Electronic control system and method for vehicle diagnosis

• US 7,788,005 B2
• Filed: 07/28/2008
• Issued: 08/31/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Enomoto, Hiroyuki, Shimizu, Kokichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Amin; Bhavesh V
• Application Number:
  US12/180,754
• Publication Number:
  US 20090037044A1
• Time in Patent Office: 764 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 701/29
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers

Abstract

A vehicle diagnosis system includes an electronic control unit, which executes a diagnosing process for determining whether any abnormality is present in a vehicle based on signals from vehicle devices. When any abnormality is detected, the electronic control unit stores in an EEPROM a diagnosis result indicative of the abnormality when a storage permission flag in the EEPROM is in the on-state. The storage permission flag is turned on from the off-state when receiving a storage permission command from an external unit. Thus, the storage of the diagnosis result into the EEPROM may be permitted at the time of transmitting the storage permission command externally to the ECU.

Claims

1. An electronic control unit assembled to a vehicle, the electronic control unit comprising:

a nonvolatile memory capable of rewriting data;

diagnosing means that diagnoses a vehicle device mounted in a vehicle based on data from the vehicle device and stores in the nonvolatile memory a diagnosis result indicating abnormality of the vehicle device after determining the abnormality;

control data storing means that stores control data indicating whether storage of the diagnosis result in the nonvolatile memory is permitted;

permission switching means that changes the control data in the control data storing means from non-permission to permission upon receiving a storage permission command transmitted from an external device; and

storage permitting means that permits the diagnosing means to store the diagnosis result in the nonvolatile memory, when the control data in the control data storing means is indicative of the permission,

wherein the electronic control unit is configured to transmit data in return to a fault diagnosis device, which is provided as the external device and in compliance with standards of OBD II, when a command inquiring kind of information, which the electronic control unit is capable of outputting, is transmitted from the fault diagnostic device, and

wherein the command transmitted from the fault diagnostic device represents the storage permission command.

3. A storage permission method for permitting storage of the diagnosis result in the nonvolatile memory of the electronic control unit according to claim 1, the storage permission method comprising:

transmitting the storage permission command from the external device to the electronic control unit in a period after assembling of the electronic control unit to the vehicle is completed and before the vehicle starts to be used by a user,

wherein the command transmitted from the fault diagnostic device to the electronic control unit represents the storage permission command.

9. The electronic control unit according to claim 1 further comprising:

a standby RAM continuously supplied with electric power to maintain storage of data,

wherein the diagnosing means is configured to store the diagnosis result in also the standby RAM, to which storing the diagnosis result is continuously permitted.

12. The electronic control unit according to claim 1,

wherein the control data storing means is a specific storage area of the nonvolatile memory.

15. The electronic control unit according to claim 9,

wherein the control data storing means is a specific storage area of the nonvolatile memory.

2. An electronic control unit assembled to a vehicle, the electronic control unit comprising:

a nonvolatile memory capable of rewriting data;

diagnosing means that diagnoses a vehicle device mounted in a vehicle based on data from the vehicle device and stores the nonvolatile memory a diagnosis result indicating abnormality of the vehicle device after determining the abnormality;

control data storing means that stores control data indicating whether storage of the diagnosis result in the nonvolatile memory is permitted;

permission switching means that changes the control data in the control data storing means from non-permission to permission upon receiving a storage permission command transmitted from an external device; and

storage permitting means that permits the diagnosing means to store the diagnosis result in the nonvolatile memory, when the control data in the control data storing means is indicative of the permission,

wherein the control data in the control data storing means is changed from the non-permission to the permission, when the storage permission command is received from a data processing unit of a data center, which is provided as the external device to execute a process for implementing telematics service for the vehicle by communicating with a radio communication device mounted in the vehicle, the storage permission command being transmitted at time of starting the telematics service from the data processing unit to the vehicle, in which the electronic control unit is mounted.

4. A storage permission method for permitting storage of the diagnosis result in the nonvolatile memory of the electronic control unit according to claim 2, the storage permission method comprising:

transmitting the storage permission command from the external device to the electronic control unit in a period after assembling of the electronic control unit to the vehicle is completed and before the vehicle starts to be used by a user; and

transmitting the storage permission command from the data processing unit of the data center, which implements the telematics service.

5. A data processing unit of a data center for implementing telematics service for a vehicle by communicating with a radio communication device mounted in the vehicle, to which the electronic control unit according to claim 2 is assembled,

wherein the data processing unit is configured to transmit the storage permission command to the vehicle at time of starting the telematics service for the vehicle.

