JP4502900B2 - Automobile failure diagnosis method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is used for a service for automatically performing a failure diagnosis of an automobile. In particular, it relates to services using mobile phone terminals.

  Originally it was a mobile phone terminal that was developed for the purpose of enabling telephone communication while moving, but now, the control unit such as CPU (Central Processing Unit) in the mobile phone terminal is a general purpose computer. There are also models that have processing capabilities comparable to the performance of, and can execute application software. By utilizing this processing capability, various data communication services using mobile phone terminals are now being carried out, not limited to the category of telephone communication.

  For example, an ECU (Electric Control Unit) mounted on a car communicates with a center provided by a service provider via a mobile phone terminal, so that the center can measure the travel distance, fuel stored in the ECU, and so on. A service has been proposed in which vehicle information related to the remaining amount and other maintenance is collected and analyzed, and advice information as required is provided to the user (driver) via the mobile phone terminal (for example, see Patent Document 1 or 2). ).

JP 2004-32017 A JP 2002-168734 A

  In the services described above, the center provided by the service provider collects and analyzes the vehicle information related to maintenance that the user had to collect in the past, and provides appropriate advice information as necessary. Therefore, the burden on the user can be reduced.

  However, on the other hand, since the collection and analysis of vehicle information related to maintenance and the provision of advice information are performed centrally on the center side, the vehicle information collection operation does not consider the current situation of the user. For example, communication is impossible while the user is away from the vehicle with a mobile phone terminal, while the user is performing voice communication with the mobile phone terminal, or when the mobile phone terminal is outside the service area. Vehicle information is not collected in the meantime. In that case, in a state where the situation where the collection has not been performed is resolved, the next collection operation time is waited.

  Furthermore, since the advice information is provided at the center after analyzing the collected vehicle information, the user cannot take a coping action in accordance with the advice at the time of receiving the advice information. There is.

  The present invention has been made under such a background, and it is possible to reduce the burden on the user regarding maintenance while giving the user the initiative of fault diagnosis, and when a fault has occurred. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automobile failure diagnosis method and a mobile phone terminal having a diagnosis function that can be dealt with instantly.

  According to the present invention, a mobile phone terminal autonomously performs a fault diagnosis of a car without performing communication with a center provided by a service provider by adding a car fault diagnosis function to the mobile phone terminal itself. First feature. As a result, the user can select a time zone that is convenient for the user and perform a failure diagnosis of the automobile.

  As a result, when a failure is discovered, information on the necessity of notification to the center is presented to the user, and the judgment of the actual notification execution is left to the user's will. Even if there is, the second feature is to give the user the initiative to execute the notification.

  That is, the present invention provides communication means for communicating with an ECU mounted on an automobile, means for communicating with the ECU via the communication means in response to an operation input, and collecting information used for fault diagnosis of the automobile. A mobile phone terminal comprising failure diagnosis means for performing failure diagnosis of the automobile based on the information collected by the collecting means.

  Thereby, the mobile phone terminal can autonomously perform a failure diagnosis of the automobile. Therefore, it is not always necessary to communicate with the center at the time of failure diagnosis, and the user can execute the failure diagnosis at a time zone convenient for the user.

  In particular, since a failure diagnosis can be executed immediately when a failure occurs, being able to execute a failure diagnosis when the user desires the most trouble is greatly improved for the user. . In particular, in commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses that require high availability and on-time operation, it is extremely useful to be able to quickly determine whether operation can be continued.

  Furthermore, a server connection control unit that performs connection control with a server having a failure diagnosis function is provided, and the server connection control unit can connect the server and the ECU in response to a request from the server.

  Further, the failure diagnosis means can display a failure diagnosis result and transmit information notifying that a failure has been diagnosed in response to an operation input to the server.

  According to this, when a failure is found as a result of the autonomous failure diagnosis of the mobile phone terminal, a more detailed failure diagnosis by the server can be performed as necessary. However, also in this case, since there is no connection with the server unless there is a user operation input, it is possible to receive a failure diagnosis by the server at a time convenient for the user.

  Further, when the failure diagnosis unit diagnoses a failure, the failure diagnosis unit can classify the content of the failure according to the degree of urgency and display the display content predetermined according to the classification result.

  According to this, since it is possible to present to the user whether or not it is necessary to immediately connect to the server and perform detailed failure diagnosis, it is possible to assist the user in making a correct determination.

