JP2004302677A - Remote failure diagnostic system and its control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a passenger with the best measures for a vehicle by effectively utilizing diagnostic results of remote failure diagnosis for the vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: In the remote failure diagnostic system, the failure diagnosis of the target vehicle 2 is remotely performed via a service station 3 and its diagnostic results are provided to the target vehicle 2 and a service station terminal 23 installed in the service station 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of a remote fault diagnosis system for remotely performing a fault diagnosis of a diagnosis target. For example, a fault diagnosis of a vehicle (automobile), which is a typical moving object, is performed remotely using the vehicle as a diagnosis target. It relates to the field of remote fault diagnosis systems.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when various services such as automobile repair and inspection are required, for example, a sales agency (a so-called dealer), an automobile supply store, a maintenance shop attached to a gas station, or the like, or an independent garage exists. In general, a user (customer) brings a car to a service base such as an automobile repair shop, and a necessary service is provided at the service base.
[0003]
However, in the above-described conventional general service form, an event such as a defect reported from the user to the person in charge of the service base may not be confirmed or reproduced at the service base, and as a result, the request of the user is not always prompt. In addition, there has been a problem that it is not possible to respond sufficiently.
[0004]
Therefore, in order to improve the above conventional problem, the state of the vehicle is detected and stored in a storage medium, and when the vehicle is brought to a service base, the detection information stored in the storage medium is determined. There have been proposed techniques and the like for performing a failure diagnosis while reading the data using a dedicated tool.
[0005]
Further, in recent years, it is possible to communicate between individual vehicles to be monitored (hereinafter, vehicles) and an information center by using a communication means such as a wireless communication or the Internet by using a rapidly developing IT (information technology). As a state, there has been proposed a technology for performing a fault diagnosis remotely between the two (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
[0006]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2002-202003 A
[Patent Document 2]
JP 2002-228552 A
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
According to the conventional remote failure diagnosis system, the failure diagnosis is performed regardless of the location of the vehicle without the user bringing the vehicle to a maintenance shop of a dealer (a so-called dealer) or a general automobile repair shop. Since the diagnostic processing is performed collectively on the server (server computer) of the information center, the failure diagnosis program executed on the server can be updated as needed to make the diagnosis target easier. Each vehicle has the advantage that it can always receive the latest diagnosis.
[0008]
However, even if the result of the remote failure diagnosis is reported to the driver (occupant) on the vehicle side, not all drivers are familiar with the vehicle, so in the above-mentioned conventional remote failure diagnosis system, the diagnosis result is provided to the vehicle side. Even if the information is provided, it may be difficult for the occupant to understand and provide the content of the provided information alone, and as a result, there is a problem that the notified diagnosis result is not effectively used.
[0009]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a remote failure diagnosis system and a control method thereof that effectively utilize a diagnosis result of a remote failure diagnosis for a vehicle and provide an occupant with the best treatment for the vehicle.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a remote failure diagnosis system according to the present invention has the following configuration.
[0011]
That is, a remote failure diagnosis system that remotely performs failure diagnosis on a vehicle and notifies a passenger of the diagnosis result,
Diagnosis of a failure of the target vehicle (2) is remotely performed via a station (3) where inspection or repair can be performed or a station (3) where staff having knowledge of the vehicle exists, and the diagnosis result is obtained. The information is provided to the target vehicle and the information terminal (23) provided at the station.
It is characterized by the following.
[0012]
In a preferred embodiment, when providing the diagnosis result, the information terminal may be provided with a detailed diagnosis result as compared with the target vehicle.
[0013]
Further, for example, only when a failure of the target vehicle is detected by the failure diagnosis, the diagnosis result may be provided to the information terminal.
[0014]
Further, for example, the information terminal that provides a diagnosis result of the target vehicle by referring to a database (12) in which information on a maintenance history of each vehicle that can be the target vehicle is stored, It is preferable to provide information on the maintenance history.
[0015]
Further, for example, the provision of the diagnosis result to the information terminal may be performed only when permission is obtained from the occupant of the target vehicle.
[0016]
In order to achieve the above object, a remote failure diagnosis system of another configuration according to the present invention is a remote failure diagnosis system that performs a failure diagnosis on a vehicle remotely and notifies a passenger of the diagnosis result. ,
When a target vehicle (2) is present at a station (3) where inspection or repair can be performed or a station (3) where staff having knowledge of the vehicle exists, a fault diagnosis can be remotely performed on the target vehicle. Do
Preferably, when the target vehicle is present at a station, the diagnostic threshold value at the time of the failure diagnosis is corrected to a smaller value compared to when the target vehicle is present at a location other than the station. Good.
[0017]
Note that the above object is also achieved by a method corresponding to the above-described remote fault diagnosis system of each configuration.
[0018]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention described above, it is possible to provide a remote failure diagnosis system and a control method thereof that effectively utilize a diagnosis result of a remote failure diagnosis for a vehicle and provide an occupant with the best treatment for the vehicle.
[0019]
That is, the general user of the vehicle (the occupant such as a driver) is not fully familiar with the vehicle (automobile), so the diagnosis result of the remote failure diagnosis is provided (notified) on the vehicle side. However, in some cases, it is difficult to understand and cope with the content of the provided information only by the occupant. In addition, the result of the remote failure diagnosis performed through a station that can be inspected or repaired or a station in which staff having knowledge of the vehicle exists is also provided to an information terminal provided in the station. .
[0020]
This allows a user who is not familiar with the vehicle to perform a fault diagnosis on the vehicle remotely by effectively utilizing the opportunity to stop at a station existing in the surrounding environment where the vehicle runs and the original required time at the station. However, the station staff can easily receive the support (understanding the contents of the diagnosis results and appropriate countermeasures, etc.) and the convenience is high. On the other hand, the station staff also provides the user (driver Etc.), and it is reasonable to be able to take advantage of the business opportunities associated with providing them.
[0021]
Further, even if a detailed diagnosis result of the remote failure diagnosis is provided to a user who is not familiar with the vehicle, the user is only confused and the provided diagnosis result may not be effectively used. According to the second aspect of the present invention, the detailed diagnosis result is provided to the information terminal provided in the station, so that the support by the staff can be made more efficient and the convenience is high.
[0022]
Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, no information is provided to the information terminal provided in the station for a vehicle in which a failure such as a failure is not detected as a result of the remote failure diagnosis. As a result, it is possible to realize a rational task only when support to the user is required, without imposing a large burden on the staff of the station where a large number of vehicles visit.
[0023]
Also, according to the invention of claim 4, the staff of the station can obtain information on the maintenance history of the target vehicle as needed, and in consideration of the information, a diagnosis at the time of supporting the user is performed. It is possible to quickly and rationally comprehend the contents and determine the most appropriate coping method.
[0024]
According to the invention of claim 5, it is assumed that providing the diagnosis result of the remote failure diagnosis to the staff of the station as described above may be rather troublesome for a user who is familiar with the vehicle, for example. Only when permission from the occupant is obtained, the diagnosis result can be provided to the information terminal provided at the station, so that each user's discretion (judgment) can be respected, and is there.
[0025]
Further, according to the inventions of claims 6 and 9, the target vehicle is located at a station such as a gas station or an automobile supply store where inspection or repair can be performed or a station where staff having knowledge of the vehicle exists. When the vehicle exists, the remote failure diagnosis is performed on the target vehicle, so that the opportunity to stop at a station existing in the surrounding environment where the vehicle travels and the original required time at the station are effectively used, and the vehicle is not familiar with the vehicle. Even the user can easily receive the support by the station staff (understanding the contents of the diagnosis results, appropriate countermeasures, etc.) and is highly convenient. On the other hand, the station staff also provides such support to the user ( Driver, etc.) It is possible to reasonable.
[0026]
In general, the state of a vehicle rarely changes greatly in a short period of time, but for a general user of the vehicle, a chance to stop at a station such as a gas station or an automobile supply store is, for example, one week. In the situation of the user, the diagnosis result of the remote failure diagnosis performed as described in the above claims indicates a failure such as a failure. However, as a result of a change in the state of the vehicle before the next stop at the station, some troubles may be detected in the remote failure diagnosis performed at that time.
[0027]
In the background described above, according to the invention of claim 7, when the target vehicle is present at the station, the diagnostic criterion for remote fault diagnosis becomes stricter than when the target vehicle does not exist, and it is determined that there is an abnormality. Because the diagnosis result is easy to come out, as a result of the diagnosis based on the strict diagnosis criteria, the failure such as the failure of the target vehicle that would have been detected in the near future, under the situation where the support of the station staff is easy to obtain, The user can be notified, and preventive maintenance is achieved.
[0028]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a remote failure diagnosis system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as an embodiment in which the system is applied to a vehicle (automobile) that is a typical moving object.
[0029]
[First Embodiment]
[System configuration]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a remote failure diagnosis system according to the first embodiment. This system is roughly composed of an information center 1, a vehicle 2, and a service station 3.
[0030]
In the present embodiment, the information center 1 and each of the vehicles 2 that can receive the remote failure diagnosis service by the present system are connected to a mobile communication line (first wireless communication) using the Internet 5 and the base station 6 as relay stations. It is possible to directly transmit and receive information via the line 8. Here, the mobile communication line 8 is a communication line, such as a wireless telephone line, whose data communication speed is relatively restricted.
[0031]
The information center 1 and the service station 3 can transmit and receive information via the Internet 5 and / or another communication line 13.
[0032]
Then, the service station 3 and the vehicle (target vehicle) 2 that has stopped at the service station can transmit and receive information via the short-range wireless communication line (second wireless communication line) 7. Here, the short-range wireless communication line 7 is a short-range wireless communication line, such as DSRC or IEEE802, which can perform higher-speed communication than the mobile communication line 8.
[0033]
In the present embodiment, the fact that the vehicle 2 has stopped at the service station 3, that is, the presence of the target vehicle at the service station 3 can be detected by various methods. A state in which the short-range wireless communication line 7 is established between the mobile communication line communication device 102 mounted on the vehicle 2 and the short-range wireless communication terminal 24 installed in the service station 3. , Are detected on the vehicle side and / or the service station 3 side.
[0034]
The information center 1 includes a server (server computer) 11 that controls the entire system and a database (DB) 12.
