Vehicle maintenance systems and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9342933-B2
Application number	US-201514667253-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 24, 2015
Priority date	Apr 7, 2008
Publication date	May 17, 2016
Grant date	May 17, 2016

Abstract

A system that enables a fleet of vehicles to be maintained is provided. The disclosed system allows a fleet operator to review the history of the vehicles in the fleet along with vehicle sensor data to identify earmarks in the vehicle sensor data that are predictive of faults that the vehicles have experienced. The operator develops statistical algorithms that can detect an earmark in vehicle sensor data. The system then collects vehicle sensor data and applies the statistical algorithms the vehicle data to determine if a potential fault is going to occur in a vehicle. In response to determining that a potential fault is going to occur, the disclosed system automatically alerts the vehicle driver, automatically schedules a maintenance visit, automatically checks the fleet inventory for components required for a maintenance visit and orders unavailable components, and automatically dispatches the components to the mechanic.

First claim

That which is claimed:

1. A preventative vehicle maintenance system comprising:
a plurality of vehicles each having an electronic control module (ECM) disposed therein, wherein each ECM is configured to collect data from one or more sensors of the vehicle in which the ECM is disposed;
one or more processors configured to:
receive sensor signal data collected from the one or more sensors disposed within the respective plurality of vehicles;
analyze the received sensor signal data from the plurality of vehicles to identify an earmark that represents an acceptable operating range;
receive sensor signal data associated with a first vehicle;
determine whether the sensor signal data associated with the first vehicle is within the acceptable operating range;
after determining that the sensor signal data associated with the first vehicle is not within the acceptable operating range, generate an alert code comprising indicia indicating an assigned priority for repairing a potential fault for the first vehicle; and
automatically coordinate repair of the first vehicle to prevent the occurrence of a failure of one or more vehicle components in response to detecting the generated alert code.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein analyzing the received sensor signal data comprises determining a statistical distribution of the received sensor signal data.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein determining whether sensor signal data associated with a first vehicle is within the acceptable operating range comprises statistically comparing a statistical distribution of the sensor signal data associated with the first vehicle with the statistical distribution of the earmark to determine a degree of difference between the statistical distributions.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the earmark defines an acceptable operating range of oil pressure, and the alert code indicates that the first vehicle needs an oil change.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the earmark defines a threshold value of battery voltage and the alert code indicates that the first vehicle needs a new battery.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the earmark defines a threshold value of battery voltage and a threshold value of cycle counts of the starter, and the alert code indicates that the first vehicle needs starter maintenance.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
provide data to a communication device notifying a driver of the first vehicle with instructions for facilitating repair of the first vehicle in response to detecting the indicia of the alert code indicating the assigned priority for repairing the potential fault.

8. A computer-implemented method for maintaining a vehicle comprising the steps of:
receiving, via one or more processors, sensor signal data from each of a plurality of vehicles, wherein the sensor signal data is collected during operation of the respective plurality of vehicles;
analyzing, via the one or more processors, the received sensor signal data from the plurality of vehicles to identify an earmark that represents an acceptable operating range;
receiving, via the one or more processors, sensor signal data associated with a first vehicle;
determining, via the one or more processors, whether the sensor signal data associated with the first vehicle is within the acceptable operating range;
after determining that the sensor signal data associated with the first vehicle is within the acceptable operating range, generating, via the one or more processors, an alert code comprising indicia indicating an assigned priority for repairing a potential fault for the first vehicle; and
automatically coordinating, via one or more processors, repair of the first vehicle to prevent the occurrence of a failure of one or more vehicle components in response to detecting the generated alert code.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein analyzing the received sensor signal data comprises determining a statistical distribution of the received sensor signal data.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein determining whether sensor signal data associated with a first vehicle is within the acceptable operating range comprises statistically comparing a statistical distribution of the sensor signal data associated with the first vehicle with the statistical distribution of the earmark to determine a degree of difference between the statistical distributions.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the earmark defines an acceptable operating range of oil pressure, and the alert code indicates that the first vehicle needs an oil change.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the earmark defines a threshold value of battery voltage and the alert code indicates that the first vehicle needs a new battery.

13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the earmark defines a threshold value of battery voltage and a threshold value of cycle counts of the starter, and the alert code indicates that the first vehicle needs starter maintenance.

14. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
providing data to a communication device notifying a driver of the first vehicle with instructions for facilitating repair of the first vehicle in response to detecting the indicia of the alert code indicating the assigned priority for repairing the potential fault.

15. A computer program product, the computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code portions stored therein, the computer-readable program code portions comprising:
an executable portion configured to receive sensor signal data from each of a plurality of vehicles, wherein the sensor signal data is collected during operation of the respective plurality of vehicles;
an executable portion configured to analyze the received sensor signal data from the plurality of vehicles to identify an earmark that represents an acceptable operating range;
an executable portion configured to receive sensor signal data associated with a first vehicle;
an executable portion configured to determine whether the sensor signal data associated with the first vehicle is within the acceptable operating range;
an executable portion configured to, after determining that the sensor signal data associated with the first vehicle is within the acceptable operating range, generate an alert code comprising indicia indicating an assigned priority for repairing a potential fault for the first vehicle; and
an executable portion configured to automatically coordinate repair of the first vehicle to prevent the occurrence of a failure of one or more vehicle components in response to detecting the generated alert code, wherein initiating the repair comprises coordinating the repair.

16. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein identifying the earmark comprises determining a statistical distribution of the received sensor signal data.

17. The computer program product of claim 16 , wherein determining whether sensor signal data associated with the first vehicle indicates that the one or more vehicle components are operating within the corresponding acceptable operating range comprises statistically comparing a statistical distribution of the sensor signal data associated with the first vehicle with the statistical distribution of the earmark to determine a degree of difference between the statistical distributions.

18. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the earmark defines an acceptable operating range of oil pressure, and the alert code indicates that the first

Assignees

• United Parcel Service Inc

Inventors

• Olsen Iii John A
• Hendrix Matthew S
• Bush Helen M
• Bradley David L

Classifications

• G07C5/0808

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

• G07C5/008

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

• Y02P90/30

  Computing systems specially adapted for manufacturing · CPC title

• G06Q10/06

  Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling · CPC title

• G06Q50/04

  Manufacturing · CPC title