JP2002286455A - Method and system for remote diagnosis for vehicle, controller for vehicle, diagnostic device for vehicle, and computer program product - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently obtain information needed to diagnose a vehicle and to take an accurate diagnosis by using the obtained information. SOLUTION: When requested by a navigation device mounted on a vehicle to take a remote diagnosis, an information center 2 sends travel route information on the periphery of the current position of the vehicle to the navigation device 1 so as to receive information showing the state of the vehicle needed for the remote diagnosis. The navigation device 1 gives a guidance of a route based upon the travel route information received from the information center 2 and sends the states of a sensor, an actuator, etc., of the vehicle detected during a travel to the information center 2, which takes the diagnosis according to the received information. The result of the diagnosis is re ported to the driver by the navigation device 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to the field of failure diagnosis for diagnosing vehicles such as automobiles.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the field of automobiles, which are typical vehicles, a failure diagnosis apparatus for diagnosing various failures or malfunctions occurring in the automobile has been proposed, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-316177. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2005-64131 proposes a failure diagnosis device that is connected to a vehicle and diagnoses an engine, an automatic transmission, and the like.

[0003]

However, in the above-described conventional failure diagnosis apparatus, it is general that the service is performed in a service factory for a vehicle in which a failure or the like has actually occurred. In order to accurately grasp the failure that has occurred, the user of the vehicle must listen to the event that is occurring and, for example, drive the vehicle by itself as necessary with the failure diagnosis device connected, It takes time.

[0004] In addition, a failure that actually occurs in a vehicle may occur only under specific driving conditions (for example, road shape or driving operation). In some cases, even when a test drive is performed during the time, an event heard from the user cannot be confirmed.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a vehicle remote diagnosis method, a vehicle remote diagnosis system, a vehicle control device, a vehicle remote diagnosis method, which efficiently obtains information required for vehicle diagnosis and performs accurate diagnosis based on the obtained information. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a remote diagnostic device for use as well as a computer program product.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a vehicle remote diagnosis system according to the present invention has the following features.

That is, a remote diagnostic system for a vehicle in which a control device mounted on a vehicle to be remotely diagnosed and an information center are connected at least bidirectionally via a wireless communication line. Transmitting a current position of the vehicle and a diagnostic request to the information center, receiving at least travel route information from the information center in response to the transmission of the diagnostic request, and transmitting the vehicle in accordance with the travel route information. Self-diagnosis means for transmitting a vehicle state detected when the vehicle travels to the information center, wherein the information center performs a traveling mode necessary for remote diagnosis of the vehicle in response to the diagnosis request received from the control device. And determined based on the determined driving mode, the current position of the vehicle received from the control device and the road map information around it. Travel route determination means for transmitting the travel route information to the vehicle, and remote diagnosis means for performing remote diagnosis of the vehicle based on the vehicle state received from the control device in response to the transmission of the travel route information. It is characterized by having.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment, the control device notifies a driver of the vehicle of a traveling route on which the vehicle should travel based on a current position of the vehicle, road map information, and the traveling route information. Means should be provided.

Preferably, an auxiliary diagnostic means for diagnosing a predetermined item based on a state of a road on which the vehicle has traveled and a vehicle state detected while traveling, irrespective of the presence or absence of the diagnostic request by a driver, The control device or the information center further includes: the control device notifies the driver of the vehicle of a diagnosis item other than the predetermined item by the auxiliary diagnosis unit, and issues a diagnosis request related to the notified diagnosis item. It is preferable to provide a man-machine interface capable of setting whether or not to transmit to the information center.

Also, for example, in the control device, the self-diagnosis means is capable of setting a time required for the vehicle to travel in accordance with the travel route information by a driver of the vehicle. The diagnostic request including the information indicating the required time is transmitted to the information center, and in the information center, the remote diagnostic unit determines only the diagnostic items that can be diagnosed during the travel within the required time received from the control device. The travel route information may be determined for remote diagnosis.

Also, for example, in the information center,
The remote diagnosis unit transmits a diagnosis program corresponding to the traveling mode to the vehicle instead of performing a remote diagnosis of the vehicle, and in the control device, the self-diagnosis unit receives the diagnosis program received from the information center. By executing the diagnostic program, based on the vehicle state detected when the vehicle travels according to the travel route information,
Perform a self-diagnosis.

Further, for example, in the information center,
The remote diagnosis unit is based on a result of the remote diagnosis.
It is preferable that a portion of the vehicle requiring maintenance is specified or estimated, and information on a service factory that can handle the cost required for the maintenance and the vehicle is transmitted to the vehicle.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a remote diagnosis method for a vehicle corresponding to the remote diagnosis system for a vehicle having the above-described respective configurations, and a remote diagnosis for a vehicle corresponding to an information center in the remote diagnosis system for a vehicle having the above-described respective configurations. The present invention is also achieved by a device, a program code (program product) for implementing a vehicle control device corresponding to a vehicle-side control device in the system, and a computer-readable storage medium storing the program code. You.

