Method of monitoring CANbus information

• US 8,751,098 B2
• Filed: 01/25/2008
• Issued: 06/10/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Omnitracs LLC (Solera Holdings Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Omnitracs LLC (Solera Holdings Incorporated)
• Inventors: Faus, Juan, Ram, Satish
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nolan, Peter D
• Application Number:
  US12/020,464
• Publication Number:
  US 20090192662A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,328 Days
• Field of Search: 701/29.1, 701/29.6, 701/29.8, 701/29.9, 701/20.3, 701/31.4, 701/31.5, 701/31.7, 701/32.7
• US Class Current: 701/32.7
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0808 Diagnosing performance data testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40 Bus networks

Abstract

The specification and drawing figures describe and show a method and system of monitoring CANbus information across an integrated wireless equipment management system and a mobile wireless communications system. The CANbus, mounted in a vehicle, provides communication and diagnostic information among vehicle components that, because the CANbus also is operatively connectable to the integrated wireless equipment management system, may be transmitted across that system. The CANbus includes one or more original parameters associated with sensors that are converted into virtual sensors to provide selective vehicle information to a terminal of the integrated wireless equipment management system.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring bus information, comprising:

receiving one or more original parameters, at an integrated wireless equipment management system, from a bus installed in a vehicle to provide communication and diagnostic information among vehicle components, wherein the one or more original parameters are adapted to provide vehicle information;

receiving a request for desired selective vehicle information from a remote asset manager; and

configuring, at the integrated wireless equipment management system, the one or more original parameters to produce at least one virtual sensor capable of providing selective vehicle information different than the vehicle information included in the original parameters, wherein the configuration of the virtual sensor is based on the received request for desired selective vehicle information.

2. The method of monitoring bus information as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more original parameters comprise proprietary parameters, from a CANbus, configured by a vehicle manufacturer.

3. The method of monitoring bus information as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one virtual sensor enables the integrated wireless equipment management system to monitor vehicle data without access to proprietary content of the original parameters.

4. The method of monitoring bus information as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more original parameters include one or more parameters provided by SAE Standard J1939.

5. The method of monitoring bus information as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more original parameters include determinable original parameter name and/or description data.

6. The method of monitoring bus information as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more original parameters include determinable parameter group number data.

7. The method of monitoring bus information as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more original parameters include determinable suspect parameter number data.

8. The method of monitoring bus information as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more original parameters include determinable start bit position data of the original parameter.

9. The method of monitoring bus information as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more original parameters include determinable total bit data of the original parameters.

10. The method of monitoring bus information as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more original parameters include determinable sensor breach data indicating a value that a sensor has exceeded a configurable threshold value or value and time limitation.

11. The method of monitoring bus information as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more original parameters include determinable sensor normal data indicating that a sensor has returned to a configurable threshold value or value and time limitation.

12. The method of monitoring bus information as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more original parameters are includable in a message transmittable across the mobile wireless communications system by a mobile computing platform of the integrated wireless equipment management system to a terminal of the integrated wireless equipment management system.

13. The method of monitoring bus information as recited in claim 1, wherein a determinable original parameter name and/or description data, and/or a determinable parameter group number data, and/or a determinable start bit position data, and/or a determinable total bit data are configurable at a terminal of the integrated wireless equipment management system into the at least one virtual sensor.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a virtual sensor configuration that defines the at least one virtual sensor from a remotely-located asset manager computer-assisted component.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the selective vehicle information is a function of the at least one virtual sensor and at least one of factor, offset, and unit data.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein configuring the one or more original parameters to produce the at least one virtual sensor further comprises at least one of:

extracting data from the one or more original parameters according to a virtual sensor configuration received from a remotely-located asset manager computer-assisted component;

or

adding new parameters to at least one of the extracted data or the one or more original parameters, according to the virtual sensor configuration.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the desired selective vehicle information is received in a message via a mobile wireless communication system by a mobile computing platform of the integrated wireless equipment management system.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising reconfiguring, at the integrated wireless equipment management system, the one or more original parameters to produce at least one virtual sensor capable of providing different selective vehicle information.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the original parameters comprise parameters provided for use with a CANbus by a manufacturer of the vehicle.

20. A method of monitoring bus information comprising:

receiving one or more original parameters at an integrated wireless equipment management system adapted to receive, store, and process at least vehicle data across a mobile wireless communications system, from a bus installed in a vehicle, wherein the bus is adapted to provide communication and diagnostic information among vehicle components the bus being operatively connectable to the integrated wireless equipment management system, wherein the bus includes the one or more original parameters adapted to provide vehicle data that may be monitored by the integrated wireless equipment management system;

configuring the one or more original parameters to produce at least one virtual sensor capable of providing selective vehicle information to the integrated wireless equipment management system; and

transmitting a message including the one or more original parameters across the mobile wireless communications system by a mobile computing platform of the integrated wireless equipment management system to a terminal of the integrated wireless equipment management system, wherein the terminal of the integrated wireless equipment management system further comprises means for providing factor, offset, and unit data to combine with the at least one virtual sensor to provide the selective vehicle information.

21. The method of monitoring bus information as recited in claim 20, wherein the one or more original parameters include one or more parameters provided by SAE Standard J1939.

