JP4661638B2 - In-vehicle device for fault diagnosis - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention generally relates to an on-vehicle apparatus for failure diagnosis that is detachably mounted on a vehicle and collects vehicle information for failure diagnosis, and in particular, identification information of a vehicle other than a diagnosis target vehicle remains written. The present invention relates to an in-vehicle apparatus for failure diagnosis in which the inappropriate state is appropriately found and recovered when mounted on the diagnosis target vehicle in the state of.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an in-vehicle apparatus for fault diagnosis that is mounted on a vehicle, collects vehicle information (diagnostic information) for fault diagnosis, and transmits the collected vehicle information to a predetermined communication station (fault diagnosis / analysis center). (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

Patent Document 1 discloses a device (a communication function equipped diagnosis) that transmits vehicle identification information (vehicle ID) of the own vehicle and collected vehicle state information (diagnostic information) to a predetermined center when an abnormality occurs in the own vehicle. Recorder).
JP-A-2005-41437

  When the conventional apparatus as disclosed in Patent Document 1 is detachable from the vehicle and can be used in other vehicles, the vehicle is stored and held in the diagnostic recorder when the mounted vehicle is changed. It is necessary to rewrite the identification information (vehicle ID).

  That is, for example, when the diagnosis recorder is transferred from the vehicle A to the vehicle B, it is necessary to perform the operation of rewriting the vehicle ID of the diagnosis recorder removed from the vehicle A from the vehicle A to the vehicle B and then attach it to the vehicle B.

  This is because, when a diagnosis recorder called “vehicle A” with the vehicle ID stored therein is mounted on the vehicle B, when the diagnosis information is collected by the diagnosis recorder and transmitted to the center, the center sends the diagnosis information from the vehicle A. This is because it is erroneously recognized as the transmitted diagnostic information.

  When the rewriting operation of the vehicle ID at the time of replacing the diag recorder is manually performed, it is impossible to completely eliminate the possibility that the vehicle is attached to a new vehicle without performing an appropriate rewriting operation due to human error. .

  As described above, in the conventional diag recorder, when the vehicle is mounted, it is not determined whether the vehicle ID stored and held in the diag recorder matches the mounted vehicle, so the diag recorder forgets to rewrite the vehicle ID. If it is mounted on a vehicle as it is, the mistake will not be found and recovered, and diagnostic information will be transmitted to the center together with an incorrect vehicle ID.

  The present invention is for solving such a problem, and when the vehicle is mounted on the diagnosis target vehicle in a state where identification information of a vehicle other than the diagnosis target vehicle is still written, the state is inappropriate. The main purpose is to provide an in-vehicle device for fault diagnosis that can be properly discovered and recovered.

  A first aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object is an in-vehicle apparatus for fault diagnosis that is detachably mounted on a vehicle and collects vehicle information (for example, diagnostic information) for fault diagnosis, and includes vehicle attributes Information storage means for receiving and storing external information (or vehicle identification information), information acquisition means for acquiring vehicle attribute information of the host vehicle, vehicle attribute information stored in the information storage means, and information acquisition means It is a vehicle diagnosis apparatus for failure diagnosis which has a determination means which determines whether the vehicle attribute information of the own vehicle acquired by (2) corresponds.

  In the first aspect, the information acquisition means is connected to the in-vehicle LAN of the host vehicle, for example, and is a vehicle of the host vehicle that is stored and held in advance in an in-vehicle ECU (Electronic Control Unit) of the host vehicle. Get attribute information.

  Moreover, in the first aspect, the determination means includes, for example, the vehicle attribute information stored in the information storage means and the vehicle information acquired by the information acquisition means when the ignition switch (IG) of the own vehicle is turned on. It is determined whether or not the vehicle attribute information matches.

  According to the first aspect, it is determined whether or not the attribute information of the vehicle on which the apparatus is mounted and the vehicle attribute information artificially input (written) from the outside to the information storage unit of the apparatus match. Therefore, when this apparatus is mistakenly mounted on a vehicle in a state where attribute information of another vehicle different from the mounted vehicle is written, such an inappropriate state can be detected and detected.

