EP2903872A1

EP2903872A1 - Method for determining the state of wear of a part and information from a client

Info

Publication number: EP2903872A1
Application number: EP13771463.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Beltran YTURRIAGA-TRENOR
Original assignee: Eurodrive Services And Distribution NV
Current assignee: Eurodrive Services And Distribution NV
Priority date: 2012-10-02
Filing date: 2013-10-01
Publication date: 2015-08-12
Also published as: US9858730B2; US20150262432A1; FR2996192A1; WO2014053457A1; FR2996192B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for determining the capacity of remaining use of a part of a motor vehicle. Said method comprises the following steps: a step of determining a state of wear of a part of a vehicle; a step of calculating, according to the state of wear and the type of part, the remaining distance that can be covered before the part is fully worn; a step of calculating the remaining period of use before the part should be replaced, according to the remaining distance to be covered and an average distance covered per year by the vehicle.

Description

Method for determining the state of wear of a part and information of a customer

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is in the field of maintenance and maintenance of road vehicles, and more particularly the maintenance of parts of a vehicle that have a limited life. The present invention also relates to general maintenance of a vehicle, for example emptying.

More specifically, the present invention aims to provide a method and a system for facilitating the information of a user of a vehicle, to enable him to properly maintain his vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Thus, the object of the present invention is to provide a method for both determining the state of wear of different parts of a road vehicle, and also to inform the driver of the vehicle when is necessary to change one or more of the pieces.

Indeed, the visual observation of the wear of these parts by a vehicle owner is difficult, it is usually a mechanic who performs such a control, but the frequency of visits to a vehicle in a garage. is not sufficient to ensure correct detection of wear of a part.

However, excessive wear of some elements can have negative consequences in terms of safety, for example in the case of brakes or tires, but also in terms of comfort, particularly in the case of dampers, or even in terms of fuel consumption.

It is known, in order to remedy this drawback, wear indicators, installed on the tires, and allowing a user to visually determine whether the tire is worn or not. However, it's wear indicators only relate to the tires, and the wear control requires an action on the part of a user of the vehicle, who must therefore think of checking his tires regularly.

It has therefore appeared necessary to provide means for informing a user in time and that he can proceed to change the corresponding parts.

In this field is known from the European patent application EP 2101077, a method for determining a remaining capacity of use of brake linings of a vehicle. This method determines a state of wear of the lining concerned, then determines a wear balance and deduces a distance remaining to be traveled by the vehicle. This application also describes a system for indicating a remaining capacity of use of a brake lining, comprising means for transmitting to the driver of the vehicle a distance information remaining to go.

However, it appears that this system has several disadvantages. First of all, the proposed system only concerns brake linings, and therefore does not make it possible to determine and inform a user about the wear of other major parts of the vehicle, such as tires or dampers. In addition, the indication of the wear is provided to the driver of the vehicle when he is in a driving situation. However, this is inconvenient for various reasons. On the one hand it is possible that the driver of the vehicle at the time of the indication is not the person in charge of the maintenance of the vehicle. On the other hand, the driver will not be able to record the information while driving, and may have forgotten when he returned home.

Also known from the application FR 2847976 another device for indicating wear by removal of material, for detecting and indicating the wear of parts such as tires or dampers. However, this device has the same disadvantages as those stated above. The present invention thus aims at a number of objectives, including determining the remaining capacity of use for a number of parts of a vehicle, and that informing a user of the vehicle in due time the need to change one or more rooms. Thus, the present invention relates to a method for determining a remaining capacity of use of a part of a motor vehicle, the method comprising the following steps:

A step of determining a state of wear of a part of a vehicle,

· A calculation step, depending on the state of wear and the type of part, of a distance remaining to be covered before complete wear of the part,

• a calculation step, based on the remaining distance to be traveled and an average distance traveled annually by the vehicle, a remaining period of use before change of the room.

In an advantageous embodiment, the step of determining a wear state of a workpiece comprises a step of measuring a physical parameter of the workpiece.

In another advantageous embodiment, the step of measuring a physical parameter comprises a step of measuring a thickness of rubber, in the case where the part is a tire.

In another advantageous embodiment, the step of determining a state of wear of a part comprises a step of extracting a database of an average frequency of replacement of a piece of type corresponding.

In another advantageous embodiment, the step of calculating a distance remaining to be traveled takes into account the type of the vehicle.

The invention also relates to a method of information on a remaining capacity of use of a part of a motor vehicle, the method comprising the following steps: a step of determining the remaining capacity of use of a part by a method according to one of the preceding claims,

a step of sending a mail informing a user of a vehicle of the need to change the corresponding part,

the method being such that the mailing date is calculated according to the remaining capacity of use determined in the first step. In an advantageous embodiment, when the mailing date is earlier than the date on which the determination is made, the mail is sent immediately [0020] A method according to the invention advantageously makes it possible to solve the disadvantages of the mail. prior art. Indeed, the method of determining a remaining capacity of use can be applied to all parts of the vehicle, and thus provides a single tool to manage the maintenance and maintenance of vehicles in a center automobile.

