Vehicle management system

• US 20020087238A1
• Filed: 12/26/2001
• Published: 07/04/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Subaru Corp.
• Original Assignee: Fuji Heavy Industries Limited (Subaru Corp.)
• Inventors: Matsui, Fujio
• Granted Patent: US 6,553,291 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/33
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 17/007 Wheeled or endless-tracked vehicles G01M17/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers

Abstract

In a vehicle management system in accordance with the present invention, initial information of a vehicle and vehicle information of each user'"'"'s vehicle that is put on the market are time-sequentially recorded in a database. A component of a vehicle or the system is diagnosed based on a time-sequential change of a learned value, and a deterioration in the performance of the component or system is grasped based on the initial information of the vehicle. Consequently, before an abnormality actually occurs in a vehicle, a user is notified of the possibility of the occurrence. This leads to improved preventive safety. Moreover, the result of diagnosis is fed back to departments concerned and reflected on quality control or development of a vehicle.

Claims

1. A vehicle management system comprising:

a database system in which control information provided by a controller mounted on each vehicle is recorded; and

a network system for inferring an abnormality from a change of control information recorded in said database system, and distributing the result of inference to at least one of the user of each vehicle and departments to which the authority to access said database system is granted.

4. A vehicle management system according to claim 1, wherein said control information is at least one of learned values, input/output data, and arithmetic data which are provided by said controller.

5. A vehicle management system according to claim 1, wherein:

a data communicating means capable of communicating data, which is provided by said controller mounted on each vehicle, to outside in real time by wireless communication is included in each vehicle; and

the data transmitted from said data communicating means is received and recorded in said database system.

6. A vehicle management system according to claim 4, wherein:

a data communicating means capable of communicating data, which is provided by said controller mounted on each vehicle, to outside in real time by wireless communication is included in each vehicle; and

the data transmitted from said data communicating means is received and recorded in said database system.

7. A vehicle management system according to claim 6, wherein a communication circuit for performing wireless communication is incorporated in both said data communicating means and said controller.

8. A vehicle management system according to claim 7, wherein said data communicating means is a portable telephone having the ability to communicate with said controller by wireless.

2. A vehicle management system comprising:

a database system in which initial values of control information provided by a controller mounted on each vehicle are recorded; and

a network system for comparing current control information concerning a user'"'"'s vehicle with a corresponding initial value recorded in said database system so as to grasp a deterioration in the performance of each component, and distributing the result of deterioration grasping to at least one of the user of each vehicle and departments to which the authority to access said database system is granted.

9. A vehicle management system according to claim 2, wherein said control information is at least one of learned values, input/output data, and arithmetic data which are provided by said controller.

10. A vehicle management system according to claim 2, wherein:

a data communicating means capable of communicating data, which is provided by said controller mounted on each vehicle, to outside in real time by wireless communication is included in each vehicle; and

the data transmitted from said data communicating means is received and recorded in said database system.

11. A vehicle management system according to claim 9, wherein:

a data communicating means capable of communicating data, which is provided by said controller mounted on each vehicle, to outside in real time by wireless communication is included in each vehicle; and

the data transmitted from said data communicating means is received and recorded in said database system.

12. A vehicle management system according to claim 11, wherein a communication circuit for performing wireless communication is incorporated in both said data communicating means and said controller.

13. A vehicle management system according to claim 12, wherein said data communicating means is a portable telephone having the ability to communicate with said controller by wireless.

16. A vehicle management system according to claim 14, wherein:

a communication circuit capable of transmitting data, which is provided by said controller, to outside through wireless communication is incorporated in said controller; and

the data transmitted from said communication circuit is received and recorded in said database system.

18. A vehicle management system according to claim 17, wherein the learned value is at least one of a learned value of air-fuel ratio offered by an engine, a learned value of ignition timing, a learned value of idle speed, and a learned value of a throttle opening angle causing a throttle valve to close fully.

19. A vehicle management system according to claim 17, wherein:

a data communicating means capable of communicating a learned value to outside in real time by wireless communication is included in each vehicle; and

the learned value data transmitted from said data communicating means is received and recorded in said database system.

20. A vehicle management system according to claim 18, wherein:

a data communicating means capable of communicating a learned value to outside in real time by wireless communication is included in each vehicle; and

the learned value data transmitted from said data communicating means is received and recorded in said database system.

3. A vehicle management system comprising:

a database system in which initial values of control information provided by a controller mounted on each vehicle are recorded; and

an initial value re-setting system for analyzing an initial value of control information recorded in said database system so as to re-set a constant term, which defines control to be extended by said controller, to an optimal value.

14. A vehicle management system according to claim 3, wherein said control information is at least one of learned values, input/output data, and arithmetic data which are provided by said controller.

15. A vehicle management system according to claim 3, wherein:

a communication circuit capable of transmitting data, which is provided by said controller, to outside through wireless communication is incorporated in said controller; and

the data transmitted from said communication circuit is received and recorded in said database system.

17. A vehicle management system comprising:

a database system in which learned values provided by a controller mounted on each vehicle are recorded; and

a network system that when said learned values fall outside a normal range, diagnoses that an abnormality has occurred, records the result of diagnosis as history data of each vehicle in said database system, and distributes the result of diagnosis to at least one of the user of the vehicle and departments to which the authority to access said database system is granted.