel (1) or Car Battery (2) power source is mainly used to provide charging facility for rechargeable battery pack. While all these different methods of supplying power to the Intelligent License Plate Electronics are described, the implementation may have a single option or a combination of different options to provide power to the License Plate Electronics.

The Battery pack charging circuitry (4) may be required if external power like Solar Power (1) or Car Battery Power (2) is connected as power source. Otherwise, the Battery Pack (3) should have enough energy rating to provide continuous power to the Intelligent License Plate electronics for at least 1 year or higher. Power saving features can be employed with selective power control to each module controlled through Micro-controller module (13) or some other controlling means. The power saving features ensures conserving battery energy and longevity in battery power.

The RFID Tag (5) is an electronic tag which contains a Globally Unique Identifier, the License Plate Tag number and some other information as defined by the Controlling Agency. The RFID Tag (5) is readable by the Micro-controller module (13). Also the RFID Tag (5) is readable by external RFID reader which can be installed on roadside poles or carried by authorized agencies. The RFID Tag (5) can be active or passive in nature. A non-tamperable version of RFID Tag (5) can be employed. Also the RFID Tag (5) can be part of the Intelligent License Plate or it can be separately installed in the automobile body in a non-detachable manner. Also instead of RFID technology, some other wireless or non-wireless methodology can be employed for unique identification of the vehicle. For example, in case of GSM/CDMA wireless technology (9), the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number of the Wireless Module can be used as a unique identification.

Car Motion Sensor (6) is used to sense when the car is idle at one place or when it is moving. This is also used for Battery Power management and saving. The idea is that when the car is idle, some of the electronic modules can be put in very low power or power off condition to save power. For example, when the car is idle for a pre-programmed time, the GPS receiver can be put in low power mode and the location logging can be stopped during the idle time.

GPS Receiver (7) is used to process the GPS satellite data and provide positional (location co-ordinate like latitude, longitude and altitude) information for logging. The GPS Receiver is connected to GPS Antenna (8) to establish connection to visible GPS satellites in the sky. In case of poor visibility of GPS satellites causing GPS shadow, mobile communication tower triangulation method would be employed to get an approximate location of the vehicle.

Wireless Module (9) and the Wireless Antenna (10) are used for mobile communication. GPRS or any other kind of Mobile Data communication would be employed for following:

1.The License Plate Electronics providing periodic updates (may be once in an hour or once in a day or once in a week or however the unit has been programmed) to the Authorized Central Control Unit. The update may contain following information:
The Unique ID of the License Plate Electronics, the License Plate Tag number, the health of the License Plate Electronics, the Battery pack health, information from various sensors like Tamper sensors, Impact sensors and Motion Sensors etc. Also the
License Plate Electronics would provide the logged location information between the last update and the current update.

2. If there is any Tamper or Impact detected from the sensors, the License Plate Electronics would immediately establish connection to the authorized central control unit and start providing updates at a rate of 1 usees - 30 sees so that the vehicle movement or in case of removal of License Plate from the car, the License Plate movement and location can be detected.

The data communication between the Intelligent License Plate Electronics and the Authorized Central Control Unit may be encrypted for reasons of data security. The Flow Chart, as depicted in Figure 2 shows a typical firmware for Microcontroller (12). This flow chart can also be executed through any hardwired state machine instead of using any Microcontroller.

The Power Control unit (11) is used to control power to the Wireless Module (9) since Wireless module normally consumes a lot of power when it is transmitting or receiving data. It is needless to mention that this architecture does not limit itself for remote activation for tracking the movement of the vehicle of License Plate.

At the heart of all these is the Micro Controller module (12) which is the controlling element for the Intelligent License Plate Electronics. The Micro Controller executes the firmware and operates based on inputs from various elements or modules like sensors, etc, so that it can control, activate or deactivate different modules. For example, when the Micro Controller detects vehicle movement from the motion sensor (6), it would start logging the location co-ordinates into the Flash Storage (13) as it receives from the GPS receiver (7). Also when the Micro Controller detects tamper or impact from tamper sensors (14) and impact sensors (15), it will turn-on the Wireless module and start communication to the Authorized Central Control Unit for real-time tracking and continuous communication to the Authorized Central Control Unit. The Micro-Controller has programmable timer based on which it will establish once-a-day or once-a-week (based on programmed frequency of update) connection to the Authorized Central Control unit for communication of its ID, health and also log data. The Micro-controller has Watch Dog Timer facility that under no circumstances the Intelligent License Plate Electronics locks-up and becomes inoperable.

The foregoing description is a specific embodiment of the present invention. It should be appreciated that this embodiment is described for purpose of illustration only, and that numerous alterations and modifications may be practiced by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is intended that all such modifications and alterations be included insofar as they come within the scope of the invention as claimed or the equivalents thereof.

Other modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art and, therefore, the invention is defined in the claims.

WE CLAIM:

1. an intelligent license plate system comprising a micro controller which initializes, activates, controls, monitors various modules in the system and operates based on inputs received from these modules; a non-tamperable RFID tag containing the License Plate tag number as a Globally Unique Identifier which can be read by both the micro-controller module as also any external RFID reader; a GPS receiver connected to a GPS antenna which processes GPS satellite data and provides positional information (latitude, longitude and altitude); a flash storage which stores such location information obtained from the GPS receiver; a car motion sensor which detects the movement of vehicle and facilitates better power management of the various modules; a tamper sensor which detects tampering of license plate; an impact sensor which detects any impact on the license plate; a wireless module and wireless antenna for mobile communication; a power control unit which controls power to the wireless module; the said system configured to track the license plate, detect removal of license plate from vehicle, detect tampering and impact of license plate, provide information regarding location and speed of vehicle and provide such periodic updates to a remote management system or an authorized central control unit.

2. An intelligence license plate system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the data communication between the intelligent license plate system and the remote management system is encrypted for data security.

3. An intelligent license plate system as claimed in claim 1 wherein power is supplied to the system using either a solar panel, car battery or a battery pack or a combination of these.

4. An intelligent license plate system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the electronic modules are put to low power mode when the car is idle.

5. An intelligent license plate system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the periodic updates may contain the following information: Unique Id of the license plate system, the license plate tag number, the health of the license plate system, the battery pack health, information from tamper sensors, impact sensors and motion sensors, location information.

6. An intelligent license plate system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the said system is configured to establish immediate connection to the remote management system in case of removal or tampering of license plate and provides continuous updates at a predetermined rate.