Systems and methods for predictive augmentation of vehicle service procedures

• US 10,216,796 B2
• Filed: 07/29/2015
• Issued: 02/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Snap-On Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Snap-On Incorporated
• Inventors: Merg, Patrick S., Foreman, Jacob G., Mercer, Todd
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Cuong H
• Application Number:
  US14/812,941
• Publication Number:
  US 20170031997A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,308 Days
• Field of Search: 701 314, 701 316, 709219
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24575 using context
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/738 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/783 using metadata automatically derived from the content
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0808 Diagnosing performance data testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005

Abstract

An example method includes receiving a first service procedure including a plurality of procedural steps for servicing a vehicle, identifying at least one procedural step of the plurality of procedural steps to supplement with supplemental service information, receiving information about vehicles sharing one or more attributes with the vehicle, determining at least one piece of supplemental service information to supplement the at least one identified procedural step, and providing a supplemented service procedure comprising the first service procedure with the at least one piece of supplemental service information included with the at least one identified procedural step.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, at a computing device from a first data source that includes computer-readable service procedures, a first service procedure including a plurality of procedural steps for servicing a vehicle;

performing a search of the plurality of procedural steps of the first service procedure for a plurality of terms of an interpretation rule, wherein plurality of terms describe a corresponding plurality of technician actions, and wherein the interpretation rule comprises a predetermined mapping between the plurality of terms and a corresponding plurality of types of vehicle information;

based on the search locating a term of the interpretation rule in a procedural step of the plurality of procedural steps, identifying, at the computing device, the procedural step of the plurality of procedural steps to supplement with supplemental service information;

determining, based on the located term and the interpretation rule, a type of vehicle information to supplement the identified procedural step;

receiving, at the computing device from a second data source that includes computer-readable vehicle information, information about vehicles sharing one or more attributes with the vehicle;

determining, at the computing device based on the received information, a piece of supplemental service information of the determined type to supplement the identified procedural step; and

providing, by the computing device for presentation on a display, a supplemented service procedure comprising the first service procedure with the piece of supplemental service information included with the identified procedural step.

2. The method of claim 1,

wherein identifying the procedural step to supplement with supplemental service information comprises identifying a vehicle component involved in the procedural step, and

wherein the piece of supplemental service information comprises a metric associated with the vehicle component.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining that the procedural step involves application of torque to at least one fastener of the vehicle component, and

wherein the metric associated with the vehicle component comprises at least one of a torque specification and a torque pattern for the at least one fastener of the vehicle component.

4. The method of claim 1,

wherein the procedural step comprises a direction to add a fluid to one of a vehicle component and a vehicle system, and

wherein the piece of supplemental service information comprises at least one of a fluid capacity and fluid specifications of the one of the vehicle component and the vehicle system.

5. The method of claim 1,

wherein identifying the procedural step to supplement with supplemental service information comprises identifying a vehicle component involved in the procedural step, and

wherein the piece of supplemental service information comprises a location in the vehicle of the vehicle component.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of terms of the interpretation rule are predetermined and stored at the computing device.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from the display, an input signal comprising at least one of a verbal input and a physical action input during performance of the first service procedure; and

in response to receiving the input signal, providing at least one of a particular procedural step and a particular piece of supplemental service information for display.

8. The method of claim 1,

wherein the display comprises a camera, the method further comprising:

receiving, from the camera, video data indicative of the vehicle during performance of the first service procedure;

detecting, based on the video data, at least one occurrence of a respective trigger event to display at least one of a particular procedural step and a particular piece of supplemental service information; and

in response to the at least one occurrence of the respective trigger event, providing the at least one of the particular procedural step and the particular piece of supplemental service information for display.

9. The method of claim 1,

wherein the piece of supplemental service information comprises a total amount of time to complete the first service procedure, and

wherein the supplemented service procedure comprises an indication of an amount of time elapsed during performance of the first service procedure in relation to the total amount of time to complete the first service procedure.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising determining the total amount of time to complete the first service procedure based on an average of a plurality of past completion times of the first service procedure when performed on vehicles sharing the one or more attributes with the vehicle.