[0035]
In the present embodiment, the server 11 is composed of, for example, a failure diagnosis server 11A and a service factory management server 11B, and executes a software program prepared in advance by a CPU (not shown) so that the service station 3 ( By cooperating with the diagnosis mediation server 21) and the vehicle 2 (the abnormality detection device 101), a remote failure diagnosis process (FIGS. 3 to 5) to be described later can be realized, and information is stored in the database 12 accordingly. Or the stored information can be read.
[0036]
The database 12 includes a plurality of sub-databases such as a customer information DB 12-1, a failure information DB 12-2, a vehicle information DB 12-3, a service factory DB 12-4, a map DB 12-5, and a diagnostic program DB 12-6. ing.
[0037]
That is, the customer information DB 12-1 stores information (name, address, contact information, etc.) relating to a plurality of users (customers) who can use the present system in association with IDs for identifying individual users. ing.
[0038]
In the failure information DB 12-2, information (failure information) relating to various types of failures relating to a plurality of types of vehicles is provided with an identification code (failure identification code i) capable of identifying each failure. ), The details of the failure, the actual running state of the vehicle that is likely or likely to occur when the failure occurs (corresponding to a predetermined rule to be described later), and the countermeasures against the failure and stored. Is done.
[0039]
In the vehicle information DB 12-3, diagnosis result information indicating a diagnosis result (diagnosis history) by remote failure diagnosis includes, for example, maintenance history information (including maintenance date and time, location, etc.), and information (vehicle body) for specifying an individual vehicle. No.), information for specifying the vehicle type (model), and the ID of the vehicle owner (user) are stored in association with each other.
[0040]
Information on each service factory 4 is stored in the service factory DB 12-4.
[0041]
The map DB 12-5 stores map information employing a common coordinate system with the navigation controller 105 of the vehicle 2 and the like.
[0042]
The diagnosis program DB12-6 stores a failure diagnosis program (including a diagnosis pattern described later) for performing a remote failure diagnosis of the target vehicle for each vehicle type (model).
[0043]
The vehicle 2 is a vehicle that can be a target vehicle for remote failure diagnosis by the present system, and has a configuration shown in FIG. 2 (details will be described later).
[0044]
The service station 3 includes a diagnostic mediation server 21, a diagnostic program DB 22, a service station terminal 23, and a short-range wireless communication terminal 24.
[0045]
That is, the diagnosis mediation server 21 executes the failure diagnosis program stored in the diagnosis program DB 22 in a CPU (not shown), thereby cooperating with the information center 1 (the server 11) and the vehicle 2 (the abnormality detection device 101). Accordingly, a remote failure diagnosis process (FIGS. 3 to 5) to be described later can be realized for the target vehicle that has stopped at the service station 3.
[0046]
Here, the service station terminals 23 include not only information terminals installed in the service station 3 but also information terminals (PDAs, POS terminals, etc.) carried by staff of the station.
[0047]
The service factory 4 is a maintenance factory (maintenance facility) attached to a sales agent (a so-called dealer) or the like, or an auto repair shop that exists alone.
[0048]
Here, the service station 3 includes various bases (stations) other than the service factory 4 described above, such as a gas station, a parking lot, a fast food restaurant, a family restaurant, an automobile supply store, and the like, where an unspecified number of vehicles can visit. ).
[0049]
In addition, the gas station in the present embodiment includes not only a station for supplying gasoline but also a wide range of supply points for various types of energy used for running the vehicle, such as electricity and hydrogen. , ETC (Electric Toll Collection: automatic toll payment system), etc., a short-range wireless communication system with a vehicle using a communication system such as DSRC, IEEE802, etc. The user is charged.
[0050]
Note that general hardware and software can be used for individual components (components) such as a server computer, a database, and a wireless communication line, which constitute the above system configuration. Detailed description of the embodiment will be omitted.
[0051]
Further, in the configuration example shown in FIG. 1, for convenience of explanation, a description will be given on the assumption that a server 11 and a database 12 are provided in the information center 1 and a diagnosis mediation server 21 and a diagnosis program DB 22 are provided in the service station 3. However, the present invention is not limited to such a system configuration, and the location where each server or database is installed is not limited as long as data can be transmitted and received through various communication lines.
[0052]
In particular, the diagnostic mediation server 21 does not have to be provided in each service station 3 as illustrated in FIG. 1. In this case, the diagnostic mediation server 21 has a short distance from the in-vehicle terminal 103 for the short-range wireless communication line mounted on the visiting vehicle 2. In order to realize wireless communication via the wireless communication line 7, for example, each service station 3 is provided with at least a short-range wireless communication terminal 24, while a plurality of service stations 3 (for example, in a certain area). The diagnostic mediation server 21 and the diagnostic program DB 22 for comprehensively controlling the operation of the short-range wireless communication terminals 24 of the plurality of service stations 3) scattered in the plurality of service stations 3) and performing the charge management and the like as appropriate include the plurality of short-range A system configuration provided between the wireless communication terminal 24 and the server 11 of the information center 1 may be adopted.
[0053]
Next, FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of the vehicle 2 in the remote failure diagnosis system according to the first embodiment. The vehicle 2 is roughly divided into an abnormality detection device 101, an input / output device 104, and a navigation controller 105. , A sensor group 106, a body system 107, and a vehicle control system 108.
[0054]
That is, the abnormality detection device 101 includes information indicating various states of the host vehicle 2 controlled by the body system 107 and the vehicle control system 108 and a sensor group (a GPS sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, a yaw rate sensor, a steering angle sensor, and the like). ) 106 and information indicating various states of the host vehicle 2 that can be obtained, and communicates with the navigation controller 105 as necessary.
[0055]
Further, the abnormality detection device 101 performs wireless communication via the short-range wireless communication line 7 using the in-vehicle terminal 103 for short-range wireless communication line and wireless communication via the mobile communication line 8 using the mobile communication line communication device 102. By executing the control program in a CPU (not shown), the mobile communication line (cooperation) with the information center 1 (server 11) and / or the service station 3 (diagnosis mediation server 21) can be performed. It is possible to realize a first remote failure diagnosis function using a first wireless communication line (8) or a second remote failure diagnosis function using a short-range wireless communication line (second wireless communication line) 7. (Described later with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5).
[0056]
Here, the body system 107 controls the operation of various electric components such as a power window, an audio, and a wiper in the vehicle 2. The vehicle control system 108 controls the behavior of the vehicle such as ABS, DCS, and EGI. It is responsible for operation control.
[0057]
The input / output device 104 includes a man-machine interface such as a display, an operation switch, a voice input microphone, and a speaker, and provides guidance to a user (an occupant such as a driver) with the operation of the abnormality detection device 101 and the navigation controller 105. Alternatively, input of a selection operation can be performed.
[0058]
Note that the abnormality detection device 101 and the navigation controller 105 are not limited to separate configurations.
[0059]
[Remote failure diagnosis processing]
Hereinafter, the diagnosis function of the remote failure diagnosis system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.
[0060]
In each of the flowcharts, for convenience of explanation, it is possible to easily understand the information transmission mode (exchange) between the subsystems (the abnormality detection device 101, the diagnosis mediation server 21, and the main server 11) constituting the system. For this reason, the processing procedure (a part of the processing procedure) of the plurality of subsystems is shown in one drawing, but in actual operation, each subsystem is shown in these plurality of flowcharts. A plurality of software modules capable of realizing the corresponding processing procedure function appropriately.
[0061]
Further, in the present embodiment, symbols such as “(VI−n− *)” and “(IC−n− *)” written at the dashed arrow and the fulcrum or end point thereof in each flowchart (however, n is 1 to 4 and represents the first to fourth embodiments) is a subsystem (anomaly detection device 101, diagnosis mediation, etc.) via short-range wireless communication line 7, mobile communication line 8, or communication line 13. A communication event between the server 21 and the main server 11) is shown, and the same symbol indicates one transmission / reception process between target subsystems.
[0062]
More specifically, in the above symbols, “V” is vehicle 2 (abnormality detection device 101), “I” is diagnosis mediation server 21 (service station 3), “C” is information center 1 (main server 11), "S" represents the service station terminal 23. And, for example, “VI” represents information transmission from the vehicle 2 to the diagnostic mediation server 21, and “IC” represents information transmission from the diagnostic mediation server 21 to the information center 1.
[0063]
As described above, general hardware is used for realizing the individual transmission / reception processing performed in each subsystem and the processing procedure itself of the software executed in the hardware. Therefore, detailed description in the present embodiment will be omitted.
[0064]
FIG. 3 to FIG. 5 are flowcharts showing a remote failure diagnosis process performed in the remote failure diagnosis system according to the first embodiment. First, the relationship between these flowcharts will be described.
[0065]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a control process executed in the target vehicle (the abnormality detection device 101) to realize the remote failure diagnosis process according to the first embodiment.
[0066]
FIG. 4A is a flowchart showing details of the remote failure diagnosis process (step S7 in FIG. 3) in the target vehicle 2, and FIG. 4B is a remote failure diagnosis process in the target vehicle 2 (FIG. 4 (a)) is a flowchart showing the control processing performed in the information center 1 (server 11) when the processing is performed, and FIG. 4 (c) shows the service station 3 (diagnostic mediation server) when these processings are performed. It is a flowchart which shows the control processing performed in 21).
[0067]
FIG. 5A is a flowchart showing the details of the remote failure diagnosis processing (step S204 in FIG. 4) in the service station 3, and FIG. 5B is a flowchart showing the remote failure diagnosis processing in the service station 3. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a control process performed in a target vehicle 2 when the process is performed.
[0068]
Here, the remote failure diagnosis according to the present embodiment is performed while the user (an occupant such as a driver) is away from the vehicle (for example, when the user stops at the service station 3). Even if it is the time required to complete a meal, refueling, etc.), it is preferable to automatically perform the operation without imposing restrictions on the user's behavior. The apparatus 101 may continue the operation described below, for example, even when the engine is stopped or the ignition switch is in the off position.
[0069]
Hereinafter, the operation procedure of the remote failure diagnosis according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts (FIGS. 3 to 5) having the above relationship.
