Apparatus and method for reducing false alarms in stolen vehicle tracking

1. A method of reducing false alarms in stolen vehicle tracking (SVT) applications, the method comprising:

determining whether an expected signal has not been received from a stolen vehicle tracking (SVT) module in a vehicle;

when the expected signal has not been received, determining at least one operating parameter of the vehicle and based upon the at least one operating parameter, determining a reason for the absence of the expected signal;

based upon the determined reason for the absence of the expected signal, determining whether or not to issue a stolen-vehicle-tracking alarm, which indicates that the vehicle is stolen or that the expected signal is jammed, such that:

the alarm is issued if the determined reason is that the vehicle is determined to be stolen;

the alarm is issued if the determined reason is that the expected signal is determined to be jammed; and

the alarm is not issued if the determined reason indicates that the vehicle is not stolen and that the expected signal is not jammed;

wherein the determined reason is that the vehicle is determined to be stolen further comprises determining that the vehicle is moving and that there is no roadside assistance request pending;

wherein the determined reason is that the expected signal is determined to be jammed further comprises determining that an embedded phone in the vehicle with the SVT module is known to be on and that the cellular connections at the vehicle's location are known to be good.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determined reason is that the expected signal is determined to be jammed further comprises determining that the signal from the SVT module stopped while the vehicle was not moving.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determined reason is that the expected signal is determined to be jammed further comprises determining that the signal from the SVT module varies beyond a threshold amount from an expected range of signal levels in an area of known good signal strength.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determined reason indicates that the vehicle is not stolen and that the expected signal is not jammed when an embedded phone in the vehicle is known to be off.

5. An apparatus for reducing false alarms in stolen vehicle tracking (SVT) applications, comprising:

an interface with an input and an output; and

a controller coupled to the interface, the controller being configured to:

determine whether an expected signal has not been received from a stolen vehicle tracking (SVT) module in a vehicle;

when the expected signal has not been received, determine at least one operating parameter of the vehicle and based upon the at least one operating parameter, determine a reason for the absence of the expected signal;

based upon the determined reason for the absence of the expected signal, determine whether or not to issue a stolen-vehicle-tracking alarm, which indicates that the vehicle is stolen or that the expected signal is jammed, such that:

the alarm is issued if the determined reason is that the vehicle is determined to be stolen;

the alarm is issued if the determined reason is that the expected signal is determined to be jammed; and

the alarm is not issued if the determined reason indicates that the vehicle is not stolen and that the expected signal is not jammed;

wherein the determined reason is that the vehicle is determined to be stolen further comprises determining that the vehicle is moving and that there is no roadside assistance request pending;

wherein the determined reason is that the expected signal is determined to be jammed further comprises determining that an embedded phone in the vehicle with the SVT module is known to be on and that the cellular connections at the vehicle's location are known to be good.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the determined reason is that the expected signal is determined to be jammed further comprises determining that the signal from the SVT module stopped while the vehicle was not moving.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the determined reason is that the expected signal is determined to be jammed further comprises determining that the signal from the SVT module varies beyond a threshold amount from an expected range of signal levels in an area of known good signal strength.

8. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the determined reason indicates that the vehicle is not stolen and that the expected signal is not jammed when an embedded phone in the vehicle with the SVT module is known to be off.

9. A computer readable non-transitory medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions that when executed by a processor reduce false alarms in stolen vehicle tracking (SVT) applications by performing operations comprising:

determining whether an expected signal has not been received from a stolen vehicle tracking (SVT) module in a vehicle;

when the expected signal has not been received, determining at least one operating parameter of the vehicle and based upon the at least one operating parameter, determining a reason for the absence of the expected signal;

based upon the determined reason for the absence of the expected signal, determining whether or not to issue a stolen-vehicle-tracking alarm, which indicates that the vehicle is stolen or that the expected signal is jammed, such that:

the alarm is issued if the determined reason is that the vehicle is determined to be stolen;

the alarm is issued if the determined reason is that the expected signal is determined to be jammed; and

the alarm is not issued if the determined reason indicates that the vehicle is not stolen and that the expected signal is not jammed;

wherein the determined reason is that the vehicle is determined to be stolen further comprises determining that the vehicle is moving and that there is no roadside assistance request pending;

wherein the determined reason is that the expected signal is determined to be jammed further comprises determining that an embedded phone in the vehicle with the SVT module is known to be on and that the cellular connections at the vehicle's location are known to be good.

10. The computer readable non-transitory medium of claim 9 , wherein the determined reason is that the expected signal is determined to be jammed further comprises determining that the signal from the SVT module stopped while the vehicle was not moving.

11. The computer readable non-transitory medium of claim 9 , wherein the determined reason is that the expected signal is determined to be jammed further comprises determining that the signal from the SVT module varies beyond a threshold amount from an expected range of signal levels in an area of known good signal strength.

12. The computer readable non-transitory medium of claim 9 , wherein the determined reason indicates that the vehicle is not stolen and that the expected signal is not jammed when an embedded phone in the vehicle is known to be off.