22. A system for processing original parameters of a CANbus as virtual sensors, comprising:

an integrated wireless equipment management system having at least one terminal adapted to monitor vehicle data of a vehicle, wherein the at least one terminal is configured to;

receive one or more original parameters from a CANbus mounted in the vehicle and adapted to provide communication and diagnostic information among vehicle components, wherein the one or more original parameters are adapted to provide vehicle information; and

receive a request for desired selective vehicle information from a remote asset manager; and

a terminal processor configured to execute at least one protocol for configuring the one or more original parameters to produce at least one virtual sensor capable of providing selective vehicle information different than the vehicle information included in the original parameters, wherein the configuration of the virtual sensor is based on the received request for desired selective vehicle information.

23. The system for processing original parameters of a CANbus as virtual sensors as recited in claim 22, wherein the one or more original parameters correspond to one or more sensors on the vehicle that are operatively connected to the CANbus.

24. The system for processing original parameters of a CANbus as virtual sensors as recited in claim 22, further comprising a mobile computing platform operatively connectable to the terminal, wherein the mobile computing platform is configured to receive and transmit messages across a mobile wireless communications system to other components of the integrated wireless equipment management system.

25. The system for processing original parameters of a CANbus as virtual sensors as recited in claim 22, wherein the at least one protocol for configuring the one or more original parameters to selective vehicle information defines a plurality of determinable original parameters.

26. A system for processing original parameters of a CANbus as virtual sensors, comprising:

an integrated wireless equipment management system having at least one terminal adapted to monitor vehicle data of a vehicle, wherein the at least one terminal is configured to receive one or more original parameters from a CANbus mounted in the vehicle and adapted to provide communication and diagnostic information among vehicle components, wherein the one or more original parameters are adapted to provide vehicle information; and

a terminal processor configured to execute at least one protocol for configuring the one or more original parameters to produce at least one virtual sensor capable of providing selective vehicle information different than the vehicle information included in the original parameters,

wherein the terminal processor configured to execute the at least one protocol for configuring the one or more original parameters to selective vehicle information is further configured to extract one or more parameters provided by at least one standard adopted by the Society of Automotive Engineers from the one or more original parameters and configure one or more determinable parameters from the one or more extracted parameters, wherein the one or more determinable parameters correspond to the at least one virtual sensor.

27. A system for processing original parameters of a CANbus as virtual sensors comprising:

an integrated wireless equipment management system having at least one terminal remote from a vehicle adapted to monitor vehicle data of the vehicle transmitted from a mobile computing platform to the at least one terminal, wherein the remote terminal is configured to receive vehicle data messages from the mobile computing platform provided at the vehicle via a mobile wireless communications system adapted to transmit vehicle data messages at least between the mobile computing platform and the at least one terminal, and wherein the vehicle data messages are received from a CANbus mounted in the vehicle adapted to monitor vehicle data transmittable in vehicle data messages between the mobile computing platform and the at least one terminal, wherein the CANbus includes one or more original parameters; and

at least one protocol for configuring the vehicle data in the vehicle data messages to provide selective vehicle information monitored by the at least one terminal, wherein the protocol for configuring the vehicle data to provide selective vehicle information includes factor, offset and unit data provided by the terminal.

28. A system for providing selective vehicle information, the system comprising:

means for receiving one or more original parameters, from a CANbus mounted in a vehicle to provide communication and diagnostic information among vehicle components, wherein the one or more original parameters are adapted to provide vehicle information;

means for receiving a request for desired selective vehicle information from a remote asset manager; and

means for configuring the one or more original parameters to produce at least one virtual sensor capable of providing selective vehicle information different than the vehicle information included in the original parameters, wherein the configuration of the virtual sensor is based on the received request for desired selective vehicle information.

29. The system for providing selective vehicle information as recited in claim 28, wherein the means for configuring further includes means for filtering the one or more original parameters to obtain a parameter group number (PGN) and a source address (SA).

30. The system for providing selective vehicle information as recited in claim 29, wherein the means for configuring further comprises means for matching the PGN and the SA with the one or more original parameters.

31. The system for providing selective vehicle information as recited in claim 30, further comprising means for determining whether the PGN and the SA are normal or breached.

32. A system for monitoring bus information, comprising:

an integrated wireless equipment management system adapted to;

receive at least vehicle data including one or more original parameters from a bus installed in a vehicle to provide communication and diagnostic information among vehicle components, wherein the one or more original parameters are adapted to provide vehicle information; and

receive a request for desired selective vehicle information from a remote asset manager; and

a processor adapted to configure the one or more original parameters to produce at least one virtual sensor capable of providing selective vehicle information different than the vehicle information included in the original parameters, wherein the configuration of the virtual sensor is based on the received request for desired selective vehicle information.

33. A computer program product, comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that cause a computer to monitor bus information when executed by the computer, the instructions for causing the computer to:

receive one or more original parameters from a bus installed in a vehicle to provide communication and diagnostic information among vehicle components, wherein the one or more original parameters are adapted to provide vehicle information;

receive a request for desired selective vehicle information from a remote asset manager; and

configure the one or more original parameters to produce at least one virtual sensor capable of providing selective vehicle information different than the vehicle information included in the original parameters, wherein the configuration of the virtual sensor is based on the received request for desired selective vehicle information.