A vehicle theft-prevention apparatus can include a slip clutch mechanism, a locking mechanism, and a cylindrical body including a first portion and a second portion. The first portion can be configured to rotate about the second portion. The locking mechanism can be configured to engage based on rotation of the first portion relative to the second portion in a first direction, and disengage based on a rotation of the first portion relative to the second portion in a second direction. The slip clutch mechanism can be configured to prevent the locking mechanism from further engaging from rotation in the first direction relative to the second portion based on a magnitude of force applied.

Methods of protecting an electrically motorized human-powered vehicle are disclosed. A method may include transmitting, from a remote server, a security input relating to a user of the vehicle; receiving, at the electrically motorized human-powered vehicle the security input relating to the user; validating the security input; and enabling one of a first or second set of features based on the security input, wherein the second set of features is different from the first set of features and wherein one of set of features includes a service mode that enables maintenance access to the vehicle.

An exterior door handle assembly for a vehicular door includes a base portion and a handle portion. The base portion is configured to mount at an exterior door handle region of the vehicular door and the handle portion is movable relative to the base portion to actuate a door opening latch mechanism. A pocket lighting and sensing module includes at least one LED and at least one light sensor. The LED, when energized, emits light to illuminate a pocket surface at the base portion. With the LED energized to emit light, the light sensor senses the light emitted by the LED and reflected off the pocket surface. Responsive to light sensed by the light sensor with the light emitting diode energized being below a threshold level, the pocket lighting and sensing module determines presence of a person's hand at the handle portion.

An authentication pattern generation unit, if a signal from a portable device is received, prompts a user who uses the portable device to perform a specific action. A checking unit determines whether or not the user has performed the specific action. If the checking unit determines that the user has performed the specific action, the checking unit authenticates that the portable device is an authorized device.

An apparatus includes a vehicle control system (VCS) coupled to a computer of a vehicle via a CAN bus and configured to present selectively appearance of a presence in the vehicle of a smartkey, e.g., by energizing and de-energizing an actual smartkey of the vehicle. The VCS includes a VCS and a Bluetooth VCS transceiver. The VCS stores VCS software. The apparatus also includes a smartphone with a Bluetooth transceiver, and storing an app. The mobile device is paired with the VCS to communicate with the VCS via a Bluetooth link. The app configures the smartphone to receive menu selections from a user, to generate communications that identify smartkey-enabled features of the VCS that correspond to the selections, and to send to the VCS the communications through the link. The VCS software configures the VCS to receive the communications and cause the vehicle to perform actions corresponding to the communications.

Aspects of the present disclosure generally pertain to a vehicle inhibitor with an enhanced user interface and a system and method for overriding a vehicle inhibitor. This disclosure may be useful for providing an emergency override function for vehicle loan repayment enforcement systems that have wireless user interface modules, and that have become lost or inoperable when needed to generate an emergency override signal. Further, the present disclosure addresses this problem while mitigating additional system cost and additional components. This disclosure includes a method of providing an emergency override function for vehicle loan repayment enforcement systems that have wireless user interface modules, and that have become lost or inoperable when needed to generate an emergency override signal. Further this disclosure includes a method of providing a disablement override function for vehicle loan repayment enforcement systems, wired or wireless, that allows vehicle operation past the grace period in those locations where complete disablement may be limited.

Disclosed is a system for detecting an operating state of a vehicle engine. The system comprises: an input coupled to a power line of a vehicle; means to filter out relatively high frequency transient noise components of a signal received from the power line; a first detector for receiving the filtered signal and detecting when transient noise associated with the power line rises above a first threshold and generating a first detection signal in response thereto; a second detector for receiving the filtered signal and detecting when the transient noise falls below a second threshold, which is lower than the first threshold, and generating a second detection signal in response thereto; and means for generating a first output signal in response to the first detection signal and a second output signal in response to the second detection signal.

Method and apparatus are disclosed for key fobs for vehicle remote park-assist. An example key fob for a vehicle includes buttons including a lock button, an unlock button, and a trigger button. The example key fob also includes an antenna and a controller. The controller is configured to transmit, via the antenna, a lock signal responsive to detecting the lock button is pressed. The controller is configured to transmit, via the antenna, an unlock signal responsive to detecting the unlock button is pressed. The controller is configured to transmit, via the antenna, a remote-start signal responsive to detecting a remote-start combination of the buttons is pressed. The controller is configured to transmit, via the antenna, a remote park-assist (RePA) signal to initiate RePA of the vehicle responsive to detecting a RePA combination of the buttons is pressed.

A vehicle control device performs predetermined control on a vehicle by communicating with a portable device held by a user. The Vehicle control device includes: a living body sensor that detects whether or not a living body is present in the vehicle by acquiring biological information of the living body; an output device that outputs an alarm; and an alarm output determination unit that determines the alarm to be output by the output device by detecting the presence of the living body in the vehicle by the living body sensor and satisfying a predetermined condition for outputting the alarm. When the portable device and the vehicle control device communicate with each other after the alarm is output by the output device, the output device stops outputting the alarm.

Improved systems and techniques are disclosed for controlling the security states of anti-theft security systems such as product display assemblies using security fobs. According to an example embodiment, a manager security fob and another security fob that is to be authorized for use in controlling the security status of a product display assembly can interact with a system in accordance with a defined sequence to add the another security fob to an authorization list for the product display assembly. For example, the defined sequence can be a connection of the manager security fob with the system, followed by a disconnection of the manager security fob from the system, followed a connection of the another security fob with the system within a defined window.