[0070]
First, in FIG. 3, the abnormality detection device 101 mounted on the vehicle (target vehicle) 2 determines whether the own vehicle is stopped by referring to the detection result of the sensor group 106 (step S1). If it is determined that the vehicle is stopped, it is determined in step S2 and step S3 whether communication with the relay server 21 via the short-range wireless communication line 7 is possible (that is, whether the vehicle-mounted terminal 103 and the short-range wireless communication terminal 24 A communication line is established between the two).
[0071]
If it is determined in step S3 that communication is possible, the abnormality detection apparatus 101 determines in step S4 whether or not T time or more has elapsed since the last remote failure diagnosis as a condition for determining whether remote diagnosis is necessary this time. It is determined whether the vehicle 2 has traveled a distance X or more, and if any of these conditions is satisfied, in step S5, it is determined whether the failure diagnosis is performed for the driver (occupant) by the input / output device. Confirmation is made by outputting a guidance to the driver 104 and an input operation of a driver corresponding thereto.
[0072]
Next, the abnormality detection apparatus 101 starts a remote failure diagnosis process (step S7: FIG. 4A) in response to a predetermined operation for performing failure diagnosis being detected in step S5 being detected in step S6. I do.
[0073]
The remote failure diagnosis processing in step S7 is performed when the vehicle 2 is stopped at the service station 3 and the remote failure diagnosis is required by the processing steps of the flowchart shown in FIG. It has also been confirmed that a communication line with the relay server 21 via the short-range wireless communication line 7 has been established. Therefore, the vehicle 2 can communicate with the information center 1 via the high-speed communication line with the mediation server 21 without using the mobile communication line 8 whose communication speed is restricted. It is possible. Under such a situation, the processes shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 4A to 4C are started.
[0074]
That is, in FIG. 4, the abnormality detection device 101 transmits vehicle basic information (model, vehicle number, and the like) stored in the vehicle (target vehicle) 2 to the mediation server 21 in advance (steps S11 and S201). Then, the mediation server 21 transmits to the information center 1 a request to download a failure diagnosis program corresponding to the received vehicle basic information (model, vehicle number, etc.) together with the received vehicle basic information (step S202).
[0075]
When the server 11 of the information center 1 receives the failure diagnosis program download request and the vehicle basic information of the target vehicle from the diagnosis mediation server 21 in step S101, in step S102, the vehicle basic information and the database 12 (vehicle information DB 12- A diagnostic program for the target vehicle is extracted from the database (diagnostic program DB 12-6) based on the past diagnostic history included in the record regarding the target vehicle in 3), and the extracted diagnostic program is extracted in step S103. The failure diagnosis program is transmitted to the diagnosis mediation server 21 that has transmitted the information in step S101.
[0076]
Here, the failure diagnosis program extracted in step S103 is the most suitable failure diagnosis program for diagnosing the current state of the target vehicle according to the target vehicle and its past diagnosis history. The program includes a combination (hereinafter, a diagnosis pattern) of a predetermined signal level group set to the target vehicle from the outside (diagnosis mediation server 21 in the present embodiment) in order to remotely diagnose the target vehicle. In accordance with the setting of the diagnostic pattern in the target vehicle, a default value (normal value) that would be obtained as diagnostic result information if the target vehicle is normal (no failure) is included.
[0077]
The mediation server 21 that has established the short-range wireless communication line 7 with the target vehicle receives the failure diagnosis program from the information center 1 and stores the failure diagnosis program in the diagnosis program DB 22 (step S203) and receives the failure diagnosis program. The target vehicle is diagnosed in accordance with the performed failure diagnosis program (step S204).
[0078]
Here, the remote failure diagnosis processing (step S204) of the target vehicle performed by the mediation server 21 is performed according to the following procedure.
[0079]
That is, the diagnosis mediation server 21 performs the diagnosis pattern I (for at least one type of diagnosis pattern included in the received failure diagnosis program) on the target vehicle with the short-range wireless communication line 7 established. Here, I indicates any one of n types of diagnostic patterns included in the failure diagnostic program, and 1 ≦ I ≦ n is set (step S211), and the diagnostic pattern I is set to the target pattern. The data is transmitted to the vehicle (step S212).
[0080]
When the target vehicle receives the diagnostic pattern I from the diagnostic mediation server 21 via the short-range wireless communication line 7 in step S16, the target vehicle executes the received diagnostic pattern I, and as a result, the sensor group 106 and the body system The detection results obtained from the system 107 and the control system 108 are collected (step S17), and information representing the collected detection results is transmitted to the diagnosis mediation server 21 as the diagnosis result information of the diagnosis pattern I (step S18). ).
[0081]
Upon receiving the diagnosis result information from the target vehicle in step S213, the diagnosis mediation server 21 determines whether each detection result represented by the diagnosis result information is within the normal range of the predetermined value. If it is out of the normal range (step S214), the corresponding diagnosis item (diagnosis content) and the detection result out of the normal range are listed in the failure list for the target vehicle (step S214). Step S215).
[0082]
Then, by the processing steps of step S216 and step S217, the above-described steps S211 to S215 are repeated until all the diagnostic patterns included in the currently executed failure diagnosis program are performed.
[0083]
When the remote failure diagnosis in step S204 described above is completed, the diagnosis mediation server 21 transmits the diagnosis result (failure diagnosis result information) of the remote failure diagnosis for the target vehicle obtained in the step to the information center 1 ( At the same time as step S205), it is also transmitted to the target vehicle (step S206).
[0084]
When the server 11 of the information center 1 receives the failure diagnosis result information from the diagnosis mediation server 21 in step S104, the server 11 stores the failure diagnosis result information in the diagnosis history information on the target vehicle in the database 12 (vehicle information DB 12-3). Is recorded as a new record (step S105).
[0085]
On the other hand, the target vehicle that has received the failure diagnosis result information from the diagnosis mediation server 21 in step S12 transmits guidance or the like corresponding to the failure diagnosis result information in step S13 to the input / output device 104 (for example, display on an in-vehicle display). Output to
[0086]
According to the present embodiment described above, it is possible to realize an efficient and appropriate remote failure diagnosis without causing a concentration of the processing load on the server 11 of the information center 1 when performing the vehicle failure diagnosis remotely. it can.
[0087]
That is, according to the present embodiment, the original convenience of the remote failure diagnosis system which does not impose the burden on the user to bring the vehicle to the service factory 4 such as a repair shop of a sales agent or a general car repair shop is reduced. In addition, the opportunity to stop at various service stations 3 (gas station, parking lot, fast food restaurant, family restaurant, automobile supply store, etc.) existing in the surrounding environment where the vehicle runs, and the original required time at the service station 3 are effective The failure diagnosis for the vehicle can be remotely performed using the diagnosis mediation server 21 via the short-range wireless communication line 7 capable of high-speed communication, so that the failure diagnosis of the vehicle can be remotely performed. To reduce the processing load on the server 11 (first information processing device) of the information center 1 when performing It can be performed efficiently and appropriate remote fault diagnosis.
[0088]
Further, according to the present embodiment, only the specific failure diagnosis program required for the failure diagnosis of the target vehicle is provided to the diagnosis mediation server 21 (the second information processing device) (FIG. 4B). (Steps S102 and S103), the processing load on the server 11 for providing the individual failure diagnosis programs to all the diagnosis mediation servers 21 is reduced, and unnecessary failure diagnosis programs are provided by the diagnosis mediation server 21. Hardware and software resources savings can be realized.
[0089]
Further, in the present embodiment, when providing the failure diagnosis program to the diagnosis mediation server 21 (steps S102 and S103 in FIG. 4B), the server 11 executes the failure diagnosis program that has not been provided in the past. Alternatively, if the provision operation of the failure diagnosis program is regulated so that the failure diagnosis program of the same type but not updated is provided, the unnecessary failure diagnosis program is transmitted to the diagnosis mediation server 21. The processing load on the server 11 for providing the information can be reduced.
[0090]
Further, according to the present embodiment, the fact that the vehicle 2 has stopped at the service station 3 can be efficiently detected by the establishment of the short-range wireless communication line 7, and this wireless communication line is employed in, for example, ETC. However, if a short-range wireless communication system using a communication system such as DSRC or IEEE802 is adopted, individual services can be provided without imposing a burden on a user of the vehicle 2 to install a new on-board unit. It is possible to rationally charge the user when the user receives the original service of the station 3, and to perform a quick remote failure diagnosis by utilizing the relatively high communication speed of the short-range wireless communication line.
[0091]
Further, according to the present embodiment, the server 11 stores the identification information capable of identifying the user of the individual vehicle 2 that can be the target vehicle and the identification information capable of identifying the vehicle used by the user. 12 can be referred to, and the necessary failure diagnosis program can be reliably provided to the diagnosis mediation server 21 based on the identification information.
[0092]
Also, in general, the state of the vehicle rarely changes greatly in a short period of time. Therefore, even if the remote failure diagnosis of each aspect described above is performed in such a short period, the obtained diagnosis result is Although it is expected that they are the same, according to the present embodiment, the target vehicle travels for the same target vehicle until the predetermined time T elapses from the previous failure diagnosis or for the distance X or more. If not, the next remote failure diagnosis is not performed (step S4 in FIG. 3), so that the processing load on the server 11 and the diagnosis mediation server 21 can be reduced.
[0093]
<Modification of First Embodiment>
As a modification of the present embodiment, the server 11 provides a first failure diagnosis program as a failure diagnosis program to the diagnosis mediation server 21 provided in the first station, which is the service station 3, According to the diagnosis result of the target vehicle obtained from the first station by executing the first failure diagnosis program, a diagnosis mediation provided in a second station which is the same as or different from the first station. The server 21 provides, as a failure diagnosis program for the target vehicle, a second failure diagnosis program for performing a detailed failure diagnosis as compared with the failure diagnosis by the first failure diagnosis program. .
[0094]
According to the present modification having such a configuration, a plurality of types of diagnosis contents (diagnosis items and / or degrees of diagnosis) different from each other can be performed without imposing a time constraint on a user of a vehicle stopping at the same or different service station 3. Remote failure diagnosis can be performed efficiently and rationally.
[0095]
[Second embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment based on the remote fault diagnosis system according to the first embodiment will be described. In the following description, the same configuration as that of the first embodiment will not be described repeatedly, and will be described focusing on the characteristic portions of the present embodiment.
[0096]
[Remote failure diagnosis processing]
Hereinafter, the diagnosis function of the remote failure diagnosis system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts and drawings shown in FIGS.
