Code reader display

• US 7,069,125 B2
• Filed: 07/23/2002
• Issued: 06/27/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: SPX Corporation
• Inventors: Namaky, Hamid, Roberts, Robert A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MANCHO, RONNIE M
• Application Number:
  US10/201,538
• Publication Number:
  US 20030176957A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,435 Days
• Field of Search: 701 29- 33, 455/67.11, 455/457
• US Class Current: 701/29
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/321 Display for diagnostics, e.g. diagnostic result display, self-test user interface
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2205/02 using a vehicle scan tool
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C

Abstract

An improved code reader for reading and displaying OBD II diagnostic codes. The code reader displays textual diagnosis descriptions corresponding to diagnostic codes. Although the code reader preferably has a display having fewer available display characters than the number of characters in the OBD II textual diagnosis descriptions, the code reader can display both an OBD II code and the textual diagnosis description corresponding to a selected OBD II code. This is accomplished using code giving the appearance that the textual diagnosis description corresponding to the selected OBD II code is either streaming on the display or scrolling on the display.

Claims

1. A code reader for reading and displaying diagnostic codes, comprising:

(a) a processor;

(b) a communications circuit in circuit communication with said processor, said communications circuit for generating a communications link with a vehicle diagnostic system and reading at least one diagnostic code from the vehicle diagnostic system, said at least one diagnostic code having a corresponding textual diagnosis description formed by a number of characters; and

(c) a display in circuit communication with said processor, wherein the display has fewer display characters available than required to display the number of characters that form the corresponding textual diagnosis description; and

(d) wherein said processor executes code to display at least a portion of the textual diagnosis description corresponding to the at least one diagnostic code on said display.

2. A code reader for reading and displaying diagnostic codes according to claim 1, wherein said code causes said processor to automatically stream other portions of the textual diagnosis description so as to present an automatically streaming display of the textual diagnosis description.

3. A code reader for reading and displaying diagnostic codes according to claim 1, wherein said code causes said processor to automatically scroll other portions of the textual diagnosis description so as to present an automatically scrolling display of the textual diagnosis description.

4. A code reader for reading and displaying diagnostic codes according to claim 1, wherein said code causes said processor to accept inputs from a user interface that permits the user to manually stream other portions of the textual diagnosis description.

5. A code reader for reading and displaying diagnostic codes according to claim 1, wherein said code causes said processor to accept inputs from a user interface that permits the user to manually scroll other portions of the textual diagnosis description.

6. A code reader for reading and displaying diagnostic codes according to claim 5, wherein said code causes said processor to sequentially display the other portions of the textual diagnosis description on said available display region in such a way that it appears to be scrolling upwards.

7. A code reader for reading and displaying diagnostic codes according to claim 5, wherein said code causes said processor to sequentially display the other portions of the textual diagnosis description on said available display region in such a way that it appears to be streaming from right to left.

8. A code reader for reading and displaying diagnostic codes, comprising:

(a) a processor;

(b) a communications circuit in circuit communication with said processor, said communications circuit for generating a communications link with a vehicle diagnostic system and reading at least one diagnostic code from the vehicle diagnostic system, said at least one diagnostic code having a corresponding textual diagnosis description formed by a number of characters; and

(c) a display in circuit communication with said processor, wherein the display has fewer display characters available than required to display the number of characters that form the corresponding textual diagnosis description; and

(d) wherein said processor executes code to automatically display at least a portion of the textual diagnosis description corresponding to the at least one diagnostic code on said display.

9. A code reader for reading and displaying diagnostic codes according to claim 8, wherein said code causes said processor to automatically stream other portions of the textual diagnosis description so as to present an automatically streaming display of the textual diagnosis description.

10. A code reader for reading and displaying diagnostic codes according to claim 8, wherein said code causes said processor to automatically scroll other portions of the textual diagnosis description so as to present an automatically scrolling display of the textual diagnosis description.

11. A code reader for reading and displaying diagnostic codes, comprising:

(a) a processor;

(b) a communications circuit in circuit communication with said processor, said communications circuit for generating a communications link with a vehicle diagnostic system and reading at least one diagnostic code from the vehicle diagnostic system, said at least one diagnostic code having a corresponding textual diagnosis description formed by a number of characters; and

(c) a display in circuit communication with said processor, said display circuit having an available display region having fewer display characters available to display the textual diagnosis description corresponding to the at least one diagnostic code than the number of characters forming the textual diagnosis description corresponding to the at least one diagnostic code; and

(d) wherein said processor executes code to automatically display the textual diagnosis description corresponding to the at least one diagnostic code on said available display region of said display having fewer display characters available to display the textual diagnosis description than the number of characters forming the textual diagnosis description, said code causing said processor to;

(i) automatically determine and display an initial portion of the textual diagnosis description on said available display region of said display having fewer display characters available to display the textual diagnosis description than the number of characters forming the textual diagnosis description; and

(ii) automatically sequentially display other portions of the textual diagnosis description on said available display region of said display having fewer display characters available to display the textual diagnosis description than the number of characters forming the textual diagnosis description.

