Vehicle information communication system and method capable of communicating with external management station

• US 20010037168A1
• Filed: 06/21/2001
• Published: 11/01/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Hattori, Atsushi, Sano, Shinichi, Nakagaki, Yoshio, Kurokawa, Kazunori, Takaba, Katsumi, Tsuchiya, Akiyoshi, Osawa, Keiichi, Enomoto, Hiroyuki, Hozuka, Minoru
• Granted Patent: US 6,415,210 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/29
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C

Abstract

In a vehicle diagnosis information communication system, electric power is supplied from a battery to a vehicle control computer mounted on the vehicle during a period of vehicle operation, while the electric power is supplied to a radio communication unit mounted on the vehicle irrespective of the vehicle operation. The computer transmits a vehicle information such as engine diagnosis result to the radio communication unit through a communication line. The radio communication unit communicates the received vehicle information to an external site of communication in response to a request of the information form the external site of communication irrespective of the supply of the electric power to the computer. Preferably, the supply of the electric power from the battery to the computer is maintained for a predetermined period after the vehicle operation.

Claims

1. A diagnosis system for a vehicle capable of radio communication with an external management station, comprising:

a battery mounted on a vehicle for supplying electric power;

a control unit connectable to the battery for controlling various devices mounted on the vehicle and diagnosing the conditions of the various devices;

a communication unit held connectable to the battery and connected to the control unit via a communication line for transmitting a result of diagnosis acquired from the control unit to the management station in response to a transmission request from the management station; and

a supply state setting means for setting a state where the electric power necessary for an ordinary operation is supplied from the battery to the control unit when the vehicle is in use, and for setting a state where the electric power necessary for the ordinary operation is not supplied from the battery to the control unit when the vehicle is in non-use,

wherein the communication unit is constructed so as to transmit a latest diagnosis result acquired from the control unit when the transmission request is received from the management station while the vehicle is in non-use.

2. A diagnosis system according to

claim 1

, wherein:

the control unit outputs the diagnosis result to the communication unit when the vehicle is in use; and

the diagnosis result outputted last in the use of the vehicle is the latest diagnosis result transmitted from the communication unit.

3. A diagnosis system according to

claim 1

, wherein:

when the vehicle is changed from the use state to the non-use state, the supply state setting means continues the state where the electric power necessary for the ordinary operation of the control unit is supplied for a predetermined period since the time point of the change and, after that, the supply state setting means switches the electric power supply state to the state where the electric power necessary for the ordinary operation is shut off;

the control unit is constructed so as to output the diagnosis result during the predetermined period since the time point of the change to the vehicle non-use state; and

the diagnosis result outputted during the predetermined period is the latest diagnosis result transmitted by the communication unit.

4. A diagnosis system according to

claim 1

, wherein:

when the control unit detects either a first improper period in which occurrence of noises on the communication line caused by starting of the engine is presumed or a second improper period in which a processing load required to control the various devices is larger than a predetermined value, and determines that it is in the improper periods, the control unit does not output the diagnosis result to the communication unit even at the output timing of the diagnosis result; and

when it is in the proper periods, the control unit outputs the diagnosis result to the communication unit at the output timing of the diagnosis result.

5. A diagnosis system according to

claim 1

, wherein:

when the vehicle is in use, the control unit outputs the diagnosis result to the communication unit in response to an output request from the communication unit; and

the communication unit repetitively sends the output request to the control unit until the diagnosis result is outputted from the control unit a plurality of times and contents of the diagnosis results of the plurality of times coincide with each other, and when the diagnosis results coincide with each other, the communication unit transmits the coincided diagnosis result to the management station.

6. A diagnosis system according to

claim 1

, wherein:

although the diagnosis result is outputted more than a predetermined number of times in response to output requests from the communication unit, when the output request of the diagnosis result is received again, the control unit does not respond to the output request after that.

7. A diagnosis system according to

claim 1

, wherein:

identification information unique to the vehicle is included in the diagnosis result of the vehicle transmitted by the communication unit to the management station.