Moreover, sending a reminder to a user can warn a user when he is quiet, at home, and has time to schedule an appointment at the automotive center. , in order to check and / or replace a part.

In addition, this method is completely transparent to the user, who has no other action to perform than to make an appointment and bring his vehicle to the car center.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment but not limited to, illustrated by the figure which shows a system incorporating one or more methods according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Figure 1 shows the chronology of implementation of different methods in a general system for managing the maintenance of a vehicle. These methods will describe, by way of example, the path of a user, called Client X.

[0025] General system: in a first step, the customer X goes to a car center 1, on the occasion of a periodic review and / or to proceed with the change of a vehicle part. During this visit, various data are entered and stored in a database of the maintenance system.

These data include: personal data, provided by the customer, such as his name, his mailing address and / or electronic, his telephone number; vehicle data, such as the type of vehicle, the registration number, the mileage on the day of the visit, and also the average annual mileage of the vehicle.

Moreover, other types of data are recorded in the database: these are data corresponding to technical control points measured and / or verified by a technician of the automotive center. These checkpoints concerning, for example, the thickness of rubber remaining on the tires, the level of oil ....

The database BD in which are recorded data is hosted either by the automotive center, or by an independent management center. Then, we will use the term management center, even if the management center and the automobile center are combined.

The management center thus implements, on the basis of the recorded data, various methods 10 according to the invention, and detailed below, leading to the sending to the Client X, during a step 2, of a reminder letter informing him of the need to check and / or replace one or more parts of the vehicle.

If the customer wishes, in a step 3 he goes back to the car center to perform the replacement concerned. On this occasion, the data stored in the database are updated, in order to correctly determine the state of wear of the parts not replaced, and to restart the X Client in due time. The processes are repeated alternately throughout the life of the vehicle.

Method for determining the remaining capacity of use of a part: hereinafter will be described, in a nonlimiting manner, several means for determining this state of wear. It is specified here that the scope of the invention is not limited to the specific parts which will be discussed later. Moreover, in the whole of the application, the term "control and / or replacement of parts" must be taken in a broad sense, and may include the replacement of parts such as tires, brakes, shock absorbers, but also the emptying the vehicle, refurbishing the brake fluid, or controlling the geometry.

In the case where the part concerned is a tire, the state of wear is determined by measuring the thickness of rubber remaining on the tread pattern. From this thickness, and depending on the type of vehicle, it is possible to determine the number of kilometers that can be traveled safely. By type of vehicle, we mean the usual classification "Citadine", "Sedan" "Monospace". For this purpose, a correspondence table is used as shown below:

People Carrier

Rear (mm) Citadine Sedan

Great Sedan

8 44000 40000 36000

7.5 40333 36667 33000

7 36667 33333 30000

6.5 33000 30000 27000

6 29333 26667 24000

5.5 25667 23333 21000

5 22000 20000 18000

4.5 18333 16667 15000

4 14667 13333 12000

3.5 1 1000 10000 9000

3 7333 6667 6000

2.5 3667 3333 3000

2 0 0 0

In the case where the part concerned is a brake pad, a brake disc or a damper, the state of wear is determined by comparing the number of kilometers traveled since the installation of the part with an average frequency control and / or replacement of a part. These average frequencies are given by the manufacturers of the parts, and recorded in a database used by a method according to the invention.

For example, it is considered that a brake pad must be controlled and / or replaced every 40,000 kilometers. For a brake disc or for a shock absorber, the control and / or replacement must be carried out every 80000 kilometers. This information is, for example, provided by the manufacturer of the various parts and / or determined by experience.

The determination of the number of kilometers traveled since the installation of the part, and therefore the number of remaining kilometers to be traveled is, for example, made by consulting the database in which are recorded various information concerning the life of a vehicle. In a particular case, it is possible that the determination of the number of kilometers traveled gives a result higher than the average replacement frequency. In this situation, which creates a rejection exception in the management system, the user information process is not implemented. [0038] User information method: starting from the number of remaining kilometers to be traveled, determined by one of the methods described above, a method according to the invention comprises the step of sending, to a user of the vehicle , a letter indicating the need to proceed to the control and / or replacement of the part concerned.

Several parameters are necessary to allow editing and sending this mail. As a first step, it is necessary to determine the date on which the mail must be sent. Indeed, the mail must arrive at the user's place early enough so that he has the time to have the replacement done before complete wear of the part, but not too early in order to avoid early replacements, which increase the costs of maintenance of a vehicle.

In an advantageous embodiment, the mailing date is determined from two parameters: the number of remaining kilometers to travel before wear of a part, and the number of average kilometers traveled by the vehicle each year. Thus, the mail is sent, for example, in the first week of the tenth month following the month of calculation, where X = [(number of remaining kilometers) / (number of kilometers per year) * 12] -l.

