System for dynamic diagnosis of apparatus operating conditions

• US 6,615,120 B1
• Filed: 10/30/2000
• Issued: 09/02/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Snap-On Technologies Incorporated (Snap-On Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Snap-On Technologies Incorporated (Snap-On Incorporated)
• Inventors: Rother, Paul J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zanelli, Michael J.
• Application Number:
  US09/699,334
• Time in Patent Office: 1,037 Days
• Field of Search: 701/29, 701/32, 701/33, 701/35, 701/117.2, 701/117.3
• US Class Current: 701/33
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 21/00 Measuring or testing not otherwise provided for
• 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: G01M 17/007 Wheeled or endless-tracked vehicles G01M17/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0808 Diagnosing performance data testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005

Abstract

A diagnostic platform includes a processor, storage media and user interfaces, including a display screen, the processor being coupled to engine analyzer hardware and adapted to be coupled to a scanner for downloading data from vehicle on-board computers. The system stores libraries of information regarding vehicle identifications, drivability symptoms exhibited by vehicles, vehicle system and component tests and service codes which can be registered by the vehicle on-board computer. System software permits the user to input an identification of the vehicle under test and, in one mode of operation, displays a library of faults, such as symptoms or service codes, from which the user can select those exhibited by the vehicle, whereupon the system selects from the test library those tests pertinent to diagnosis of the causes of the selected faults and displays them in a hierarchically ranked order based on likelihood of successful diagnosis of the faults. The user can then select and initiate any displayed test. In other modes, the system initially displays one of the libraries of system or component tests, from which the user selects those deemed appropriate, whereupon the system highlights icons which can be selected for initiating pertinent test procedures. Selected test procedures may include links to the engine analyzer or scanner hardware or other appropriate test modules.

Claims

1. A method for a user to diagnose an apparatus, the method comprising:

receiving apparatus identification information;

using the apparatus identification information and stored apparatus diagnostic data to determine at least one test that can be performed on an apparatus to diagnose a cause of a fault that can be experienced by the apparatus;

in response to a test being performed to diagnose a cause of a fault being experienced by the apparatus, collecting test data comprising whether or not the test diagnosed a cause of the fault;

transmitting the test data and the apparatus identification information to a remote system library; and

receiving updated apparatus diagnostic data from the remote system library;

wherein the apparatus comprises a vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying at least one test to the user for the user to select; and

receiving from the user a selection of a test to perform on the apparatus under diagnosis.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein displaying at least one test to the user for the user to select comprises:

displaying an indication of at least one system of the apparatus on which a test can be performed to diagnose a cause of a fault that can be experienced by the apparatus.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein displaying at least one test to the user for the user to select comprises:

displaying an indication of at least one component of the apparatus on which a test can be performed to diagnose a cause of a fault that can be experienced by the apparatus.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein displaying at least one test to the user comprises accessing a knowledge database that includes a library comprising a plurality of tests.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein displaying at least one test to the user comprises indicating which tests have been previously performed.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein receiving apparatus identification information comprises:

prompting the user to perform an apparatus identification procedure.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

prompting the user to perform the test.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing test data to a data storage mechanism.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the remote system library updates the apparatus diagnostic data.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

evaluating the test data and displaying at least one diagnostic conclusion to the user.

12. A method for a user to diagnose an apparatus, the method comprising:

receiving apparatus identification information;

determining at least one fault that can be experienced by the apparatus under diagnosis;

displaying at least one fault to a user for the user to select, receiving from the user a selection of at least one fault, and using stored apparatus diagnostic data and the apparatus identification information to responsively build a list comprising at least one cause and test, each cause and test having a rank;

arranging the causes and tests by the rank of each cause and test, displaying an arranged list of the causes and tests to the user for the user to select at least one cause and test, and receiving from the user a selection of a cause and a test; and

in response to a test being performed to diagnose a cause of a fault being experienced by the apparatus, collecting test data comprising whether or not the test diagnosed the cause selected by the user as a cause of at least one of the faults selected by the user.