[0014]

According to the present invention described above, a vehicle remote diagnosis method, a vehicle remote diagnosis system, and a vehicle, which efficiently acquire information necessary for vehicle diagnosis and perform accurate diagnosis based on the acquired information. Control device, vehicle remote diagnosis device,
In addition, provision of a computer program product is realized.

That is, claim 1, claim 2, claim 10,
According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the vehicle to be diagnosed travels along the traveling route required for diagnosis, so that the vehicle state detected during traveling can be acquired as information necessary for vehicle diagnosis, Efficient remote diagnosis can be performed.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the driver can efficiently assist the operation of driving the vehicle in accordance with the traveling route information received from the information center.

Further, according to the invention of claim 4, various diagnoses can be realized, and an early response at a service factory can be realized.

Further, according to the invention of claim 5, it is possible to realize an optimum diagnosis in accordance with the convenience of the driver of the vehicle to be diagnosed.

Further, according to the invention of claim 6, at the time of diagnosis, it is possible to eliminate the influence accompanying the driving operation of the driver of the vehicle to be diagnosed, so that the accuracy of the diagnosis result at the information center can be improved. it can.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, when a failure occurs in a vehicle to be diagnosed, a diagnostic program is acquired at that time, and the vehicle is diagnosed during traveling for diagnosis. So that
The program stored in the control device of the vehicle can be minimized.

Further, according to the invention of claim 8, the driver of the vehicle can recognize the state of the failure or the like occurring in the vehicle and the cost for dealing with the failure before bringing the vehicle to the service factory. And convenience is improved.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to realize a remote diagnosis that respects the driver's intention.

[0023]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a remote diagnosis system for a vehicle according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as an embodiment applied to a typical automobile.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a vehicle remote diagnosis system according to this embodiment.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes a vehicle to be diagnosed by the present system. The vehicle 100 has a navigation device 1 having a communication function and a vehicle control device (ECU) 3 communicably mounted thereon. ing.

The navigation apparatus 1 performs wireless communication with a radio telephone base station 4 provided in the city and is connectable to the Internet 5 through an Internet service provider (ISP) 7. Vehicle control device 3
Is provided with various general control functions such as engine control, shift control of an automatic transmission, and antilock brake control using a sensor group and an actuator group (not shown) provided in the vehicle 100.

Reference numeral 2 denotes an information center for remotely diagnosing a plurality of vehicles to be diagnosed, which can be connected to the Internet 5.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a plurality of service factories (sales agents) under the umbrella of this system, which can be connected to the Internet 5 through, for example, the ISP 7.

In the above system configuration, the navigation device 1, the information center 2, and the service factory 6
Are connected via a wireless communication line and / or the Internet 5 so as to enable two-way communication.

[Navigation device 1] Here, the device configuration of the navigation device 1 will be described.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the internal configuration of the navigation device 1 with a communication function according to the present embodiment.

In the figure, reference numeral 22 denotes a display such as a liquid crystal display, and 23 denotes an input device including a key switch and various pointing devices. A ROM 24 stores a boot program and the like. Reference numeral 25 denotes a RAM for temporarily storing various processing results. Reference numeral 26 denotes a hard disk drive (HDD) for storing map information for navigation, a browser program capable of accessing the Internet 5, a program for transmitting and receiving e-mail, and the like.
And the like. 27 is a wireless telephone base station 4 in the city
And a communication interface for communicating with the information center 2 and the service factory 6 while being connected to the Internet 5 via the Internet service provider 7. Reference numeral 28 denotes a GPS unit that detects a current position based on a GPS (global positioning system) signal received from outside. These components are connected via an internal bus 29, and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21 controls the overall operation of the navigation device, a wireless communication line, and the like in accordance with a software program stored in a storage device 26. The function of transmitting and receiving data using the Internet 5 is executed.

The software program is executed by the CPU 2
In the first embodiment, even if the data pre-burned in the ROM 24 is read out and executed, the data read out from a portable storage medium such as a DVD-ROM or the data obtained from outside through the communication line 30 is stored in the storage device 26. It may be stored as appropriate, read out, and then executed.

Incidentally, as the map information stored in the storage device 26 or the reading device, general information in which information such as a road map is represented by coordinate values based on a predetermined coordinate system can be adopted.

In this embodiment, the CPU 21 of the navigation device 1 detects the sensor and the actuator of the vehicle 100 detected or operated by each control module such as the engine control by the vehicle control device 3 as the information indicating the vehicle state. The result and operation result can be referred to.

