Adaptive vehicle monitoring system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10163281-B2
Application number	US-201715404976-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 12, 2017
Priority date	Jan 12, 2017
Publication date	Dec 25, 2018
Grant date	Dec 25, 2018

Abstract

A system and method are provided for adaptively accessing information in a vehicle under test, in a manner to avoid malfunctions associated with accessing the information. A data acquisition device is provided for accessing and retrieving diagnostic data from the vehicle. A memory unit is provided including listing of malfunctioning vehicles, as well as information associated with each of vehicle. At least one service mode request is communicated to the vehicle to identify characteristic information and characteristic features of the vehicle, which information is compared to stored vehicle characteristic information, to determine if the vehicle conforms to any of the listed vehicles, subject to malfunction. If not, additional service requests are communicated to the vehicle. If the vehicle conforms to one or more of the listed vehicles additional service request(s) are modified to remove service requests, or portions thereof, that are associated with the malfunction.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle monitoring system for adaptively accessing information in an electronic control unit (ECU) of a vehicle under test, in a manner to avoid vehicle malfunctions associated with accessing the information, the system comprising:
a) a handholdable data acquisition device communicable with the ECU of the vehicle under test for accessing and retrieving diagnostic data from the vehicle under test and operative to generate linking queries to the ECU in a plurality of protocols, to identify a vehicle under test information request protocol;
b) a memory unit having information stored therein including:
1) a listing of vehicles known to malfunction in response to receipt of a service mode request;
2) a listing of selective characteristic features information associated with each listed vehicle;
3) an information request protocol associated with each listed vehicle; and
4) a listing of one or more specific service mode requests associated with a malfunction of each listed vehicle;
the memory unit being addressable by a processor unit in the data acquisition device to identify listed vehicles that are associated with the vehicle under test information request protocol;

c) the data acquisition device further being operative to selectively communicate at least one service mode request to the ECU, in the vehicle under test information request protocol, excluding each service mode request that is associated with an identified listed vehicle;
d) the data acquisition device further being operative to receive information from the ECU, in response to the at least one service mode request being communicated to the ECU, and extract therefrom vehicle characteristic features information, identifying characteristic features of the vehicle under test; and
e) the data acquisition device further being operative to compare the extracted characteristic features information to the selective characteristic features information associated with each of the identified listed vehicles, to determine if the vehicle under test and any of the identified listed vehicles have common characteristics features;
f) wherein, when the vehicle under test has no characteristics features in common with any of the identified listed vehicles, the data acquisition device is further operative to communicate each previously excluded service mode request to the vehicle under test.

2. The vehicle monitoring system as recited in claim 1 wherein, when the vehicle under test and at least one of the identified listed vehicles have one or more in common characteristic features, the data acquisition device is further operative to communicate at least one additional service mode request to the vehicle under test, excluding any service mode request associated with the at least one of the identified listed vehicles.

3. The vehicle monitoring system as recited in claim 2 wherein, when the vehicle under test and a plurality of the identified listed vehicles have one or more in common characteristic features, the data acquisition device is further operative to determine which of the plurality of identified listed vehicles has the greatest number of characteristic features in common with the vehicle under test, and to communicate additional service mode requests to the vehicle under test, excluding service mode requests associated with the identified listed vehicle having the greatest number of characteristics features in common with the vehicle under test.

4. The vehicle monitoring system as recited in claim 1 wherein the processor unit is communicable with the memory unit to identify any listed vehicle subject to malfunction in response to service mode requests under the identified protocol, and characteristics features associated with any identified listed vehicle.

5. The vehicle monitoring system as recited in claim 1 wherein the data acquisition device is connectable to a data port of the vehicle under test.

6. The vehicle monitoring system as recited in claim 1 wherein the data acquisition device is wirelessly communicable with the ECU.

7. The vehicle monitoring system as recited in claim 1 wherein the memory unit is disposed within the data acquisition device.

8. The vehicle monitoring system as recited in claim 1 wherein the memory unit is remotely located from the data acquisition device.

9. The vehicle monitoring system as recited in claim 8 wherein the data acquisition device is connectable to a global computer network for transferring information to a location remote from the data acquisition device.

10. A method of accessing information in an electronic control unit (ECU) of a vehicle under test, in a manner to avoid vehicle malfunctions associated with accessing the information in the ECU, the method comprising:
a) communicating a plurality of linking queries from a handheld data acquisition device to the ECU, in a plurality of protocols, to identify a vehicle under test information request protocol;
b) storing, in a memory unit, information including:
1) a listing of vehicles known to malfunction in response to receipt of a service mode request;
2) selective characteristic features information associated with each listed vehicle;
3) an information request protocol associated with each listed vehicle; and
4) a listing of at least one service mode request associated with the malfunction of each listed vehicle;
the memory unit being addressable to identify listed vehicles that are associated with the vehicle under test information request protocol; and

identifying listed vehicles that are associated with the vehicle under test information request protocol;
c) communicating at least one service mode request to the ECU, in the vehicle under test information protocol, excluding each service mode request that is associated with an identified listed vehicle;
d) receiving information from the ECU, in response to the at least one service mode request, and extracting therefrom vehicle characteristic features information identifying characteristic features of the vehicle under test;
e) comparing the extracted characteristic features information to the selective characteristic features information associated with each of the identified listed vehicles to determine if the vehicle under test and any of the identified listed vehicles have common characteristics features;
f) wherein, when the vehicle under test and at least one of the identified listed vehicles have no common characteristic features in common, communicating each of the one or more previously excluded service mode requests to the vehicle under test.

11. The method as recited in claim 10 wherein, when the vehicle under test and at least one of the identified listed vehicles have one or more in common characteristic features, the method further comprises:
g) communicating one or more additional service mode requests to the vehicle, excluding any one or more service mode requests associated with the at least one of the identified listed vehicles.

12. The method as recited in claim 10 wherein the memory unit further includes a listing of one or more service mode request portions associated with a malfunction of any of the listed vehicles, and wherein, when the vehicle under test and at least one of the identified listed vehicles have one or more in common characteristic features, the method further comprises:
h) communicating one or more additional service mode requests to the vehicle, excluding any one or more service mode request portions associated with the at least one of the identified listed vehicles.

13. The method as recited in claim 12 wherein, when the vehicle under test and a plurality of ide

Assignees

• Innova Electronics Corp

Inventors

• Le Tan Minh
• Phan Hung
• Truong Si Tan

Classifications

• G07C5/0858 Primary

  wherein the data carrier is removable · CPC title

• G07C2205/02

  using a vehicle scan tool · CPC title

• G07C5/0808

  Diagnosing performance data (testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005) · CPC title

• G07C5/008 Primary

  communicating information to a remotely located station (transmission systems for measured values G08C) · CPC title