JP4244962B2 - Vehicle communication system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle communication system that performs communication between an in-vehicle communication terminal mounted on a vehicle and an information center.

Conventionally, there is a system configured to transmit diag information of a vehicle to an information center and to transmit the diag information from the information center to a dealer. An example of such a system is described in Patent Document 1.
JP 2001-296915 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-19931

  In the case of the above system, only the sensor information of the vehicle is transmitted to the information center as the diagnosis information. Therefore, it is possible to specify a specific failure part or execute a failure prediction only with such information. Was quite difficult. In the above system, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is out of order at the dealer that received the information. However, since the amount of information that can be obtained at the dealer is small, it has been difficult to make an accurate determination regarding a vehicle failure.

  Further, Patent Document 2 describes a configuration in which a failure determination program is transmitted from an information center to a vehicle, and a failure part is specified by the transmitted failure determination program. However, even with the configuration of Patent Document 2, it is difficult to accurately determine a vehicle failure or the like because the amount of information used by the failure determination program is small.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle communication system that can accurately determine a vehicle failure or the like.

Car dual communication system of the present invention, in a system performing communication with the in-vehicle communication terminal and information center provided in the vehicle, and the diagnostic information of the vehicle, failure judgment and failure determination by the failure judgment program in the vehicle Means for transmitting information from the in-vehicle communication terminal to the information center, and in the information center, the diagnostic information and the failure determination information are stored in a database, and the vehicle is based on the information stored in the database. And a means for making it possible to change the parameters of the in-vehicle device when a failure is determined by a failure determination program in the vehicle, and the parameter of the in- vehicle device is changed. Can be distinguished from normal diagnostic information, and the diagnostic information after parameter change Characterized in place of storing and transmitting.

  In addition, after obtaining the diagnosis information by changing the parameter of the in-vehicle device, if it is better not to leave the parameter changed, it may be configured to return to the original parameter of the in-vehicle device. Even more preferred. In this case, as a case where it is better not to leave the parameter changed, there is a case where the information center does not receive a notification of the completion of the parameter change due to deterioration of the communication state or the like.

  A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of a vehicle communication system 1 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle communication system 1 according to the present embodiment performs wireless communication (for example, a mobile phone) between an in-vehicle communication terminal 3 mounted on an automobile (vehicle) 2 and an information center 4. This is a system capable of executing communication via the network 5. In this case, the information center 4 is configured to be able to communicate with each of the in-vehicle communication terminals 3 of the plurality of automobiles 2.

  The information center 4 is configured to be able to communicate with a terminal device 7 provided in a factory 6 that manufactures automobiles via a network 8 such as a telephone network or the Internet. In this case, when a plurality of terminal devices 7 are provided in the factory 6, the information center 4 can communicate with each terminal device 7 in the factory. Further, when a plurality of factories 6 are provided, the information center 4 can communicate with each terminal device 7 of each factory 6.

  The information transmitted from the terminal device 7 of the factory 6 to the information center 4 is vehicle information of each automobile 2 produced and shipped at the factory 6. Examples of the vehicle information include a vehicle body number for identifying a vehicle, a vehicle Information on the production lots and optional equipment (options) installed in the vehicle at the factory 6. Such vehicle information can be referred to as vehicle manufacturing environment information.

  In addition, the information center 4 is configured to be able to communicate with a terminal device 10 provided at a car dealer (dealer) 9 via a network 8 such as a telephone network or the Internet. In this case, when a plurality of terminal devices 10 are provided in the store 9, the information center 4 can communicate with each terminal device 10. Furthermore, since a plurality of stores 9 are provided, the information center 4 can communicate with each terminal device 10 of each store 9.

  The information transmitted from the terminal device 10 of the store 9 to the information center 4 is the vehicle information of each automobile 2 sold to the user at the store 9, and the vehicle information includes, for example, the owner (user who purchased the vehicle) ) Information, information on optional equipment (option) attached to the vehicle at the store 9, information on vehicle maintenance, and the like. Such vehicle information can be referred to as vehicle environment information.