[Information Center 2] Next, Information Center 2
The configuration of the device will be described. The hardware of the information center 2 is a general server computer, and includes a plurality of databases described below.

Vehicle information database: The identification information (ID), the vehicle type (model), the information such as the user, and the like are registered in advance with respect to a plurality of vehicles to be remotely diagnosed by the present system.

Parts information database: Information on a plurality of types of parts constituting a vehicle and a unit (module) which is a predetermined functional unit composed of those parts, which is a target of remote diagnosis by the present system, is stored in a vehicle type (model). ) Are registered in advance. More specifically, as the information registered in the component information database, for example, if the component is a rubber product such as a bush, information indicating aging of elastic characteristics, and mounting of an engine using the component -Information or the like indicating a change in the vibration characteristics of the unit is assumed. Further, for example, in the case of an engine oil as a regular replacement part, information indicating a secular change of the viscosity characteristic, information indicating a change in rotational resistance of an engine using the oil, and the like are assumed.

Diagnosis program database: A plurality of types of software modules executed in the information center 2 or the navigation device 1 for diagnosing predetermined diagnosis items are stored.

Driving skill information database: For a plurality of vehicles to be remotely diagnosed by the present system, information on the driving skills of the user (driver) of the vehicle is registered in advance. This information may be configured such that the user himself / herself registers information by self-report from each user, or may be configured to be obtained from the vehicle side every time a remote diagnosis is performed.

Diagnosis history database: Stores past diagnosis histories, failure histories, repair histories, and information on service factories (sales agents) responsible for repairs for a plurality of vehicles to be remotely diagnosed by this system. ing. Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to make the diagnosis history database effective, in each service factory 6, when a vehicle to be subjected to the remote diagnosis by the present system is brought in and some sort of treatment is performed, the vehicle And information such as a failure point, repair contents (replacement parts), etc., is transmitted to the information center 2 via the Internet 5. In the information center 2, the information received from the service factory 6 is registered in the diagnosis history database, so that the diagnosis history database stores the latest information of a plurality of vehicles to be remotely diagnosed by the present system. .

Map information database: Stores map information based on the same standard as the navigation device 1 mounted on each vehicle to be remotely diagnosed by the present system.

In this embodiment, as an example of the electric communication line, the wireless communication line and the Internet 5 are used for the two-way communication of the navigation device 1, the information center 2, and the service factory 6, but the present invention is limited to this configuration. It is only necessary that the navigation device 1 and the information center 2 can communicate with each other at least via a wireless communication line, and the information center 2 and the service factory 6 may be connected by a dedicated line. .

[Remote Diagnosis Function] Next, the remote diagnosis function realized in the above-described system configuration will be described in detail.

First, the main concept of the remote diagnosis function of the vehicle in the present system will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an operation transition at the time of remote diagnosis by the vehicle remote diagnosis system according to the present embodiment.

As shown in the figure, the remote diagnosis of the vehicle in the present system is roughly divided into four steps of first to fourth steps.

First step (request for failure diagnosis): A predetermined operation is input to the navigation apparatus 1 mounted on the vehicle 100 to be remotely diagnosed by a driver of the vehicle (see FIG. 1). 5), the navigation device 1 and the information center 2 are connected via a wireless communication line and the Internet 5 so as to be capable of two-way communication. And
The navigation device 1 transmits to the information center 2 the current position of the vehicle 100 detected using the GPS unit 28 and the like, and a diagnosis request for requesting remote diagnosis.

The remote diagnosis described below may be performed periodically, but in order to respect the driver's intention, the present embodiment allows the driver to make a request at a desired timing as needed.

Second step (presentation of a fault diagnosis driving route): The information center 2 determines a driving mode required for remote diagnosis in accordance with a diagnosis request received from the navigation device 1, and determines the determined driving mode. Based on the current position received from the navigation device 1 and the road map information around the current position read from the map information database, the vehicle 10 realizes the traveling mode.
0 determines the traveling route that needs to travel. And
The information center 2 includes information (traveling route information) representing the determined diagnostic traveling route and information representing the diagnostic content diagnosed when the vehicle 100 actually travels on the traveling route (failure diagnosis item information in FIG. 3). ) And the navigation device 1
Send to

Here, the running mode refers to various running modes that need to be executed in the vehicle 100 in order to perform a remote diagnosis. For example, a running mode in which the vehicle travels on an uphill with heavy use of steering. The state in which the automatic transmission travels in an urban area where shifting is repeated is collectively referred to as various traveling modes.

The diagnostic travel route determined by the information center 2 includes the coordinate value of the current position where the vehicle 100 is located and the information including the coordinate values of a plurality of points on the road around it. A driving mode necessary for remote diagnosis when the vehicle 100 actually runs on a road around the current position includes a road shape that allows the vehicle 100 to generate various driving states.