  Further, the present invention is a method for diagnosing a failure of a vehicle, and the feature of the present invention is that it communicates with an ECU mounted on a vehicle according to an operation input, collects information used for failure diagnosis of the vehicle, A step in which a mobile phone terminal that performs failure diagnosis of the vehicle based on the collected information displays the diagnosis result on its own display means, and the mobile phone terminal is higher than the mobile phone terminal in response to an operation input; A step of notifying the server having a failure diagnosis function that the vehicle has been diagnosed as a failure, together with the diagnosis result, and whether the server needs a failure diagnosis based on the diagnosis result included in the notification Determining, connecting the server and the ECU when the server determines that there is a need for failure diagnosis by the server, After the server is connected to the ECU, the server communicates with the ECU, collects information used for fault diagnosis of the automobile, performs fault diagnosis of the automobile based on the collected information, and performs the diagnosis A step of transmitting a result and advice information based on the diagnosis result to the mobile phone terminal and a step of the mobile phone terminal displaying the diagnosis result and the advice information on its own display means. .

  According to this, the user can execute failure diagnosis autonomously performed by the mobile phone terminal at a time zone convenient to the user.

  Furthermore, even when a failure is discovered as a result of failure diagnosis performed autonomously by the mobile phone terminal and a more detailed failure diagnosis is requested from the server, the user does not perform operation input to the mobile phone terminal. Since the mobile phone terminal does not start communication with the server, the user can start communication with the server and receive a failure diagnosis at a time convenient for the user.

  Further, when the server collects information used for fault diagnosis of the automobile, for example, a step of collecting information by remotely controlling the ECU via a mobile phone terminal using various commands may be executed. it can.

  According to this, the server can efficiently collect reliable information and correctly perform failure diagnosis.

  Further, when the mobile phone terminal diagnoses a failure, the step of classifying the content of the failure according to the degree of urgency and the step of displaying the display content predetermined according to the classification result are executed. Can do.

  According to this, since it is possible to present to the user whether or not it is necessary to immediately connect to the server and perform detailed failure diagnosis, it is possible to assist the user in making a correct determination.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the burden of the user regarding a maintenance can be reduced, giving the user the initiative of a fault diagnosis. In particular, since a failure diagnosis can be executed immediately when a failure occurs, being able to execute a failure diagnosis when the user wants the most failure diagnosis is greatly improved for the user. . In particular, in commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses that require high availability and on-time operation, it is extremely useful to be able to quickly determine whether operation can be continued.

  A mobile phone terminal and automobile failure diagnosis method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile phone terminal of this embodiment includes a serial communication circuit 1 that communicates with the ECU 20 mounted on the automobile 50, and the serial communication circuit 1 in response to an operation input from the operation unit 7. An information collecting unit 61 that communicates with the ECU 20 and collects information to be used for failure diagnosis of the vehicle 50, and a failure diagnosis unit 62 that performs failure diagnosis of the vehicle 50 based on the information collected by the information collecting unit 61. It is characterized by that.

  Furthermore, a relay control unit 63 that performs connection control with the server 40 having a failure diagnosis function is provided. The relay control unit 63 starts connection control with the server 40 in response to a request from the server 40 and serially The server 40 and the ECU 20 are connected via the communication circuit 1, the wireless communication transmission / reception circuit 9, the base station 31, and the network 30.

  Further, the failure diagnosis unit 62 displays the failure diagnosis result on the display unit 8. The user refers to the display content displayed on the display unit 8 and operates the operation unit 7 when he / she feels the necessity of the failure diagnosis by the server 40 (this is called remote failure diagnosis). At this time, the failure diagnosis unit 62 transmits information notifying that a failure has been diagnosed to the server 40 in response to an operation input from the operation unit 7.

  Further, when the failure diagnosis unit 62 diagnoses a failure, the failure diagnosis unit 62 classifies the content of the failure according to the degree of urgency, and displays the display content predetermined according to the classification result on the display unit 8.

  The external memory 2 stores a failure diagnosis application 3 in advance, and the microcomputer 4 is connected to the ECU 20 in response to an operation input from the operation unit 7 or the serial communication circuit 1 of the mobile phone terminal 11. When this is detected, the fault diagnosis application 3 in the external memory 2 is temporarily read into the internal memory 5.

  Subsequently, when the failure diagnosis application button of the operation unit 7 is pressed, the failure diagnosis application 51 in the internal memory 5 is activated, and the information collection unit 61, the failure diagnosis unit 62, the relay control unit are included in the arithmetic processing unit 6. 63 functional blocks are generated.

  The cellular phone terminal 11 and the ECU 20 may be wirelessly connected by an on-board short-range wireless transceiver 21 as shown in FIG. 2, or may be wired by a cable 22 as shown in FIG. Also good. When the mobile phone terminal 11 has an infrared transmission / reception function, the short-range wireless transmitter / receiver 21 shown in FIG. 2 may be replaced with an infrared transmitter / receiver and wirelessly connected by infrared rays. The server 40 and the mobile phone terminal 11 are connected via a base station 31 and a network 30 as shown in FIGS.

