Remote vehicle diagnostic management

• US 7,650,210 B2
• Filed: 08/14/2006
• Issued: 01/19/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: American Vehicular Sciences LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Automotive Technologies International Incorporated
• Inventors: Breed, David S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Beaulieu, Yonel
• Application Number:
  US11/464,288
• Publication Number:
  US 20070005202A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,254 Days
• Field of Search: 701/29, 701/36, 702182-185, 702/188
• US Class Current: 701/29
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/52 Radar, Lidar
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/54 Audio sensitive means, e.g. ultrasound
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0205 Diagnosing or detecting failures; Failure detection models
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0808 Diagnosing performance data testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005

Abstract

Vehicular diagnostic arrangement includes a diagnostic system arranged on the vehicle to determine whether any vehicular components is operating non-optimally, is expected to fail or has failed and generate an output indicative or representative thereof, and a communications device coupled to the diagnostic system and arranged to direct a transmission of the output of the diagnostic system to a remote location. Remote locations encompasses remote facilities which handle maintenance or monitoring of the vehicle such as a dealer of the vehicle, the manufacturer of the vehicle or the manufacturer of the components for which non-optimal operation has been detected. The communications device may be arranged to direct the transmission of the output of the diagnostic system to the remote location via the Internet, the remote location including or being an Internet-enabled device possessed by the dealer, manufacturer or owner of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A vehicle, comprising:

a plurality of components;

a diagnostic system arranged on the vehicle to determine whether any of said components is operating non-optimally, is expected to fail or has failed and generate an output indicative or representative of the determination of the non-optimal operation, expected failure or actual failure of any of said components; and

a communications device coupled to said diagnostic system and arranged to direct a transmission of the output of said diagnostic system to a remote location such that the output indicative or representative of the determination of the non-optimal operation, expected failure or actual failure of any of said components generated by said diagnostic system is transmitted to the remote location.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said communications device is arranged to automatically direct the transmission of the output of said diagnostic system to the remote location without manual intervention.

3. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said communications device is arranged to direct the transmission to a dealer of the vehicle or repair facility whereby the dealer of the vehicle or repair facility is situated at the remote location.

4. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said communications device is arranged to direct the transmission to a manufacturer of the vehicle whereby the manufacturer of the vehicle is situated at the remote location.

5. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said diagnostic system comprises a plurality of vehicle sensors mounted on the vehicle, each of said vehicle sensors providing a measurement related to a state of said vehicle sensor or a measurement related to a state of a mounting location of said vehicle sensor and a processor coupled to said vehicle sensors and arranged to receive data from said vehicle sensors and process the received data to generate the output of said diagnostic system.

6. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein said processor embodies a pattern recognition algorithm trained to generate the output from the data received from said vehicle sensors.

7. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the vehicle includes a passenger compartment, further comprising a display arranged in the vehicle in a position to be visible from the passenger compartment, said display being coupled to said diagnostic system and arranged to display an indication of the determination of the non-optimal operation, failure or expected failure of any of said components.

8. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said communications device comprises a cellular telephone system.

9. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a warning device coupled to said diagnostic system for relaying a warning to an occupant of the vehicle relating to the non-optimal operation, failure or expected failure of any of said components.

10. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising at least one vehicular reactive system coupled to said diagnostic system and to one of said components for adjusting operation of said one of said components when said diagnostic system determines that any of said components is operating non-optimally, has failed or is expected to fail.

11. The vehicle of claim 10, wherein said components include an alternator and electricity-consuming devices, said diagnostic system being arranged to determine whether said alternator is failing and direct a signal to said at least one vehicular reactive system to turn off non-essential ones of said electricity-consuming devices.

12. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said communications device is arranged to direct the transmission of the output of said diagnostic system to the remote location via the Internet, the remote location being an Internet-enabled device possessed by an owner of the vehicle.

13. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said diagnostic system is arranged to generate a fault code relating to the non-optimal operation of any of said components, said communications device being arranged to transmit the fault code to the remote location.

14. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said diagnostic system is arranged to determine whether any of said components is about to fail based on training.

21. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said components each have a variable operation relating to use of the vehicle that varies over time and as a result of vehicle operating conditions and vehicle operating environment,

said diagnostic system comprising sensors mounted on the vehicle,

each of said sensors obtaining, generating or measuring a physical parameter that varies based on the vehicle operating condition and vehicle operating environment,

at least one of said sensors being different than other ones of said sensors such that at least two different parameters are obtained, generated or measured by said sensors,

said diagnostic system processing the at least two parameters using a processor on the vehicle into the output indicative or representative of the determination of the non-optimal operation, expected failure or actual failure of any of said components,

wherein the output indicative or representative of the determination of the non-optimal operation, expected failure or actual failure of any of said components is undertaken entirely by the diagnostic system on the vehicle.

15. A method for monitoring components of a vehicle, comprising:

mounting sensors on the vehicle, each sensor providing a measurement related to a state of the sensor or a measurement related to a state of a mounting location of the sensor;

processing data from the sensors using a processor to generate output indicative or representative of failure or expected failure of any of the components; and

directing the output indicative or representative of the failure or expected failure of any of the components to a remote location using a transmission device.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the data is processed by the processor on the vehicle and the step of directing the output to a remote location comprises arranging a communications device comprising a cellular telephone system on the vehicle.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the state of the sensor or the state of the mounting location of the sensor is diagnosed by a processor embodying a pattern recognition algorithm.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the vehicle includes a passenger compartment, further comprising:

arranging a display in the vehicle in a position to be visible from the passenger compartment; and

displaying the output indicative or representative of the failure or expected failure of any of the components on the display.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the output indicative or representative of the failure or expected failure of any of the components is directed to a dealer of the vehicle or repair facility whereby the dealer of the vehicle or repair facility is situated at the remote location.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the output indicative or representative of the failure or expected failure of any of the components is directed to a manufacturer of the vehicle whereby the manufacturer of the vehicle is situated at the remote location.

22. The method of claim 15, wherein the components each have a variable operation relating to use of the vehicle that varies over time and as a result of vehicle operating conditions and vehicle operating environment,

the data being processed by a diagnostic system arranged on the vehicle, the sensors being a part of the diagnostic system,

further comprising the steps of:

obtaining, generating or measuring a physical parameter that varies based on the vehicle operating condition and vehicle operating environment via each of the sensors, at least one of the sensors being different than other ones of the sensors such that at least two different parameters are obtained, generated or measured by the sensors; and

configuring or arranging the processor to process the at least two parameters into the output indicative or representative of the determination of the non-optimal operation, expected failure or actual failure of any of the components,

wherein the output indicative or representative of the determination of the non-optimal operation, expected failure or actual failure of any of the components is undertaken entirely on the vehicle.