The navigation device 1 includes an information center 2
Based on the travel route information and the failure diagnosis item information received from the user and the map information of the corresponding peripheral area, a map image including the travel route and the diagnostic content of the travel route is displayed on the display 22 (see FIG. 11). .

In the second step, a diagnostic program according to the driving mode determined by the information center 2 may be transmitted to the navigation device 1 (details will be described later). Third step (guidance of diagnostic traveling route / transmission of vehicle state): The navigation device 1 displays a map image on the display 22 based on the traveling route information received from the information center 2 and the map information of the corresponding peripheral area. By doing so (voice may be used), the driver of the vehicle 100 is guided to actually travel on the diagnostic traveling route. The navigation function itself for performing the route guidance may employ a general procedure.

Then, the navigation device 1
As described above, the navigation function is provided to the driver so that the vehicle 100 travels along the diagnostic traveling route efficiently while the vehicle 100 travels along the diagnostic traveling route. The detection result and the operation result of the sensor and the actuator are acquired from the vehicle control device 3 as data representing the vehicle state, and the acquired data is transmitted to the information center 2.

At this time, the navigation device 1 not only transmits the acquired data to the information center 2 but also makes a diagnosis by itself according to a diagnostic program received from the information center 2, for example, and transmits the diagnostic result to the information center 2. May be.

The third step may be repeatedly performed a plurality of times as the vehicle 100 completes traveling on the diagnostic traveling route. That is, the information center 2
When a remote diagnosis is performed based on data representing the vehicle state acquired from the navigation device 1 when traveling on a certain diagnostic traveling route (first diagnostic traveling route), another type of diagnosis is performed based on the result of the remote diagnosis. When it is determined that is necessary, another diagnostic traveling route (second diagnostic traveling route) and failure diagnosis item information are transmitted to the vehicle 100. Then, the navigation device 1 performs route guidance and transmission of the vehicle state based on the newly received information.

When the information center 2 receives from the navigation device 1 data representing the vehicle state and / or the result of the self-diagnosis on the diagnostic traveling route, the information center 2 receives the received data and various information stored in the databases. By referring to the information, remote diagnosis of the vehicle 100 is performed. This diagnosis result includes information indicating a portion of the vehicle that has been specified or estimated to require maintenance, information on a service factory that can handle costs required for the maintenance, and the like.

Fourth step (presentation of failure diagnosis result): The information center 2 transmits the above diagnosis result to the vehicle. In the navigation device 1, the received diagnosis result is
It is displayed on the display 22 (see FIG. 17).

Next, the above four steps will be individually described.

<First Step> FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control process for the navigation device 1 to request the information center 2 to execute a failure diagnosis. The procedure of a control program executed by the CPU 21 of the navigation device 1 is shown in FIG. Is shown.

FIG. 5 is a diagram exemplifying a navigation screen on the display 22 before a remote diagnosis request is made. A remote diagnosis (failure diagnosis) by the information center 2 is displayed on a map screen including a symbol representing the current position of the vehicle 100. A symbol that can be requested by a driver (occupant) of the vehicle 100 is displayed.

In the navigation screen shown in FIG.
When a predetermined operation for selecting a failure diagnosis symbol is input (Step S1), the navigation device establishes a communication line to the information center 2 by the communication interface 27 via the wireless communication line and the Internet 5, and The current position of the vehicle 100 detected by using the GPS unit 28 and the like, and a diagnosis request to request remote diagnosis are transmitted to the information center 2 (step S).
2).

At this time, the navigation device 1 transmits a personal number (user ID) and a vehicle number (vehicle ID) together with the current position and a diagnosis request in order to identify the vehicle 100 as a target of remote diagnosis. .

In the above step 1, when the navigation device 1 routinely diagnoses a predetermined item at a predetermined time period regardless of the presence or absence of a diagnosis request by the driver, the navigation screen shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, symbols for notifying the diagnosis items excluded from the daily diagnosis are arranged as shown in FIG. 6A, and when the symbols are selected, as shown in FIG. You may report.

Further, in the navigation device 1, in step S1, according to the selection of the fault diagnosis symbol, it is possible to select the execution of all the diagnosis contents which can be remotely diagnosed as shown in FIG. 6 (c). And a symbol capable of excluding the diagnostic content of a predetermined item that is routinely performed at a predetermined time period, and includes information representing the selected diagnostic content. 2 may be transmitted. In this case, the information center 2 can remotely diagnose the diagnostic items according to the driver's request, realize various diagnoses, and realize quick response at the service factory.