13. The method of claims 12, further comprising:

storing the test data to a data storage mechanism.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

transmitting the test data and the apparatus identification information to a remote system library.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving an updated rank for at least one cause and test from a remote system library.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the remote system library updates the rank of at least one cause and test.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving updated apparatus diagnostic data from We a remote system library.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the remote system library updates the apparatus diagnostic data.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving apparatus identification information comprises:

prompting the user to perform an apparatus identification procedure.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein determining at least one fault that can be experienced by the apparatus under diagnosis comprises:

using stored apparatus diagnostic data and the apparatus identification information to determine at least one fault that can be experienced by the apparatus under diagnosis.

21. The method of claim 12, wherein displaying at least one fault to the user comprises accessing a knowledge database that includes a library comprising a plurality of faults.

22. The method of claim 12, wherein building a list of causes and tests comprises accessing a knowledge database that includes a library comprising a plurality of tests.

23. The method of claim 12, wherein the rank of each cause and test comprises a numerical indication of a likelihood that a test will successfully diagnose a cause of at least one of the faults selected by the user.

24. The method of claim 12, wherein arranging the causes and tests by the rank of each cause and test comprises arranging the causes and tests from a highest rank to a lowest rank.

25. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

using a ranking algorithm to further arrange each cause and test.

26. The method of claim 12, wherein displaying the arranged list of the causes and tests to the user comprises indicating which tests have been previously performed.

27. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

prompting the user to perform the test on the apparatus.

28. The method of claim 12, wherein the test data further comprises an identification of the faults selected by the user, an identification of the cause and the test selected by the user, and the rank of the cause and the test selected by the user.

29. The method of claim 12, wherein a fault comprises a symptom exhibited by an apparatus under diagnosis.

30. The method of claim 12, wherein a fault comprises a service code for an apparatus under diagnosis.

31. The method of claim 30, further comprising:

reading from the apparatus any existing service codes.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein reading from an apparatus any existing service codes comprises:

prompting the user to perform a service code access procedure; and

using a scanner module to read from the apparatus any existing service codes.

33. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

evaluating the test data and displaying at least one diagnostic conclusion to the user.

34. The method of claim 12, wherein the apparatus under diagnosis is a vehicle.

35. A method of confirming a diagnosis for an apparatus being tested, the method comprising:

receiving from a user a selection of at least one fault experienced by an apparatus under diagnosis;

in response to the user performing a test on the apparatus to diagnose the fault, collecting test data comprising an identification of the test performed by the user and an indication that the test diagnosed a cause of at least one of the faults selected by the user; and

transmitting the test data and apparatus identification information to a remote system library.

36. The method of claim 35, further comprising:

storing the test data to a data storage mechanism.

37. The method of claim 35, further comprising:

receiving updated apparatus diagnostic data from the remote system library.

38. The method of claim 35, wherein the test data further comprises an identification of a particular type of apparatus tested and an identification of the faults selected by the user.

39. The method of claim 35, wherein receiving test data comprising an identification of the test performed by the user further comprises:

displaying to the user a text box for entering the identification of the test performed by the user.

40. The method of claim 35, further comprising:

responsive to receiving from the user the selection of at least one fault, displaying at least one cause and test for the user to select, each cause and test having a rank;

receiving from the user a selection of a cause and a test; and

in response to the user performing the test on the apparatus, collecting test data comprising an identification of the test performed by the user and an indication that the test diagnosed the cause as a cause of at least one of the faults selected by the user.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the remote system library updates the rank of at least one cause and test.

42. The method of claim 41, further comprising:

after the remote system library has updated the rank of a cause and test, receiving from the remote system library the rank of the cause and test.

43. The method of claim 40, wherein the rank of each cause and test comprises a numerical indication of a likelihood that a test will successfully diagnose a cause of at least one of the faults selected by the user.

44. The method of claim 35, wherein the apparatus under diagnosis is a vehicle.

45. A method of using a focus group to assign a rank to each of a plurality of causes and tests for a particular type of apparatus, the method comprising:

receiving from the focus group a plurality of faults that can be experienced by an apparatus under diagnosis;

for each fault, receiving from the focus group a plurality of causes;

for each cause, receiving from the focus group a test that a user can perform on the apparatus to diagnose that cause as a cause of the fault;

receiving from the focus group a rank for each one of the causes and tests; and

storing the rank for each one of the causes and tests in a system library for apparatus diagnosis.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein the rank of each cause and test comprises a numerical indication of a likelihood that a test will successfully diagnose a cause of at least one of the faults selected by the user.

