Method and apparatus for information transfer in vehicle service systems
First Claim
1. An improved vehicle wheel alignment system which is external to a vehicle undergoing service, the system having a computing device, an associated display, and at least one vehicle wheel alignment sensor configured for communicating wheel alignment data to the computing device for alignment angle processing by the computing device, said improvement comprising:
- a communication means for operatively coupling the computing device of the external vehicle wheel alignment system to an internal communication bus integrated into the vehicle undergoing service to enable a bi-directional exchange of data between the computing device and at least one internal vehicle component which is operatively coupled to said vehicle internal communication bus; and
wherein the computing device of the external vehicle wheel alignment system is configured with a software application to direct an operation of said at least one vehicle component through said vehicle internal communication bus.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle service system having a vehicle service computer which is configured for communication with at least one on-board vehicle computer of a vehicle undergoing a vehicle service procedure via a vehicle fault tolerant communication bus, to retrieve or access information stored in a memory associated with the vehicle computer, to modify or store information in the vehicle computer associated memory, or to enable vehicle service system control of at least one vehicle component.
75 Citations
30 Claims
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1. An improved vehicle wheel alignment system which is external to a vehicle undergoing service, the system having a computing device, an associated display, and at least one vehicle wheel alignment sensor configured for communicating wheel alignment data to the computing device for alignment angle processing by the computing device, said improvement comprising:
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a communication means for operatively coupling the computing device of the external vehicle wheel alignment system to an internal communication bus integrated into the vehicle undergoing service to enable a bi-directional exchange of data between the computing device and at least one internal vehicle component which is operatively coupled to said vehicle internal communication bus; and wherein the computing device of the external vehicle wheel alignment system is configured with a software application to direct an operation of said at least one vehicle component through said vehicle internal communication bus. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An improved vehicle wheel alignment system which is external to a vehicle undergoing service, the system having a computing device, an associated display, and at least one vehicle wheel alignment sensor configured for communicating wheel alignment data to the computing device, said improvement comprising:
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a communication means for operatively coupling the computing device to an internal communication bus of the vehicle undergoing service to enable an exchange of data between the computing device and at least one vehicle component operatively coupled to said vehicle communication bus; and wherein the computing device is further configured to exchange AutoSAR-standard data with at least one vehicle component via said communications means. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for transferring during a vehicle service procedure, information between a vehicle service system which is external to, and independent from, a vehicle undergoing service, and at least one electronic component of the vehicle operatively coupled to an in-vehicle communications network comprising:
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establishing, during the vehicle service procedure, a bi-directional communications link directly between said vehicle service system and said in-vehicle communications bus operatively coupling a plurality of vehicle components for communication there between; identifying at the external vehicle service system, said at least one electronic vehicle component operatively coupled to communicate over said in-vehicle communications bus; and transferring, over said in-vehicle communications bus, information associated with the vehicle service procedure between said at least one electronic component and the external vehicle service system. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method for transferring information between a vehicle service system which is external to a vehicle undergoing a service procedure and at least one electronic component of the vehicle which is operatively coupled to an in-vehicle communications bus comprising:
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establishing a communications link directly between the external vehicle service system and the in-vehicle communications bus; identifying said at least one electronic component on the in-vehicle communications bus; transferring, on said in-vehicle communications bus, information between said at least one electronic component and the external vehicle service system; and further including the step of formatting said information to an AutoSAR interface standard prior to transferring said information between said at least one electronic component and the external vehicle service system.
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25. An improved vehicle service system which is external to a vehicle, the vehicle service system having a computing device configured with at least one vehicle service software application, the improvement comprising:
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a bi-directional communication interface operatively coupled to the computing device, said communication interface configured to operatively couple the computing device to an internal communication bus integrated into a vehicle; and wherein the computing device is further configured with at least one software application to communicate over said vehicle internal communication bus directly with at least one component of the vehicle coupled to said internal communication bus through said bi-directional communication interface. - View Dependent Claims (26)
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27. A method for communicating between a vehicle service system external to a vehicle and at least one internal component of a vehicle operatively coupled to a vehicle internal communication bus, comprising;
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establishing a direct bi-directional communication link between the vehicle service system and the vehicle internal communication bus; and transferring data between the vehicle service system and the at least one vehicle component over said vehicle internal communication bus utilizing said established bi-directional communication link. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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29. An improved vehicle service device which is external to a vehicle, the vehicle service system having a computing device configured with at least one vehicle service software application, the improvement comprising:
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a communication means for operatively coupling the computing device directly with a vehicle internal communication bus on a vehicle undergoing service; and wherein the computing device is further configured with a software interface adapted to facilitate, through said communication means, bi-directional exchange of data with at least one component of a vehicle coupled to a vehicle internal communication bus utilizing a communication format which is independent of a specific hardware configuration of said vehicle component. - View Dependent Claims (30)
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Specification