  In the present embodiment, communication is also possible between the in-vehicle communication terminal 3 of the automobile 2 and the terminal device 10 of the dealer 9 via the information center 4. The communication in the present embodiment refers to transmitting and receiving various data (information), various mails, and the like.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the in-vehicle communication terminal 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the in-vehicle communication terminal 3 includes a control circuit 11, a communication device 12, a GPS receiver 13, various switches 14, and a display 15. The control circuit 11 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and has a function of executing various controls of the in-vehicle communication terminal 3.

  The communication device 12 performs communication with the information center 4 via an antenna 12a, and is configured by a terminal such as a mobile phone. The GPS receiver 13 has a function of receiving a GPS signal by the GPS antenna 13 a, generating current position information of the automobile 2, and outputting this position information to the control circuit 11. The various switches 14 include a touch panel provided on the display screen of the display 15 and a plurality of mechanical switches, and are configured to output switch signals of switches operated by the user to the control circuit 11. . The display 15 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display device.

  The control circuit 11 is connected to various ECUs 17 and other devices 18 in the vehicle via the I / F 16. The various ECUs 17 provide various pieces of sensor information such as diagnostic information (for example, engine oil temperature, cooling water temperature, exhaust gas catalyst temperature, exhaust gas oxygen concentration, intake air temperature, tire air pressure, etc.) For example, information relating to the travel state, travel distance, and vehicle state) is collected and output to the control circuit 11.

  Each of the various ECUs 17 has a failure determination program. By operating this failure determination program, the diagnosis information is monitored, and the values (threshold values) of various failure determination parameters used for failure determination. It has a function of determining a failure or abnormality by comparison and outputting failure determination information to the control circuit 11. Specifically, when the condition that the oxygen concentration value in the exhaust gas exceeds a certain value (the value of the failure judgment parameter for oxygen concentration) is satisfied, or the condition is satisfied more than a specific number of times For example, it is configured to generate failure determination information by determining that a failure has occurred. And it is comprised so that such a failure judgment may be performed with respect to various sensor detection signals, respectively.

  Further, the control circuit 11 is configured to transmit diagnostic information and failure determination information given from various ECUs 17 and other devices 18 to the information center 4 via the network 5.

  On the other hand, the information center 4 is configured to store (accumulate) the received diagnosis information and failure determination information in a database, analyze the contents of failures and abnormalities, and transmit the results to the store 9. ing. Further, when the information center 4 determines that the data value of the information transmitted from the in-vehicle communication terminal 3 has a large noise component, the information center 4 changes the failure determination parameter (determination threshold value). It has a function of transmitting a change command to the in-vehicle communication terminal 3. This command is a command to change the failure judgment parameter so that the sensitivity is lowered when the sensitivity of the failure judgment is too good, and when the sensitivity of the failure judgment is poor, the failure judgment parameter is set to increase the sensitivity. Is a command to change.

  When receiving the command, the in-vehicle communication terminal 3 is configured to change the failure determination parameter of the ECU 17 corresponding to the command in the various ECUs 17 according to the command, that is, to adjust the sensitivity of the failure determination. ing.

  Next, an operation of the vehicle communication system 1 having the above-described configuration, that is, a communication process between the in-vehicle communication terminal 3 of the automobile 2 and the information center 4 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In addition, the flowchart of FIG. 3 is a flowchart expressed combining the control of the vehicle-mounted communication terminal 3 and the control of the information center 4.

  First, in step S1 of FIG. 3, the various ECUs 17 of the in-vehicle communication terminal 3 are configured to monitor diagnostic information. In this case, the monitoring is performed centering on values of various failure determination parameters (a specific value, that is, a threshold value).