[0097]
The first embodiment uses a short-range wireless communication line 7 that can be executed when the vehicle 2 stops at the service station 3 and performs a remote failure diagnosis via the service station. In this embodiment, a more rational remote fault diagnosis system is realized in the present embodiment based on the above processing configuration and further by performing optimal use with the mobile communication line 8.
[0098]
FIGS. 6 and 7 are flowcharts showing a remote failure diagnosis process performed in the remote failure diagnosis system according to the second embodiment. First, the relationship between these flowcharts will be described.
[0099]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a control process executed in the target vehicle (the abnormality detection device 101) to realize the remote failure diagnosis process according to the second embodiment.
[0100]
FIG. 7A is a flowchart showing details of the first remote failure diagnosis process (step S31 in FIG. 6: first remote failure diagnosis function) in the target vehicle 2, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a control process performed in the information center 1 (the server 11) when the first remote failure diagnosis process (FIG. 7A) in the target vehicle 2 is performed.
[0101]
In the present embodiment, the remote failure diagnosis processing using the short-range wireless communication line 7 is performed as a second remote failure diagnosis processing (step S27 in FIG. 6: a second remote failure diagnosis function). 2 The remote failure diagnosis processing is the same processing as the remote failure diagnosis processing (FIGS. 4 and 5) described in the first embodiment.
[0102]
Hereinafter, the operation procedure of the remote failure diagnosis according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts (FIGS. 4 and 5 and FIGS. 6 and 7) having the above relationship.
[0103]
First, in FIG. 6, in steps S21 to S23, the abnormality detection device 101 mounted on the vehicle (target vehicle) 2 is the same as steps S1 to S3 (FIG. 3) in the first embodiment described above. According to the procedure, it is determined whether or not the host vehicle has stopped at the service station 3. If it is determined that the host vehicle has stopped, the process proceeds to step S4 in the first embodiment described above in steps S24 to S27. Accordingly, the second remote failure diagnosis process (step S27: second remote failure diagnosis function) using the short-distance wireless communication line 7 has the same configuration as that of steps S7 to S7 (FIG. 3). Processing similar to the processing steps described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 in the embodiment is performed.
[0104]
However, in the present embodiment, in the second remote fault diagnosis processing, when the optimum fault diagnosis program for the target vehicle is extracted, the second remote fault diagnosis process is preferably performed using the short-range wireless communication line 7 capable of high-speed communication. (2) A diagnosis program for the remote failure diagnosis function (this embodiment also includes a diagnosis pattern: details will be described later with reference to FIG. 8) is extracted.
[0105]
On the other hand, in step S23, the abnormality detection device 101 determines that the own vehicle is not at the service station 3 and the high-speed data is transmitted to the diagnosis mediation server 21 via the short-range wireless communication line 7 using the on-board terminal 103. If it is determined that transmission / reception cannot be performed at the present time, the condition of the necessity of the first remote failure diagnosis processing this time is that T1 time or more has elapsed since the last first remote failure diagnosis processing, It is determined whether or not the vehicle 2 has traveled the distance X1 or more. If any of these conditions is satisfied, in step S29, it is determined whether or not to perform a failure diagnosis on the driver (occupant) by outputting a guidance output to the input / output device 104. Confirm by input operation of the corresponding driver.
[0106]
Next, the abnormality detecting device 101 establishes communication between the information center 1 and the target vehicle including the mobile communication line 8 in response to a predetermined operation for performing a failure diagnosis being performed in step S29 being detected in step S30. A first remote failure diagnosis process (step S31: FIG. 7 (a)) for directly transmitting and receiving data by using is performed.
[0107]
That is, in FIG. 7, the abnormality detection device 101 transmits vehicle basic information (model, vehicle number, etc.) stored in the vehicle (target vehicle) 2 to the information center 1 (server 11) (step S36). ).
[0108]
Upon receiving the vehicle basic information from the target vehicle in step S111, the server 11 of the information center 1 includes the vehicle basic information and the record in the database 12 (vehicle information DB 12-3) for the target vehicle in step S112. Based on the past diagnosis history, a diagnosis program for the first remote failure diagnosis function for the target vehicle (a diagnosis pattern is also included in the present embodiment) from the same database (diagnosis program DB12-6). : Details will be described later with reference to FIG. 8).
[0109]
Then, the information center 1 performs a remote failure diagnosis process on the target vehicle using communication means including the mobile communication line 8 according to the failure diagnosis program extracted in step S112 (step S113). In the remote failure diagnosis processing, the information center 1 performs the same processing as the processing steps in FIG. 5A performed by the diagnosis mediation server 21 as described above in the first embodiment, and In each processing step of FIG. 5B performed in the vehicle, the processing is different only in that the transmission source of the diagnosis pattern in step S16 and the transmission destination of the diagnosis result information in step S18 are respectively the information center 1. Is performed.
[0110]
When the information center 1 obtains the failure diagnosis result of the target vehicle in the above step S113, the information center 1 stores the failure diagnosis result (failure diagnosis result information) in the database 12 (vehicle information DB 12-3) as the diagnosis history information of the target vehicle. (Step S114), and an identification code indicating whether a failure has occurred in the target vehicle and the type of failure that has occurred in the target vehicle is transmitted to the target vehicle as the failure diagnosis result information (step S114). S115).
[0111]
In the vehicle 2, a plurality of identification codes that can be received from the information center 1 in step S37 as a diagnosis result of the first remote failure diagnosis function in the abnormality detection device 101 are associated with guidance and the like corresponding to each identification code. Table is stored.
[0112]
Then, in step S37, the target vehicle that has received the identification code as the failure diagnosis result information from the information center 1 transmits guidance or the like corresponding to the identification code in step S38 to the input / output device 104 (displayed on an in-vehicle display, for example). Output to
[0113]
Here, the difference between the diagnostic programs for the first and second remote failure diagnostic functions will be described with reference to FIG.
[0114]
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the target range of the first and second remote failure diagnosis function diagnosis programs executed in the remote failure diagnosis system according to the second embodiment.
[0115]
In the figure, the difference between the diagnostic program for the first remote failure diagnosis function and the diagnostic program for the second remote failure diagnosis function is preferably exemplified in the configuration as the subsystem of the vehicle 2 shown in FIG. For example, a case is shown in which the body system system 107 and the control system system 108 of the vehicle are diagnosed by the remote failure diagnosis system according to the present embodiment.
[0116]
More specifically, in the second remote failure diagnosis function using the short-distance wireless communication line 7 having an excellent communication speed, a control system for controlling vehicle behavior such as ABS, DCS, and EGI shown in FIG. The individual components constituting the system 108 and the individual components constituting the body system 107 for controlling various electric components such as a power window, an audio device, a wiper, etc., are diagnostic items (diagnosis contents) of the remote failure diagnosis. A plurality of diagnostic patterns (I) are prepared for each diagnostic item as well as the target.
[0117]
On the other hand, in the first remote failure diagnosis function using the mobile communication line 8 whose communication speed is restricted as compared with the short-range wireless communication line 7, unlike the second remote failure diagnosis function, the body system 107 and the control system Of the above components of the system 108, only a part is extracted and performed.
[0118]
According to the present embodiment described above, it is possible to efficiently perform necessary and sufficient diagnostic contents without being restricted by the use of the mobile communication line 8 having a low communication speed when performing the vehicle failure diagnosis remotely. it can.
[0119]
That is, according to the present embodiment, in the second remote failure diagnosis function, the short-range wireless communication line 7 (second wireless communication line) that performs higher-speed communication than the mobile communication line 8 (first wireless communication line). , A more detailed failure diagnosis is performed via the service station 3 than the first remote failure diagnosis function. Accordingly, various stations (gas stations, parking lots, fast food restaurants, family restaurants, automobiles, etc.) existing in the surrounding environment where the vehicle travels are not restricted by using the first wireless communication line having a low communication speed. By effectively utilizing the opportunity to drop in at a supply store and the time required at the service station 3, detailed remote failure diagnosis of the vehicle can be efficiently performed.
[0120]
Further, the remote fault diagnosis system according to the present embodiment is provided with not only the second remote fault diagnosis function but also the first remote fault diagnosis function. In the case where there is no 3, the communication speed is restricted, but a simple failure diagnosis can be immediately performed remotely using the mobile communication line 8 (the first wireless communication line), so that it is reasonable and convenient. Excellent in nature.
[0121]
In the present embodiment, the degree of detail of the failure diagnosis in the second remote failure diagnosis function is at least one of the sampling period, the number of sampling points, and the number of sampling items of the information (vehicle state information) representing the state of the target vehicle. Automatically determined according to the As a result, the degree of detail of the failure diagnosis in the second remote failure diagnosis function can be appropriately and automatically set according to the state of the target vehicle, and the time required for the failure diagnosis by the second remote failure diagnosis function is required. It can be minimized.
[0122]
Further, in the present embodiment, since the diagnosis content of the same target vehicle by the second remote failure diagnosis function is changed according to the diagnosis result by the first remote failure diagnosis function, for example, overlapping diagnosis contents are omitted. In addition, it is possible to appropriately select necessary detailed diagnosis contents.
[0123]
<Modification Example 1 of Second Embodiment>
In the present modification, as a second remote failure diagnosis function shown in step S27 of FIG. 6, instead of the remote failure diagnosis processing described with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 in the first embodiment, FIG. By performing the processing shown, a failure that may occur in the target vehicle in the future is predicted.
[0124]
[Remote failure diagnosis processing]
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a failure occurrence prediction process performed in the remote failure diagnosis system according to the first modification of the second embodiment. In this modification, the second remote failure diagnosis shown in step S27 of FIG. The processing configuration performed as a function will be described.
[0125]
That is, in the present modified example, the target vehicle abnormality detection device 101 outputs information indicating the state of the target vehicle within a predetermined period T in the past (that is, the detection result by the sensor group 106, the body system 107, and the control system). 108, the signal levels of the input / output signals of each component (hereinafter sometimes referred to as vehicle state information), and in step S41, the vehicle basic information (model, body number, etc.) stored in advance is stored. And the vehicle status information to the diagnosis mediation server 21 of the service station 3 in which the short-range wireless communication line 7 is established with the target vehicle.