6. A storage permission system for permitting storage of a diagnosis result in a nonvolatile memory, the storage permission system comprising:

the electronic control unit according to claim 2;

a data processing unit of a data center provided to implement telematics service for the vehicle by communicating with a radio communication device mounted in the vehicle, to which the electronic control unit is assembled; and

a managing device provided in a manufacturing plant of the vehicle, to which the electronic control unit is assembled, and configured to transmit management data indicating

whether manufacture of the vehicle has been completed to the data processing unit of the data center,

wherein the radio communication device is configured to start an access to the data processing unit of the data center upon starting an operation thereof,

wherein the data processing unit is configured to check whether the manufacture of the vehicle in which the radio communication device is mounted has been completed based on the management data from the managing device, upon receiving the access from the radio communication device, and transmit the storage permission command to the radio communication device when the data processing unit determines that the manufacture of the vehicle has been completed, and

wherein the permission switching means of the electronic control unit is configured to change the control data stored in the control data storing means from the non-permission to the permission, upon receiving the storage permission command transmitted from the data processing unit through the radio communication device.

7. A storage permission system for permitting storage of a diagnosis result in a nonvolatile memory, the storage permission system comprising:

the electronic control unit according to claim 2;

a data processing unit of a data center provided to implement telematics service for the vehicle by communicating with a radio communication device mounted in the vehicle, to which the electronic control unit is assembled,

wherein the data processing unit is configured to transmit the storage permission command to the vehicle upon detecting that the vehicle has moved out of a specified region, and

wherein the permission switching means is configured to change the control data in the control data storing means from the non-permission to the permission, upon receiving the storage permission command transmitted from the data processing unit through the radio communication device.

10. The electronic control unit according to claim 2 further comprising:

a standby RAM continuously supplied with electric power to maintain storage of data,

wherein the diagnosing means is configured to store the diagnosis result in also the standby RAM, to which storing the diagnosis result is continuously permitted.

13. The electronic control unit according to claim 2,

wherein the control data storing means is a specific storage area of the nonvolatile memory.

8. An electronic control unit assembled to a vehicle, the electronic control unit comprising:

a nonvolatile memory capable of rewriting data;

diagnosing means that diagnoses a vehicle device mounted in a vehicle based on data from the vehicle device and stores in the nonvolatile memory a diagnosis result indicating abnormality of the vehicle device after determining the abnormality;

control data storing means that stores control data indicating whether storage of the diagnosis result in the nonvolatile memory is permitted;

permission switching means that changes the control data from non-permission to permission upon detecting that data indicative of starting to implement telematics service for the vehicle is transmitted from a data processing unit of a data center, which implements the telematics service for the vehicle by communicating with a radio communication device mounted in the vehicle, to which the electronic control unit is assembled; and

storage permitting means that permits the diagnosing means to store the diagnosis result in the nonvolatile memory, when the control data in the control data storing means is indicative of the permission.

11. The electronic control unit according to claim 8 further comprising:

a standby RAM continuously supplied with electric power to maintain storage of data,

wherein the diagnosing means is configured to store the diagnosis result in also the standby RAM, to which storing the diagnosis result is continuously permitted.

14. The electronic control unit according to claim 8,

wherein the control data storing means is a specific storage area of the nonvolatile memory.

16. An electronic control unit assembled to a vehicle, the electronic control unit comprising:

a nonvolatile memory capable of rewriting data; and

diagnosing means that diagnoses a vehicle device mounted in a vehicle based on data from the vehicle device and stores in the nonvolatile memory a diagnosis result indicating abnormality of the vehicle device after determining the abnormality,

wherein the diagnosing means is configured to be permitted to store the diagnosis result only after receiving a signal indicating a storage permission transmitted from a device external to the vehicle, in which the electronic control unit is mounted,

wherein the electronic control unit is configured to transmit data in return to a fault diagnosis device, which is in compliance with standards of OBD II, when a command inquiring kind of information, which the electronic control unit is capable of outputting, is transmitted from the fault diagnostic device, and

wherein the command transmitted from the fault diagnostic device represents the storage permission command.

17. An electronic control unit assembled to a vehicle, the electronic control unit comprising:

a nonvolatile memory capable of rewriting data; and

diagnosing means that diagnoses a vehicle device mounted in a vehicle based on data from the vehicle device and stores in the nonvolatile memory a diagnosis result indicating abnormality of the vehicle device after determining the abnormality,

wherein the diagnosing means is configured to be permitted to store the diagnosis result only after receiving a signal indicating a storage permission transmitted from a device external to the vehicle, in which the electronic control unit is mounted,

wherein the control data in the control data storing means is changed from the non-permission to the permission, when the storage permission command is received from a data processing unit of a data center, which implements telematics service for the vehicle by communicating with a radio communication device mounted in the vehicle, the storage permission command being transmitted at time of starting the telematics service from the data processing unit to the vehicle, in which the electronic control unit is mounted.