Method for diagnosis of functional faults in a functional architecture

• US 7,720,638 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2003
• Issued: 05/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Renault Sas (Renault)
• Original Assignee: Renault Sas (Renault)
• Inventors: Boutin, Samuel
• Primary Examiner(s): BHAT, ADITYA S
• Application Number:
  US10/539,128
• Publication Number:
  US 20060247872A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,342 Days
• Field of Search: 702/183
• US Class Current: 702/183
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0227 Qualitative history assessment, whereby the type of data acted upon, e.g. waveforms, images or patterns, is not relevant, e.g. rule based assessment; if-then decisions

Abstract

A method for diagnosis of functional faults in a functional architecture, including a unit of functions connected to electronic components, producing and using data, at least one datum of which can adopt a fixed pre-determined value, following occurrence of an erroneous functioning of at least one of the components of the unit. The method, while having a unit of functions and carrying out a function for which the input and output data can be assigned to sensors or actuators, determines particular values during which the particular values corresponding to functional faults for the sensors and actuators are listed and generates the functional diagnostic for the function as a function of the lists determined during the determining.

Claims

1. A method, implemented by a diagnostic device, for diagnosing functional faults of a functional architecture including functions for performing a service in an automobile with an internal combustion engine and associated with sensors and actuators that produce and consume data, said method comprising:

mapping, by said diagnostic device, said functions onto a hardware architecture composed of hardware components;

measuring, by said diagnostic device, a property of said automobile with at least one of said sensors so as to obtain raw data;

creating a first list of particular values based on said raw data and corresponding to functional faults of the sensors and actuators of said automobile;

creating a second list of particular values corresponding to functional states for said hardware components relative to a propagation of signals through said hardware architecture thereby indicating a state of propagation of information relating to said functional faults of said sensors and actuators across the functional architecture;

formulating a functional diagnosis of the service based on the first and second lists of particular values; and

recording the particular values and their propagation on a memory device.

2. A diagnostic method according to claim 1, wherein said hardware architecture is an electronic architecture and, after formulating of said functional diagnostic, said method comprises a step of deducing an operational diagnosis of said electronic architecture onto which said functions are mapped, said electronic architecture comprising calculators, networks, signal lines, and connectors.

3. A diagnostic method according to claim 2, wherein creating the lists of said particular values is performed after mapping of the functions onto the electronic architecture.

4. A diagnostic method according to claim 3, wherein the particular values of the second list correspond to at least one of the following:

cut bus;

corrupted frame;

short circuit applied to a wire;

wrong contact applied to a connector of a strand, sensor, actuator or calculator; and

execution fault applied to a microcontroller.

5. A method according to claim 2, wherein, given said operational diagnosis for the service, the particular values of the second list comprise functional particular values associated with sensors, actuators, and the method further comprising a step of listing functions executing the service for at least one data flow between two functions, or between a sensor and a function, or between a function and an actuator, for which no functional particular value is defined for the flow, and wherein if an operational particular value is defined, then a new functional particular value is automatically determined for said at least one data flow.

6. A method according to claim 1, further comprising listing undiagnosed feared incidents to construct an analysis of functional safety of the functional architecture.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the particular values and feared incidents are listed to deduce an analysis of functional safety of the functional architecture.

8. A diagnostic method according to claim 1, wherein the functional architecture comprises an architecture with which an automobile can be equipped.

9. A diagnostic method according to claim 1, further comprising analyzing feasibility and/or susceptibility to failure of functioning of the functional architecture and analyzing establishment of an output indicating the feasibility and/or susceptibility to failure.

10. A data-processing tool programmed to perform the method for diagnosing functional faults of a functional architecture according to claim 1.

11. A diagnostic method according to claim 1, wherein said particular values of said second list include a value associated with the presence of a connection fault between said hardware components.

12. A diagnostic method according to claim 11, wherein said connection fault is a short-circuit formed by a wire between said hardware components.

13. A diagnostic method according to claim 1, wherein said sensor is a speed sensor and said property measured with said sensor is a wheel speed for said automobile.

14. A diagnostic method according to claim 1, wherein said hardware components include calculators, networks, signal lines, and connectors.

15. A commercial article provided with a computer-readable memory, a program executable by a computer being recorded in the memory for diagnosis of functional faults of a functional architecture including functions for performing a service in an automobile and associated with a sensor, the program including encoding for:

mapping said functions onto a hardware architecture composed of hardware components;

measuring a property of said automobile with said sensor so as to obtain raw data;

determining and listing a first plurality of particular values based on said raw data and corresponding to functional faults of said sensor;

determining and listing a second plurality of particular values corresponding to functional states for said hardware components relative to a propagation of signals through said hardware architecture thereby indicating a state of propagation of information relating to said faults across the functional architecture;

forming a functional diagnosis of the functional architecture based on first and second pluralities of said particular values; and

recording the particular values and their propagation on a memory.

16. A data-processing tool comprising the commercial article according to claim 15.