Further, in the navigation device 1, in step S1, in response to the selection of the fault diagnosis symbol, the above-described diagnosis items described with reference to FIG. After performing the failure diagnosis and omitting the daily diagnosis), as shown in FIG. 8, the time required to travel on the diagnostic traveling route is displayed by a symbol that can be set by the driver of the vehicle 100, and the set required time is displayed. The information indicating the time may be transmitted to the information center 2 as a diagnosis request in step S2. in this case,
The information center 2 determines a diagnostic traveling route in order to remotely diagnose only diagnostic items that can be diagnosed during traveling within the required time received from the navigation device 1. This allows
Optimal diagnosis can be realized according to the convenience of the driver of the vehicle to be diagnosed (the time during which the driver can use it for remote diagnosis).

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an example of a procedure for setting the driving skill of the driver in the navigation device 1 when a diagnosis request is input in step S1 of FIG. 4 (a). When a predetermined operation for selecting a symbol is input, the driver can select a diagnosis item (all failure diagnosis execution, daily diagnosis exclusion) as described above with reference to FIG. A plurality of levels of selection items are displayed as driving skills. The navigation device 1 transmits information representing the driving skill selected by the driver from the displayed multi-level selection items to the information center 2 together with the diagnosis request.

<Second Step> FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a control process until the information center 2 determines the diagnostic traveling route and the failure diagnosis item information and transmits the information to the navigation device 1. 4 shows a processing procedure of a control program executed by a CPU (not shown) in the server computer.

When the information center 2 receives the current position and the diagnosis request from the navigation device 1 (Step S)
51), the vehicle number (vehicle I
With reference to D) as a key, a diagnosis item required for the vehicle is selected by referring to the vehicle information database, the component information database, and the diagnosis history database (steps S52 and S53).

Further, the information center 2 selects a diagnostic item necessary for the vehicle by referring to the driving skill information database using the personal number (user ID) received from the navigation device 1 as a key (step S5).
4).

The driving skill of the driver may be acquired from the navigation device 1 together with the current position and the like as described above with reference to FIG.

Then, the information center 2 proceeds to step S5
From 1 to S54, the driving mode necessary for remote diagnosis of the diagnosis item selected is determined, and the determined driving mode, the current position received from the navigation device 1, and the vicinity of the current position read from the map information database are determined. Based on the road map information, a diagnostic travel route is determined, travel route information representing the determined diagnostic travel route, and information representing a diagnostic content diagnosed when the vehicle 100 actually travels on the travel route. (Failure diagnosis item information in FIG. 3) to the navigation device 1 (step S55).

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a control process until the navigation device 1 displays the failure diagnosis traveling route in accordance with the traveling route information and the failure diagnosis item information received from the information center 2. 4 shows a processing procedure of a control program executed by the CPU 21.

In the figure, the navigation device 1 is
When the traveling route information and the failure diagnosis item information of the diagnostic traveling route are received from the information center 2 (step S5), based on the received information and the map information of the surrounding area corresponding to the diagnostic traveling route. Then, a map image including the diagnostic traveling route and the details of the diagnosis on the traveling route is displayed on the display 22 (step S6).

In step S5, if necessary, a diagnostic program (program module) is received together with a diagnostic traveling route and the like, and the diagnostic program is transmitted to the CPU 2.
1 to execute a self-diagnosis, and the diagnostic program may be appropriately deleted when the self-diagnosis is completed. According to this configuration, the number of programs stored in the control device on the vehicle side can be suppressed to a minimum, and there is no troublesome version management of the programs.

As a more specific configuration in the above case,
For example, when the navigation device 1 includes an environment that operates as a Java virtual machine, a configuration in which a diagnostic program described as a Java program is downloaded from the information center 2 to the navigation device 1 is assumed.

FIG. 11 is a diagram exemplifying a screen displayed on the display 22 by the navigation device 1 in the second step, and shows details of the display processing in step S6.

When the navigation device 1 receives the traveling route information of the diagnostic traveling route and the failure diagnosis item information from the information center 2 in step S5, first, FIG.
Is displayed on the display 22 including the diagnostic driving route as shown in FIG. From this map image, a sub-screen (FIGS. 11 (b) to 11 (d)) including failure diagnosis items to be diagnosed when traveling on the diagnostic traveling route in accordance with the driver's selection operation and their explanations It can be expanded to
The driver can grasp the contents of the remote diagnosis to be performed in advance by performing the deployment operation on these screens.

Here, in step S5, the information center 2
It is also assumed that the diagnostic traveling route presented from includes a route that is unacceptable to the driver of the vehicle 100 (for example, sudden congestion or construction). In that case,
The diagnostic driving route may be edited by a driver on a map image including the diagnostic driving route presented from the information center 2.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of screen development for explaining the editing function of the diagnostic travel route.