  Then, it progresses to step S2 and it is judged whether the sensor detection output value exceeded the value (threshold value) of the failure judgment parameter. If the threshold value is not exceeded, the process proceeds to “NO” in step S2, returns to step S1, and continues to monitor the diagnosis information. On the other hand, when the threshold value is exceeded, the process proceeds to “YES” in step S2 and then proceeds to step S3, where the in-vehicle communication terminal 3 determines failure determination information (data such as sensor detection values) and information related thereto (diagram). Information (diag code, etc.) is transmitted to the information center 4. Note that the in-vehicle communication terminal 3 is configured to periodically transmit the diagnosis information to the information center 4.

  In step S4, the information center 4 accumulates the received failure determination information (data such as sensor detection values) and related information (diag information) in a database (DB). Subsequently, the process proceeds to step S5, where the information center 4 is configured to determine whether the vehicle is a failure or a failure sign based on past data stored in the database and the received information. ing.

  In this case, a judgment algorithm (program) for judging a failure or a sign of a failure of a car manages a large number of vehicles in the information center 4 and performs statistical processing, and various kinds of information sent from a store 9 or a factory 6 are used. Since this information can be taken into account, it can be optimized. Therefore, the determination of the failure or the sign of the failure of the vehicle by the information center 4 is considerably more accurate than the conventional configuration (the algorithm that is determined by the information when an abnormality occurs in one vehicle).

  Subsequently, the process proceeds to step S6, where it is determined whether or not there is a failure or a failure sign. If “YES”, the process proceeds to step S7 and a notification message (failure determination information, diagnostic information, etc.) indicating that a failure or a failure sign is present. Is sent to the store 9 for notification. Thereafter, the process returns to step S1, and the above-described processing is repeated. Upon receipt of the above notification, the store 9 transmits a contact mail or the like for urging inspection and repair to the in-vehicle communication terminal 3 of the corresponding automobile 2 or calls the user of the corresponding automobile 2 by telephone.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S6 that there is no failure or no sign of failure, the process proceeds to “NO”, proceeds to step S8, and is determined from the past data stored in the database, and determined as failure as necessary. It is configured to calculate how much the parameter value (threshold value) should be changed. This is to prevent information that causes noise from being transmitted to the information center 4 as much as possible.

  And it progresses to step S9 and becomes the structure which transmits the change command (data) which instruct | indicates to change a failure judgment parameter to the change value calculated | required by the said calculation result to the vehicle-mounted communication terminal 3 of the motor vehicle 2. FIG. Thereafter, the process returns to step S1, and the above-described processing is repeated. The in-vehicle communication terminal 3 that has received the change command is configured to execute a process of changing the failure determination parameter of the corresponding ECU 17.

  According to the present embodiment having such a configuration, the diagnosis information and failure determination information of the automobile 2 are transmitted from the in-vehicle communication terminal 3 to the information center 4 and stored in the database, and information stored in the database is also stored. Since it is configured to determine the abnormality (failure or failure sign) of the vehicle 2 based on (including past information and information on many other vehicles), the amount of information that is the basis of the determination is very large As the number of vehicles 2 increases, it is possible to make an accurate determination on a failure or the like of the automobile 2.

  Since each ECU 17 of the automobile 2 is configured to be able to change various determination parameters when the failure is determined by the failure determination program, that is, the failure determination level (sensitivity) of the failure determination program is configured to be adjustable. The noise component included in the failure determination information stored in the database of the information center 4 can be reduced.

  In particular, in the case of the above-described embodiment, since the above-described various failure determination parameters are changed by transmitting a change command from the information center 4 to the in-vehicle communication terminal 3 of the vehicle 2, the failure determination parameters are optimized. The noise included in the failure determination information stored in the database of the information center 4 can be further reduced. Thereby, useless communication between the information center 4 and the vehicle-mounted communication terminal 3 can be reduced as much as possible.

  In the above embodiment, the failure determination parameter is changed by transmitting a change command from the information center 4 to the in-vehicle communication terminal 3, but the present invention is not limited to this. You may comprise so that a failure judgment parameter may be changed. In this case, the in-vehicle communication terminal 3 is provided with a large-capacity storage device (for example, a hard disk), and the diagnosis information and the failure determination information are accumulated in the storage device to form a database. If various types of information relating to automobiles are downloaded and stored to form a database, the same effects as in the above embodiment can be obtained.

  In the above-described embodiment, the latest (optimized) failure determination program may be downloaded from the information center 4 to the in-vehicle communication terminal 3 to rewrite the failure determination programs of various ECUs 17.

  Furthermore, in the said Example, it is preferable to comprise so that vehicle information may be regularly transmitted to the information center 4 from each vehicle-mounted communication terminal 3 of the some motor vehicle 2 which communicates with the information center 4. FIG. In the case of this configuration, vehicle information transmitted from each in-vehicle communication terminal 3 to the information center 4 includes, for example, position information of the automobile 2 (position information detected by the GPS receiver 13), information on cumulative travel distance, and the like. It is. In addition, the above-mentioned periodical period may be a time interval such as every 10 minutes, every 30 minutes, or every hour, for example, when the engine of the automobile 2 is started or when the engine is stopped. It may be when the condition is satisfied.

  With this configuration, when the information center 4 receives failure determination information, diagnosis information, or the like from the vehicle 2 that has been determined that a failure (or failure sign) has occurred, the information center 4 and the manufacturing conditions are stored in the database. It is possible to select (extract) automobiles that approximate environmental conditions and the like. In this case, it is preferable to use, for example, information such as a manufacturing lot as the manufacturing conditions (that is, the manufacturing environment), and to use information on the actual driving environment and the vehicle environment as the environmental conditions.

  Then, the information center 4 collects the extracted diagnostic information of the automobile, and based on the diagnostic information and the vehicle information of each automobile accumulated in the information center, the cause of the failure or abnormality of the automobile is determined. It becomes possible to analyze. Therefore, even if it is a cause of the failure or abnormality of the automobile whose cause is unknown, it is possible to analyze it relatively easily.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a second embodiment of the present invention. In addition, the same step number is attached | subjected to the same step as FIG. 3 of 1st Example. In the second embodiment, the failure determination program in the automobile 2 (on-vehicle communication terminal 3) detects a failure or a sign of failure in the in-vehicle device (various electric devices mounted on the automobile (vehicle) 2). In this case, the failure parameter can be identified by changing the control parameter of the in-vehicle device.

  For example, an abnormality may occur in which the speed meter in the automobile 2 displays an abnormal value (inaccurate speed) with respect to the actual speed of the automobile 2. This abnormality is detected as follows. A travel distance and travel time are obtained based on position information, time information, and map data by a car navigation device mounted on the car 2, and the travel speed of the car 2 is calculated from the travel distance and travel time. The traveling speed of the automobile 2 obtained by this calculation is compared with the vehicle speed display value displayed on the speed meter in the automobile 2.

  Here, the vehicle speed display value displayed on the speed meter counts the vehicle speed pulses output from the vehicle speed sensor, measures the number of vehicle speed pulses per unit time, and multiplies the number of vehicle speed pulses by a predetermined coefficient k. By calculating.

(Vehicle speed display value = number of vehicle speed pulses per unit time * k)
Now, when the size of the tire of the automobile 2 is changed, for example, when 15 inches are changed to 16 inches, the vehicle speed display value is different from the actual speed and is erroneously displayed. This erroneous display can be detected by comparing the traveling speed of the automobile 2 calculated by the car navigation device and the vehicle speed display value as described above.

  In order to confirm the situation in which such an erroneous display of the vehicle speed is detected, in the present embodiment, from the information center 4 side to the in-vehicle communication terminal 3, the predetermined parameter that is a control parameter of the in-vehicle device A command (change request signal) for changing the coefficient k to kr is transmitted. When receiving the change request signal, the in-vehicle communication terminal 3 side changes the predetermined count from k to kr, calculates the vehicle speed display value, and reconfirms (determines) whether this is incorrect. It has become.

