Method for testing vehicle electrical system during manufacturing
First Claim
1. A method of testing an electrical system of a vehicle at a vehicle assembly plant, wherein the vehicle includes a battery, comprising the steps of:
- transmitting, via a radiofrequency (RF) link, vehicle information to a portable tester;
testing the electrical system in accordance with the vehicle information;
monitoring the current from the battery during testing; and
monitoring the voltage of the electrical system during testing.
21 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for testing the electrical components of vehicles during manufacturing includes a hand held tester to which a translator unit can be detachably engaged and with which the tester is in RF communication. The translator unit can be detached from the tester and plugged into a test receptacle under a vehicle'"'"'s dashboard to communicate with the vehicle by translating computer formatted data from the tester to vehicle bus-formatted data, and vice-versa. Then, the vehicle'"'"'s VIN is scanned into the tester or manually input into the tester, and the tester transmits the VIN via an RF link in the assembly plant to a computer in the plant. Based on the VIN, the computer determines the electric equipment that the vehicle has, and the computer transmits this information back to the tester. The tester then determines which tests to execute, and the tester causes the translator unit to undertake these tests. The translator transmits the test results back to the tester which in turn transmits the results to the computer. A portable current module can be provided that monitors the current drawn from the vehicle'"'"'s battery during the testing and for communicating this data to the tester via RF link.
76 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method of testing an electrical system of a vehicle at a vehicle assembly plant, wherein the vehicle includes a battery, comprising the steps of:
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transmitting, via a radiofrequency (RF) link, vehicle information to a portable tester; testing the electrical system in accordance with the vehicle information; monitoring the current from the battery during testing; and monitoring the voltage of the electrical system during testing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of testing an electrical system of a vehicle at a vehicle assembly plant, comprising the steps of:
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transmitting, via a radiofrequency (RF) link, vehicle information to a portable tester; establishing communication between the tester and the electrical system only when the tester transmits a predetermined key code to the electrical system; and testing the electrical system in accordance with the vehicle information. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for testing electrical components of a vehicle during assembly of the vehicle or thereafter in substantially any location within or immediately adjacent to a vehicle assembly plant, wherein the vehicle includes a battery, comprising the steps of:
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obtaining a VIN associated with the vehicle by scanning the VIN using a bar code reader; transmitting the VIN via a primary RF link to a computer; in response to receiving the VIN, transmitting salescode date; correlating the salescode date to a test protocol; executing the test protocol to test the electrical components of the vehicle; engaging a translator with a test receptacle of the vehicle; establishing communication between the translator and an electrical tester in communication with the system computer via the primary RF link; monitoring the current from the battery during testing; and monitoring the voltage of the electrical system during testing. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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15. A method for testing electrical components of a vehicle during assembly of the vehicle or thereafter in substantially any location within or immediately adjacent to a vehicle assembly plant, comprising the step of:
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obtaining a VIN associated with the vehicle by scanning the VIN using a bar code reader; transmitting the VIN via a primary RF link to a computer; in response to receiving the VIN, transmitting salescode date; correlating the salescode date to a test protocol; executing the test protocol to test the electrical components of the vehicle; engaging a translator with a test receptacle of the vehicle; establishing communication between the translator and an electrical tester in communication with the system computer via the primary RF link; and establishing communication between the tester and the electrical system only when the tester transmits a predetermined key code to the electrical system. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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17. A method for testing an electrical system of a vehicle during assembly of the vehicle or thereafter in substantially any location within or immediately adjacent to a vehicle assembly plant, comprising the steps of:
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transmitting, at a portable tester, a vehicle identification number (VIN) associated with the vehicle; transmitting, via a radiofrequency (RF) link, salescode date to the tester in response to the VIN; correlating the salescode data to test protocols at the tester; testing the electrical system in accordance with the test protocols; and establishing communication between the tester and the electrical system only when the tester transmits a predetermined key code to the electrical system. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for testing an electrical system of a vehicle during assembly of the vehicle or thereafter in substantially any location within or immediately adjacent to a vehicle assembly plant, wherein the vehicle includes a battery, comprising the steps of:
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transmitting, at a portable tester, a vehicle identification number (VIN) associated with the vehicle; transmitting, via a radiofreguency (RF) link, salescode date to the tester in response to the VIN; correlating the salescode data to test protocols at the tester; testing the electrical system in accordance with the test protocols; monitoring the current from the battery during testing; and monitoring the voltage of the electrical system during testing. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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Specification