When the navigation device 1 receives the traveling route information of the diagnostic traveling route and the failure diagnosis item information from the information center 2 in step S5, first, FIG.
Is displayed on the display 22 including the diagnostic driving route as shown in FIG. In this map image, when the driver performs an operation of selecting a symbol representing editing and selecting a partial route of the displayed diagnostic travel route,
As shown in FIG. 12B, the diagnostic items on the route are displayed. At this time, for example, if the operation of selecting the partial route is continued for a predetermined time (about several seconds), FIG.
As shown in (c), a new menu screen is displayed, and when deletion is selected in this menu, the navigation device 1 transmits to the information center 2 information indicating that the partial route has been deleted. And the information center 2
Based on the received information, a new diagnostic traveling route is determined, and the navigation device 1 displays the new diagnostic traveling route on the display 22 as shown in FIG.

On the menu screen shown in FIG. 12 (c), the items diagnosed on the partial route are not remotely diagnosed by the information center 2 without performing the remote diagnosis.
You can choose to do it directly at the service factory,
Also in this case, the information on the selection operation is transmitted to the information center 2. Then, the information center 2 determines a new diagnostic traveling route based on the received information, and the navigation device 1 determines the new diagnostic traveling route as shown in FIG.
The information is displayed on the display 22 as shown in FIG.

<Third Step> In the above-described second step, when the driver's understanding of the diagnostic travel route and the diagnostic items based on the travel is obtained, remote diagnosis by the navigation device 1 and the information center 2 is started.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the control processing of the navigation apparatus 1 during the remote diagnosis, and shows the processing procedure of the control program executed by the CPU 21 of the navigation apparatus 1.

In the figure, the navigation device 1
By displaying a map image on the display 22 based on the traveling route information received from the information center 2 and the map information of the corresponding surrounding area (voice may be used),
The driver of the vehicle 100 is guided to actually travel on the diagnostic traveling route (step S11).

When the vehicle 100 starts traveling on the diagnostic traveling route in response to the route guidance in step S11, the navigation device 1 detects the current position by the GPS unit 28, and the detection results of the sensors and actuators of the vehicle 100 and The operation result is acquired from the vehicle control device 3 as data representing the vehicle state, and the acquired data is transmitted to the information center 2 (step S12).

The above steps S11 and S12
Are repeated until the traveling of the diagnostic traveling route is completed. And the travel of the diagnostic travel route is completed,
When the end of the failure diagnosis (remote diagnosis) is confirmed in step S13, the navigation device 1 proceeds to a failure diagnosis result presentation process (FIG. 15) described later.

In step S12, when the diagnostic program (program module) is received together with the diagnostic traveling route and the like in step S5 (FIG. 10) described above, the CPU 21 executes the diagnostic program. A self-diagnosis may be performed, and the result of the diagnosis may be transmitted to the information center 2. In addition to the diagnosis result, the diagnosis program itself may be transmitted to the information center 2.

In order to reduce the data reception amount before the start of the remote diagnosis in step S5 (FIG. 10),
In steps S11 and S12, the vehicle 100
When the vehicle is actually traveling, a diagnostic program corresponding to a part of the diagnostic traveling route that travels next,
What is necessary is just to comprise so that it may transmit sequentially from the information center 2.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a control process of the information center 2 during remote diagnosis.
3 shows a processing procedure of a control program executed by a CPU (not shown) in the server computer.

Referring to FIG. 13, when the vehicle state (or diagnosis result) is received from the navigation device 1 corresponding to step S12 of FIG. 13 described above (step S61),
The information center 2 performs a remote diagnosis of the vehicle 100 by referring to the received information and various information (failure history and the like) stored in each of the databases (step S).
62).

In the diagnosis in step S62, it is preferable to consider the driving skill of the driver. The driving skill of the driver has a general tendency according to the proficiency of driving, age, and the like. In addition, a diagnosis result obtained by executing the analysis program generally depends on a distribution state of a plurality of measurement data (samples) used for the diagnosis. Therefore, in analyzing the predetermined item, the information center 2 uses the driving skill of the driver of the vehicle to be diagnosed to determine the noise included in the measurement data (vehicle state) received from the navigation device 1, It is desirable to improve the accuracy of the analysis result by eliminating the elements associated with the driver's driving operation.

[0094] The diagnosis result in step S62 includes information indicating a part of the vehicle specified or estimated to require maintenance, information on a service factory that can handle the approximate cost required for the maintenance, and the like. In addition, the diagnosis result may include an estimated time for maintaining the specified or estimated part. As a result, the driver of the vehicle can recognize the state of the failure or the like occurring in the vehicle and the cost for dealing with the state before bringing the vehicle to the service factory, and the convenience is improved.

When performing self-diagnosis in the navigation device 1, the information center 2 may perform an analysis process with a large processing load as necessary using the received diagnosis result.

<Fourth Step> FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a process of presenting a failure diagnosis result of the navigation device 1, and shows a processing procedure of a control program executed by the CPU 21 of the navigation device 1.

