Process and apparatus for diagnosis of defects in electric or electronic modules in automotive vehicles
First Claim
1. A process for diagnosing defects in electric or electronic modules mounted on automotive vehicles, said modules being of the type receiving electric status signals characteristic of the static and dynamic state of components of the vehicle and generating electric control signals for controlling said modules, said status and control signals being representative at each moment of a set of specific operation parameters of the vehicle, said process comprising:
- preliminarily storing in storage memories diagnostic programs corresponding to each type of system to be tested, and a set of default thresholds related to each operating parameter associated with each of said diagnostic programs for each of said systems,continuously comparing the status and control signals to the limits of the modules of the system to be tested, in such a manner as to continuously arrange said signals in a branch network (2),simultaneously and in parallel formatting said signals for bringing them into a range of predetermined values and obtaining calibrated signals,selecting by a manual command the diagnostic program corresponding to the system to be tested, and the associated default thresholds,configuring a multiprocessor (21) by means of a selected diagnostic program for dedicating it to the treatment of status and control signals specific to the system selected and imposing on one of the status or control signals a priority bit,digitizing, by means of the configured multiprocessor (21) the calibrated signals and the combinations of said signals over a period related to the priority signal, of a duration lower than that of the period of said priority signal, in such a manner as to generate during said period a set of digital signals representative of the calibrated signals,storing the digitized signals obtained during each period in a read write memory,searching said read write memory at each period and calculating in real time a set of values representative of the operating parameters for the period considered,comparing in real time each calculated value to the default thresholds preliminarily stored and selected for generating a default signal in case of excess,storing in real time for each value the resulting default signal in a backup memory (42), said backup memory having a first zone with a capacity at least equal to the number of operating parameters,counting down for each value the number of appearances of the corresponding default signal and storing at least one datum related to this number in a second zone of the backup memory (42), anddisplaying the contents of the backup memory as an indicator of deflective conditions of said modules.
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Abstract
The invention relates to a process and an apparatus for diagnosing defects in electric or electronic modules mounted in an automotive vehicle. This apparatus comprises a wire harness (2) adapted to divert status or control signals from a system to be tested, a formatting interface (15) comprising a plurality of calibrating modules arranged in parallel, a multiprocessor (21) connected to the formatting interface (15) and comprising a backup memory in which are stored, in real time, the defect signals, memories (25) for storage of a set of diagnostic programs corresponding to a group of systems to be tested, adapted to configure the multiprocessor (21) in such a manner as to dedicate it to the treatment of signals from a given system, and a man/machine interface (28) having means for displaying the contents of the backup memory and manual selection means.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A process for diagnosing defects in electric or electronic modules mounted on automotive vehicles, said modules being of the type receiving electric status signals characteristic of the static and dynamic state of components of the vehicle and generating electric control signals for controlling said modules, said status and control signals being representative at each moment of a set of specific operation parameters of the vehicle, said process comprising:
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preliminarily storing in storage memories diagnostic programs corresponding to each type of system to be tested, and a set of default thresholds related to each operating parameter associated with each of said diagnostic programs for each of said systems, continuously comparing the status and control signals to the limits of the modules of the system to be tested, in such a manner as to continuously arrange said signals in a branch network (2), simultaneously and in parallel formatting said signals for bringing them into a range of predetermined values and obtaining calibrated signals, selecting by a manual command the diagnostic program corresponding to the system to be tested, and the associated default thresholds, configuring a multiprocessor (21) by means of a selected diagnostic program for dedicating it to the treatment of status and control signals specific to the system selected and imposing on one of the status or control signals a priority bit, digitizing, by means of the configured multiprocessor (21) the calibrated signals and the combinations of said signals over a period related to the priority signal, of a duration lower than that of the period of said priority signal, in such a manner as to generate during said period a set of digital signals representative of the calibrated signals, storing the digitized signals obtained during each period in a read write memory, searching said read write memory at each period and calculating in real time a set of values representative of the operating parameters for the period considered, comparing in real time each calculated value to the default thresholds preliminarily stored and selected for generating a default signal in case of excess, storing in real time for each value the resulting default signal in a backup memory (42), said backup memory having a first zone with a capacity at least equal to the number of operating parameters, counting down for each value the number of appearances of the corresponding default signal and storing at least one datum related to this number in a second zone of the backup memory (42), and displaying the contents of the backup memory as an indicator of deflective conditions of said modules. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A diagnostic apparatus for comprising in combination:
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a set of wire harnesses (2) comprising at one end a standard connector (2a) and at the other end a branch connector (3) adapted to branch to the terminals of modules of a system to be tested for delivering status and control signals, a formatting interface (15) having input connectors (16) corresponding to said standard connectors (2a), said interface comprising a plurality of calibrating modules (29, 30,
31) having their inputs arranged in parallel,a multiprocessor (21) connected to the formatting interface (15) and comprising a plurality of counters and analog/digital converters, at least two processors (39,
40) organized as master/slave, a read write memory for storing in real time the digital signals obtained, and a backup memory (42) for storing defect signals and data associated with said defect signals,memory means for storing a set of diagnostic programs corresponding to a set of systems to be tested, said memory means being connected to the multiprocessor (21), connection means (28;
14, 46;
47) adapted to connect the multiprocessor (21) with a man/machine interface having display means and manual selection means,electric feed means (43) provided with a connector for attachment to a battery (44) of an automotive vehicle, said means being adapted to convert the battery voltage to an appropriate regulated voltage for feeding to the apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification