Remaining useful life estimation of vehicle component

• US 9,846,978 B1
• Filed: 06/15/2016
• Issued: 12/19/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Tseng, Fling Finn, Filev, Dimitar Petrov, Makki, Imad Hassan
• Primary Examiner(s): Beaulieu, Yonel
• Application Number:
  US15/182,865
• Publication Number:
  US 20170365109A1
• Time in Patent Office: 552 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/006 Indicating maintenance
• 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 5/12 in graphical form

Abstract

A vehicle system includes a processor and a memory accessible to the processor and storing computer-executable instructions. The instructions include receiving data from a plurality of vehicles, generating at least one cluster from the received data, and determining a life cycle profile for a vehicle component based on the at least one cluster. The data includes state of health information associated with the vehicle component.

Claims

1. A vehicle system comprising a processor and a memory accessible to the processor and storing computer-executable instructions, the instructions including:

receiving data from a plurality of vehicles, the data including state of health information associated with a vehicle component;

generating a first cluster from the received data;

determining a life cycle profile for the vehicle component based on the first cluster;

periodically updating the first cluster with updated data; and

creating a second cluster after generating the first cluster, and wherein periodically updating the first cluster includes transferring data from the first cluster to the second cluster.

2. The vehicle system of claim 1, the instructions including determining a product phase of the vehicle component based on the life cycle profile.

3. The vehicle system of claim 2, the instructions including transmitting a notification to a target vehicle when the product phase of the vehicle component is a near end of life phase.

4. The vehicle system of claim 2, wherein the product phase includes a wearing phase, a stable phase, and a near end of life phase.

5. The vehicle system of claim 2, wherein the product phase is based at least in part on usage of the vehicle component.

6. The vehicle system of claim 1, wherein periodically updating the first cluster includes updating the first cluster with data previously included in a third cluster, and the instructions further including deleting the third cluster after updating the first cluster with the data previously included in the third cluster.

7. A method comprising:

receiving data from a plurality of vehicles, the data including state of health information associated with a vehicle component;

generating a first cluster from the received data;

determining a life cycle profile for the vehicle component based on the first cluster;

periodically updating the first cluster with updated data; and

creating a second cluster after generating the first cluster, and wherein periodically updating the first cluster includes transferring data from the first cluster to the second cluster.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising determining a product phase of the vehicle component based on the life cycle profile.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising transmitting a notification to a target vehicle when the product phase of the vehicle component is a near end of life phase.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the product phase is based at least in part on usage of the vehicle component.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein periodically updating the at least one cluster includes updating the first cluster includes updating the first cluster with data previously included in a third cluster, and the method further comprising deleting the third cluster after updating the first cluster with the data previously included in the third cluster.