  A second aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object is the in-vehicle apparatus for failure diagnosis according to the first aspect, collecting vehicle information of the own vehicle for failure diagnosis and collecting the collected vehicle information. Information collection / transmission means for transmitting (for example, using wireless communication) to a predetermined communication station (for example, failure diagnosis / analysis center) together with the vehicle attribute information stored in the information storage means, and the information by the determination means When it is determined that the vehicle attribute information stored in the storage means and the vehicle attribute information of the host vehicle acquired by the information acquisition means do not match, the predetermined communication of the vehicle information collected by the information collection / transmission means A failure diagnosis on-vehicle apparatus further comprising transmission prohibition means for prohibiting transmission to a station.

  According to the second aspect, vehicle information is not collected and transmitted to a predetermined communication station in a state where attribute information of another vehicle different from the mounted vehicle is erroneously written in the apparatus, It is possible to appropriately prevent the transmission source vehicle from being confused on the communication station side that has received the vehicle information.

  A third aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object is the in-vehicle apparatus for failure diagnosis according to the first aspect, collecting vehicle information of the own vehicle for failure diagnosis, and collecting the collected vehicle information. Information collection / transmission means for transmitting (for example, using wireless communication) to a predetermined communication station (for example, failure diagnosis / analysis center) together with the vehicle attribute information stored in the information storage means, and the information by the determination means When it is determined that the vehicle attribute information stored in the storage means and the vehicle attribute information of the own vehicle acquired by the information acquisition means do not match, collection of vehicle information for failure diagnosis by the information collection / transmission means This is a failure diagnosis in-vehicle device that further includes a collection prohibiting means for prohibiting.

  According to the third aspect, vehicle information is not collected in a state where the attribute information of another vehicle different from the mounted vehicle is erroneously written in the device, and the communication station side does not collect the vehicle information. It is possible to appropriately prevent confusion.

  A fourth aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object is the in-vehicle apparatus for failure diagnosis according to the first aspect, wherein vehicle information of the own vehicle for failure diagnosis is collected and collected vehicle information. Information collection / transmission means for transmitting (for example, using wireless communication) to a predetermined communication station (for example, failure diagnosis / analysis center) together with the vehicle attribute information stored in the information storage means, and the information by the determination means When it is determined that the vehicle attribute information stored in the storage means and the vehicle attribute information of the host vehicle acquired by the information acquisition means do not match, the information collection / transmission means transmits the information to the predetermined communication station. The fault diagnosis in-vehicle apparatus further includes information adding means for adding information indicating that there is an error in the transmitted vehicle attribute information to the information.

  According to the fourth aspect, when the vehicle information is collected in a state where the attribute information of the other vehicle different from the mounted vehicle is erroneously written in the apparatus, the information is annotated to the predetermined communication station. Since it is transmitted, it is possible to appropriately prevent the transmission source vehicle from being confused on the communication station side that has received the vehicle information.

  A fifth aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object is the on-vehicle apparatus for failure diagnosis according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, which is stored in the information storage means by the determination means. When it is determined that the vehicle attribute information and the vehicle attribute information of the host vehicle acquired by the information acquisition unit do not match, the vehicle-mounted device for failure diagnosis further includes an alarm unit that outputs an alarm.

  In the fifth aspect, the alarm means may, for example, turn on / blink a predetermined lamp or output an alarm sound in the vehicle local as an alarm output, or use wireless communication, for example. Thus, the fact that the attribute information does not match may be transmitted to the remote information terminal.

  According to the fifth aspect, when it is determined that the attribute information of the vehicle on which the apparatus is mounted and the vehicle attribute information artificially input (written) from the outside to the information storage means of the apparatus do not match Since an alarm is output, it is easy to recognize that an inappropriate state mounted on a vehicle has been detected and discovered while this device is accidentally written with the attribute information of another vehicle different from the mounted vehicle. Is done.

  According to the present invention, when the vehicle is mounted on the diagnosis target vehicle in a state where the identification information of the vehicle other than the diagnosis target vehicle is still written, the failure diagnosis is appropriately found and recovered. A vehicle-mounted device can be provided.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the basic concept, main hardware configuration, operating principle, basic control method, and the like of the diagnostic recorder with a communication function are known to those skilled in the art, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

  Hereinafter, a mechanism for vehicle failure diagnosis and an in-vehicle device used for the failure diagnosis according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of the entire mechanism of vehicle failure diagnosis according to the present embodiment.

