System and method of intelligent agent identification for vehicle diagnostics

• US 20070118256A1
• Filed: 11/18/2005
• Published: 05/24/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Motor Corporation
• Original Assignee: Toyota Motor Corporation
• Inventors: Chigusa, Shunsuke
• Granted Patent: US 7,845,012 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/29
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/53 by executing in a restricted environment, e.g. sandbox or secure virtual machine
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database

Abstract

A system and method of intelligent agent identification for a vehicle is provided. The method including the steps of a host computer system selecting an intelligent agent and determining a slave system to receive the intelligent agent. The host system encrypts a work activity to be performed by the agent, and predetermined host identification information, and programs the encrypted work activity and predetermined host information into the selected agent. The methodology randomly generates an identification code for the selected agent and programs the code into the selected agent. The selected agent is transmitted to the selected slave system via a communication network. The slave computer system decodes the host information and agent identification code carried by the agent, and determines if the decoded host information matches corresponding host identification information stored in memory of the slave computer system. The agent is denying access to the slave computer system if the decoded host information does not correspond. The methodology continues to check the agent identity by determining if the decoded agent identification code matches a predetermined identification code stored in the memory of the slave computer system. The agent is denied access to the slave computer system if there is no match, and is allow access to the slave computer system if the decoded agent identification information matches the predetermined identification code stored in the memory of the slave computer system.

Claims

1. A method of intelligent agent identification for a vehicle, said method including the steps of:

selecting an intelligent agent by a host computer system, wherein the host computer system includes a processor, a memory associated with the processor and an input/output means;

determining a slave system to receive an intelligent agent, by the host computer system;

encrypting a work activity to be performed by the agent, and encrypting predetermined host computer system identification information and programming the encrypted work activity and predetermined host identification information into the selected agent by the host computer system;

generating an identification code for the selected agent by the host computer system and programming the generated agent identification code into the selected agent, wherein the identification code is randomly generated;

transmitting the agent to the selected slave system, wherein the selected slave system includes a slave computer system having a processor, a memory associated with the processor and an input/output means, and the host computer system and slave computer system are operatively in communication with each other via a communication network;

decoding the host identification information carried by the selected agent by the slave computer system;

determining if the decoded host identification information matches corresponding host identification information stored in a memory of the slave computer system;

denying access to the slave computer system if the decoded host identification information carried by the agent does not correspond with host identification information stored in the memory of the slave computer system;

continuing to check the identity of the agent if the decoded host identification information carried by the agent does correspond with host identification information stored in the memory of the slave computer system, by determining if the decoded agent identification code matches a predetermined agent identification code stored in the memory of the slave computer system;

denying access to the slave computer system if the decoded agent identification code carried by the agent does not match the predetermined agent identification code stored in the memory of the slave computer system; and

allowing the agent access to the slave computer system if the decoded agent identification information carried by the agent matches the predetermined agent identification code stored in the memory of the slave computer system.

2. A method as set forth in claim 1 further including the steps of:

decoding the work activity carried by the intelligent agent if the agent is identified;

executing the work activity by the slave computer system and using the agent to obtain work activity information;

encrypting the work activity information obtained using the agent by the above computer system and programming the encrypted work activity information into the agent;

regenerating the agent identification code for the agent by the slave computer system and programming the agent identification code into the agent;

transmitting the agent to the host computer system and receiving the agent by the host computer system;

decoding the agent identification code and work activity information carried on the agent, by the host computer system;

determining if the decoded agent identification code correlates with a predetermined identification code for the agent stored in the host computer system;

denying the agent access to the host computer system, if the decoded identification code does not match the predetermined identification code for the agent;

continuing to check the agent identity if the decoded identification code carried by the agent does correspond with the identification number stored in the memory of the host computer system, by determining if the decoded work activity information matches a predetermined work information condition;

denying access to the host computer system if the decoded work activity information carried by the agent does not match the predetermined work information condition; and

using the work activity information carried on the agent in vehicle diagnostics, if the decoded information carried on the agent matches the predetermined work information condition.

3. A method as set forth in claim 2 wherein said host computer system includes a host agent management software program for managing the agent.

4. A method as set forth in claim 3 wherein the host computer system includes a host agent identification software program for identifying the agent.

5. A method as set forth in claim 4 wherein said host computer system includes an agent send/receive manager that manages ingress and egress of agents to the host computer system.

6. A method as set forth in claim 2 wherein said slave computer system includes an agent identification software program for identifying the agent.

7. A method as set forth in claim 6 wherein said slave computer system includes a slave application software program for executing the work activity by the agent.

8. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said step of generating an agent identification code further includes the steps of generating three randomly generated identification numbers for the agent identification code.