  Next, an automobile failure diagnosis method according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operations of the mobile phone terminal 11 and the server 40 of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the user connects the mobile phone terminal 10 to the ECU 20 by the method described in FIG. 2 or 3 (S1). After the connection, when the failure diagnosis application button on the operation unit 7 is pressed (S2), the failure diagnosis application 3 stored in advance in the external memory 3 is read into the internal memory 5 in the microcomputer 4, and the operation unit 7 The fault diagnosis application 51 is activated by the operation input (S3). Alternatively, step S2 may be omitted, and the failure diagnosis application 51 may be activated in response to the microcomputer 4 detecting that the serial communication circuit 1 shown in FIG.

  The failure diagnosis application 3 is software, and is downloaded from the server 40 via the base station 31 and the network 30 before the failure diagnosis is performed.

  The display contents displayed on the display unit 8 at this time are shown in FIG. On the initial screen, there is a cursor at “Failure diagnosis (car health check)”, but the user operates the operation unit 7 to move the cursor to “End” and then press the button to operate the trouble. The diagnosis can be interrupted arbitrarily by the user.

  When the user operates the button of the operation unit 7 with the cursor placed on the “failure diagnosis (car health check)”, the display unit 8 displays “car health check” as shown in FIG. “Y / N?” Is displayed. When the user places a cursor at the position “Y” and performs a button operation, the failure diagnosis button is pressed (S4), and the failure diagnosis unit 62 executes failure diagnosis (S5). When the failure diagnosis is started, the display unit 8 displays “Diagnosis is in progress” as shown in FIG.

  If the diagnosis result is normal (S6), the failure diagnosis unit 62 displays "Diagnosis completed. No abnormality" as shown in FIG. 6C (S7). If the result of the diagnosis is abnormal (S6), as shown in FIG. 6 (d), the message “Diagnosis is completed. Abnormal (P0117). Do you want to send an email? Y / N” is displayed ( S8).

  The series of numbers starting with P (for example, 0117) is an example of the failure code, and the service provider can specify the cause of failure, the failure location, and the degree of failure by the failure code. On the other hand, it is not always necessary to disclose the meaning of the failure code to the user, and therefore it is not essential to display the failure code to the user.

  Here, another embodiment relating to the abnormality display (S8) will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 7, when a failure is found, the failure is classified into urgency levels determined in advance according to the failure code (S8-1). The failure diagnosis application 3 has a urgency table corresponding to the failure code used at this time. Subsequently, display contents corresponding to the degree of urgency are selected (S8-2). Subsequently, the display unit 8 displays the selected display content (S8-3).

  FIG. 8A shows a display example when the degree of urgency is low, “Diagnosis completed. Abnormality (P0111), but the degree of urgency is low. Do you want to send an email notification? Y / N” is displayed. . As another display example, for example, instead of “the degree of urgency is low”, “today's operation is possible, but inspection and maintenance is necessary after operation” may be displayed.

  Fig. 8 (b) is a display example when the degree of urgency is medium. "Diagnosis is complete. Abnormality (P0112). The degree of urgency is medium. Please notify us as much as possible. “Y / N” is displayed. As another display example, for example, “moving to a sales company is possible” may be displayed instead of “medium degree of urgency”.

  Fig. 8 (c) is a display example when the degree of urgency is high. "Diagnosis is complete. Abnormality (P0113). The degree of urgency is high. Please send an email now. ? Y / N "is displayed. As another display example, for example, “cannot run, stop immediately, repair is necessary” may be displayed.

  The user refers to such a display and determines whether or not to send a mail notification (S9). When the user determines that the mail notification is to be performed and places the cursor on “Y” displayed in FIG. 6D or FIGS. 8A to 8C and presses the button of the operation unit 7, the failure diagnosis unit 62 Notifies the fault code obtained by the fault diagnosis execution by sending an e-mail to the server 40 via the relay control unit 63 (S11). At this time, positioning is performed by the GPS receiving circuit 10 (S10), and this is attached to an e-mail, whereby the server 40 can be notified of location information where a failure has occurred that is useful when dispatching relief.

  When the server 40 receives this e-mail and receives a failure notification (S12), the server 40 determines the failure degree from the failure code (S13), and if it determines that connection with the ECU 20 is necessary (S14). Then, by instructing the relay control unit 63 to execute connection control between the ECU 20 and the server 40, the ECU 20 and the server 40 are connected via the mobile phone terminal 11 (S15).