8. A diagnosis system according to

claim 1

, wherein:

at least one of a travel distance of the vehicle and a vehicle position at the time of diagnosis is included in the diagnosis result of the vehicle transmitted by the communication unit to the management station.

9. A diagnosis system according to

claim 1

, wherein:

at least an engine which drives the vehicle is included in objects to be controlled by the control unit.

10. A diagnosis system for a vehicle capable of radio communication with an external management station, comprising:

a battery for supplying electric power;

a diagnosing unit connectable to the battery for diagnosing conditions of a vehicle-mounted device;

a position detecting unit connectable to the battery for detecting a present position of the vehicle;

a communication unit connectable to the diagnosing unit via a communication line for transmitting a diagnosis result acquired from the diagnosing unit to the management station outside of the vehicle in response to a transmission request from the management station; and

supply state setting means, when a state in which the electric power necessary for an ordinary operation is supplied is changed to a state where no electric power is supplied, for continuing the state where the electric power necessary for the ordinary operation of the diagnosing unit is supplied from the battery to the diagnosing unit for a predetermined period since the time point of the change, and after that, for switching to the state where no electric power is supplied,

wherein the diagnosing unit acquires present position information from the position detecting unit at the time point, and outputs the diagnosis result together with the acquired present position information to the communication unit in a predetermined period since the time point the state where the electric power necessary for the ordinary operation is supplied is changed to the state where no electric power is supplied, and

the communication unit stores the present position information and diagnosis result outputted from the diagnosing unit into a memory unit in the communication unit and, when a transmission request is received from the management station in the state where the no electric power is supplied, the communication unit transmits the diagnosis result and the present position information stored in the memory unit in the communication unit to the management station.

13. A diagnosis system according to

claim 10

, wherein:

the position detecting unit stores the present position information while updating it every predetermined time and outputs the updated and stored present position information in response to a request from the diagnosing unit.

14. A diagnosis system according to

claim 10

, wherein:

the supply state is switchable by an ignition switch between the state where the electric power necessary for the ordinary operation is supplied from the battery to the diagnosing unit and the state where no electric power is supplied, and

the supply state is switchable by an accessory switch between the state where the electric power necessary for the ordinary operation is supplied from the battery to the position detecting unit and the state where no electric power is supplied.

15. A diagnosis system according to

claim 14

, further comprising:

a key cylinder to which the key is inserted and which is capable of switching a key position at four stages in accordance with the order of an OFF position, an ACC position, an ON position, and a START position to start the engine,

wherein both of the ignition and accessory switches are OFF at the OFF position, the accessory switch is ON but the ignition switch is OFF at the ACC position, and both of the ignition and accessory switches are ON at the ON position.

16. A diagnosis system according to

claim 10

, wherein:

identification information unique to the vehicle is included in the diagnosis result of the vehicle transmitted by the communication unit to the management station.

11. A diagnosis system for a vehicle capable of a radio communication with an external management station, comprising:

a battery for supplying electric power;

an diagnosing unit connectable to the battery for diagnosing conditions of a vehicle-mounted device;

a communication unit connectable to the battery and connected to the diagnosing unit via a communication line and transmits a diagnosis result acquired from the diagnosing unit to the management station outside of the vehicle in response to a transmission request from the management station; and

supply state setting means, when a state where the electric power necessary for an ordinary operation is supplied is changed to a state where no electric power is supplied, for continuing the state where the electric power necessary for the ordinary operation of the diagnosing unit is supplied from the battery to the diagnosing unit for a predetermined period since the time point of the change, and after that, for switching the electric power supply state to the state where no electric power necessary for the ordinary operation is supplied,

wherein during the predetermined period since the time point when the state where the electric power necessary for the ordinary operation is supplied is changed to the state where no electric power is supplied, the diagnosing unit stores present position information at the time point into a memory unit in the diagnosing unit,

in the state where no electric power necessary for the ordinary operation is supplied, the diagnosing unit switches to a sleep state where only an interruption request can be received from the communication unit, when the interruption request is received from the communication unit, temporarily activates the whole unit to output the present position information stored in the memory unit in the diagnosing unit to the communication unit, and then returns to the sleep state, and

the communication unit sends the interruption request to the diagnosing unit when a transmission request is received from the management station in the state where no electric power necessary for the ordinary operation is supplied, and transmits the diagnosis result and the present position information outputted from the diagnosing unit to the management station in response to the request.

