VEHICLE INSPECTION VERIFICATION AND DIAGNOSTIC UNIT

• US 20150094905A1
• Filed: 09/30/2013
• Published: 04/02/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC (Estate of Heinz Hermann Thiele)
• Original Assignee: Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC (Estate of Heinz Hermann Thiele)
• Inventors: Frashure, Timothy J., Conklin, Richard J., Porter, James P.
• Granted Patent: US 9,563,987 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/33.2
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 17/22 Devices for monitoring or checking brake systems; Signal devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 17/007 Wheeled or endless-tracked vehicles G01M17/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/06 in graphical form

Abstract

A diagnostic display device is coupled to a vehicle data bus and receives vehicle identification information which is used to identify one or more expected onboard systems installed on the vehicle. Expected systems are queried to determine that they are present and operating properly. Presence and operation status information are stored and/or presented to a user to facilitate automated vehicle system inspection.

Claims

1. A diagnostic display device that facilitates automatically verifying mandated system presence and status on a commercial vehicle, comprising:

an interface configured to couple the diagnostic display device to a vehicle data bus and via which vehicle status information is received;

a computer-readable medium that stores a vehicle identification number (VIN) lookup table that cross references VIN numbers to mandated systems;

a processor configured to;

retrieve a VIN for a vehicle to which it is coupled;

perform a table lookup to identify one or more systems mandated to be on the vehicle as a function of the manufacture date of the vehicle;

query the data bus to verify the presence and operational status of the mandated systems; and

output to a display presence and status information for each mandated system.

2. The diagnostic display device according to claim 1, wherein the display comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes (LED), including at least one presence LED that indicates that one or more mandated systems is detected on the data bus, and at least one status LED that indicates operational status of the one or more detected systems.

3. The diagnostic display device according to claim 1, further comprising a transceiver that communicates wirelessly with a user device and transmits the presence and status information to the user device for display thereon.

4. The diagnostic display device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to query the data bus and perform a roll call and detect all electronic control systems installed on the vehicle, including systems that are not mandated, for operational status verification.

5. The diagnostic display device according to claim 4, further including an input device that switches the diagnostic display device between the roll call mode and a mandate mode that detects only the mandated systems as determined by the table lookup.

6. The diagnostic display device according to claim 5, wherein the input device is one or more of a button, a slide switch, a toggle, a time switch, and a magnetic switch.

7. The diagnostic display device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to output the presence and status information to one or more indicators in an instrument panel in the vehicle.

8. The diagnostic display device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to transmit a signal to each mandated system via the data bus to cause each mandated system to activate a respective dashboard indicator to indicate its presence.

9. The diagnostic display device according to claim 1, wherein the one or more systems is an antilock brake system (ABS).

10. The diagnostic display device according to claim 1, wherein the interface is configured to couple the diagnostic display device to at least two different vehicle data buses.

22. The diagnostic display device according to claim 1, wherein the output comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes (LED), including at least one presence LED that indicates that one or more electronic control systems is detected on the data bus, and at least one status LED that indicates operational status of the one or more detected electronic control system.

11. A method of automatically verifying mandated system presence and status on a commercial vehicle, comprising:

retrieving a vehicle identification number (VIN) for a vehicle via a vehicle data bus;

performing a table lookup to identify one or more systems mandated to be on the vehicle as a function of the manufacture date of the vehicle as determined from the VIN;

querying the data bus to detect the presence and operational status of the mandated systems; and

displaying presence and status information for each mandated system.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein displaying the presence and status information comprises selectively illuminating a plurality of light emitting diodes (LED), including at least one presence LED that indicates that one or more mandated systems is detected on the data bus, and at least one status LED that indicates the operational status of the one or more detected systems.

13. The method according to claim 11, further comprising wirelessly transmitting the presence and status information to a user device for display thereon.

14. The method according to claim 11, further comprising querying the data bus and performing a roll call and detecting all systems installed on the vehicle, including systems that are not mandated, for operational status verification.

15. The method according to claim 11, further comprising outputting the presence and status information to one or more indicators in an instrument panel in the vehicle.

16. The method according to claim 11, further comprising transmitting a signal to each mandated system via the data bus to cause each mandated system to flash a respective dashboard indicator to indicate its presence.

17. The method according to claim 11, wherein the interface is configured to couple the diagnostic display device to at least two difference vehicle data buses.

18. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions for performing the method according to claim 11.

19. A processor configured to execute instructions for performing the method according to claim 11, wherein the processor is switchable between a roll call mode that detects all systems on the vehicle and a mandate mode that detects only the mandated systems as determined by the table lookup.

20. An apparatus that facilitates automatically verifying mandated system presence and status on a commercial vehicle, comprising:

means for retrieving a vehicle identification number (VIN) for a vehicle via a vehicle data bus;

means for performing a table lookup to identify one or more systems mandated to be on the vehicle as a function of the manufacture date of the vehicle as determined from the VIN;

means for querying the data bus to detect the presence and operational status of the mandated systems; and

means for displaying presence and status information for each mandated system.

21. A diagnostic display device that facilitates automatically verifying electronic control system presence and status on a commercial vehicle, comprising:

an interface configured to couple the diagnostic display device to a vehicle data bus and via which vehicle status information is received;

a computer-readable medium that stores a vehicle identification number (VIN) lookup table that cross references VIN numbers to specified electronic control systems;

a processor configured to;

retrieve a VIN for a vehicle to which it is coupled;

perform a table lookup to identify one or more electronic control systems specified to be on the vehicle as a function of the VIN;

query the data bus to verify the presence and operational status of the electronic control systems; and

output presence and status information for each electronic control system.

23. The diagnostic display device according to claim 21, further comprising a transceiver that communicates wirelessly with a user device and transmits the presence and status information to the user device for display thereon.

24. The diagnostic display device according to claim 21, further comprising storing the presence and operational status information of the vehicle in the computer readable medium.

25. The diagnostic display device according to claim 21, wherein the processor is further configured to output the presence and status information to one or more indicators in an instrument panel in the vehicle.

26. The diagnostic display device according to claim 21, wherein the processor is further configured to transmit a signal to each electronic control system via the data bus to cause each electronic control system to activate a respective dashboard indicator to indicate its presence.

27. The diagnostic display device according to claim 21, wherein the electronic control system is one of an antilock brake system (ABS), an engine control system, a cruise control system, an adaptive cruise control system and an electronic stability system.

28. The diagnostic display device according to claim 21, wherein the interface is configured to couple the diagnostic display device to at least two different vehicle data buses.