[0126]
The diagnostic mediation server 21 transmits the vehicle basic information and the vehicle state information received from the target vehicle in step S221 to the information center 1 in step S222.
[0127]
The information center 1 (server 11) receives the vehicle basic information and the vehicle state information of the target vehicle from the diagnostic mediation server 21 in step S116, and in step S117, the target vehicle based on the information. A predictive diagnosis process for the occurrence of a failure is performed.
[0128]
Here, the process of predicting and diagnosing the occurrence of a failure by the information center 1 (step S117) will be briefly described, for example, based on the vehicle type (model) of the target vehicle specified by the vehicle basic information of the target vehicle. By referring to the failure information DB 12-2), information relating to various types of failures relating to the vehicle type corresponding to the target vehicle is identified together with the failure identification code i, and information (failure information) relating to the failure corresponding to the identified failure identification code i is provided. As a matching process with the vehicle basic information of the target vehicle obtained in step S116, for example, as a result of performing a correlation calculation between the two, a certain correlation between the two (for example, matching of a correlation value or the like) is obtained. Is found, it is determined that the target vehicle is predicted to have a failure similar to that of a past failed vehicle. It is.
[0129]
Then, the information center 1 transmits the failure occurrence prediction result obtained in step S117 to the target vehicle via the diagnostic mediation server 21 (step S118, step S223, step S224).
[0130]
In step S43, the abnormality detection device 101 for the target vehicle outputs the failure occurrence prediction result received from the diagnosis mediation server 21 to the input / output device 104 (for example, a display on a vehicle-mounted display) in step S43.
[0131]
On the other hand, in the first remote failure diagnosis function, as described above with reference to FIG. 7, as a result of the diagnosis, an identification code indicating whether a failure has occurred in the target vehicle and the type of failure that has occurred is included in the target vehicle. , And guidance or the like corresponding to the provided identification code is notified to the user (occupant such as a driver).
[0132]
According to this modified example, which is performed as the second remote failure diagnosis function for performing such failure prediction, the short-range wireless communication line 7 (second wireless communication line) having an excellent communication speed is connected to the target vehicle and the service station 3. When the communication is established between the short-distance wireless communication lines 7 (second wireless communication lines) having an excellent communication speed, the communication of the information (vehicle state information) representing the state of the target vehicle having a remarkably large amount of information is performed. While the failure occurrence prediction is performed using the vehicle state information, the first remote failure diagnosis function limits the communication speed of the communication of the identification code having a small amount of transmitted / received information. This is performed using the mobile communication line 8 (first wireless communication line).
[0133]
Therefore, according to the present modification, not only the effects of the above-described second embodiment can be obtained, but also the first remote failure diagnosis function can determine whether or not a failure (such as a failure) has already occurred in the target vehicle. And the type of the fault that has occurred can be notified to the user by transmitting a minimum amount of information. On the other hand, the second remote fault diagnosis function uses the current vehicle state information of the target vehicle, and In addition, the user can be notified of the prediction result of a failure that may occur in the future, so that appropriate and rational remote failure diagnosis for the present and future can be performed by utilizing the characteristics of the two types of wireless communication lines. it can.
[0134]
<Modification 2 of Second Embodiment>
Even if the detailed failure diagnosis is performed using the second wireless communication line having an excellent communication speed via the service station 3 as in the first or second embodiment described above, for example, the service diagnosis may be performed in the same manner. Depending on the convenience of the user of the target vehicle that has stopped at the station 3, it may not be possible to complete all of the predetermined multiple items for such detailed failure diagnosis. In this case, it is conceivable to request the user to wait (wait for diagnosis) until all of the predetermined plural items are completed. However, unless the state of the vehicle is acute, restrict the behavior (movement) of the user. It is not preferable to impair the original convenience of the remote fault diagnosis that the fault diagnosis of the vehicle can be performed without any problem.
[0135]
Therefore, in this modified example, in the above-described background, when the predetermined failure diagnosis to be performed as the second remote failure diagnosis function cannot be performed for all items, the failure diagnosis of the remaining items is performed as the first remote failure diagnosis function.
[0136]
[Remote failure diagnosis processing]
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a control process executed in the target vehicle (the abnormality detection device 101) to realize the remote failure diagnosis process according to the second modification of the second embodiment.
[0137]
That is, the processing configuration shown in FIG. 10 is based on the processing configuration described above with reference to FIG. 6 (second embodiment), and a different processing configuration is used. In the control processing shown in FIG. When it is detected that the target vehicle is present at the service station 3, the necessity of the first remote failure diagnosis processing is determined in step S28, whereas in the present modification, the target vehicle is determined in step S48. Is detected in the service station 3, first, in step S55, it is determined whether or not the second remote failure diagnosis process that has been performed so far has been interrupted for some reason. If the interruption of the process is not detected in the determination, the necessity of the first remote failure diagnosis process is determined in step S56, but the interruption is detected. It is when not being, in step S57 corresponding to step S29 in FIG. 6, confirming whether to use the first failure diagnosis function to the driver is made.
[0138]
Here, the interruption of the second remote failure diagnosis processing is performed by setting an interruption request operation by a driver (occupant) or by performing wireless communication between the target vehicle and the service station 3 using the short-range wireless communication line 7, for example, by using the target vehicle. Is assumed to be interrupted due to the movement from the service station 3.
[0139]
Further, in the control processing shown in FIG. 6 having a different processing configuration, if an input operation to use the second failure diagnosis function by the driver is detected in step S26, the second failure diagnosis processing is executed in step S27. On the other hand, in the present modification, when the input operation is detected in step S51, the time during which the driver can be used for the second failure diagnosis processing (in other words, the processing is not performed). The driver uses the input / output device 104 to set a waiting time during the waiting time or an estimated required time for completing the original business at the service station 3 currently stopped (step S52), and a step S53. If the set time is equal to or longer than the T time, the second remote failure diagnosis process is performed in step S54. On the other hand, if the set time is shorter than the T time, the target vehicle has a time margin to execute all predetermined multiple items in the first remote failure diagnosis process in the service station 3 where the target vehicle is currently stopped. Since there is no such information, the first remote failure diagnosis processing is performed in step S59.
[0140]
FIG. 11A shows control performed in the information center 1 (server 11) or the service station 3 (diagnosis mediation server 21) when the second remote failure diagnosis function is interrupted in the second modification of the second embodiment. FIG. 11B is a flowchart illustrating a control process performed in the target vehicle 2 when the control process (FIG. 11A) is performed.
[0141]
That is, the processing configuration shown in FIG. 11A is based on the processing configuration (remote failure diagnosis processing by the diagnosis mediation server 21) shown in FIG. In the control process shown in FIG. 5A, whether the diagnosis result information received in step S213 is within a predetermined range is determined in step S214. In response to receiving the diagnosis result information in step S123, it is determined whether the driver has set a request to interrupt the second remote failure diagnosis process using input / output device 104 (step S124). If the interruption request is not detected, it is determined in step S125 whether the diagnosis result information is within a predetermined range. On the other hand, if the interruption request is detected, the process ends. It made.
[0142]
The processing configuration shown in FIG. 11B is based on the processing configuration shown in FIG. 5B (remote failure diagnosis processing of the target vehicle at the service station 3) described in the first embodiment, and is different from the processing configuration shown in FIG. In the control process shown in FIG. 5B, when the diagnostic pattern I is received from the diagnostic mediation server 21 in step S16, the diagnostic pattern I is executed in step S17. In this modification, in response to receiving the diagnostic pattern I in step S61, it is determined in step S62 whether there is a driver interruption request or the ignition switch is in the on position. Is detected, the diagnostic pattern I is executed in step S64. Both when not detected, interrupt request of the second remote diagnosis processing being executed in step S63 is transmitted to the diagnostic mediation server 21.
[0143]
According to the second modification of the processing configuration, not only can the effect of the above-described second embodiment be obtained, but also if the predetermined failure diagnosis to be performed as the second remote failure diagnosis function cannot be performed for all items. The failure diagnosis of the remaining items is performed by the first remote failure diagnosis function. Thus, when the failure diagnosis of the remaining items is performed, the first wireless communication line having a lower communication speed is used, but the first wireless communication line is required for the target vehicle without imposing restrictions on the user's behavior. Failure diagnosis of all items can be performed reliably.
[0144]
<Other Modifications of Second Embodiment>
Note that, as another preferred embodiment of the above-described second embodiment and its modification, if the following processing configuration is provided, not only the effects of the above-described second embodiment can be obtained, but also Even better effects can be enjoyed.
[0145]
In other words, a control program having a large amount of information is provided to the vehicle through the second wireless communication line capable of high-speed communication without using the first wireless communication line, thereby forming a more realistic system. be able to.
[0146]
Also, in general, the state of the vehicle rarely changes greatly in a short period of time, so during such a short period, the failure diagnosis by the first and second remote failure diagnosis functions described above is performed. It is expected that the diagnostic results obtained will be the same even if they are performed before and after. Therefore, in a preferred embodiment, until a predetermined time elapses after the detailed failure diagnosis for the same target vehicle is performed by the second remote failure diagnosis function, the detailed failure diagnosis is compared with the detailed failure diagnosis. The failure diagnosis by the simple and simple first remote failure diagnosis function is not performed. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the chances of using the first wireless communication line, which is inferior in communication speed, and to realize rational remote failure diagnosis.
[0147]
Also, even in the case of the second remote failure diagnosis function using the short-range wireless communication line 7 having an excellent communication speed, depending on the original task at the service station 3 of the user of the target vehicle, all of the above-mentioned diagnosis items are performed, and It is assumed that there is a case where it is difficult to perform a detailed failure diagnosis such as performing all the diagnosis patterns prepared for each diagnosis item. Therefore, in a preferred embodiment, the degree of detail of the failure diagnosis in the second remote failure diagnosis function becomes more detailed as the (i) sampling period of the information indicating the state of the target vehicle becomes shorter. As described above, it is preferable to determine (ii) the detail as the number of sampling points increases, or (iii) the detail as the number of sampling items increases.