  If the travel speed of the automobile 2 calculated by the car navigation device and the vehicle speed display value based on the vehicle speed pulse approach due to the change of the predetermined coefficient (k is changed to kr), It is possible to determine that it is an incorrect attachment (identify the fault location). And it is comprised so that a user (driver | operator) may be notified from the information center 4 or a dealer (sales shop 9) to that effect, ie, the condition where the tire is erroneously mounted. In this case, the notification to the user (driver) is appropriately executed by letter, telephone, mail, or the like.

  Note that the notification to the user (driver) may be executed by transmitting the report message from the information center 4 or the dealer (sales shop 9) to the in-vehicle communication terminal 3 of the user. In this case, the in-vehicle communication terminal 3 is preferably provided with a display device for displaying a message. Further, if the in-vehicle communication terminal 3 does not have a display device for displaying a message, the in-vehicle device, for example, a display of a car navigation device may be displayed.

  In order to realize the operation of the second embodiment, the communication control between the in-vehicle communication terminal 3 and the information center 4 is controlled as shown in the flowchart of FIG. In the control of FIG. 4, the processing from step S1 to step S6, step S8, and step S9 is the same as that in the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted here.

  Now, in step S6 of FIG. 4, when the information center 4 determines that the vehicle 2 (in-vehicle device) is a failure or a failure sign, the process proceeds to “YES”, and the process proceeds to step S11. In this step S11, when the information center 4 determines that it is necessary to change the parameters of the in-vehicle device, the information center 4 sends a parameter change request to the in-vehicle communication terminal 3 (afterwards, a predetermined vehicle speed display predetermined value). A request to change the coefficient k to kr).

  And it progresses to step S12 and it is judged in the vehicle-mounted communication terminal 3 whether the parameter change request | requirement of the in-vehicle apparatus was received from the information center 4. FIG. Here, if there is a parameter change request, the process proceeds to “YES”, and whether or not the in-vehicle communication terminal 3 has changed the parameters of the in-vehicle device and performed the failure determination (ie, measurement) after the change. Is determined (step S13).

  In this case, since the parameter change is not executed, the process proceeds to “NO” in step S13, proceeds to step S14, and changes the parameters of the in-vehicle device on the automobile 2 side. And it progresses to step S15, the failure determination after parameter change is implemented in the vehicle-mounted communication terminal 3, and the information (a diagnosis information etc.) regarding the detected value etc. which are a determination result is transmitted to the information center 4. FIG.

  In this case, the information (including diagnostic information) detected after the parameter change is configured to be distinguishable from normal information (information before the change). For example, in the case of diag information, the diag information after the parameter change is stored in the in-vehicle communication terminal 3 with data indicating the parameter change added, and is transmitted from the in-vehicle communication terminal 3 to the information center 4. It is configured. Also in the information center 4, the diag information after the parameter change is configured to be stored in a database with data indicating the parameter change added. Then, it progresses to step S16 and reports that the parameter of the in-vehicle apparatus was changed to a dealer (sales shop 9). After this, the process returns to step S1, and the above-described processing is repeated.

  Now, after performing the failure determination by changing the parameters in this way, when the process again reaches step S13, the process proceeds to “YES” in this determination step S13, and then proceeds to step S17. In this step S17, it is determined whether or not to leave the parameter changed. Here, if it is better not to leave the parameter unchanged and restore it to the original, if the fault condition is not improved much even after changing the parameter, the original parameter is better Alternatively, there may be a case where the information center 4 has not received a notification of parameter change completion due to deterioration of the communication state or the like.

  If it is determined in step S17 that the parameter can be changed, the process proceeds to “YES”, returns to step S1, and repeats the above-described processing. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S17 that it is better to restore the parameters, the process proceeds to “NO”, proceeds to step S18, and the information center 4 transfers to the in-vehicle communication terminal 3 to the in-vehicle device. Send a command to restore the parameters of.