  For example, a maintenance factory installed in a vehicle dealership (hereinafter referred to as a "store dealer" for convenience), when a vehicle user complains about a malfunction of the vehicle, In order to diagnose and analyze where the failure / defect is occurring, vehicle information necessary for diagnosing the failure is collected during engine operation of the vehicle, and is managed and operated by, for example, a vehicle manufacturer (manufacturer). A vehicle-mounted device 101 with a communication function for wirelessly transmitting vehicle information collected to the failure diagnosis / analysis center is attached to the vehicle.

  When attaching the in-vehicle device 101 to the diagnosis target vehicle V, the dealer D or the like connects the in-vehicle device 101 to the information terminal 102 that can write information into the in-vehicle device 101 in advance and attaches it to the in-vehicle device 101 from now on. Write (1) attribute information and (2) failure information of the vehicle V to be diagnosed.

  Here, the attribute information is information including at least data that can be used to identify individual vehicles (for example, a frame number (vehicle number) or a uniquely assigned vehicle ID number). For example, information such as vehicle type, model, frame number, production date, engine model, transmission model, tire size, and the like is included.

  Further, the failure information is information created by a staff member of a store or the like D based on an interview survey from a vehicle user, for example, information such as “engine malfunction”.

  The in-vehicle device 101 for failure diagnosis in which the attribute information and failure information of the diagnosis target vehicle V are written is attached to the vehicle V. The vehicle V is preliminarily provided with a storage unit 103 that stores correct attribute information of the vehicle V (for example, non-rewritable), and the in-vehicle device 101 mounted on the vehicle V is connected to the storage unit 103. In addition, IG on / off information of the vehicle V is transmitted to the in-vehicle device 101 mounted on the vehicle V.

  The in-vehicle device 101 mounted on the vehicle V is connected to an in-vehicle LAN (not shown) that connects various on-vehicle ECUs mounted on the vehicle V, and control data can be collected from each on-vehicle ECU of the vehicle V. The

  Here, with reference to FIG. 2, the structure of the on-board apparatus 101 for failure diagnosis provided with the communication function is demonstrated.

  The in-vehicle device 101 is connected to the in-vehicle LAN of the vehicle V to be diagnosed, and has a data collection unit 201 that collects various control data as vehicle information necessary for failure diagnosis from various in-vehicle ECUs mounted on the vehicle V.

  The in-vehicle device 101 further includes an attribute information acquisition unit 202 that acquires true (correct) attribute information of the vehicle V stored and held in advance in the storage unit 103 of the diagnosis target vehicle V. The attribute information acquisition unit 202 may be directly connected to the storage unit 103 on a one-to-one basis, or connected to the in-vehicle LAN when the storage unit 103 is provided in the ECU connected to the in-vehicle LAN of the vehicle V. May be. Further, in the latter case, the data collection unit 201 and the attribute information acquisition unit 202 may be integrated.

  The in-vehicle device 101 further includes a storage unit 203 that stores and holds attribute information and failure information written in a store or the like D. In this embodiment, the storage unit 203 may be of any type as long as it is a rewritable (overwriteable) (rewritable) storage medium.

  The in-vehicle device 101 further interfaces with the information terminal 102 on the D side such as a retail store such as a personal computer, and writes the attribute information and failure information instructed by the information terminal 102 to the storage unit 203. Part 204.

  The in-vehicle device 101 further includes a communication unit 205 configured to be able to transmit information to a communication station that is a failure diagnosis / analysis center C (FIG. 1) using wireless communication. The communication between the communication unit 205 and the center C may be in any form such as inter-vehicle communication, road-to-vehicle communication, and / or satellite communication, and may include a wired communication portion. Further, any communication standard / protocol may be adopted.