9. A method of intelligent agent identification for a vehicle, said method including the steps of:

selecting an intelligent agent by an agent management software program maintained on a host computer system, wherein the host computer system includes a processor, a memory associated with the processor and an input/output means;

determining a slave system to receive an intelligent agent using a host send/receive software program maintained by the host computer system;

encrypting a work activity to be performed by the agent, and encrypting predetermined host computer system identification information and programming the encrypted work activity and predetermined host identification information into the selected agent;

generating an identification code for the selected agent using the host agent management software program and programming the generated agent identification code into the selected agent, wherein the identification code is randomly generated;

transmitting the agent to the selected slave system, wherein the selected slave system includes a slave computer system having a processor, a memory associated with the processor and an input/output means, and the host computer system and slave computer system are operatively in communication with each other via a communication network;

decoding the host identification information carried by the selected agent by the slave identification software program;

determining if the decoded host identification information matches corresponding host identification information stored in a memory of the slave computer system;

denying access to the slave computer system if the decoded host identification information carried by the agent does not correspond with host identification information stored in the memory of the slave computer system;

continuing to check the identity of the agent if the decoded host identification information carried by the agent does correspond with host identification information stored in the memory of the slave computer system, by determining if the decoded agent identification code matches a predetermined agent identification code stored in the memory of the slave computer system;

denying access to the slave computer system if the decoded agent identification code carried on the agent does not match the predetermined agent identification code stored in the memory of the slave computer system;

decoding the work activity carried by the intelligent agent if the decoded agent identification code carried on the agent matches the predetermined agent identification code stored in the memory of the slave computer system;

executing the work activity by the slave computer system and using the agent to obtain work activity information;

encrypting the work activity information obtained by the agent using the slave application program on the slave computer system and programming the encrypted work activity information into the agent;

regenerating the agent identification code for the agent by the slave identification software program and programming the agent identification code into the agent;

transmitting the agent to the host computer system and receiving the agent by the host agent send/receive software program;

decoding the work activity information and agent identification code carried on the agent, by the host identification software program;

determining if the decoded agent identification code correlates with a predetermined identification code for the agent stored in the host computer system by the host identification software program;

denying the agent access to the host computer system, if the decoded identification code does not match the predetermined identification code for the agent;

continuing to check the agent identity if the decoded identification code carried by the agent does correspond with identification code stored in the memory of the host computer system, by determining if the decoded work activity information matches a predetermined work information condition;

denying access to the host computer system if the decoded work activity information carried by the agent does not match the predetermined work information condition; and

using the work activity information carried by the agent in vehicle diagnostics, if the decoded information carried on the agent matches the predetermined work information condition.

10. A method as set forth in claim 9 wherein said step of generating an agent identification code further includes the steps of generating three randomly generated identification numbers for the agent identification code.

11. A system of intelligent agent identification and management for a vehicle having an agent, comprising:

a host computer system having a processor, a memory associated with the processor and an input/output means,

a host agent send/receive software program maintained by the host computer system that admits the agent into the host computer system and sends the agent out of the host computer system;

a host identification software program maintained by the host computer system that manages the identity of the agent and the activity of the agent;

an agent management software program operatively maintained by the host computer system, wherein the agent management software program selects an intelligent agent and a slave system to receive the intelligent agent, encrypts an action to be performed by the agent, generates an identification code for the selected agent, encrypts the identification code and host identification information and programs the generated identification code and host identification information onto the selected agent;

a slave computer system on the vehicle that is operatively in communication with the host computer system via a communication network, wherein the slave computer system has a processor, a memory associated with the processor and an input/output means;

a slave identification software program maintained by the slave computer system, wherein the slave identification program identifies the agent received by the slave computer system by decoding the host identification information carried by the selected agent, determines if the decoded host identification information matches corresponding host identification information stored in memory of the slave computer system, and denies access to the slave computer system if the decoded host identification information carried by the agent does not correspond and continues to check the identity of the agent by determining if the agent identification code matches a predetermined agent identification code stored in the memory of the slave computer system and denies the agent access to the slave computer system if the decoded agent identification code does not match the predetermined agent identification code and decodes the information carried by the intelligent agent if the decoded information carried by the agent matches the predetermined condition; and

a slave application software program that is part of the slave computer system that executes the work activity instructions carried by the identified agent to obtain information about the vehicle that is used in vehicle diagnostics.

12. A system as set forth in claim 11, wherein said agent identification software program encrypts the work activity information obtained by the identified agent, regenerates the identification code for the agent, and transmits the agent to the host computer system.

13. The system as set forth in claim 12 wherein the host identification software program decodes the information carried by the agent, determines if the agent identification code correlates with a predetermined identification code for the agent, and denies the agent access to the host computer system if the decoded identification code does not match the predetermined identification code and continues to check the identity of the agent if the decoded identification code corresponds with the identification code and determines if the received work activity information matches a predetermined work activity condition and denies access to the host computer system if the work activity information does not match the predetermined condition and uses the work activity information carried by the intelligent agent in vehicle diagnostics.

14. A system as set forth in claim 12 wherein the agent identification code includes three randomly generated numbers.