In the figure, the navigation device 1 is
Upon receiving the diagnosis result from the information center 2 (step S
21), and displays the diagnosis result on the display 22 (step S22).

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a display example of a failure diagnosis result. In step S22, first, the received diagnosis result is displayed as a digest. On this display screen,
If it is notified that there is some defect (injector defect in the figure), a sub-screen that displays the details of the defect or a sub-screen that displays options for dealing with the defect by the driver's selection operation Screen development to is possible.

When the driver selects any option on the displayed sub-screen (step S23), information representing the selected option is transmitted to the information center 2 (step S24).

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a process of presenting a failure diagnosis result of the information center 2, and shows a processing procedure of a control program executed by a CPU (not shown) in the server computer of the information center 2.

Referring to FIG. 10, the information center 2 transmits the above-mentioned diagnosis result to the navigation device 1 of the vehicle 100 (step S65). In response to the transmission of the diagnosis result, when an option for dealing with the diagnosis result is received from the navigation device 1 (step S66), a process for dealing with the option is performed (step S67). That is, in step S67, for example, it is preferable to arrange for a service factory that can respond. This arrangement is performed, for example, via the Internet 5, for the vehicle 1 in which the defect is specified or estimated.
00 and the identification number of the user, and an electronic mail including a diagnosis result and the like.

Further, when the driver requests the arrangement of a service factory according to the diagnosis result displayed on the navigation apparatus 1 as described above, the cost of vehicle maintenance and the like at the service factory is different from that in the case of general carry-in. It is preferable for the user to compare and discount.

When the driver requests the arrangement of a service factory according to the diagnosis result displayed on the navigation apparatus 1 as described above, the driving route information to the service factory is further transmitted to the information center 2 or the service center. By transmitting the information from the factory to the navigation device 1, the convenience for the user is further improved.

When the communication line between the navigation device 1 and the information center 2 is charged, the driver's cost during the above-mentioned remote diagnosis is taken into consideration.
At the time when the remote diagnosis is requested to the information center 2 from the navigation device 1 in the first step, it is preferable to add a process for making the information center 2 burden the subsequent communication cost.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, the vehicle to be diagnosed travels along the traveling route required for the diagnosis, and the information necessary for the vehicle diagnosis is used as information necessary for the vehicle diagnosis. Can be obtained, and efficient remote diagnosis can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a vehicle remote diagnosis system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the navigation device with a communication function 1 according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an operation transition at the time of remote diagnosis by the vehicle remote diagnosis system according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control process for the navigation device 1 to request the information center 2 to execute a failure diagnosis.

FIG. 5 is a diagram exemplifying a navigation screen on the display 22 before a remote diagnosis request is made.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating screen transition when a driver selects a diagnosis item in the navigation device 1 prior to remote diagnosis.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a procedure for setting a driving skill of a driver in the navigation device 1.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating screen transition when a required time is selected by a driver in the navigation device 1 prior to remote diagnosis.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a control process from when the information center 2 determines a diagnostic traveling route and failure diagnosis item information and transmits the information to the navigation device 1.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a control process until the navigation device 1 displays a failure diagnosis traveling route according to the traveling route information and the failure diagnosis item information received from the information center 2.

FIG. 11 is a diagram exemplifying a screen displayed on the display 22 by the navigation device 1 in the second step.

FIG. 12 is a diagram exemplifying screen development for explaining an editing function of a diagnostic travel route.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a control process of the navigation device 1 during remote diagnosis.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a control process of the information center 2 during remote diagnosis.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a process of presenting a failure diagnosis result of the navigation device 1.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a process of presenting a failure diagnosis result of the information center 2.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a failure diagnosis result.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Navigation device, 2: Information center, 4: Telephone base station, 5: Internet, 6: Service factory, 7: Internet service provider, 21: CPU, 22: Display, 23: Input device, 24: ROM, 25: RAM, 26: storage device, 27: communication interface, 28: GPS unit, 29: internal bus, 30: communication line, 100: vehicle,

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hideki Naka 3-1, Shinchi, Fuchu-cho, Aki-gun, Hiroshima Mazda F-term (reference) 2F029 AA02 AB07 AB12 AB13 AC02 AC09 AC12 AC14 AC18 AC20 5H180 AA01 BB13 BB05 BB13 BB17 BB18 EE02 FF05 FF22 FF25 FF27 FF33 FF40

