High performance automotive diagnostics instrumentation architecture

• US 5,908,455 A
• Filed: 10/07/1996
• Issued: 06/01/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Agilent Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Parvahan, Behzad
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): ARTHUR JEANGLAUDE, GERTRUDE
• Application Number:
  US08/726,972
• Time in Patent Office: 967 Days
• Field of Search: 701/29, 701/30, 701/31, 701/32, 701/33, 395/800.01, 395/183.01, 395/184.01, 364/140.09
• US Class Current: 701/29
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2270/406 Test-mode; Self-diagnosis
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/885 using electrical circuitry

Abstract

The present invention provides an automotive test diagnostic system which is capable of achieving high data rates through multiple, independent instrumentation channels. The test diagnostic system includes a vehicle diagnostic instrumentation controller, the vehicle diagnostic instrumentation controller comprising: an instrument peripheral interface means; an instrumentation control means, the instrumentation control means being further comprised of an arbitration control means, and a device interface means, wherein the arbitration control means is electrically coupled to the device interface means; and a first bus for electrically coupling the instrument peripheral interface means to the instrumentation control means. In the preferred embodiment, the instrumentation control means further includes a data qualification means and a data storage means for storing data. However, dependent on the rate of data transfer, the calculations required, etc., a data storage means may not be required for a particular channel.

Claims

1. A vehicle diagnostic instrumentation controller for a vehicle diagnostic system, the vehicle diagnostic instrument controller comprising:

an instrument peripheral interface means;

an instrumentation control means, the instrumentation control means being further comprised of an arbitration control means and a device interface means, wherein the arbitration control means is electrically coupled to the device interface means;

a plurality of analog devices electrically coupled to the instrumentation control means, wherein the instrumentation control means and the plurality of analog devices form a plurality of independent channels capable of processing data input from the plurality of analog devices in parallel; and

a first bus for electrically coupling the instrument peripheral interface means to the instrumentation control means.

2. The vehicle diagnostic instrumentation controller recited in claim 1 wherein the instrumentation control means further includes a data storage means, wherein the data storage means is electrically coupled to the arbitration control means and the arbitration control means is further electrically coupled to the instrumentation peripheral interface means.

3. The vehicle diagnostic instrumentation controller recited in claim 1 further including a data qualification means, wherein the data qualification means is electrically coupled to the device interface means.

4. The vehicle diagnostic instrumentation controller recited in claim 3 wherein the instrumentation control means further includes a data storage means, wherein the data storage means is electrically coupled to the arbitration control means and the data qualification means.

5. The vehicle diagnostic instrumentation controller recited in claim 3 wherein the instrument peripheral interface means is capable of performing bus mastership.

6. The vehicle diagnostic instrumentation controller recited in claim 1 wherein the instrument peripheral interface means is further comprised of a first data interface means, a second data interface means, and a second bus for electrically coupling the first data interface means to the second data interface means.

7. The vehicle diagnostic instrumentation controller recited in claim 6 wherein the second bus is an IEEE 1394 cable.

8. The vehicle diagnostic instrumentation controller recited in claim 6 wherein the second bus is a PCI cable.

9. The vehicle diagnostic instrumentation controller recited in claim 6 wherein the second bus is a LAN connector cable.

10. The vehicle diagnostic instrumentation controller recited in claim 6 further including a microcontroller electrically coupled to the first bus.

11. The vehicle diagnostic instrumentation controller recited in claim 6 wherein the peripheral instrumentation interface means is a wireless interface.

12. The vehicle diagnostic instrumentation controller recited in claim 1 wherein the instrumentation controller is implemented in a re-programmable logic device.

13. A vehicle diagnostic test system comprising:

a computing means;

an instrument peripheral interface means;

a third bus for electrically coupling the computing means to the instrument peripheral interface means;

an instrumentation control means, the instrumentation control means being further comprised of an arbitration control means and a device interface means, wherein the arbitration control means is electrically coupled to the device interface means;

a plurality of analog devices electrically coupled to the instrumentation control means, wherein the instrumentation control means and the plurality of analog devices form a plurality of independent channels capable of processing data input from the plurality of analog devices in parallel; and

a first bus means for electrically coupling the instrument peripheral interface means to the instrumentation control means.

14. The vehicle diagnostic test system recited in claim 13 wherein the computing means is further comprised of host processor and a host memory, an applications program being stored in the host memory.

15. The vehicle diagnostic test system recited in claim 14 wherein the application program run on the computing means directs the instrumentation control means to perform a series of tasks, wherein all of the real time tasks are performed in the instrumentation control means.

16. The vehicle diagnostic test system recited in claim 14 wherein data transferred between a first channel and the host memory is independent of data transferred between a second channel and the host memory.

17. The vehicle diagnostic test system recited in claim 14 wherein an application program run on the computing means directs the instrumentation control means to perform a series of tasks, wherein the tasks performed on a first channel and a second channel are pipelined.

18. The vehicle diagnostic test system recited in claim 14 wherein the instrumentation control means performs the task of performing rejection of user-specified noise levels via upper and lower hysteresis values on a first channel.

19. The vehicle diagnostic test system recited in claim 14 wherein the instrumentation control means performs the task of peak and valley detection of incoming data signals from the device interface means transferred on the at least one channel.

20. The vehicle diagnostic test system recited in claim 15 wherein a first frequency is supported on a first channel and a second channel is supported on a second channel.