VEHICLE MEASUREMENT APPARATUS HAVING A SYSTEM-ON-A-CHIP DEVICE AND A SENSOR

• US 20140277827A1
• Filed: 03/13/2013
• Published: 09/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bosch Automotive Service Solutions, Inc. (Robert Bosch GmbH)
• Original Assignee: Service Solutions US LLC (Robert Bosch GmbH)
• Inventors: LE BRUN, Marco, CHINNADURAI, Manokar
• Granted Patent: US 9,076,275 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 17/007 Wheeled or endless-tracked vehicles G01M17/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3177 Testing of logic operation, e.g. by logic analysers
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/318519 Test of field programmable gate arrays [FPGA]
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/318536 Scan chain arrangements, e.g. connections, test bus, analog signals
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/26 Functional testing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/27 Built-in tests
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2733 Test interface between tester and unit under test
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/331 with hardware acceleration, e.g. by using field programmable gate array [FPGA] or emulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/34 for reconfigurable circuits, e.g. field programmable gate arrays [FPGA] or programmable logic devices [PLD]
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2205/02 using a vehicle scan tool
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0816 Indicating performance data, e.g. occurrence of a malfunction
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

A vehicle measurement apparatus and a method for measuring vehicle data are provided. For example, the vehicle measurement apparatus includes a system-on-a-chip (SoC) device configured to integrate a programmable module with a microcontroller unit to receive vehicle data, process the vehicle data, and communicate the processed vehicle data to a remote computer.

Claims

1. An oscilloscope, comprising:

a circuit board, comprising;

a sensor; and

a programmable system-on-a-chip (SoC) device coupled to the sensor and programmed to implement;

a field programmable gate array to receive vehicle data from the sensor, and

a microcontroller unit to process the received vehicle data.

2. The oscilloscope of claim 1, wherein the sensor detects vibration or acceleration of at least a part of a vehicle.

3. The oscilloscope of claim 1, wherein the sensor is a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) sensor.

4. The oscilloscope of claim 1, wherein the programmable SoC device is coupled to a wireless module to wirelessly transmit the processed vehicle data to a remote computer.

5. The oscilloscope of claim 1, wherein the circuit board further comprises a ground loop protection unit to protect the circuit board from a current loop in a ground path of the circuit board.

6. The oscilloscope of claim 1 further comprising:

a universal synchronous bus (USB) port coupled to the programmable SoC device; and

a battery to provide electrical power to the programmable SoC device, the battery being chargeable at a rate of up to 1.5 A through the USB port.

7. A method of measuring vehicle data using a vehicle measurement apparatus, the method comprising:

receiving, at a system-on-a-chip (SoC) device in the vehicle measurement apparatus, vehicle data that was sensed by a sensor in the vehicle measurement apparatus, the sensor and the SoC device coupled to each other on a common circuit board;

processing, at the SoC device, the received vehicle data; and

communicating, using a wireless module in the vehicle measurement apparatus, the processed vehicle data to a remote computer.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the parameter is a vibration parameter or an acceleration parameter and the machine is an automobile.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the receiving step comprises receiving analog and digital signals at the SoC device.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the processing step comprises performing digital signal processing on the received vehicle data.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the machine is an automobile, the method further comprising:

coupling the vehicle measurement apparatus to a part that is under a hood of the automobile; and

displaying the processed vehicle data on a display of the remote computer.

12. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

programming the SoC device via a universal serial bus (USB) port coupled to the SoC device and to the external computing device.

13. A wireless oscilloscope, comprising:

a system-on-a-chip (SoC) device programmed to implement a microprocessor integrated with a programmable module on a circuit board;

a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) sensor coupled on the circuit board and provides vibration or acceleration data associated with a vehicle to the SoC device for processing; and

a wireless module coupled on the circuit board and to the SoC device to wirelessly transmit the processed vibration or acceleration data received from the SoC device.

14. The wireless oscilloscope of claim 13, wherein the MEMS sensor is configured to measure the vibration or acceleration data associated with a part of the vehicle.

15. The wireless oscilloscope of claim 13, wherein the wireless module is a Bluetooth device.

16. The wireless oscilloscope of claim 13 further comprising:

a universal synchronous bus (USB) port coupled to the SoC device to send the processed vibration or acceleration data to a remote computer over a wired communication channel; and

a ground loop protection unit coupled to the USB port to prevent a current loop from damaging the wireless oscilloscope.

17. The wireless oscilloscope of claim 13 further comprising:

a probe to measure the vibration or acceleration data of a part of the vehicle.

18. The wireless oscilloscope of claim 13, wherein the wireless oscilloscope is couplable to a part under a hood of the vehicle, and wherein the processed vibration or acceleration data is displayed on a display of a remote computer.

19. The wireless oscilloscope of claim 13 further comprising:

a universal synchronous bus (USB) port coupled to the SoC device; and

a battery to provide electrical power to the SoC device, the battery being chargeable at a rate of up to 1.5 A through the USB port.

20. A vehicle measurement apparatus, comprising a system-on-a-chip (SoC) device configured to integrate a programmable module with a microcontroller unit to receive vehicle data, process the vehicle data, and communicate the processed vehicle data to a remote computer.