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A connection step of connecting a control device mounted on a vehicle to be remotely diagnosed and an information center so as to be capable of two-way communication via at least a wireless communication line; and from the control device to the information center. Transmitting the current position of the vehicle and a diagnosis request, the information center determines a driving mode required for remote diagnosis of the vehicle in accordance with the received diagnosis request, and determines the determined driving mode and the control device. A travel route determining step of transmitting to the vehicle travel route information determined based on the current position of the vehicle and the surrounding road map information received from the vehicle, and at least the travel route information from the information center by the control device. Self-diagnosis engine which receives a vehicle state and transmits a vehicle state detected when the vehicle travels according to the travel route information to the information center. If, on the basis of the vehicle state received from the control device, remote diagnosis method for a vehicle, characterized in that it has a, a remote diagnosis step of performing remote diagnosis of the vehicle at the information center. 2. A remote diagnosis system for a vehicle, wherein a control device mounted on a vehicle to be remotely diagnosed and an information center are connected at least bidirectionally via a wireless communication line, wherein the control device is Transmitting a current position and a diagnosis request of the vehicle to the information center, and receiving at least travel route information from the information center in response to the transmission of the diagnosis request;
Self-diagnosis means for transmitting a vehicle state detected when the vehicle travels according to the travel route information to the information center, wherein the information center responds to the diagnosis request received from the control device. Along with determining a traveling mode required for remote diagnosis of the vehicle, the determined traveling mode, the traveling route information determined based on road map information of the current position of the vehicle received from the control device and its surroundings, the vehicle And a remote diagnosis means for performing a remote diagnosis of the vehicle based on the vehicle state received from the control device in response to the transmission of the travel route information. Remote diagnostic system. 3. The control device includes a navigation unit that notifies a driver of the vehicle of a traveling route on which the vehicle should travel based on a current position of the vehicle, road map information, and the traveling route information. The remote diagnosis system for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein: 4. An auxiliary diagnostic means for diagnosing a predetermined item based on a state of a road on which the vehicle travels and a vehicle state detected during traveling irrespective of the presence or absence of the diagnostic request by a driver. The control device or the information center, wherein the control device notifies the driver of the vehicle of a diagnosis item other than the predetermined item by the auxiliary diagnosis unit, and issues a diagnosis request regarding the notified diagnosis item. The remote diagnosis system for a vehicle according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising a man-machine interface capable of setting whether or not to transmit to the information center. 5. The control device, wherein the self-diagnosis unit is capable of setting a time required for the vehicle to travel in accordance with the travel route information by a driver of the vehicle. Transmitting the diagnosis request including information indicating time to the information center, wherein the remote diagnosis unit remotely receives only diagnosis items that can be diagnosed during traveling within a required time received from the control device. The remote diagnosis system for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the travel route information is determined for diagnosis. 6. The information center according to claim 1, wherein the remote diagnosis unit calculates the travel route information based on a driving skill of a driver of the vehicle in addition to the travel mode, the current position and road map information around the current location. The remote diagnosis system for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the determination is performed. 7. The information center, wherein the remote diagnostic unit transmits a diagnostic program corresponding to the traveling mode to the vehicle instead of performing remote diagnosis of the vehicle. The means executes the diagnosis program received from the information center to perform a self-diagnosis based on a vehicle state detected when the vehicle travels according to the travel route information. Item 4. A vehicle remote diagnosis system according to Item 2. 8. In the information center, the remote diagnosis unit is configured to perform a remote diagnosis based on a result of the remote diagnosis.
3. The remote diagnosis system for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein a portion of the vehicle that requires maintenance is specified or estimated, and information about a service factory that can cope with the cost required for the maintenance is transmitted to the vehicle. 9. The control device, wherein the self-diagnosis unit allows the driver of the vehicle to select a diagnosis content, and the driver of the vehicle issues the diagnosis request including information indicating the selected diagnosis content. 9. The remote diagnosis system for a vehicle according to claim 8, wherein the information is transmitted to the information center at a desired timing. 10. A vehicle control device mounted on a vehicle to be remotely diagnosed, a communication means for connecting the control device to an information center via at least a wireless communication line so as to enable two-way communication; A current position of the vehicle and a diagnosis request are transmitted to the information center, and at least traveling route information is received from the information center in response to the transmission of the diagnosis request,
A vehicle control device comprising: a self-diagnosis unit that transmits a vehicle state detected when the vehicle travels according to the travel route information to the information center. 11. Communication means for connecting the self-device to a control device mounted on a vehicle to be remotely diagnosed at least via a wireless communication line so as to be capable of bidirectional communication, and in response to a diagnosis request received from the control device. The travel mode required for remote diagnosis of the vehicle is determined, and the determined travel mode, travel route information determined based on the current position of the vehicle received from the control device and road map information around the vehicle, Traveling route determination means for transmitting to the vehicle; and remote diagnosis means for performing remote diagnosis of the vehicle based on the vehicle state received from the control device in response to the transmission of the traveling route information. Remote diagnostic device for vehicles. 12. A computer program product in which an operation instruction of the vehicle control device according to claim 10 is described. 13. A computer program product for giving instructions for realizing the remote diagnosis device for a vehicle according to claim 11 in a computer.