Data logging in a motor vehicle

• US 20070174684A1
• Filed: 11/19/2004
• Published: 07/26/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Daimler AG (Mercedes-Benz Group AG)
• Original Assignee: Daimler Chrysler Company LLC (Stellantis NV)
• Inventors: Spiegelberg, Gernot, Schwarzhaupt, Andreas, Sulzmann, Armin, Gehring, Ottmar, Hammerling, Carsten, Heilman, Harro, Englert, Sascha
• Granted Patent: US 7,500,151 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/12
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0858 wherein the data carrier is removable
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/069 using logs of notifications; Post-processing of notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for logging messages on a data bus and temporarily storing the sent messages in a cyclically overwritable volatile storing means. The temporarily stored messages can be examined in a targeted manner for attributes of interest by using a verification program. A storage of the temporarily stored messages in a non-volatile second storing means can be initiated by means of definable trigger events that, for example, are formed from individual or a number of attributes of the messages. To this end, the occurrence of the defined trigger event is determined by a monitoring unit, and the data content of the volatile storing means are subsequently transferred into the storage locations of the non-volatile storing means. The principal advantage achieved with the above method resides in the possibility of backtracking the bus traffic. The exchanged messages may be backtracked and thus provide for the possibility to determine from which process and from which control device was the error message sent on the bus. This assists in a decisive manner in the error-seeking in complex communications networks. By means of the backtracking of the error message or with the analysis as to which message has eventually triggered an error in the communications network, it may be ascertained which process is responsible for the error and which program step triggered it. The error-seeking in the software programming of complex control device combinations is thereby decisively facilitated.

Claims

1. A method of reading messages which are sent over a data bus in a motor vehicle between electronic units, comprising:

at least one communications network based on at least one data bus to which several electronic units are connected by means of a bus interface,

at least one data interface for connecting the communications network with an external data processing unit,

at least one cyclically overwritable, volatile storing means for the storing of messages which were sent in the communications network,

at least one monitoring unit having an executable program which examines the messages stored in the volatile storing means for selected, parameterizable attributes,

at least one definable trigger event, whose occurrence is monitored by the executable program, and upon whose occurrence the cyclical overwriting of the volatile storing means is stopped for at least as long until the data content of the volatile storing means is transferred to a second, non-volatile storing means.

2. The method as defined in claim 1,

wherein

the definable trigger event may be read or exchanged over the data interface of the communications network.

3. The method as defined in claim 1,

wherein

the parameterizable attributes may be read or exchanged over the data interface of the communications network.

4. The method as defined in claim 1,

wherein

the data content of the non-volatile storing means is, upon request by an external electronic data processing device, read thereinto over the data interface of the communications network.

5. The method as defined in claim 1,

wherein

the trigger event is formed from a logic or time-related concatenation of the parameterizable attributes.

6. The method as defined in claim 1,

wherein

the data bus is a CAN bus and the data interface is a serial interface or a modem interface.

7. The method as defined in claim 6,

wherein

the modem interface is a mobile wireless interface based on the standards of SMS, GSM or GPRS.

8. The method as defined in claim 1,

wherein

the parameterizable attributes are CAN identifier, error bits, error codes or selected travel data of the motor vehicle.

9. The method as defined in claim 1,

wherein

several trigger events are defined and monitored.

10. The method as defined in claim 1,

wherein

after occurrence of a trigger event, a notification to an external data processing device concerning the occurrence of the event is effected.

11. The method as defined in claim 10,

wherein

the data content of the non-volatile storing means is, after sending the notification, read into an external electronic data processing device at the request thereof.