PORTABLE VEHICLE DIAGNOSTIC TOOL

• US 20160078691A1
• Filed: 04/23/2013
• Published: 03/17/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Engine Intellectual Property Company, LLC (Volkswagen AG)
• Original Assignee: International Engine Intellectual Property Company, LLC (Volkswagen AG)
• Inventors: Roepke, Randall R.
• Application Number:
  US14/786,619
• Publication Number:
  US 20160078691A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 5/02 Registering or indicating driving, working, idle, or waiting time only apparatus forming part of taximeters G07B13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/08 Registering or indicating performance data other than driving, working, idle, or waiting time, with or without registering driving, working, idle or waiting time
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0825 using optical means
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

A diagnostic application for a motor vehicle is incorporated into a handheld device such as a cell phone through a portable application. The handheld device includes video capture and display capability. The application operates to qualify flashes generated on a vehicle instrument cluster by vehicle on-board diagnostics. These flash codes are processed for qualification and decoding resulting in display a textual description corresponding to the vehicle diagnostic flash code.

Claims

1. A diagnostic tool for a motor vehicle, comprising:

a handheld device including a video capture feature and a display;

the video capture feature having a field of view;

an application installed on the handheld device for qualifying a series of flashes captured in video frames by the video capture feature as corresponding to a vehicle diagnostic flash code; and

a processor in the handheld device responsive to qualification of a vehicle diagnostic flash code for decoding the flash code and displaying a textual description corresponding to the vehicle diagnostic flash code on the display.

2. The diagnostic tool of claim 1, further comprising:

a database relating flash codes to text messages identifying a fault or condition.

3. The diagnostic tool of claim 2, further comprising:

the handheld device being a cell telephone.

4. The diagnostic tool of claim 2, further comprising:

the database being remote; and

the application being adapted to establish a cell telephone link to access the database.

5. The diagnostic tool of claim 2, further comprising:

memory allowing storage of the database on the handheld device.

7. The installable application of claim 3 wherein the handheld electronic device is a cellular telephone and the means for retrieving include a remote database accessed by a cellular telephone link.

6. An installable application for a handheld electronic device having a video capture feature, the installable application comprising:

means for locating a flashing light source within a field of view of the video capture feature;

means for qualifying a series of flashes within the field of view as a vehicle diagnostic flash code and determining a number for the flash code; and

means for retrieving a text message correlated with the number for the flash code; and

means for displaying the text message.

8. A method of decoding motor vehicle diagnostic flash codes comprising the steps of:

recording a series of image frames of an instrument cluster for a motor vehicle equipped to display diagnostic flash codes in a video buffer;

electronically processing the series of image frames to locate a flashing light source recorded in the series of image frames;

qualifying the flashing light source as a source of diagnostic flash codes;

generating numbers corresponding to diagnostic codes from the diagnostic flash codes;

interrogating a memory device to recover text messages corresponding to the numbers; and

displaying the text messages on a display device.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of interrogating a memory device includes making a cellular telephone call to a remote server supporting database.