  The in-vehicle device 101 further includes an alarm unit 206 that outputs an alarm. The alarm unit 206 may be configured to turn on / flash a predetermined lamp (for example, an LED lamp) provided in the vehicle V, or output a predetermined alarm sound (or voice message), for example. Alternatively, an alarm may be generated in the form of e-mail, for example, at a remote communication terminal (preferably the information terminal 102 of the store D or the like) without performing any special operation locally in the vehicle. This message may be transmitted using wireless communication.

  The in-vehicle device 101 further includes a main control unit 207 that comprehensively controls each component of the in-vehicle device 101. The main control unit 207 is, for example, one of in-vehicle ECUs. Further, the main control unit 207 receives IG on / off information of the diagnosis target vehicle V.

  Next, the operation of the vehicle-mounted device 101 having such a configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, the main control unit 207 waits for the IG of the diagnosis target vehicle V on which the in-vehicle device 101 is mounted (S301).

  When the IG is turned on (“YES” in S301), the main control unit 207 instructs the attribute information acquisition unit 202 to acquire the true attribute information of the vehicle V stored in the vehicle V, and the in-vehicle device 101. The attribute information acquisition unit 202 reads out the attribute information written in the storage unit 203 through the information writing unit 204 before the in-vehicle device 101 is attached to the vehicle V at the store D or the like. The acquired attribute information of the vehicle V is compared with the attribute information stored in the storage unit 203 to determine whether or not they match (S302).

  In other words, the main control unit 207 uses the true attribute information of the vehicle V stored in advance in the diagnosis target vehicle V to determine whether the attribute information stored in the storage unit 203 is correct as that of the vehicle V. Verify that.

  When the attribute information of the vehicle V acquired by the attribute information acquisition unit 202 and the attribute information stored in the storage unit 203 do not match, in other words, the attribute information stored in the storage unit 203 is that of the vehicle V. If it is determined that it is not correct (“NO” in S302), the main control unit 207 prohibits the data collection unit 201 from starting the collection of vehicle information for failure diagnosis, and the same inoperative state as before IG is turned on. At the same time, the alarm unit 206 outputs an alarm (S303).

  On the other hand, when the attribute information of the vehicle V acquired by the attribute information acquisition unit 202 and the attribute information stored in the storage unit 203 match, in other words, the attribute information stored in the storage unit 203 is assumed to be that of the vehicle V. If it is determined to be correct (“YES” in S302), the main control unit 207 allows the data collection unit 201 to start collecting vehicle information for failure diagnosis, and the collected information is stored in the storage unit 203. The attribute information and the failure information are transmitted to the failure diagnosis / analysis center C using the communication unit 205 (S304).

  This collection of vehicle information and transmission to the center C is continued until the IG is turned off ("NO" in S305 to return to S304), and one routine of this flow is completed when the IG is turned off ("YES" in S305). To do.

  Returning to FIG. As described above, when a detachable vehicle-mounted device 101 having a communication function is attached to a vehicle V whose staff is going to diagnose a failure at a dealer D or the like, by turning on the IG of the vehicle V after the installation is completed, It is possible to confirm whether or not the attribute information of the vehicle V has been correctly written in the in-vehicle device 101 before installation.

  This is because when the attribute information of other vehicles other than the vehicle V is still written in the in-vehicle device 101, an alarm is output with the above-described mechanism.

  As a result, when an alarm is output, the staff of the dealer D or the like can once remove the vehicle-mounted device 101 from the vehicle V, re-enter the attribute information correctly, and attach it to the vehicle V again. It is avoided that the vehicle information is transmitted to the failure diagnosis / analysis center C while being written.

  That is, a mechanism for detecting and recovering an artificial mistake of forgetting to rewrite attribute information is provided.

  Thus, when the in-vehicle device 101 in which correct attribute information is reliably stored is mounted on the diagnosis target vehicle V, vehicle information (control data of various in-vehicle ECUs) necessary for failure diagnosis is collected together with IG ON, It is transmitted to the failure diagnosis / analysis center C together with the attribute information and failure information.

  In the center C, the failure is diagnosed and analyzed in light of a database of information collected from other models of the same model and defects that have occurred in the past. At this time, by referring to the failure information transmitted together from the vehicle V, the efficiency of the analysis work is improved.

  When the diagnosis is completed, the found failure location and the corresponding repair method are transmitted to the information terminal 102 of the store D or the like using, for example, wired communication. A staff member such as a store D can appropriately repair the malfunction of the vehicle V based on the received diagnosis result.

