Remote Vehicle Diagnostic Management

• US 20070005202A1
• Filed: 08/14/2006
• Published: 01/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/1995
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: American Vehicular Sciences LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Automotive Technologies International Incorporated
• Inventors: Breed, David
• Granted Patent: US 7,650,210 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/29
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/408 Radar; Laser, e.g. lidar
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/54 Audio sensitive means, e.g. ultrasound
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0205 Diagnosing or detecting failures; Failure detection models
• 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

Vehicular diagnostic arrangement includes a diagnostic system arranged on the vehicle to determine whether any vehicular components is operating non-optimally, is expected to fail or has failed and generate an output indicative or representative thereof, and a communications device coupled to the diagnostic system and arranged to direct a transmission of the output of the diagnostic system to a remote location. Remote locations encompasses remote facilities which handle maintenance or monitoring of the vehicle such as a dealer of the vehicle, the manufacturer of the vehicle or the manufacturer of the components for which non-optimal operation has been detected. The communications device may be arranged to direct the transmission of the output of the diagnostic system to the remote location via the Internet, the remote location including or being an Internet-enabled device possessed by the dealer, manufacturer or owner of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A vehicle, comprising:

a plurality of components;

a diagnostic system arranged on the vehicle to determine whether any of said components is operating non-optimally, is expected to fail or has failed and generate an output indicative or representative thereof; and

a communications device coupled to said diagnostic system and arranged to direct a transmission of the output of said diagnostic system to a remote location.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said communications device is arranged to automatically direct the transmission of the output of said diagnostic system without manual intervention.

3. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said communications device is arranged to direct the transmission to a dealer of the vehicle.

4. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said communications device is arranged to direct the transmission to a manufacturer of the vehicle.

5. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said diagnostic system comprises a plurality of vehicle sensors mounted on the vehicle, each of said sensors providing a measurement related to a state of said sensor or a measurement related to a state of the mounting location and a processor coupled to said sensors and arranged to receive data from said sensors and process the data to generate the output of said diagnostic system.

6. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein said processor embodies a pattern recognition algorithm trained to generate the output from the data received from said sensors.

7. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a display arranged in the vehicle in a position to be visible from the passenger compartment, said display being coupled to said diagnostic system and arranged to display an indication of the determination of the non-optimal operation, failure or expected failure of any of said components.

8. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said communications device comprises a cellular telephone system.

9. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a warning device coupled to said diagnostic system for relaying a warning to an occupant of the vehicle relating to the non-optimal operation, failure or expected failure of any of said components.

10. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising at least one vehicular reactive system coupled to said diagnostic system and to one of said components for adjusting operation of said one of said components when said diagnostic system determines that any of said components is operating non-optimally, has failed or is expected to fail.

11. The vehicle of claim 10, wherein said components include an alternator and electricity-consuming devices, said diagnostic system being arranged to determine whether said alternator is failing and direct a signal to said at least one vehicular reactive system to turn off non-essential ones of said electricity-consuming devices.

12. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said communications device is arranged to direct the transmission of the output of said diagnostic system to the remote location via the Internet, the remote location being an Internet-enabled device possessed by an owner of the vehicle.

13. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said diagnostic system is arranged to generate a fault code relating to the non-optimal operation of any of said components, said communications device being arranged to transmit the fault code to the remote location.

14. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said diagnostic system is arranged to determine whether any of said components is about to fail based on training.

15. A method for monitoring components of a vehicle, comprising:

mounting sensors on the vehicle, each sensor providing a measurement related to a state of the sensor or a measurement related to a state of the mounting location;

processing data from the sensors to generate the output indicative or representative of the failure or expected failure of any of the components; and

directing the output indicative or representative of the failure or expected failure of any of the components to a remote location.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the data is processed on the vehicle and the step of directing the output to a remote location comprises arranging a communications device comprising a cellular telephone system on the vehicle.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the state of the vehicle or the state of the component of the vehicle is diagnosed by a processor embodying a pattern recognition algorithm.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

arranging a display in the vehicle in a position to be visible from the passenger compartment; and

displaying the output indicative or representative of the failure or expected failure of any of the components on the display.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the output indicative or representative of the failure or expected failure of any of the components is directed to a dealer of the vehicle.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the output indicative or representative of the failure or expected failure of any of the components is directed to a manufacturer of the vehicle.