Trouble-diagnosis multi-function tester

• US 5,506,772 A
• Filed: 10/20/1989
• Issued: 04/09/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/1987
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Maekawa, Hirotoshi, Hirano, Shigeaki, Tatemoto, Minoru, Kubozono, Tsutomu
• Primary Examiner(s): Trans, Vincent N.
• Application Number:
  US07/425,357
• Time in Patent Office: 2,363 Days
• Field of Search: 364/431.01, 364/431.03, 364/424.03, 364/424.04, 364/551.01, 364/431.12, 73/116, 73/117.2, 371/20, 395/905, 395/913
• US Class Current: 701/29
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/0231 Circuits relating to the driving or the functioning of the vehicle monitoring tyres B60C23/00; indicating overspeed B60K31/00; for dash boards B60K37/00, B60Q3/10; for indicating emergencies B60Q1/52; brake control systems B60T; registering or indicating the working of vehicles G07C5/00; measuring distance G01C, e.g. combinations of speed and distance G01C23/00; engine indicators G01L; measuring speed or acceleration G01P
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/007 using microprocessors or computers

Abstract

A trouble-diagnosis multi-function tester for diagnosing presence or absence of occurrence of trouble by centralized inputting of the operational information in every element of the vehicle, which is constructed with a tester which introduces input information of various vehicles through a centralized connector provided at the side of the vehicle, and displays the contents of the input information; and a computer which controls the vehicle information to be transmitted as an output through an outer expansion terminal of the tester.

Claims

1. A connection system for trouble-diagnosis multi-function tester which diagnoses the presence or absence of occurrence of abnormalities in the operation of, by centralized inputting of the operational information, in elements of a motor vehicle, said connection system comprising:

a tester which introduced input information from various vehicles through a centralized connected provided at the side of each of said vehicles, and displays the contents of the input information; and

at least two connections from said tester to provide inputs and outputs, the first of which is coupled to a separate computer which controls the processing of said vehicle information so that said vehicle information is transmitted as an output through the second of said connection, and such that said information transmitted by said second connector is transmitted to a central location for collection and further processing.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein said tester includes a front panel, in which ten-key, function keys and a display window are arranged, and which includes on the top part thereof said outer expansion terminal, a vehicle data input terminal and a power source input terminal.

3. A system according to claim 2, wherein said trouble-diagnosis multi-function tester determines the presence or absence of abnormalities by comparing various vehicle information with prestored data indicative of normal conditions within the vehicle which has been memorized on the basis of various sensor data to be sent through said centralized connector, and, when it determines that an abnormality exists, it displays said abnormality in said display window.

4. A system according to claim 2, wherein vehicle data for elements in the vehicle are forwarded to said computer by the operation of the function keys, where the abnormality has occurred within said motor vehicle is diagnosed, the result of which is displayed on the display window of the tester.

5. A trouble-diagnosis multi-function system comprising:

a multi-function tester having a vehicle data input terminal for inputting information directly from a vehicle through a centralized connector;

an artificial intelligence computer, which has memorized beforehand diagnosing data, remotely connected to the multi-function tester through an external expansion terminal for estimating a location of a malfunction within the vehicle based on abnormality signals down-loaded to the artificial intelligence computer from the multi-function tester; and

wherein, the artificial intelligence computer downloads the location of the malfunction to the multi-function tester.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the multi-function tester determines whether the vehicle is not repaired and down-loads additional abnormality signals to the artificial intelligence computer for further processing if the vehicle is not repaired.