  Then, it progresses to step S19 and the process which returns the parameter of the apparatus in a vehicle is performed in the motor vehicle 2 (vehicle-mounted communication terminal 3) side. After this, the process returns to step S1, and the above-described processing is repeated.

  On the other hand, if there is no parameter change request for the in-vehicle device from the information center 4 in step S12, the process proceeds to “NO”, and the process proceeds to step S20. In this step S20, it is determined whether or not the detected failure or failure sign has been reported to the dealer (sales shop 9). Here, if it has been reported to the dealer (sales shop 9), the process proceeds to “YES”, returns to step S1, and repeats the above-described processing. On the other hand, if it has not been reported to the dealer (sales shop 9), the process proceeds to “NO”, the process proceeds to step S16, and the detected failure or failure sign is reported to the dealer (sales shop 9).

  In the second embodiment, a notification from the information center 4 or dealer (sales shop 9) to the user (driver), for example, a notification of a situation in which the tire described above is erroneously attached, a letter, a telephone, , Running with mail etc. This notification process is not described in the flowchart of FIG.

  The configuration of the second embodiment other than that described above is the same as that of the first embodiment. Therefore, in the second embodiment, substantially the same operational effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained. In particular, in the second embodiment, when a failure or a sign of failure of an in-vehicle device (various electric devices mounted on the vehicle 2) is detected by the failure determination program in the vehicle 2 (vehicle communication terminal 3). In addition, since the control parameter of the in-vehicle device is changed so that the failure location can be identified, the cause of the failure or abnormality of the vehicle 2 can be analyzed more clearly.

1 is a block diagram of a vehicle communication system showing a first embodiment of the present invention. Block diagram of in-vehicle communication terminal flowchart FIG. 3 equivalent view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

In the drawings, 1 is a vehicle communication system, 2 is an automobile (vehicle), 3 is an in-vehicle communication terminal, 4 is an information center, 5 is a network, 8 is a network, 9 is a dealer, 10 is a terminal device, and 11 is a control circuit. , 12 is a communication device, 13 is a GPS receiver, and 17 is various ECUs.

Claims (5)

In a vehicle communication system that performs communication between an in-vehicle communication terminal mounted on a vehicle and an information center,
Means for transmitting diagnostic information of the vehicle and failure determination information determined by the failure determination program in the vehicle from the in-vehicle communication terminal to the information center;
In the information center, the diagnostic information and the failure determination information are stored in a database, and the vehicle abnormality is determined based on the information stored in the database;
Means for enabling a parameter of the in-vehicle device to be changed when a failure is determined by the failure determination program in the vehicle;
A vehicular communication system that stores and transmits diag information after parameter change so that it can be distinguished from normal diag information when the parameter of the in-vehicle device is changed . The parameter of the in-vehicle device is changed to the original parameter of the in-vehicle device when it is better not to leave the parameter after changing the parameter of the in-vehicle device and acquiring the diagnosis information. Vehicle communication system. If it is better not to leave the parameter unchanged, if the information center does not receive a notification of parameter change completion due to deterioration of the communication state, etc., the original parameter of the in-vehicle device is returned. The vehicle communication system according to claim 2. In a vehicle communication system that performs communication between an in-vehicle communication terminal mounted on a vehicle and an information center,
Means for transmitting diagnostic information of the vehicle and failure determination information determined by the failure determination program in the vehicle from the in-vehicle communication terminal to the information center;
In the information center, the diagnostic information and the failure determination information are stored in a database, and the vehicle abnormality is determined based on the information stored in the database;
Means for enabling a parameter of the in-vehicle device to be changed when a failure is determined by the failure determination program in the vehicle ;
After obtaining the diagnosis information by changing the parameter of the in-vehicle device, if it is better not to leave the parameter unchanged, the vehicle communication system is returned to the original parameter of the in-vehicle device. . If it is better not to leave the parameter unchanged, if the information center does not receive a notification of parameter change completion due to deterioration of the communication state, etc., the original parameter of the in-vehicle device is returned. The vehicle communication system according to claim 4.

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