Telematics system diagnostics logic analyzer

• US 7,286,047 B2
• Filed: 10/07/2004
• Issued: 10/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: General Motors Corporation (Motors Liquidation Co. GUC Trust)
• Inventors: Oesterling, Christopher L., Watkins, Gary A., Chiu, Wanli
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; Benjamin C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mehmood; Jennifer
• Application Number:
  US10/960,683
• Publication Number:
  US 20060085153A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,111 Days
• Field of Search: 34042615-42617, 340/426.23, 701/2, 701/36, 701/49, 701 29- 35
• US Class Current: 340/439
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/007 using microprocessors or computers
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C

Abstract

A method of monitoring electronic module data in a mobile vehicle. The method includes receiving at least one trigger event status indicator responsive to a trigger set from at least one of a plurality of vehicles at a vehicle analysis engine, via a wireless network, modifying the trigger set based on the trigger event status indicators and sending the modified trigger set to the plurality of vehicles.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring electronic module data in a mobile vehicle, the method comprising:

receiving at least one trigger event status indicator responsive to a trigger set from at least one of a plurality of vehicles at a vehicle analysis engine, via a wireless network;

modifying the trigger set based on the at least one trigger event status indicator; and

sending the modified trigger set to the plurality of vehicles.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of vehicles comprise a vehicle analysis group, and wherein the vehicle analysis group is selected from the group consisting of one vehicle model, more than one vehicle model, one year of vehicle model, multiple years of one vehicle model, multiple years of more than one vehicle model, test fleet vehicles, specified analysis group vehicles, and all vehicles enrolled in a telematics system.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

reconfiguring telematics units in the vehicles comprising the vehicle analysis group based on the modified trigger set.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the trigger set comprises trigger points and algorithms operable based on preset interval data to determine relative conditions of the electronic module data, and wherein the electronic module data trigger the trigger set when at least one relative condition exceeds at least one trigger point.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein at least one algorithm is a Boolean operation.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein receiving at least one trigger event status indicator responsive to a trigger set from at least one of a plurality of vehicles comprises:

extracting the electronic module data from electronic modules in the plurality of vehicles at preset intervals by telematics units in the vehicles;

applying at least one of the algorithms to the extracted electronic module data by the telematics units;

determining whether the electronic module data trigger the trigger sets by the telematics units;

generating the at least one trigger event status indicator by at least one telematics unit based on the determination;

sending the at least one trigger event status indicator from the at least one telematics unit to a call center via the wireless network;

receiving the at least one trigger event status indicator at the call center; and

sending the at least one trigger event status indicator from the call center to the vehicle analysis engine.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein receiving the at least one trigger event status indicator at the call center, comprises:

performing preventative action.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein modifying the trigger set based on the trigger event status indicators comprises:

generating at least one additional algorithm for the trigger set based on the trigger event status indicators received at the vehicle analysis engine;

transmitting the at least one additional algorithm from the vehicle analysis engine to the call center; and

including the at least one additional algorithm in the trigger set to form the modified trigger set.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the sending the modified trigger set to the plurality of vehicles comprises:

transmitting the modified trigger set from the call center to the plurality of vehicles.

10. The method of claim 3, wherein the electronic module data are selected from the group consisting of module identification data, threshold data, maximum values, minimum values, rate of increase values, rate of decrease values, data packet identification values and combinations thereof;

and

wherein the relative conditions are selected from the group consisting of storage triggering conditions, transfer triggering conditions, over-maximum conditions, under-minimum conditions, within-a-range conditions, over threshold conditions, excessive rate of increase conditions, excessive rate of decrease conditions, insufficient rate of increase conditions, insufficient rate of decrease conditions and combinations thereof.

11. A system to monitor electronic module data in a mobile vehicle:

means to receive, via a wireless network, at least one trigger event status indicator responsive to a trigger set from at least one of a plurality of vehicles;

means to modify the trigger set based on the at least one trigger event status indicator; and

means to send the modified trigger set to the plurality of vehicles.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

means to reconfigure telematics units in vehicles comprising a vehicle analysis group based on the modified trigger set.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the means to receive at least one trigger event status indicator responsive to a trigger set comprise:

means to extract the electronic module data from electronic modules in the plurality of vehicles at preset intervals by telematics units in the vehicles;

means to apply at least one of the algorithms to the extracted electronic module data by the telematics units;

means to determine whether the electronic module data trigger the trigger sets by the telematics units;

means to generate the at least one trigger event status indicator by at least one telematics unit based on the determination;

means to send the at least one trigger event status indicator from the at least one telematics unit to a call center via the wireless network;

means to receive the at least one trigger event status indicator at the call center; and

means to send the at least one trigger event status indicator from the call center to the vehicle analysis engine.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the means to modify the trigger set based on the trigger event status indicators comprise:

means to generate at least one additional algorithm for the trigger set based on the trigger event status indicators received at the vehicle analysis engine;

means to transmit the at least one additional algorithm from the vehicle analysis engine to the call center; and

means to include the at least one additional algorithm in the trigger set to form the modified trigger set.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the means to send the modified trigger set to the plurality of vehicles comprise:

means to transmit the modified trigger set from the call center to the plurality of vehicles.

16. A computer readable medium storing a computer program comprising:

computer readable code for receiving at least one trigger event status indicator responsive to a trigger set from at least one of a plurality of vehicles at a vehicle analysis engine, via a wireless network;

computer readable code for modifying the trigger set based on the at least one trigger event status indicator; and

computer readable code for sending the modified trigger set to the plurality of vehicles.

17. The medium of claim 16, farther comprising:

computer readable code for reconfiguring telematics units in the vehicles comprising the vehicle analysis group based on the modified trigger set.

18. The medium of claim 16, wherein the computer readable code for receiving at least one trigger event status indicator responsive to a trigger set comprises:

computer readable code for extracting the electronic module data from electronic modules in the plurality of vehicles at preset intervals by telematics units in the vehicles;

computer readable code for applying at least one of the algorithms to the extracted electronic module data by the telematics units;

computer readable code for determining whether the electronic module data trigger the trigger sets by the telematics units;

computer readable code for generating at least one trigger event status indicator by at least one telematics unit based on the determination;

computer readable code for sending the at least one trigger event status indicator from the at least one telematics unit to a call center via the wireless network;

computer readable code for receiving the at least one trigger event status indicator at the call center; and

computer readable code for sending the at least one trigger event status indicator from the call center to the vehicle analysis engine.

19. The medium of claim 18, wherein computer readable code for modifying the trigger set based on the trigger event status indicators comprises:

computer readable code for generating at least one additional algorithm for the trigger set based on the trigger event status indicators received at the vehicle analysis engine;

computer readable code for transmitting the at least one additional algorithm from the vehicle analysis engine to the call center; and

computer readable code for including the at least one additional algorithm in the trigger set to form the modified trigger set.

20. The medium of claim 19, wherein computer readable code for sending the modified trigger set to the plurality of vehicles comprises:

computer readable code for transmitting the modified trigger set from the call center to the plurality of vehicles.