Road emergency activation

• US 9,558,597 B2
• Filed: 12/10/2015
• Issued: 01/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Ghannam, Mahmoud Yousef, Appukutty, Jayagopal, Philip, Abraham G., Tippy, David James
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dunn, Alex C
• Application Number:
  US14/964,790
• Publication Number:
  US 20160104327A1
• Time in Patent Office: 418 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/021 Means for detecting failure or malfunction
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0292 Fail-safe or redundant systems, e.g. limp-home or backup systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0297 Control Giving priority to different actuators or systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0205 Diagnosing or detecting failures; Failure detection models
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/029 Adapting to failures or work around with other constraints, e.g. circumvention by avoiding use of failed parts
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/04 Monitoring the functioning of the control system
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/006 Indicating maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/02 Registering or indicating driving, working, idle, or waiting time only apparatus forming part of taximeters G07B13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/08 Registering or indicating performance data other than driving, working, idle, or waiting time, with or without registering driving, working, idle or waiting time
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0808 Diagnosing performance data testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005

Abstract

A vehicle system includes a processing device programmed to monitor an operating state of a vehicle and the operation of at least one subsystem module. Depending on the operating state of the vehicle, the processing device can detect a subsystem module failure. If a failure is detected, the processing device can perform a remedial action. The remedial action taken may be based on the type of failure detected.

Claims

1. A vehicle system comprising:

a processing device programmed to monitor an operating state of a vehicle and operation of at least one subsystem module, wherein the processing device is further programmed to assign a priority to each subsystem module, detect a subsystem module failure, and perform a remedial action in response to detecting the subsystem module failure and in accordance with the operating state of the vehicle and the priority.

2. The vehicle system of claim 1, wherein the subsystem module failure includes a power failure.

3. The vehicle system of claim 2, wherein the remedial action includes providing power to the subsystem module associated with the subsystem module failure.

4. The vehicle system of claim 2, further comprising a power unit configured to provide electrical energy to at least one subsystem module.

5. The vehicle system of claim 4, wherein the remedial action includes the processing device commanding the power unit to provide electrical energy to the subsystem module associated with the subsystem module failure.

6. The vehicle system of claim 1, wherein the subsystem module failure includes a fault code output by the subsystem module associated with the subsystem module failure.

7. The vehicle system of claim 6, wherein the processing device is programmed to detect the fault code.

8. The vehicle system of claim 7, wherein the processing device is programmed to intercept inter-vehicle messages transmitted to the subsystem module that output the fault code.

9. The vehicle system of claim 7, wherein the processing device is programmed to perform operations associated with the subsystem module that output the fault code.

10. The vehicle system of claim 1, wherein the processing device is programmed to command a user interface device to alert a vehicle occupant of the subsystem module failure.

11. A method comprising:

monitoring an operating state of a vehicle;

monitoring operation of at least one subsystem module;

detecting a subsystem module failure; and

performing a remedial action in response to detect the subsystem module failure and in accordance with the operating state of the vehicle, wherein performing the remedial action includes performing, via a processing device, operations associated with the subsystem module associated with the subsystem module failure.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein performing the remedial action includes commanding a power unit to provide power to the subsystem module associated with the subsystem module failure.

13. A vehicle system comprising:

a processing device programmed to monitor an operating state of a vehicle and operation of at least one subsystem module, wherein the processing device is further programmed to detect a subsystem module failure and perform a remedial action in response to detecting the subsystem module failure and in accordance with the operating state of the vehicle,

wherein the subsystem module failure includes a fault code output by the subsystem module associated with the subsystem module failure, and

wherein the processing device is programmed to detect the fault code and intercept inter-vehicle messages transmitted to the subsystem module that output the fault code.

14. The vehicle system of claim 13, wherein the subsystem module failure includes a power failure.

15. The vehicle system of claim 14, wherein the remedial action includes providing power to the subsystem module associated with the subsystem module failure.

16. The vehicle system of claim 13, wherein the processing device is programmed to perform operations associated with the subsystem module that output the fault code.

17. The vehicle system of claim 13, wherein the processing device is programmed to command a user interface device to alert a vehicle occupant of the subsystem module failure.