11. The method of claim 1,

wherein the piece of supplemental service information comprises an amount of time to complete the procedural step, and

wherein the supplemented service procedure comprises an indication of the amount of time elapsed during performance of the procedural step in relation to the amount of time to complete the procedural step.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving usage information indicating a usage history of the vehicle; and

determining the piece of supplemental service information based at least in part on the usage information.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

identifying, based on the received usage information, at least one proximate vehicle component for inspection, wherein the at least one proximate vehicle component is proximate to a vehicle component involved in the first service procedure, and

wherein the piece of supplemental service information includes a notification to inspect the at least one proximate vehicle component.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving data indicative of a mileage limit for the at least one proximate vehicle component; and

identifying the at least one proximate vehicle component for inspection based on the received usage information indicating a current vehicle mileage within a threshold amount of the mileage limit for the at least one proximate vehicle component.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving prior service information indicating a prior service history of the vehicle; and

determining the piece of supplemental service information based at least in part on the prior service information.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving at least one signal indicating an availability of at least one vehicle part to be used in performance of the first service procedure, and

wherein the piece of supplemental service information includes an indication of the availability of the at least one vehicle part.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle comprises a mobile machine configured to transport a person, people, or cargo.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a signal indicating a customer approval of the procedural step, and

wherein the piece of supplemental service information includes an indication of the customer approval of the procedural step.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of terms of the interpretation rule comprise at least fill, drain, and remove.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle is one of an automobile, a truck, or a semi-tractor.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored therein instructions, that when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform functions comprising:

receiving, at a computing device from a first data source that includes computer-readable service procedures, a first service procedure including a plurality of procedural steps for servicing a vehicle;

performing a search of the plurality of procedural steps of the first service procedure for a plurality of terms of an interpretation rule, wherein plurality of terms describe a corresponding plurality of technician actions, and wherein the interpretation rule comprises a predetermined mapping between the plurality of terms and a corresponding plurality of types of vehicle information;

based on the search locating a term of the interpretation rule in a procedural step of the plurality of procedural steps, identifying, at the computing device, the procedural step of the plurality of procedural steps to supplement with supplemental service information;

determining, based on the located term and the interpretation rule, a type of vehicle information to supplement the identified procedural step;

receiving, at the computing device from a second data source that includes computer-readable vehicle information, information about vehicles sharing one or more attributes with the vehicle;

determining, at the computing device based on the received information, a piece of supplemental service information of the determined type to supplement the identified procedural step; and

providing, by the computing device for presentation on a display, a supplemented service procedure comprising the first service procedure with the piece of supplemental service information included with the identified procedural step.

22. A system, comprising:

one or more processors; and

a non-transitory computer-readable data storage device storing computer-readable program instructions, wherein the computer-readable program instructions are executable by the one or more processors to;

receive, at a computing device from a first data source that includes computer-readable service procedures, a first service procedure including a plurality of procedural steps for servicing a vehicle;

perform a search of the plurality of procedural steps of the first service procedure for a plurality of terms of an interpretation rule, wherein plurality of terms describe a corresponding plurality of technician actions, and wherein the interpretation rule comprises a predetermined mapping between the plurality of terms and a corresponding plurality of types of vehicle information;

based on the search locating a term of the interpretation rule in a procedural step of the plurality of procedural steps, identify, at the computing device, the procedural step of the plurality of procedural steps to supplement with supplemental service information;

determine, based on the located term and the interpretation rule, a type of vehicle information to supplement the identified procedural step;

receive, at the computing device from a second data source that includes computer-readable vehicle information, information about vehicles sharing one or more attributes with the vehicle;

determine, at the computing device based on the received information, a piece of supplemental service information of the determined type to supplement the identified procedural step; and

provide, by the computing device for presentation on a display, a supplemented service procedure comprising the first service procedure with the piece of supplemental service information included with the identified procedural step.