The average number of average kilometers traveled per year is, for example, declared by the user of the vehicle when registering for the service offering this mail. In another example, the average number of kilometers is determined by a maintenance center technician based on regular mileage observations. In both cases, the average number of kilometers is recorded in a database so that it can be used in good time. In a particular case, the previously described calculation may give a date prior to the day of the calculation. This means, concretely, that the mail should have been sent earlier. In this case, the mail is sent immediately.

Moreover, it is possible that the state of a vehicle requires the replacement of several parts and a prioritization is useful so as not to send several types of mail to the same user at the same time. This prioritization is done differently depending on whether it is preventive reminders, ie couriers whose sending date is several months later, or immediate reminders, ie letters to be sent immediately. In the case of preventive raises, the order of priority of the parts is as follows: Tires, Brake, Brake Fluid, Drain, Shock Absorbers. In the case of immediate reminders, the order of priority of the parts is as follows: Tires, Brakes, Geometry, Drain, Shocks.

[0045] One example of a vehicle who visited the Auto Center on June ^1, 2009. The driver says make 15,000 kilometers per year, the vehicle odometer shows 50,000 km, and the last oil change was performed to 45,000 km of vehicle. The determination of the number of remaining kilometers to travel and the mailing date gives the following result:

Regarding the front and rear tires of the vehicle, the implementation of a method according to the invention provides the following results, based on the correspondence table previously shown:

Type of vehicle: Sedan

Front tires: 5 mm remaining (minimum of two D & G tires) Rear tires: 4 mm remaining (minimum of both D & G tires) Remaining mileage AV from table: 17500 Mileage remaining AR from table: 13333

Time to send the reminder for AV tires: (17500/15000) x 12 = 14 months

Time to send the recovery for tires AR: (13333/15000) x 12 = 10.6 months

It is noted that the delay of sending for the recovery of the rear tires is not expressed in whole number of months. This delay is rounded down to the next integer, to simplify the management of mailing. Indeed, a method according to the invention is advantageously implemented in a management center responsible for sending mail for all users of a car center, or even a set of car centers. It is therefore useful to provide that all the mails to be sent during a month are sent during a common period. This makes it possible to optimize the cost of processing mail within the management center.

However, in the case where the method determines that an immediate raise must be sent, the shipment is made at any time of the month that tonight. Indeed, the immediate reminders concern parts that have not been changed in good time, and that can therefore present a wear dangerous for the behavior of the vehicle.

In order to send, a correspondence is made between the vehicle analyzed and its owner, to extract from the database a postal address and / or electronic mail to which the mail is sent.

The methods described above are, for example, implemented by means of a computer tool. They can be integrated into a more general management system implemented by a car center.

In this context, the method can be used for commercial purposes, in particular to retain and / or revive customers of a car center.

Thus, in a particular embodiment, when the database indicates that a customer has not come to the automotive center for a predetermined period of time, for example one year, the mail sending method allows the sending a special mail integrated in the flow of deferred reminders. Management of the database: As indicated above, methods according to the invention use data stored in one or more databases. These data can be classified in different categories: "Customer" data, "Vehicle" data, "Invoices" data, "Recovery" data [0054] In order to allow a good use of the database, it is useful, in one embodiment preferential, to standardize the information entered before registration in one of the bases.

In addition, each vehicle registered in a database is attached to a client, and vice versa. It is however necessary to manage the cases where a vehicle changes ownership. Thus, if the vehicle of a customer is integrated while the vehicle already exists, attached to another customer, the previous customer will be detached from the vehicle in case the owner has changed. The vehicle is disabled in the database and is not deleted.

The invention is of course not limited to the examples described and shown and various modifications can be made without departing from its scope defined by the appended claims.

Claims

A method of determining a remaining usability of a part of a motor vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:

A step of determining a state of wear of a part of a vehicle,

A calculation step, depending on the state of wear and the type of part, of a distance remaining to be covered before complete wear of the part,

A method of determining according to claim 1, wherein the step of determining a wear state of a workpiece comprises a step of measuring a physical parameter of the workpiece.

A method of determining according to claim 2 wherein the step of measuring a physical parameter comprises a step of measuring a thickness of rubber, in the case where the part is a tire.

A method of determining according to claim 1, wherein the step of determining a state of wear of a part comprises a step of extracting a database of an average frequency of replacement of a piece of corresponding type.

Determination method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the step of calculating a distance remaining to travel takes into account the type of the vehicle.

A method of information on a remaining capacity of use of a part of a motor vehicle, the method comprising the following steps:

a step of determining the remaining usability of a part by a method according to one of the preceding claims,

a step of sending a mail informing a user of a vehicle of the need to change the corresponding part, the method being such that the mailing date is calculated according to the remaining capacity of use determined in the first step.

An information method according to claim 6, wherein when the mailing date is earlier than the date on which the determination is made, the mail is sent immediately.