Failure diagnostic system and electronic control unit for use in diagnosing failure of vehicle

• US 6,728,611 B2
• Filed: 09/12/2002
• Issued: 04/27/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Kamiya, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): Marc-Coleman, Marthe
• Application Number:
  US10/241,474
• Publication Number:
  US 20030050747A1
• Time in Patent Office: 593 Days
• Field of Search: 701/29, 701/33, 701/35, 701/31, 701/32, 701/34, 340/426, 340/438, 340/439, 324/500, 700/79, 702/108, 702/182, 714/1, 714/25
• US Class Current: 701/33
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C

Abstract

A center stores functional modification information and failure information, which are associated with each other. The modification information is used to store specified vehicle data at specified time. A terminal device transmits failure information to the center and receives analytic information, which includes the corresponding modification information, from the center. Then, the terminal device inquires a software product number of a control program, which includes a diagnostic program, to an ECU and receives a corresponding data assignment table, which corresponds to the software product number, from the center. The terminal device converts the modification information to a form, which is interpretable by the control program, through use of the assignment table and transmits it to the ECU. In the ECU, the modification information is stored in a form of tables, and the diagnostic program is executed to store the vehicle data based on the modification information.

Claims

1. A failure diagnostic system comprising:

an electronic control unit installed in a vehicle, wherein the electronic control unit includes;

a control program for controlling the vehicle;

a diagnostic program for diagnosing at least one each predetermined part of the vehicle and for storing vehicle operation information of the vehicle in the electronic control unit; and

a terminal device, which communicates with the electronic control unit, wherein;

the terminal device obtains the vehicle operation information from the electronic control unit;

the terminal device transmits functional modification information to the electronic control unit, wherein the functional modification information is used to achieve functional modification of the diagnostic program and is prepared in association with failure information of the vehicle; and

the electronic control unit changes at least one of the vehicle operation information to be stored in the electronic control unit and a condition for storing the vehicle operation information in the electronic control unit by executing the diagnostic program to store the vehicle operation information in the electronic control unit based on the functional modification information transmitted from the terminal device; and

a center, which performs data communication with the terminal device through a communication network, wherein;

the center includes a database of the functional modification information;

the terminal device transmits the functional modification information to the center after a failed part of the vehicle is identified based on the vehicle operation information; and

the center updates the database based on the functional modification information received from the terminal device.

2. The failure diagnostic system according to claim 1, wherein the failure information includes at least one of:

a diagnostic fault code; and

a trouble description, which describes a trouble of the vehicle.

3. The failure diagnostic system according to claim 1, wherein the functional modification information includes at least one of:

subject information, which specifies the vehicle operation information to be stored in the electronic control unit; and

condition information, which specifies the condition for storing the vehicle operation information in the electronic control unit.

4. The failure diagnostic system according to claim 3, wherein the terminal device newly creates the functional modification information when a user specifies the at least one of the subject information and the condition information.

5. The failure diagnostic system according to claim 3, wherein:

the electronic control unit creates at least one of;

a subject table, which corresponds to the subject information; and

a condition table, which corresponds to the condition information; and

when the at least one of the subject table and the condition table is created, the diagnostic program is executed to store the vehicle operation information based on the at least one of the subject table and the condition table.

6. The A failure diagnostic system according to claim 1, wherein

the terminal device obtains the functional modification information from the center.

7. The failure diagnostic system according to claim 6, wherein the center searches the corresponding functional modification information stored in the database based on the failure information transmitted from the terminal device and transmits the corresponding function modification information to the terminal device.

8. The failure diagnostic system according to claim 6, wherein the terminal device stores the functional modification information based on a relationship between the functional modification information and the failure information.

9. The failure diagnostic system according to claim 8, wherein the terminal device stores the functional modification information together with the vehicle operation information, which is obtained through use of the functional modification information.

10. The failure diagnostic system according to claim 8, wherein the terminal device stores

the functional modification information and the vehicle operation information.

11. The failure diagnostic system according to claim 6, wherein:

the terminal device converts the functional modification information to an interpretable form, which is interpretable by the diagnostic program of the electronic control unit; and

the terminal device transmits the interpretable form of the functional modification information to the electronic control unit.

12. The failure diagnostic system according to claim 11, wherein:

the terminal device inquires information about the diagnostic program to the electronic control unit and obtains a corresponding conversion table based on the information about the diagnostic program; and

the terminal device converts the functional modification information to the interpretable form through use of the corresponding conversion table.

13. The failure diagnostic system according to claim 12, wherein:

the center stores the conversion table;

the terminal device transmits the information about the diagnostic program to the center and obtains the corresponding conversion table, which corresponds to the information about the diagnostic program, from the center.

14. The failure diagnostic system according to claim 6, wherein the terminal device obtains a size of a storage space of the electronic control unit, which is available for storing the vehicle operation information, from the electronic control unit.

15. The failure diagnostic system according to claim 14, wherein the terminal device obtains the size of the storage space of the electronic control unit, which is available for storing the vehicle operation information, from the center.

16. The electronic control unit according to claim 1, wherein when information indicative of a relationship between the functional modification information and the failure information is not present in the database of the center, the terminal device transmits the functional modification information to the center.

17. The electronic control unit according to claim 1, wherein when information indicative of a relationship between the functional modification information and the failure information is not present in the database of the center, the center adds the function modification information, which is received from the terminal device, into the database of the center.

18. An electronic control unit for use in a vehicle, wherein the electronic control unit includes:

a control program for controlling the vehicle; and

a diagnostic program for diagnosing each predetermined part of the vehicle and for storing vehicle operation information of the vehicle in the electronic control unit, wherein;

when the electronic control unit externally receives functional modification information that includes at least one of subject information, which specifies the vehicle operation information to be stored in the electronic control unit, and condition information, which specifies a condition for storing the vehicle operation information in the electronic control unit, the electronic control unit creates at least one of a subject table, which corresponds to the subject information, and a condition table, which corresponds to the condition information; and

the electronic control unit changes at least one of the vehicle operation information to be stored in the electronic control unit and the condition for storing the vehicle operation information in the electronic control unit by executing the diagnostic program to store the vehicle operation information in the electronic control unit based on the at least one of the subject table and the condition table.

19. The electronic control unit according to claim 18, wherein the electronic control unit externally transmits information about the diagnostic program when the electronic control unit externally receives an inquiry about the diagnostic program.

20. A diagnostic method comprising:

inputting functional modification information into a control unit for controlling a vehicle, wherein the functional modification information is used to achieve functional modification of a diagnostic program for diagnosing at least one predetermined part of the vehicle and for storing vehicle operation information of the vehicle;

changing at least one of the vehicle operation information to be stored and a condition for storing the vehicle operation information by executing the diagnostic program in the control unit to store the vehicle operation information based on the functional modification information;

outputting the vehicle operation information from the control unit;

identifying, outside the control unit, a failed part of the vehicle based on the vehicle operation information;

determining, outside the control unit, whether information indicative of a relationship between the functional modification information and failure information of the failed part of the vehicle is present in a database of a center after the identifying of the failed part of the vehicle based on the vehicle operation information; and

associating the functional modification information with the failure information and adding the functional modification information together with the failure information into the database at the center when it is determined that the information indicative of the relationship between the functional modification information and the failure information is not present in the database of the center.