Method and method for troubleshooting a body work function pertaining to vehicles

• US 9,453,785 B2
• Filed: 10/03/2012
• Issued: 09/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Scania CV AB (Volkswagen AG)
• Original Assignee: Scania CV AB (Volkswagen AG)
• Inventors: Aneros, Johan, Lindgren, Tony
• Primary Examiner(s): Mawari, Redhwan K
• Assistant Examiner(s): Torchinsky, Edward
• Application Number:
  US14/350,179
• Publication Number:
  US 20140288767A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,455 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 17/00 Testing of vehicles testing fluid tightness G01M3/00; testing elastic properties of bodies or chassis, e.g. torsion-testing, G01M5/00; testing alignment of vehicle headlight devices G01M11/06; testing of engines G01M15/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2205/02 using a vehicle scan tool

Abstract

A method for troubleshooting a built-on function pertaining to a manufactured vehicle. That vehicle undergoes building-on of at least one function, which function is provided with a computer-readable representation associated with the vehicle. During troubleshooting of the built-on function, the vehicle is connected to a diagnostic tool which determines conditions for activation of the built-on function. The tool determines via the connection to the vehicle whether the at least one condition for the activation is fulfilled, and a signal is generated if the at least one activation condition is not fulfilled. Also a diagnostic tool and a vehicle are disclosed.

Claims

1. A method for providing and troubleshooting at least one built-on function pertaining to a vehicle which had been produced, the method comprising:

building-on of said at least one built-on function of said vehicle onto said vehicle after production of said vehicle and providing a non-transitory computer-readable medium with a computer-readable program code representation of said at least one built-on function associated with said vehicle, said vehicle including at least one first control system, said at least one built-on function including at least one second control system, and said vehicle further including a building-on interface permitting communication between said at least one first control system and said at least one second control system, said at least one first control system sending at least one first signal to said at least one second control system, said at least one first signal indicating whether at least one first condition for activation of said at least one built-on function is fulfilled in said vehicle, said at least one second control system sending at least one second signal associated with activation of said at least one built-on function to said at least one first control system when said at least one first condition for activation of said at least one built-on function is fulfilled in said vehicle; and

when said at least one built-on function malfunctions, said method comprises;

connecting said vehicle to a diagnostic tool on which is stored said computer-readable program code representation of said at least one built-on function;

using said diagnostic tool to determine said at least one first condition for activation of said at least one built-on function based on said computer-readable program code representation of said at least one built-on function;

using said diagnostic tool, by said connection of said vehicle to said diagnostic tool, to determine whether said at least one first condition for activation of said at least one built-on function is fulfilled in said vehicle by examination of said at least one first signal; and

generating a third signal if said at least one first condition for activation of said at least one built-on function is not fulfilled.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said activation of said built-on function requires fulfilment of a plurality of activation conditions, and generating said third signal when at least a first of said required activation conditions is not fulfilled.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising identifying at least said first of said required activation conditions by said third signal.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising identifying said at least one first condition for activation of said at least one built-on function for a user of said diagnostic tool by use of said generated third signal.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

identifying said at least one first condition for activation of said at least one built-on function which has to be fulfilled for a user of said diagnostic tool.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising:

when identifying said at least one first condition for activation of said at least one built-on function for a user of said diagnostic tool, using said diagnostic tool to demand an indication of whether remedial action causing fulfillment of said at least one first condition for activation of said at least one built-on function rectifies said malfunction.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising:

after said remedial action causing fulfillment of said at least one first condition for activation of said at least one built-on function, responding to said malfunction of said at least one built-on function by determining whether at least one second condition for activation of said at least one built-on function is fulfilled and,

identifying said at least one second condition for activation of said at least one built-on function for a user of said diagnostic tool where said at least one second condition for activation of said at least one built-on function is not fulfilled.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising, in said troubleshooting of said at least one built-on function, determining whether vehicle-internal conditions for activation of said at least one built-on function are fulfilled.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by using said diagnostic tool, from said computer-readable program code representation of said at least one built-on function at least one vehicle-internal condition which has to be fulfilled for said at least one built-on function to be activated; and

determining, via said connection of said diagnostic tool to said vehicle, whether said vehicle-internal condition is fulfilled by reading signals from said vehicle'"'"'s internal control system.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

reading said signals substantially in real time.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising using said computer-readable program code representation of said at least one built-on function, and applicable condition programming, to determine conditions for activation of said at least one built-on function.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising storing said computer-readable program code representation of said at least one built-on function on board said vehicle.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising generating said computer-readable program code representation of said at least one built-on function by means of a programming tool.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein said computer-readable program code representation of said at least one built-on function comprises a representation of required signals and conditions for activation of said at least one built-on function.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein said computer-readable program code representation of said at least one built-on function takes the form of a logic function description of said at least one built-on function.