[0148]
In the preferred embodiment, when the target vehicle does not stop at any service station 3 (is not present), the remote fault diagnosis is performed by the first remote fault diagnosis function, and thereafter, any one of the remote fault diagnosis functions is performed. When the target vehicle comes to the service station 3, the diagnosis item (diagnosis content) by the second remote failure diagnosis function for the same target vehicle is automatically set according to the diagnosis result by the first remote failure diagnosis function. (For example, a detailed diagnosis of an item that was NG) may be made. In this case, as an aspect of the automatic change, for example, omission of overlapping diagnostic contents, selection of necessary more detailed diagnostic contents, and the like may be appropriately performed. Alternatively, in the first remote failure diagnosis function, among the diagnosis contents shown in FIG. 8, items that cannot be detected when the vehicle 2 stops (for example, items of the control system 108) are performed, and the second remote failure diagnosis is performed. In the function, all the diagnostic contents shown in FIG. 8 may be performed.
[0149]
In the second modification of the second embodiment described above, the system configuration in which the first remote failure diagnosis function is continued when the second remote failure diagnosis processing in the service station 3 is not completed has been described. However, as other embodiments, for example, a system configuration that warns (requests) a user to wait until the second remote failure diagnosis process is completed when the vehicle state is acute, or a case where the vehicle state is acute Except for this, a configuration may be adopted in which the remaining diagnostic content is continuously performed at the same or different service station 3 where the target vehicle stops next.
[0150]
[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment based on the remote fault diagnosis system according to the first embodiment will be described. In the following description, the same configuration as that of the first embodiment will not be described repeatedly, and will be described focusing on the characteristic portions of the present embodiment.
[0151]
According to the above-described embodiments, the failure diagnosis for the vehicle 2 can be efficiently performed by effectively utilizing the opportunity to stop at the service station 3 existing in the surrounding environment where the vehicle 2 runs and the original required time at the service station 3. Can be performed well and accurately. However, a general user of a vehicle (an occupant such as a driver) is not always familiar with the vehicle (automobile), and therefore, the diagnosis result of the remote failure diagnosis is provided (notified) by the vehicle. However, in some cases, it is difficult to understand the contents of the provided information only by the occupants and to deal with them.
[0152]
Therefore, in the present embodiment, the operation is performed via a service station 3 such as a gas station or an automobile supply store where a vehicle can be inspected or repaired, or a service station 3 having staff members who have knowledge about the vehicle. The diagnosis result of the remote failure diagnosis is also provided to the service station 23 provided in the service station 3 so that even a user who is not familiar with the vehicle can provide support by the service station 3 staff (contents of the diagnosis result). An explanation will be given of a system configuration that can be easily received by the user.
[0153]
[Remote failure diagnosis processing]
Also in the present embodiment, in the target vehicle (the abnormality detection device 101), the control processing described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5 in the first embodiment is performed. Instead of performing FIG. 4 (a) in 3), FIG. 12 (a) described below, which is based on the processing configuration shown in FIG. 4 (a), is executed.
[0154]
That is, FIG. 12A is a flowchart illustrating details of the remote failure diagnosis processing in the target vehicle 2 according to the third embodiment, and FIG. 12B is a flowchart illustrating the remote failure diagnosis processing in the target vehicle 2 (FIG. 12 (a) is a flowchart showing the control processing performed in the information center 1 (server 11) when the processing is performed, and FIG. 12 (c) shows the service station 3 (diagnosis mediation server) when these processings are performed. It is a flowchart which shows the control processing performed in 21).
[0155]
FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a control process performed in the service station 23 provided in the service station 3 in the remote failure diagnosis system according to the third embodiment.
[0156]
The processing configuration (control processing in the target vehicle) shown in steps S66 to S68 shown in FIG. 12A is the same as the processing configuration of steps S11 to S13 shown in FIG. 4A described in the first embodiment. It is.
[0157]
In the information center 1, in steps S101 to S103 shown in FIG. 4B described in the first embodiment, a failure diagnosis program optimal for the target vehicle is extracted, and the extracted failure diagnosis program is In contrast to the transmission to the vehicle, in the processing configuration shown in steps S131 to S134 shown in FIG. 12B, a download request of the failure diagnosis program is received from the diagnosis mediation server 21 in step S131, and in step S132 The difference is that a failure diagnosis program corresponding to the vehicle basic information (model, body number, etc.) is transmitted to the target vehicle.
[0158]
Then, in the service station 3, the diagnosis mediation server 21 transmits the failure diagnosis result to the information center 1 and the target vehicle in steps S205 and S206 shown in FIG. 4C described in the first embodiment. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, not only the failure diagnosis result is transmitted to the information center 1 and the target vehicle in steps S230 and S231 of FIG. 12C, but also the failure diagnosis result is transmitted in step S232. , To the service station terminal 23.
[0159]
Accordingly, the service station terminal 23 displays the failure diagnosis result received from the diagnosis mediation server 21 in step S301 on the display of the terminal in step S302 according to the processing in step S232.
[0160]
In a further preferred embodiment, the service station terminal 23 performs the processing shown in FIG. 14A described below.
[0161]
That is, FIG. 14A is a flowchart showing a maintenance history notification process in the service station terminal 23 according to the third embodiment, and FIG. 14B is a maintenance history notification process (FIG. 14A). 14C is a flowchart showing a control process performed in the information center 1 (server 11) when the process is performed. FIG. 14C is performed in the service station 3 (diagnosis mediation server 21) when these processes are performed. It is a flowchart which shows a control process.
[0162]
In FIG. 14, when the service station terminal 23 detects in step S306 the operation of requesting the maintenance history of the target vehicle by the staff of the service station 3, the service station terminal 23 transmits the maintenance history request of the target vehicle to the diagnostic mediation server 21 in step S307. Send.
[0163]
In response to receiving the maintenance history request of the target vehicle from the service station terminal 23 in step S236, the diagnosis mediation server 21 obtains the vehicle basic information obtained from the target vehicle in the remote failure diagnosis process performed earlier. A request for maintenance history information on the target vehicle is transmitted to the information center 1 in step S237 together with (model, vehicle number, etc.).
[0164]
When the information center 1 receives the maintenance history request of the target vehicle and the vehicle basic information (model, vehicle number, etc.) from the diagnosis mediation server 21 in step S136, the information center 1 stores the maintenance history information of the target vehicle corresponding to the received information. In step S137, the maintenance information extracted from the record of the target vehicle in the database 12 (vehicle information DB 12-3) is transmitted to the diagnosis mediation server 21 in step S138.
[0165]
The maintenance history information transmitted in step S138 is transmitted to the service station terminal 23 via the diagnostic mediation server 21 (step S238, step S239, step S308), and the service station terminal 23 The maintenance history information of the target vehicle is displayed on the display in step S309.
[0166]
According to the present embodiment described above, the best treatment for the vehicle is provided to the occupant by effectively utilizing the diagnosis result of the remote failure diagnosis for the vehicle 2.
[0167]
That is, the general user of the vehicle (the occupant such as a driver) is not fully familiar with the vehicle (automobile), so the diagnosis result of the remote failure diagnosis is provided (notified) on the vehicle side. However, it is assumed that it is difficult to understand the content of the provided information only by the occupant and to deal with it, but according to the present embodiment, as in a gas station, an automobile supply store, etc. The diagnosis result of the remote failure diagnosis performed through the service station 3 that can be repaired or the service station 3 in which staff having knowledge of the vehicle exists is a service that is an information terminal provided in the service station 3. It is also provided to the station terminal 23.
[0168]
As a result, it is possible to effectively utilize the opportunity to stop at the service station 3 existing in the surrounding environment in which the vehicle 2 runs and the original required time at the service station 3 to remotely diagnose the failure of the vehicle, Even if the user is not familiar with the vehicle, the service station 3 staff can easily receive the support (understanding the contents of the diagnosis result and appropriate countermeasures, etc.) and the convenience of the service station 3 is high. Therefore, it is rational that the business opportunity associated with providing such support to the user (driver or the like) can be positively utilized.
[0169]
Further, by performing the processing shown in FIG. 14, the staff of the service station 3 can obtain information on the maintenance history related to the target vehicle as necessary. It is possible to quickly and rationally understand the contents of diagnosis at the time of support and determine an optimal coping method.
[0170]
<Modification of Third Embodiment>
As a preferred embodiment of the third embodiment, if the processing configuration described below is provided, not only the effects of the above-described third embodiment can be obtained, but also better effects. Can be enjoyed.
[0171]
-In other words, even if a detailed diagnosis result of the remote failure diagnosis is provided to a user who is not familiar with the vehicle, it only confuses the user and the provided diagnosis result may not be effectively used. . Therefore, in a preferred embodiment, if the detailed diagnosis result is configured to be provided to the service station terminal 23 provided in the service station 3, the support by the staff can be made more efficient. , High convenience.
[0172]
In addition, since it is generally assumed that an unspecified number of vehicles drop in at the service station 3, in the preferred embodiment, the diagnosis is performed only when a failure of the target vehicle is detected by the failure diagnosis. If the result is configured to be provided to the service station terminal 23, the diagnosis result of the remote failure diagnosis, particularly, for a vehicle in which a failure such as a failure is not detected, the service station terminal 23 provided in the station is provided. Is not provided with information. As a result, it is possible to realize a rational task only when support to the user is required, without imposing a large burden on the staff of the station where a large number of vehicles visit.
[0173]
Providing the diagnosis result of the remote failure diagnosis to the staff of the service station 3 as described above may be troublesome for a user who is familiar with the vehicle, for example. Therefore, in a preferred embodiment, the diagnosis result is provided to the service station terminal 23 provided in the service station 3 only when the permission of the occupant of the target vehicle is obtained. Can respect the user's discretion (judgment), which is reasonable.
[0174]
Also, in general, the condition of the vehicle rarely changes greatly in a short period of time, but for a general user of the vehicle, the opportunity to stop at the service station 3 such as a gas station or an automobile supply store is For example, it is not several times a week, but several times a month. In such a situation of the user, the result of the remote fault diagnosis performed as described above indicates a fault such as a fault. However, as a result of a change in the state of the vehicle before the next stop at the same or another service station 3, it is conceivable that some trouble is detected in the remote failure diagnosis performed at that time.
[0175]
In view of the above, in a preferred embodiment, when the target vehicle is present at the service station 3, the diagnostic criterion for the remote failure diagnosis is set to be abnormal when compared with the case where the target vehicle is not present. Correction (for example, correction of the diagnosis threshold value to a small value) is performed so that the result becomes easy to appear. In this way, as a result of the diagnosis based on the corrected diagnostic criterion, it is easy to obtain the support of the staff of the service station 3 who is stopping by for a failure such as a failure of the target vehicle that may be detected in the near future. Under the circumstances, it is possible to notify the user and preventive maintenance is achieved.