47. The method of claim 45, wherein receiving from the focus group a rank for each one of the causes and tests further comprises:

the focus group determining a probability that a particular cause and test will diagnose a particular fault.

48. The method of claim 47, further comprising:

the focus group determining a time required to perform the particular test.

49. The method of claim 47, wherein the focus group has hands-on experience diagnosing the particular fault, further comprising:

the focus group using its hands-on experience to determine the probability that the particular cause and test will diagnose the particular fault.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein the focus group using its hands-on experience to determine the probability that the particular cause and test will diagnose a particular fault further comprises:

the focus group determining a time required to perform the particular test.

51. The method of claim 47, wherein the focus group has an understanding of how a system of a particular type of apparatus operates, further comprising:

the focus group using its understanding of how the system of the particular type of apparatus operates to determine the probability that the particular cause and test will diagnose the particular fault.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein the focus group using its understanding of how the system of the particular type of apparatus operates to determine the probability that the particular cause and test will diagnose a particular fault further comprises:

the focus group determining a time required to perform the particular test.

53. The method of claim 45, wherein a fault comprises a symptom exhibited by an apparatus.

54. The method of claim 45, wherein a fault comprises a service code of an apparatus.

55. The method of claim 45, wherein the apparatus under diagnosis is a vehicle.

56. A method of maintaining a diagnostic library for apparatus diagnosis, the method comprising:

determining a rank for each of a plurality of causes and tests for a particular type of apparatus, wherein determining a rank comprises;

receiving from a focus group a plurality of faults that can be experienced by an apparatus under diagnosis;

for each fault, receiving from the focus group a plurality of causes;

for each cause, receiving from the focus group a test that a user can perform on the apparatus to diagnose that cause as a cause of the fault; and

receiving from the focus group a rank for each one of the causes and tests; and

storing the rank for each one of the causes and tests in a system library for apparatus diagnosis; and

updating the rank for at least one cause and test by receiving apparatus identification information and test data comprising whether or not the test diagnosed the cause as a cause of a particular fault.

57. The method of claim 56, wherein the rank of each cause and test comprises a numerical indication of a likelihood that a test will successfully diagnose a cause of at least one of the faults selected by the user.

58. The method of claim 56, wherein receiving from the focus group a rank for each one of the causes and tests further comprises:

the focus group determining a probability that a particular cause and test will diagnose a particular fault.

59. The method of claim 58, further comprising:

the focus group determining a time required to perform the particular test.

60. The method of claim 58, wherein the focus group has hands-on experience diagnosing the particular fault, further comprising:

the focus group using its hands-on experience to determine the probability that the particular cause and test will diagnose the particular fault.

61. The method of claim 60, wherein the focus group using its hands-on experience to determine the probability that the particular cause and test will diagnose a particular fault further comprises:

the focus group determining a time required to perform the particular test.

62. The method of claim 58, wherein the focus group has an understanding of how a system of a particular type of apparatus operates, further comprising:

the focus group using its understanding of how the system of the particular type of apparatus operates to determine the probability that the particular cause and test will diagnose the particular fault.

63. The method of claim 62, wherein the focus group using its understanding of how the system of the particular type of apparatus operates to determine the probability that the particular cause and test will diagnose a particular fault further comprises:

the focus group determining the time required to perform the particular test.

64. The method of claim 56, wherein updating the rank for at least one cause and test comprises:

in response to a test being performed on an apparatus, receiving apparatus identification information and test data.

65. The method of claim 64, wherein the test data comprises whether or not the test diagnosed the cause as a cause of a particular fault.

66. The method of claim 56, wherein a fault comprises a symptom exhibited by an apparatus.

67. The method of claim 56, wherein a fault comprises a service code of an apparatus.

68. The method of claim 56, wherein the apparatus under diagnosis is a vehicle.