EVENT-DRIVEN FAULT DIAGNOSIS FRAMEWORK FOR AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS
First Claim
1. A method for diagnosing causes of faults in vehicle systems, said method comprising:
- defining a plurality of diagnostic trouble codes which are applicable to various fault conditions in a vehicle'"'"'s systems, criteria for triggering each diagnostic trouble code, and a list of parameter identification data which should be captured for each diagnostic trouble code;
providing a controller onboard a vehicle which is programmed with the diagnostic trouble codes and the criteria for triggering each diagnostic trouble code, and which is also programmed with the list of parameter identification data which should be captured for each diagnostic trouble code;
providing sensors onboard the vehicle as needed to capture the parameter identification data;
capturing the diagnostic trouble code and parameter identification data by the controller when a fault condition occurs in a vehicle system, where each fault condition occurrence is known as a fault event;
downloading the diagnostic trouble code and parameter identification data from the controller on the vehicle to a central computer;
storing diagnostic trouble code and parameter identification data for fault events from multiple vehicles on the central computer, where each fault event has an actual failure mode attributed to it;
analyzing the diagnostic trouble code and parameter identification data from the fault events stored on the central computer using mathematical models which can learn to correlate features in the data with the actual failure mode for each fault event; and
using the mathematical models to diagnose a failure mode for additional fault events.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods for capturing and analyzing significant parameter data from vehicle systems whenever a diagnostic trouble code (DTC) is triggered. A multi-dimensional matrix is constructed, with vehicles, DTCs, and parameter data comprising three dimensions of the matrix. The data matrix is populated with DTC and parameter data from many different vehicles, either when vehicles are taken to a dealer for service, or via wireless data download. Time can be added as a fourth dimension of the matrix, providing an indication of whether a particular system or component is temporally degrading. When sufficient data is accumulated, the data matrix is pre-processed, features are extracted from the data, and the features are classified, using a variety of mathematical techniques. Trained classifiers are then used to diagnose the root cause of any particular fault signal, and also to provide a prognosis of system health and remaining useful life.
72 Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A method for diagnosing causes of faults in vehicle systems, said method comprising:
-
defining a plurality of diagnostic trouble codes which are applicable to various fault conditions in a vehicle'"'"'s systems, criteria for triggering each diagnostic trouble code, and a list of parameter identification data which should be captured for each diagnostic trouble code; providing a controller onboard a vehicle which is programmed with the diagnostic trouble codes and the criteria for triggering each diagnostic trouble code, and which is also programmed with the list of parameter identification data which should be captured for each diagnostic trouble code; providing sensors onboard the vehicle as needed to capture the parameter identification data; capturing the diagnostic trouble code and parameter identification data by the controller when a fault condition occurs in a vehicle system, where each fault condition occurrence is known as a fault event; downloading the diagnostic trouble code and parameter identification data from the controller on the vehicle to a central computer; storing diagnostic trouble code and parameter identification data for fault events from multiple vehicles on the central computer, where each fault event has an actual failure mode attributed to it; analyzing the diagnostic trouble code and parameter identification data from the fault events stored on the central computer using mathematical models which can learn to correlate features in the data with the actual failure mode for each fault event; and using the mathematical models to diagnose a failure mode for additional fault events. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. A method for diagnosing causes of faults and making a prognosis of system health in vehicle systems, said method comprising:
-
defining a plurality of diagnostic trouble codes which are applicable to various fault conditions in a vehicle'"'"'s systems, criteria for triggering each diagnostic trouble code, and a list of parameter identification data which should be captured for each diagnostic trouble code; providing a controller onboard a vehicle which is programmed with the diagnostic trouble codes and the criteria for triggering each diagnostic trouble code, and which is also programmed with the list of parameter identification data which should be captured for each diagnostic trouble code; providing sensors onboard the vehicle as needed to capture the parameter identification data; capturing the diagnostic trouble code and parameter identification data by the controller when a fault condition occurs in a vehicle system, where each fault condition occurrence is known as a fault event, and data captured for each fault event also includes a time stamp; downloading the diagnostic trouble code and parameter identification data and time stamps from the controller on the vehicle to a central computer; storing diagnostic trouble code and parameter identification data and time stamps for fault events from multiple vehicles on the central computer, where each fault event has an actual failure mode attributed to it; analyzing the diagnostic trouble code and parameter identification data from the fault events stored on the central computer using mathematical models which can learn to correlate features in the data with the actual failure mode for each fault event; using the mathematical models to diagnose a failure mode for additional fault events; and using the diagnostic trouble code and parameter identification data and the time stamp for each fault event to make a prognosis of system health and remaining useful life for any system involved in the fault event. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
-
-
15. A system for diagnosing causes of faults in vehicle systems, said system comprising:
-
a vehicle with a plurality of systems to be monitored; a plurality of sensors onboard the vehicle for measuring various conditions in the systems; a controller onboard the vehicle, where the controller is configured to receive parameter data from the sensors, monitor the parameter data to determine if any fault conditions exist, and capture and store a plurality of parameter data when a fault event occurs; a central computer for collecting parameter data for fault events from a plurality of vehicles, where the computer uses mathematical models to analyze the parameter data to diagnose failure modes for groups of fault events and for individual fault events; and a communications system onboard the vehicle for transmitting the parameter data for fault events to the central computer. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
Specification