12. A code reader for reading and displaying diagnostic codes according to claim 11, wherein said code causes said processor to sequentially display the other portions of the textual diagnosis description on said available display region in such a way that it appears to be scrolling upwards.

13. A code reader for reading and displaying diagnostic codes according to claim 11, wherein said code causes said processor to sequentially display the other portions of the textual diagnosis description on said available display region in such a way that it appears to be streaming from right to left.

14. A code reader for reading and displaying diagnostic codes, comprising:

(a) a processor;

(b) a communications circuit in circuit communication with said processor, said communications circuit for generating a communications link with a vehicle diagnostic system and reading at least one diagnostic code from the vehicle diagnostic system, said at least one diagnostic code having a corresponding textual diagnosis description formed by a number of characters;

(c) a memory in circuit communication with said processor, said memory having stored thereon a lookup table containing a plurality of textual diagnosis descriptions, each having an associated diagnostic code;

(d) a display in circuit communication with said processor, said display circuit having an available display region having fewer display characters available to display the textual diagnosis description corresponding to the at least one diagnostic code than the number of characters forming the textual diagnosis description corresponding to the at least one diagnostic code; and

(e) wherein said processor executes code to automatically display the textual diagnosis description corresponding to the at least one diagnostic code on said available display region of said display having fewer display characters available to display the textual diagnosis description than the number of characters forming the textual diagnosis description, said code causing said processor to;

(i) cause said communications circuit to generate a communications link with the vehicle diagnostic system and read at least one diagnostic code from the vehicle diagnostic system;

(ii) automatically read from said memory at least one textual diagnosis description corresponding to the at least one diagnostic code read from the vehicle diagnostic system;

(iii) automatically determine and display an initial portion of the textual diagnosis description on said available display region of said display having fewer display characters available to display the textual diagnosis description than the number of characters forming the textual diagnosis description; and

(iv) automatically sequentially display other portions of the textual diagnosis description on said available display region of said display having fewer display characters available to display the textual diagnosis description than the number of characters forming the textual diagnosis description.

15. A code reader comprising:

(a) a housing at least partially retaining;

(1) communication circuitry for linking with a vehicle diagnostic system and for obtaining one or more trouble codes;

(2) memory comprising logic for storing one or more textual descriptions corresponding to the one or more trouble codes, the textual descriptions comprising a plurality of characters;

(3) a display, having fewer available characters then is required to display the trouble code and the entire corresponding textual description; and

(4) a processor, wherein the processor is in circuit communication with the communication circuitry, the memory, and the display.

16. The code reader of claim 15, wherein the memory further comprises logic to cause the processor to display the diagnostic trouble code and a portion of the corresponding textual description.

17. The code reader of claim 16, wherein the memory further comprises logic to cause the processor to display an additional portion of the corresponding textual description.

18. The code reader of claim 17, wherein the logic to cause processor to display an additional portion of the corresponding textual description includes logic to automatically display the additional portion of the corresponding textual description.

19. The code reader of claim 18, wherein the logic to cause processor to display an additional portion of the corresponding textual description includes logic to receive an input to cause the processor to display the additional portion of the corresponding textual description.

20. The code reader of claim 19, wherein the input comprise one or more input keys.

21. The code reader of claim 20, wherein the one or more input keys are arrow keys.

22. The code reader of claim 15, wherein the display comprises an n character by m line liquid crystal display, wherein n and m are numerical values.

23. The code reader of claim 15, wherein the communications circuitry further comprises an OBD connector.

24. The code reader of claim 23 wherein the OBD connector is one of an OBIO I connector or an OBD II connector.

25. A method of displaying diagnostic trouble codes and their corresponding textual description on a hand-held code reader wherein the hand-held code reader has a display with fewer characters available then required to display the trouble code and its corresponding textual description comprising:

receiving at least one trouble code;

obtaining a textual description that corresponds to the at least one trouble code;

displaying the trouble code and a first portion of the textual description on a first display; and

displaying a second portion of the textual description on a second display, wherein the first and second displays differ by at least one character.