Method and device for identifying vehicles

• US 9,070,234 B2
• Filed: 04/11/2012
• Issued: 06/30/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Schneider, Klaus, Wagner, Mirko
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheung, Mary
• Assistant Examiner(s): WONG, YUEN H
• Application Number:
  US14/122,656
• Publication Number:
  US 20140188328A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,175 Days
• Field of Search: 701/29.6
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C

Abstract

A device for identifying a vehicle includes: an input interface receiving a first input of feature specificities of first features of a vehicle; a database device which stores a component model, an identification model, and an information unit model; a computation device ascertaining second features which make possible an unequivocal identification of the vehicle in relation to the intended diagnosis; and an output device outputting the second features ascertained by the computation device, the input interface receiving a second input of feature specificities of the second features of the vehicle through the user, and the computing device ascertaining, as a function of the second input, a relation associated with the intended diagnosis from the information unit model of the database device.

Claims

1. A device for identifying and diagnosing a vehicle for vehicle repair, comprising:

an input interface configured to receive a first input of feature specificities of first features of the vehicle and an intended diagnosis of the vehicle by a user;

a database device storing a component model, an identification model, and an information unit model, wherein definitions of vehicle components are stored as component instances in the component model, associations of features and corresponding feature specificities are stored in the identification model, and the information unit model stores items of diagnostic information and relations of the items of diagnostic information to the associated feature specificities stored in the identification model as well as component instances stored in the component model;

a calculation device configured to ascertain, on a basis of the first input and with an aid of the component instances, associations and relations stored in the database device, second features of the vehicle which enable an unequivocal identification of the vehicle in relation to the intended diagnosis; and

an output device configured to output to the user the second features ascertained by the calculation device;

wherein the input interface is configured to receive a second input of feature specificities of the second features of the vehicle by the user, and wherein the calculation device is configured to ascertain, as a function of the second input, a relation associated with the intended diagnosis from the information unit model of the database device.

2. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein the identification model contains features and code numbers which describe the vehicle.

3. The device as recited in claim 2, wherein at least one of the identification model and the component model implements an ontological model of relations.

4. A vehicle diagnostic unit for vehicle repair, comprising:

a device for identifying a vehicle, the device having;

an input interface configured to receive a first input of feature specificities of first features of the vehicle and an intended diagnosis of the vehicle by a user;

a database device storing a component model, an identification model, and an information unit model, wherein definitions of vehicle components are stored as component instances in the component model, associations of features and corresponding feature specificities are stored in the identification model, and the information unit model stores items of diagnostic information and relations of the items of diagnostic information to the associated feature specificities stored in the identification model as well as component instances stored in the component model;

a calculation device configured to ascertain, on a basis of the first input and with an aid of the component instances, associations and relations stored in the database device, second features of the vehicle which enable an unequivocal identification of the vehicle in relation to the intended diagnosis; and

an output device configured to output to the user the second features ascertained by the calculation device;

wherein the input interface is configured to receive a second input of feature specificities of the second features of the vehicle by the user, and

wherein the calculation device is configured to ascertain, as a function of the second input, a relation associated with the intended diagnosis from the information unit model of the database device; and

a diagnostic device configured to execute a test program for the vehicle, the diagnostic device controlling the test program as a function of the relation associated with the intended diagnosis ascertained by the calculation device.

5. The vehicle testing unit as recited in claim 4, wherein the diagnostic device includes one of an axle measurement testing device, an engine tester, an emission testing device, a brake testing device, a shock absorber testing device, a toe testing device, a weighing device, a brake fluid testing device, a sound level meter, a diesel smoke gas tester, a wheel-alignment analyzer, a toe angle testing device, a steering angle tester or an air conditioning testing device.

6. A method for identifying and diagnosing a vehicle for vehicle repair, comprising:

receiving a first input of feature specificities of first features of the vehicle and an intended diagnosis of the vehicle by a user via an input interface;

ascertaining, by a calculation device, second features of the vehicle which enable an unequivocal identification of the vehicle in relation to the intended diagnosis, as a function of the first input, the calculation device ascertaining the second features with an aid of a database device which stores (i) a component model in which definitions of vehicle components are stored as component instances, (ii) an identification model in which associations of features and corresponding feature specificities are stored, and (iii) an information unit model which contains items of diagnostic information and relations of the items of diagnostic information to the associated feature specificities stored in the identification model as well as the component instances stored in the component model;

outputting the second features ascertained by the calculation device to the user via an output device;

receiving a second input of feature specificities of the second features of the vehicle via the input interface by the user; and

ascertaining, by the calculation device, a relation associated with the intended diagnosis from the information unit model of the database device, as a function of the second input.