Vehicle with health-based active self-testing method

• US 10,600,261 B2
• Filed: 10/05/2017
• Issued: 03/24/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Huang, Xiaoyu, Jiang, Shengbing, Lin, Wen-Chiao, Sankavaram, Chaitanya, Hu, Yao, Duan, Shiming, Zhang, Yilu, Krajewski, Paul E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Paige, Tyler D
• Application Number:
  US15/725,941
• Publication Number:
  US 20190108694A1
• Time in Patent Office: 901 Days
• Field of Search: 701 291
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2270/406 Test-mode; Self-diagnosis
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0205 Diagnosing or detecting failures; Failure detection models
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 5/30 Safety devices, e.g. alternate emergency power supply or transmission means to ensure steering upon failure of the primary steering means
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0816 Indicating performance data, e.g. occurrence of a malfunction

Abstract

A method for use with a vehicle having one or more subsystems includes receiving vehicle health management (VHM) information via a controller indicative of a state of health of the subsystem. The VHM information is based on prior testing results of the subsystem. The method includes determining a required testing profile using the testing results, applying the testing profile to the subsystem to thereby control a state of the subsystem, and measuring a response of the subsystem to the applied testing profile. The method also includes recording additional testing results in memory of the controller that is indicative of a response of the subsystem to the applied testing profile. The vehicle includes a plurality of subsystems and a controller configured to execute the method.

Claims

1. A method for use with a top-level system having a subsystem, the method comprising:

receiving past testing results in the form of diagnostic and/prognostic data via a controller, wherein the past testing results are indicative of a state of health (SOH) of the subsystem;

determining a desired testing profile for the subsystem using the past testing results, including identifying gaps or under-collected data regions in the past testing results and selecting the testing profile based on the identified gaps or under-collected data regions;

commanding, via the controller, an application of the desired testing profile to the subsystem to thereby control a logical or dynamic state of the subsystem;

determining a response of the subsystem to the applied desired testing profile as additional testing results;

estimating the SOH of the subsystem via the controller using the past testing results and the additional testing results; and

recording a diagnostic code when the estimated SOH is less than a threshold SOH.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the top-level system is a vehicle, and wherein the diagnostic and/prognostic data is vehicle health management information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the desired testing profile includes receiving a test initiation request from a remote device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the top-level system includes a telematics unit, the remote device is a remote server, and receiving the test initiation request is accomplished via the telematics unit.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the remote device is a cell phone, and receiving the test initiation request is accomplished via wireless communication between the controller and the cell phone.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining a desired testing profile includes selecting a testing function from a plurality of predetermined testing profiles, the plurality of predetermined testing profiles including a step profile, a ramp profile, and/or a cycles-per-second profile.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the subsystem is an electrical subsystem, the step profile, the ramp profile, and the cycles-per-second profile are a profile of an input voltage or an input current to the electrical subsystem, and the logical or dynamic state of the subsystem includes an electrical excitation level of the electrical subsystem.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the subsystem is a hydraulic subsystem, the step profile, the ramp profile, and the cycles-per-second profile control an input hydraulic pressure to the hydraulic subsystem, and the logical or dynamic state of the subsystem includes a hydraulic pressure level of the hydraulic subsystem.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising executing a control action aboard the top-level system in response to the additional testing results, including recording another diagnostic code when the recorded additional testing results indicate that the SOH of the subsystem has degraded below the threshold SOH.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the top-level system is a vehicle and the subsystem is a steering system or a braking system.

11. A vehicle comprising:

a plurality of subsystems each performing a corresponding function of the vehicle; and

a controller configured to determine vehicle health management (VHM) information in the form of diagnostic and/prognostic data indicative of a state of health (SOH) of the respective subsystems, the VHM information being based on past testing results of the respective subsystems, wherein the controller is configured to determine the required testing profile by identifying gaps or under-collected regions in the past testing results, and is further configured to;

select a desired testing profile for a selected one of the subsystems using the past testing results and the gaps or under-collected regions in the prior testing results;

apply the desired testing profile to the selected subsystem to thereby control a logical or dynamic state of the selected subsystem;

determine a response of the selected subsystem to the applied desired testing profile;

estimate the SOH of the subsystem using the past testing results and the additional testing results; and

execute a control action when the estimated SOH is less than a threshold SOH.

12. The vehicle of claim 11, wherein the controller is configured to determine the desired testing profile by receiving a test initiation request from a remote device, the remote device being a remote server or a portable device.

13. The vehicle of claim 11, wherein the controller is configured to determine the desired testing profile by selecting a testing function from a plurality of predetermined testing profiles, the plurality of predetermined testing profiles including a step profile, a ramp profile, and/or a cycles-per-second profile.

14. The vehicle of claim 11, wherein the selected subsystem is a steering system having an electric steering motor, and the desired testing profile is an applied current or voltage to the steering motor.

15. The vehicle of claim 11, wherein the selected subsystem is a braking system having a braking actuator, and the desired testing profile is an applied hydraulic pressure of the braking actuator.

16. A method for use with a vehicle having a subsystem, the method comprising:

receiving, via a controller, vehicle health management (VHM) information in the form of diagnostic and/prognostic data indicative of a state of health (SOH) of the subsystem, wherein the VHM information is based on past testing results of the subsystem;

determining a desired testing profile using the past testing results in response to a test initiation request from a remote device, including;

identifying gaps or under-collected regions of data in the prior testing results; and

selecting the desired testing profile from a plurality of predetermined testing profiles based on the identified gaps or under-collected regions, including a step profile, a ramp profile, and/or a cycles-per-second profile;

applying the selected desired testing profile to the subsystem to thereby control a logical or dynamic state of the subsystem, including energizing the subsystem according to the desired testing profile;

determining a response of the subsystem to the applied desired testing profile as additional testing results; and

estimating the SOH of the subsystem via the controller using the past and additional testing results, including recording a diagnostic code when the estimated SOH of the subsystem is less than a threshold SOH.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the vehicle includes a telematics unit, the remote device is a remote server, and determining the required testing profile includes receiving the test initiation request via the telematics unit.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the subsystem is a steering system or a braking system.