16. The method according to claim 1, further comprising creating said at least one built-on function by means of a programming tool.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein said programming tool for creating said at least one built-on function generates said computer-readable program code representation of said at least one built-on function.

18. The method according to claim 1, further comprising creating said at least one built-on function by means of a programming tool which creates a graphic function description of said at least one built-on function and which converts said function description to a computer-readable program code representation of said function description.

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein said at least one built-on function has been built on by some other party than a producer of said vehicle.

20. A diagnostic tool for troubleshooting at least one built-on function pertaining to a vehicle which had been produced, and said vehicle undergoes building-on, after production of said vehicle, of said at least one built-on function which is provided with a computer-readable program code representation associated with said vehicle, the computer-readable program code representation being provided on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, said vehicle including at least one first control system, said at least one built-on function including at least one second control system, and said vehicle further including a building-on interface permitting communication between said at least one first control system and said at least one second control system, said at least one first control system sending at least one first signal to said at least one second control system, said at least one first signal indicating whether at least one first condition for activation of said at least one built-on function is fulfilled in said vehicle, said at least one second control system sending at least one second signal associated with activation of said at least one built-on function to said at least one first control system when said at least one first condition for activation of said at least one built-on function is fulfilled in said vehicle, said computer-readable program code representation of said at least one built-on function being stored on said diagnostic tool;

wherein during troubleshooting of said at least one built-on function and when said vehicle has been connected to said diagnostic tool, said diagnostic tool is configured for;

on a basis of said computer-readable program code representation of said at least one built-on function, determining said at least one first condition for activation of said at least one built-on function;

via said connection to said vehicle, determining whether said at least one first condition for activation of said at least one built-on function is fulfilled in said vehicle by examination of said at least one first signal; and

generating a third signal if said at least one first condition for activation of said at least one built-on function is not fulfilled.

21. A computer program comprising program code, stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, wherein when said program code is executed in a diagnostic tool connected to a vehicle, said computer program causing said diagnostic tool to:

determine at least one first condition for activation of at least one built-on function of said vehicle based on a computer-readable program code representation of said at least one built-on function stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, said vehicle including at least one first control system, said at least one built-on function including at least one second control system, and said vehicle further including a building-on interface permitting communication between said at least one first control system and said at least one second control system, said at least one first control system sending at least one first signal to said at least one second control system, said at least one first signal indicating whether said at least one first condition for activation of said at least one built-on function is fulfilled in said vehicle, said at least one second control system sending at least one second signal associated with activation of said at least one built-on function to said at least one first control system when said at least one first condition for activation of said at least one built-on function is fulfilled in said vehicle; and

determine, by connection of said vehicle to said diagnostic tool, whether said at least one first condition for activation of said at least one built-on function is fulfilled in said vehicle by examination of said at least one first signal, said at least one built-on function of said vehicle being built on said vehicle after production of said vehicle.

22. A vehicle which had been produced and has undergone building-on of at least one built-on function, after production of said vehicle, said vehicle comprising a computer-readable program code representation of said at least one built-on function stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, said vehicle including at least one first control system, said at least one built-on function including at least one second control system, and said vehicle further including a building-on interface permitting communication between said at least one first control system and said at least one second control system, said at least one first control system sending at least one first signal to said at least one second control system, said at least one first signal indicating whether at least one first condition for activation of said at least one built-on function is fulfilled in said vehicle, said at least one second control system sending at least one second signal associated with activation of said at least one built-on function to said at least one first control system when said at least one first condition for activation of said at least one built-on function is fulfilled in said vehicle;

said representation being configured so that a diagnostic tool connected to said vehicle for troubleshooting may use said representation to determine whether said at least one first condition for activation of said at least one built-on function is fulfilled in said vehicle by examination of said at least one first signal.