[0176]
[Fourth embodiment]
Next, a fourth embodiment based on the remote fault diagnosis system according to the first embodiment will be described. In the following description, the same configuration as that of the first embodiment will not be described repeatedly, and will be described focusing on the characteristic portions of the present embodiment.
According to the remote failure diagnosis system according to each of the above-described embodiments, a short-distance service having excellent communication speed can be performed at the service station 3 without a user bringing a vehicle to a maintenance shop of a sales agency (a so-called dealer) or a general car repair shop. Using the wireless communication line 7 (the second wireless communication line), it is possible to perform an optimum failure diagnosis, which is excellent in convenience.
[0177]
However, in general, a vehicle failure occurs only when a plurality of various conditions (for example, acceleration from a speed of 30 km / h, braking during a turn, or a curve running) are satisfied. Many occur. For this reason, when the user stops with the vehicle 2 at various service stations 3 such as a gas station, a parking lot, a fast food restaurant, a family restaurant, and an automobile supply store, the user (a driver or an occupant) is informed to a service person. Due to the fact that an event such as a failure is restricted by a failure diagnosis based on the assumption that the target vehicle 2 starts the engine or actual running, a service base such as a maintenance shop in a conventional general vehicle service form is used. As in the case where a vehicle is brought in, there is a case where confirmation or reproduction is not immediately performed on the spot, and as a result, a situation where it is not always possible to quickly respond to a user request is expected.
[0178]
Therefore, in the present embodiment, a remote failure diagnosis system capable of performing a quick and accurate failure diagnosis remotely without being restricted by the traveling state of the vehicle 2 will be described.
[0179]
[Remote failure diagnosis processing]
Also in the present embodiment, in the target vehicle (the abnormality detection device 101), the control processing described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5 in the first embodiment is performed. Instead of performing FIG. 4A in 3), FIG. 16A described below is executed, and further, the processing illustrated in FIG. 15 is performed.
[0180]
That is, FIG. 16A is a flowchart illustrating details of the remote failure diagnosis processing in the target vehicle 2 according to the fourth embodiment, and FIG. 16B is a flowchart illustrating the remote failure diagnosis processing in the target vehicle 2 (FIG. 16 (a) is a flowchart showing the control processing performed in the information center 1 (server 11) when the processing is performed. FIG. 16 (c) shows the service station 3 (diagnostic mediation server) when these processings are performed. It is a flowchart which shows the control processing performed in 21).
[0181]
FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating details of the remote failure diagnosis processing (step S244 in FIG. 16C) in the diagnosis mediation server 21 according to the fourth embodiment.
[0182]
First, the processing shown in FIG. 15 will be described. FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a process of recording vehicle state information performed by the target vehicle (the abnormality detection device 101) in the fourth embodiment.
[0183]
In the figure, the abnormality detection device 101 determines whether or not the traveling state of the own vehicle conforms to a predetermined rule (step S71). Information indicating the actual traveling state (vehicle state information) is recorded in the memory of the abnormality detection device 101 (step S72). Then, a series of processing steps of step S71 and step S72 are performed until information indicating the actual traveling state of the own vehicle that meets the predetermined rule is recorded.
[0184]
Here, the predetermined rule is a condition that is generated in the vehicle 2 during the actual traveling of the vehicle 2 by the driver, for example, when accelerating from a speed of 30 km / h, when turning, while traveling on a curve, or a combination thereof. (Running scene), a plurality of types are stored in advance in the abnormality detection device 101 (or may be obtained from the outside (the server 1 or the mediation server 21) every time a rule is changed), and are stored in step S72. Then, the state of the detection result by the sensor group 106 and the signal levels of the input / output signals of the respective components of the body system 107 and the control system 108, which are detected in the target vehicle when the predetermined condition is met, Is stored.
[0185]
Next, FIGS. 16A to 16C will be described.
[0186]
The abnormality detection device 101 extracts the vehicle state information of the own vehicle according to the predetermined rule, which is recorded in the memory by the vehicle state information recording process described with reference to FIG. 15 in step S76, and extracts the extracted vehicle state. The information and the vehicle basic information (model, body number, etc.) stored in the host vehicle in advance are transmitted to the diagnosis mediation server 21 in step S77.
[0187]
Upon receiving the vehicle basic information and the vehicle state information based on the predetermined rule from the target vehicle in step S241, the diagnosis mediation server 21 requests the information center 1 in step S242 to download a failure diagnosis program corresponding to the received vehicle basic information. Send to
[0188]
When the server 11 of the information center 1 receives the download request of the failure diagnosis program and the vehicle basic information of the target vehicle from the diagnosis mediation server 21 in Step S141, in Step S142, the server 11 outputs the diagnostic program for the target vehicle in Step S141. The information is transmitted to the diagnostic mediation server 21 that has transmitted the information.
[0189]
Here, the diagnosis program to be transmitted in step S142 is, for example, the vehicle basic information received in step S141 and the past diagnosis history included in the record of the target vehicle in the database 12 (vehicle information DB 12-3). Based on this, a diagnostic program for the target vehicle may be extracted from the database (diagnostic program DB 12-6) to obtain the diagnostic program.
[0190]
Upon receiving the failure diagnosis program from the information center 1 in step S243, the diagnosis mediation server 21 performs a remote failure diagnosis based on the vehicle state information according to the predetermined rule in step S244 according to the failure diagnosis program, The result of the diagnosis is transmitted to the information center 1 in step S245.
[0191]
Here, the processing shown in FIG. 17 corresponding to step S244 in FIG. 16C will be described.
[0192]
That is, the diagnosis mediation server 21 determines whether the vehicle state information received from the target vehicle in step S241 matches the predetermined rule I (step S251). It is determined whether the vehicle state information falls within a normal range of a default value (step S252). If the vehicle is out of the normal range, the corresponding vehicle state information is added to the failure list as the NG state of the target vehicle (step S253).
[0193]
Then, by the processing steps of step S254 and step S255, the above-described steps S251 to S23 are repeated until all the vehicle state information corresponding to the predetermined rule I of interest is performed.
[0194]
When the confirmation of all the vehicle state information corresponding to the predetermined rule I of interest at present is completed in steps S251 to S255, the diagnosis mediation server 21 adds NG to the failure diagnosis list to which data is added in step S253. It is determined whether or not the information indicating the state (that is, the information that is out of the predetermined normal range) is listed (step S256). If the information indicating the NG state is listed, the listed NG is determined. The information indicating the state is set as information indicating the failure state of the target vehicle (that is, the diagnosis result) (step S257). At this time, if there is a plurality of pieces of information indicating the listed NG state, for example, the information having the highest urgency is set as the information indicating the failure state of the target vehicle.
[0195]
On the other hand, when it is confirmed in step S256 that the information indicating the NG state is not listed, the diagnosis mediation server 21 determines that the target vehicle has no predicted failure as the diagnosis result.
[0196]
When the information center 1 obtains the failure diagnosis result for the target vehicle in step S143, the information center 1 stores the failure diagnosis result (failure diagnosis result information) in the database 12 (vehicle information DB 12-3) as the diagnosis history information for the target vehicle. The new command is recorded as a new record (step S144), and a command to change from the diagnosed predetermined rule to the undiagnosed predetermined rule is transmitted to the diagnosis mediation server 21, which is the transmission source of the failure diagnosis result in step S143 (step S145). ).
[0197]
Then, in response to receiving the predetermined rule change command from the information center 1 in step S246, the diagnosis mediation server 21 transmits the diagnosis result information and the predetermined rule change command to the target vehicle in step S247. I do.
[0198]
Upon receiving the diagnosis result information and the predetermined rule change command in step S78, the abnormality detection device 101 of the target vehicle outputs guidance or the like corresponding to the diagnosis result information to the input / output device 104 (for example, display on the in-vehicle display). ), Or notifies the diagnosis result by e-mail addressed to the owner of the target vehicle (step S79), and sets up the module for the vehicle state information recording process described with reference to FIG. The setting is changed to another predetermined rule different from the predetermined rule (step S80). Accordingly, the target vehicle abnormality detection apparatus 101 starts the vehicle state information recording process illustrated in FIG. 15 described above in order to newly record an actual traveling state that matches the another predetermined rule.
[0199]
According to the present embodiment described above, quick and accurate failure diagnosis can be performed remotely without being restricted by the traveling state of the vehicle 2.
[0200]
That is, according to the present embodiment, the actual traveling state that matches the predetermined rule information is stored in the target vehicle by the vehicle state information recording process (FIG. 15). 3, it is possible to perform an accurate failure diagnosis on the state of the target vehicle while the engine is running while the vehicle is actually running, thereby being restricted by the running state of the vehicle 2. Opportunities to stop at various service stations 3 (gas stations, parking lots, fast food restaurants, family restaurants, automobile supply stores, etc.) existing in the surrounding environment where the vehicle travels because it is possible to perform fault diagnosis remotely without any trouble And the effective time required at the service station 3 is effectively used to The fault diagnosis remotely, can be performed quickly and accurately with respect.
[0201]
Further, according to the present embodiment, the predetermined rule information can be appropriately changed remotely from the information center 1 (step S145), so that the user is troubled with various actual traveling states of the target vehicle that matches the rule information. It can be obtained easily and accurately without any trouble, and more accurate remote failure diagnosis can be realized.
[0202]
<Modification of Fourth Embodiment>
If the processing configuration described below is provided as another preferred embodiment of the fourth embodiment, not only the effects of the above-described fourth embodiment can be obtained, but also more favorable effects. Can be enjoyed.