12. A diagnosis system for a vehicle capable of radio communication with an external management station, comprising:

a battery for supplying electric power;

a diagnosing unit connectable to the battery for diagnosing conditions of a vehicle-mounted device;

a position detecting unit connectable to the battery for detecting a present position of the vehicle;

a communication unit connectable to the battery and connected to the diagnosing unit via a communication line for transmitting a diagnosis result acquired from the diagnosing unit to the management station outside of the vehicle in response to a transmission request from the management station; and

supply state setting means, when the state where the electric power necessary for the ordinary operation is supplied is changed to the state where no electric power is supplied from the battery to the diagnosing unit, for continuing the state where the electric power necessary for the ordinary operation of the diagnosing unit is supplied from the battery for a predetermined time since the time point of the change, and after that, for switching to the state where no electric power necessary for the ordinary operation is supplied,

wherein during the predetermined period since the time point the state where the electric power necessary for the ordinary operation is supplied is changed to the state where no electric power is supplied, the diagnosing unit acquires the present position information at the time point from the position detecting unit, and stores the diagnosis result together with the acquired present position information into a memory unit in the diagnosing unit,

in the state where no electric power necessary for the ordinary operation is supplied, the diagnosing unit switches the state to a sleep state where only an interruption request can be received from the communication unit, when the interruption request is received from the communication unit, temporarily activates the whole unit to output the diagnosis result stored in the memory unit in the diagnosing unit together with the present position information to the communication unit, and returns to the sleep state, and

the communication unit sends the interruption request to the diagnosing unit when a transmission request is received from the management station in the state where no electric power necessary for the ordinary operation is supplied, and transmits the diagnosis result and the present position information outputted from the diagnosing unit to the management station in response to the request.

17. A diagnosis system for a vehicle capable of radio communication with an external management station, comprising:

a battery for supplying electric power;

a control unit connectable to the battery for controlling various devices mounted on the vehicle, diagnosing conditions of the various devices, and storing diagnosis result;

a communication unit connectable to the battery and connected to the control unit via a communication line and transmits the diagnosis result acquired from the control unit to the management station outside of the vehicle; and

supply state setting means which switches between a state where the electric power necessary for an ordinary operation is supplied from the battery to the control unit and a state where no electric power is supplied;

wherein the supply state setting means sets the state where the electric power necessary for the ordinary operation is supplied when the diagnosis result which shows an abnormality and has not been outputted is stored in the control unit and sets the state where no electric power is supplied when the diagnosis result which indicates an abnormality and has not been outputted is not stored in the control unit.

18. A diagnosis system according to

claim 17

, wherein:

the communication unit is constructed so that when there is the transmission request of the diagnosis result from the management station, the communication unit instructs the control unit to output the stored diagnosis result and transmits the diagnosis result outputted from the control unit in response to the output instruction to the management station, and

when there is a transmission request from the management station in a state where the vehicle is in non-use and the diagnosis result which shows an abnormality and has not been outputted is stored in the control unit, by controlling the supply state setting means of the control unit from the communication unit, the communication unit temporarily sets the state where the electric power necessary for the ordinary operation is supplied from the battery to the control unit and sends an instruction to the control unit to output the diagnosis result.

19. A diagnosis system according to

claim 18

, wherein:

when the state where the electric power necessary for the ordinary operation is supplied from the battery to the control unit is temporarily set, the communication unit acquires the diagnosis result from the control unit according to the output instruction to the control unit, after that, by controlling the supply state setting means, returns to the state where no electric power is supplied from the battery to the control unit, and sets the state where no electric power necessary for the ordinary operation is supplied to the communication unit itself.