  That is, if the degree of failure is minor, the server 40 does not determine that connection with the ECU 20 is necessary (S14). In this case, the server 40 instructs to follow the failure diagnosis already performed in the mobile phone terminal 11. An e-mail with the content to be transmitted is transmitted to the mobile phone terminal 11 (S21), and connection with the ECU 20 is not performed. On the other hand, if the failure degree is severe, it is meaningless to perform the failure diagnosis in the server 40, and in this case as well, it is not determined that the connection with the ECU 20 is necessary (S14), and the rescue is promptly performed. An e-mail instructing to call the car is transmitted to the mobile phone terminal 11 (S21), and connection with the ECU 20 is not performed.

  The server 40 determines that it is necessary to connect to the ECU 20 (S14). When the connection is completed (S15), the remote diagnosis application is activated (S16). When the remote diagnosis application is started, as shown in FIG. 9A, the display unit 8 of the mobile phone terminal 11 displays “Remote failure diagnosis starts. Are you ready? Y / N”? Is done. When the user presses the button on the operation unit 7 with the cursor placed on “Y”, the remote failure diagnosis button is pressed (S17), and remote diagnosis by remote control is executed (S18). At this time, as shown in FIG. 9B, “Remote fault diagnosis is being executed” is displayed on the display unit 8 of the mobile phone terminal 11. At this time, the server 40 can request operation or information provision necessary for failure diagnosis from the ECU 20 via the mobile phone terminal 11 using various commands.

  When the work is completed (S19), advice information is transmitted to the user by electronic mail based on the failure diagnosis result (S20). This advice information is displayed on the display unit 8 of the mobile phone terminal 11. In the example of FIG. 9 (c), the message “Remote diagnosis has been completed. <Advice> You can continue running, but please enter the repair shop immediately after operation” is displayed. As another display example, “Remote trouble diagnosis has been completed. <Advice> It is impossible to continue traveling as it is. Immediately dispatch a rescue vehicle.” Is displayed. At this time, it is not necessary to reconfirm the dispatch position of the rescue vehicle with respect to the user by utilizing the GPS positioning information measured in step S10.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the burden on the user regarding maintenance while giving the user the initiative of fault diagnosis. In commercial vehicles such as buses where the driver has free time by waiting or the like, failure diagnosis can be performed using a time zone convenient for the driver.

  In particular, since a failure diagnosis can be executed immediately when a failure occurs, being able to execute a failure diagnosis when the user desires the most trouble is greatly improved for the user. . In particular, in commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses that require high availability and on-time operation, it is extremely useful to be able to quickly determine whether operation can be continued.

The whole structure of a present Example and the block diagram of a mobile telephone terminal. The figure which shows an example (wireless) of the connection form of a mobile telephone terminal and ECU. The figure which shows an example (wired) of the connection form of a mobile telephone terminal and ECU. The flowchart which shows the procedure of the failure diagnosis method of the motor vehicle of a present Example. The figure which shows the example of a display (initial screen) of a display part. The figure which shows the example of a display (failure diagnosis) of a display part. The flowchart which shows the other Example in an abnormality display step. The figure which shows the other Example of abnormality display. The figure which shows the example of a display (remote diagnosis) of a display part.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Serial communication circuit 2 External memory 3, 51 Fault diagnosis application 4 Microcomputer 5 Internal memory 6 Arithmetic processing part 7 Operation part 8 Display part 9 Wireless communication transmission / reception circuit 10 GPS receiving circuit 11 Mobile phone terminal 20 ECU
21 Short-range wireless transceiver 22 Cable 30 Network 31 Base station 40 Server 50 Car 61 Information collection unit 62 Fault diagnosis unit 63 Relay control unit

Claims (3)

The mobile phone terminal that communicates with the ECU mounted on the vehicle in response to the operation input, collects information used for the failure diagnosis of the vehicle, and performs the failure diagnosis of the vehicle based on the collected information. Displaying on the display means;
Notifying that the mobile phone terminal has diagnosed the vehicle as a failure to a server having a failure diagnosis function higher than the mobile phone terminal according to an operation input; and
Determining whether or not there is a need for failure diagnosis by the server based on the diagnosis result included in the notification;
Connecting the server and the ECU when the server determines that there is a need for failure diagnosis by the server;
After the server and the ECU are connected, the server communicates with the ECU, collects information used for fault diagnosis of the automobile, performs fault diagnosis of the automobile based on the collected information, and performs the diagnosis Sending a result and advice information based on the diagnosis result to the mobile phone terminal;
The mobile phone terminal displaying the diagnosis result and the advice information on its own display means;
Car fault diagnosis method for executing . The automobile fault diagnosis method according to claim 1 , wherein when the server collects information used for fault diagnosis of the automobile, a step of collecting information by remotely controlling the ECU is executed . The mobile phone terminal is
When diagnosing a failure, classifying the content of the failure according to its urgency;
Displaying predetermined display contents according to the classification result; and
Claim 1 Symbol mounting car fault diagnosis method of performing a.

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