[0203]
-That is, even in the remote failure diagnosis performed accurately as described above, it may be assumed that the failure cannot be identified by one diagnosis. Therefore, in a preferred embodiment, when the predetermined rule information is changed remotely from the information center 1 (step S145), according to the diagnosis result of the remote failure diagnosis performed at the service station 3 where the target vehicle has stopped, Make changes to other rule information. According to such a processing configuration, until the target vehicle stops at the next service station 3, the actual traveling state that matches the new rule information after the change is stored in the target vehicle, and the next service In the station 3, further remote failure diagnosis can be performed based on the actual driving state that matches the new rule information, so that a more accurate failure diagnosis is restricted by the user's action without being restricted by the traveling state of the vehicle. Can be done remotely without imposing
[0204]
In a preferred embodiment, the server 11 of the information center 1 or the diagnosis mediation server 21 of the service station 3 is a database (12) in which predetermined rule information provided to individual vehicles that can be target vehicles is stored. To the service station 23 provided in the service station 3 where the target vehicle exists, information indicating the diagnosis result of the remote failure diagnosis, the actual driving state based on the diagnosis, and the information May be configured to provide a predetermined rule for storing in the target vehicle.
[0205]
According to such a processing configuration, even when the user of the target vehicle is not familiar with the vehicle, even if a failure has been reported as a result of the remote failure diagnosis performed at the dropped-in service station 3. Since the staff of the service station 3 can grasp the actual running state of the target vehicle on which the diagnosis result is based, the user can provide appropriate support (e.g., understanding the contents of the diagnosis result and appropriate Measures) can be easily received and the convenience is high. On the other hand, the station staff can also take advantage of the business opportunities associated with providing such support to users (drivers, etc.) and rationalize It is a target.
[0206]
As another preferred embodiment, in the vehicle 2, predetermined rule information indicating the state of the vehicle is obtained from outside using the mobile communication line communication device 102 or the short-range wireless communication line in-vehicle terminal 103. In addition, the fact that an actual driving state matching the obtained rule information has occurred in the own vehicle is detected by detection means such as the sensor group 106, the body system 107, or the vehicle control system 108, and the abnormality detection device 101 Performs a failure diagnosis of the own vehicle based on the information indicating the detected actual traveling state, stores information on the diagnosis result in a storage device (not shown), and stores the information when the own vehicle stops at the service station 3. Is performed, the stored information on the diagnosis result is transmitted to the external device, the diagnosis, via the service station 3. Providing the server 11 of the intermediation server 21 and / or the information center 1.
[0207]
According to such a processing configuration, a failure diagnosis is performed in the target vehicle and a diagnosis result is stored in accordance with the occurrence of an actual traveling state that matches the predetermined rule in the target vehicle. The opportunity to stop at various service stations 3 (gas station, parking lot, fast food restaurant, family restaurant, car supply store, etc.) existing in the surrounding environment where the vehicle runs, and the actual required time at the service station 3 are effectively utilized. Since the result of the failure diagnosis for the vehicle can be quickly and accurately obtained using the short-range wireless communication line 7 (second wireless communication line) having an excellent communication speed, the diagnosis mediation server 21 and / or Alternatively, in the server 11 of the information center 1, for example, more detailed failure diagnosis and diagnosis of individual vehicles It is possible to carry out the gravel with certainty.
[0208]
In addition, the present invention described in each embodiment described above as an example, the server 11 of the information center 1, the diagnosis mediation server 21 of the service station 3, and the above-described vehicle 101 of the vehicle 2 This is achieved by supplying a computer program capable of realizing the functions of the flowchart referred to in the description, and then reading out and executing the computer program on the CPU of the apparatus. The computer program supplied to the apparatus may be stored in a readable / writable memory or a storage device such as a hard disk drive.
[0209]
Further, in the above case, the method of supplying the computer program to each device may be a method of installing the computer program in the device via various recording media such as a flexible disk, or a method of supplying the computer program from the outside via a communication line such as the Internet. At present, a general procedure such as a download method can be adopted, and in such a case, the present invention is constituted by the code of the computer program or the storage medium.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a remote failure diagnosis system according to a first embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a system configuration of a vehicle 2 in the remote failure diagnosis system according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a control process executed in a target vehicle (the abnormality detection device 101) to realize a remote failure diagnosis process according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 4A is a flowchart illustrating details of a remote failure diagnosis process (step S7 in FIG. 3) in the target vehicle 2, and FIG. 4B is a remote failure diagnosis process in the target vehicle 2. FIG. 4C is a flowchart showing control processing performed in the information center 1 (server 11) when (FIG. 4 (a)) is performed. FIG. 4 (c) shows the service station 3 (diagnosis) when these processings are performed. It is a flowchart which shows the control processing performed in the mediation server 21).
5A is a flowchart showing details of a remote failure diagnosis process (step S204 in FIG. 4) in the service station 3; FIG. 5B is a remote failure diagnosis in the service station 3; It is a flowchart which shows the control process performed in the object vehicle 2 when a process is performed.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a control process executed in a target vehicle (the abnormality detection device 101) to realize a remote failure diagnosis process according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 7A is a flowchart showing details of a first remote failure diagnosis process (step S31 of FIG. 6: first remote failure diagnosis function) in the target vehicle 2, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a control process performed in the information center 1 (server 11) when the first remote failure diagnosis process (FIG. 7A) in the target vehicle 2 is performed.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a target range of first and second remote failure diagnosis function diagnosis programs executed in the remote failure diagnosis system according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a failure occurrence prediction process performed in a remote failure diagnosis system according to a first modification of the second embodiment.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a control process executed in a target vehicle (anomaly detection device 101) to realize a remote failure diagnosis process according to a second modification of the second embodiment.
FIG. 11A shows an information center 1 (server 11) or a service station 3 (diagnosis mediation server 21) when a second remote failure diagnosis function is interrupted in a second modification of the second embodiment. 11B is a flowchart showing the control processing performed in the target vehicle 2 when the control processing (FIG. 11A) is performed.
FIG. 12A is a flowchart illustrating details of a remote failure diagnosis process in the target vehicle 2 according to the third embodiment. FIG. 12B is a flowchart illustrating a remote failure diagnosis process in the target vehicle 2. FIG. 12C is a flowchart showing the control processing performed in the information center 1 (server 11) when (FIG. 12A) is performed. FIG. 12C shows the service station 3 (diagnosis) when these processings are performed. It is a flowchart which shows the control processing performed in the mediation server 21).
FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a control process performed in a service station provided in the service station in the remote failure diagnosis system according to the third embodiment.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a maintenance history notification process in a service station terminal 23 according to the third embodiment, and FIG. 14 (b) illustrates a case where the maintenance history notification process (FIG. 14 (a)) is performed. FIG. 14C is a flowchart illustrating control processing performed in the information center 1 (server 11), and FIG. 14C is a flowchart illustrating control processing performed in the service station 3 (diagnosis mediation server 21) when these processings are performed. It is.
FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a process of recording vehicle state information performed by a target vehicle (anomaly detection device 101) in a fourth embodiment.
FIG. 16A is a flowchart illustrating details of a remote failure diagnosis process in the target vehicle 2 according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 16B is a flowchart illustrating a remote failure diagnosis process in the target vehicle 2. FIG. 16C is a flowchart showing control processing performed in the information center 1 (server 11) when (FIG. 16A) is performed. FIG. 16C shows the service station 3 (diagnosis) when these processings are performed. It is a flowchart which shows the control processing performed in the mediation server 21).
FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating details of a remote failure diagnosis process (step S244 in FIG. 16C) in the diagnosis mediation server 21 according to the fourth embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
1: Information center,
2: vehicle,
3: Service station,
4: Service factory,
5: Internet,
6: base station,
7: Short-range wireless communication line (high-speed wireless communication line),
8: Mobile communication line (low-speed wireless communication line),
11: server (main server),
11A: failure diagnosis server,
11B: service factory management server,
12: Database (DB),
13: Communication line,
21: diagnosis mediation server,
22: diagnostic program database,
23: service station terminal,
24: short-range wireless communication terminal 4,
101: abnormality detection device,
102: communication device for mobile communication line,
103: In-vehicle terminal for short-range wireless communication line,
104: input / output device,
105: navigation controller,
106: sensor group,
107: body system,
108: Vehicle control system

Claims (9)

A remote failure diagnosis system that remotely performs failure diagnosis on a vehicle and notifies a passenger of the diagnosis result,
Diagnosis of the failure of the target vehicle is performed remotely through a station where inspection or repair can be performed or a station where staff having knowledge of the vehicle exists, and the diagnosis result is provided to the target vehicle and the station. A remote failure diagnosis system provided to a given information terminal. 2. The remote failure diagnosis system according to claim 1, wherein a detailed diagnosis result is provided to the information terminal as compared with the target vehicle when providing the diagnosis result. 2. The remote failure diagnosis system according to claim 1, wherein the diagnosis result is provided to the information terminal only when a failure of the target vehicle is detected by the failure diagnosis. The information terminal that provides the diagnosis result of the target vehicle can be provided with the information regarding the maintenance history of the target vehicle by referring to the database storing the information regarding the maintenance history of the individual vehicle that can be the target vehicle. The remote fault diagnosis system according to claim 1, wherein The remote failure diagnosis system according to claim 1, wherein the provision of the diagnosis result to the information terminal is performed only when permission from an occupant of the target vehicle is obtained. A remote failure diagnosis system that remotely performs failure diagnosis on a vehicle and notifies a passenger of the diagnosis result,
Remote failure diagnosis, wherein when a target vehicle is present at a station where inspection or repair can be performed or a station where staff having knowledge of the vehicle is present, the target vehicle is remotely diagnosed. system. When the target vehicle is present at a station, the diagnostic criterion for the failure diagnosis is compared with when the target vehicle is present at a location other than the station, so that a diagnosis result indicating that the target vehicle is abnormal is likely to appear. 7. The remote failure diagnosis system according to claim 6, wherein correction is performed. A method of controlling a remote failure diagnosis system for remotely performing a failure diagnosis on a vehicle and notifying an occupant of the diagnosis result,
Diagnosis of the failure of the target vehicle is performed remotely through a station where inspection or repair can be performed or a station where staff having knowledge of the vehicle exists, and the diagnosis result is provided to the target vehicle and the station. A method for controlling a remote failure diagnosis system, wherein the method is provided to an information terminal provided. A method of controlling a remote failure diagnosis system for remotely performing a failure diagnosis on a vehicle and notifying an occupant of the diagnosis result,
Remote failure diagnosis, wherein when a target vehicle is present at a station where inspection or repair can be performed or a station where staff having knowledge of the vehicle is present, the target vehicle is remotely diagnosed. How to control the system.

Images