20. A diagnosis system according to

claim 17

, wherein:

the battery is chargeable when an engine is driven;

the supply state setting means sets the state where the electric power necessary for the ordinary operation is supplied with respect to the electric power supply from the battery to the communication unit while the engine is driven irrespective of whether the diagnosis result which shows an abnormality and has not been outputted is stored in the control unit.

21. A diagnosis system according to

claim 17

, wherein:

when the control unit detects at least one of a first improper period in which occurrence of noises on the communication line caused by starting of the engine is presumed and a second improper period in which it is presumed that a processing load required to control various devices is larger than a predetermined value and determines that it is in the improper periods, the control unit does not output the diagnosis result even at the timing to output the diagnosis result to the communication unit, and

when it is not in the improper period, the control unit outputs the diagnosis result to the communication unit at the timing to output the diagnosis result.

22. A diagnosis system according to

claim 17

, wherein:

at least one of a travel distance of the vehicle and a vehicle position at the time of diagnosis is included in the diagnosis result of the vehicle transmitted by the communication unit to the management station.

23. A diagnosis system for a vehicle capable of a radio communication with an external management station, comprising:

diagnosis information communicating means for transmitting abnormality diagnosis information acquired by a self-diagnosis of the vehicle to the management station outside of the vehicle by a radio communication at a predetermined timing;

abnormality repair detecting means for detecting repair of the abnormality corresponding to the abnormality diagnosis information; and

abnormality repair information communicating means for transmitting the abnormality repair information to the management station when the repair of the abnormality is detected by the abnormality repair detecting means.

25. A diagnosis system according to

claim 23

, wherein:

the abnormality repair information communicating means repetitively transmits the abnormality repair information at a predetermined timing until response information indicative of receipt of the abnormality repair information is received by the vehicle from the management station.

26. A diagnosis system according to

claim 25

, wherein:

when the response information is received, the abnormality repair information communicating means stops transmission of the abnormality repair information and erases the abnormality repair information.

24. A diagnosis system for a vehicle capable of a radio communication with an external management station, comprising:

diagnosis information communicating means for transmitting abnormality diagnosis information acquired by a self-diagnosis of the vehicle to the management station outside of the vehicle by a radio communication at a predetermined timing;

abnormality repair detecting means for detecting repair of the abnormality based on the contents of an instruction from the management station corresponding to the abnormality diagnosis information; and

abnormality repair information communicating means for transmitting the abnormality repair information to the management station by a radio communication when the repair of the abnormality is detected by the abnormality repair detecting means.

27. A method of communication between a vehicle and an external site of communication outside of the vehicle, comprising the steps of:

supplying electric power from a battery to a computer mounted on the vehicle during a period of vehicle operation;

supplying the electric power from the battery to a radio communication unit mounted on the vehicle irrespective of the vehicle operation;

transmitting a vehicle information from the computer to the radio communication unit through a communication line when the computer is supplied with the electric power from the battery; and

communicating the transmitted vehicle information from the radio communication unit to the external site of communication in response to a request of the information form the external site of communication irrespective of a supply of the electric power to the computer.

28. A method of communication according to

claim 27

, further comprising the steps of:

holding the supply of the electric power from the battery to the computer for a predetermined period after the vehicle operation; and

transmitting the vehicle information from the computer to the radio communication during the predetermined period.

29. A method of communication according to

claim 27

, further comprising the step of:

controlling a vehicle-mounted device for the vehicle operation and diagnosing operation of the device by the computer,

wherein the transmitting step transmits a diagnosis result as the vehicle information.

30. A method of communication according to

claim 29

, further comprising the step of:

detecting a repair of the vehicle-mounted device,

wherein the communicating step sends a repair information from the radio communication unit to the external site of communication.