  After the vehicle information is collected and transmitted to the center C, the in-vehicle device 101 finishes its role and is removed from the vehicle V at the store D or the like. At this time, the store D or the like may read and store the control data collected from the in-vehicle device 101 for failure diagnosis for reference.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, even if a human error occurs in which the attribute information of the target vehicle is not correctly written in the in-vehicle device attached to the vehicle for failure diagnosis, a mechanism that can be appropriately detected and recovered Is provided.

  In addition, the vehicle information collected in the failure diagnosis target vehicle for failure diagnosis is transmitted to the failure diagnosis / analysis center together with the attribute information of the vehicle different from the target vehicle. The situation where this occurs will be prevented appropriately.

  In the above embodiment, as an example, the same attribute information as that stored in the in-vehicle device is stored in advance in the vehicle to be diagnosed. However, the present invention is limited to such a form. For example, among the attribute information that should be stored in the in-vehicle device, for example, only information (for example, chassis number) necessary for identifying each vehicle is stored and held in the diagnosis target vehicle in a state that can be read from the in-vehicle device. It is good also to keep.

  Further, in the above embodiment, when the attribute information stored in the in-vehicle device and the attribute information stored in the diagnosis target vehicle do not match, as an example, A) vehicle information collection for failure diagnosis Although the present invention is not performed, the present invention is not limited to such a form. For example, B) vehicle information for failure diagnosis may be collected but not transmitted to the failure diagnosis / analysis center. Alternatively, C) vehicle information for failure diagnosis may be collected, and the collected vehicle information may be transmitted to the failure diagnosis / analysis center with a notice that there is an error in the attribute information. In the case of the above B), the vehicle diagnosis information and the correct attribute information already collected at the stage where the correct attribute information is written in the in-vehicle device 101 at the dealer D or the like are attached to the diagnosis target vehicle. In the case of the above C), the correct attribute information is traced after the correct attribute information is attached again to the diagnosis target vehicle in which the correct attribute information is written in the in-vehicle device 101 in the store D or the like. It is preferable that it is transmitted to the analysis center. Note that, by combining two or more of the above methods A), B), and C), for example, any one of the methods may be selectively used according to the degree (severity) of the defect. May be.

  The present invention relates to a failure diagnosis vehicle-mounted device (so-called diagnosis recorder) that is detachably mounted on a vehicle and collects vehicle information for failure diagnosis, and in particular, a diagnosis function-equipped diagnosis that transmits the collected vehicle information to a predetermined communication station. Available for recorder. The appearance, weight, size, running performance, etc. of the vehicle to be mounted are not limited.

It is a figure which shows the outline of the whole mechanism of the vehicle fault diagnosis which concerns on one Example of this invention. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a failure diagnosis on-vehicle apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process by the vehicle-mounted apparatus for fault diagnosis which concerns on one Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Fault diagnosis in-vehicle apparatus 102 Information terminal 103 Storage part 201 Data collection part 202 Attribute information acquisition part 203 Information writing part 204 Storage part 205 Communication part 206 Alarm part 207 Main control part V (Fault diagnosis object) Vehicle C Communication station ( Fault diagnosis and analysis center
D Dealers etc.

Claims (4)

An in-vehicle device for fault diagnosis that is detachably mounted on a vehicle and collects vehicle information for fault diagnosis,
Information storage means for receiving and storing external input of vehicle attribute information;
Information acquisition means for acquiring vehicle attribute information of the host vehicle;
Determining means for determining whether or not the vehicle attribute information stored in the information storage means matches the vehicle attribute information of the host vehicle acquired by the information acquiring means;
Information collection / storage means for collecting vehicle information of the own vehicle for the failure diagnosis, and storing the collected vehicle information in the information storage means;
Information transmission means for transmitting vehicle information and vehicle attribute information stored in the information storage means to a predetermined communication station;
Vehicle information collected by the information collecting / storing means when the judgment means judges that the vehicle attribute information stored in the information storage means and the vehicle attribute information of the own vehicle acquired by the information acquisition means do not match. Control means for permitting storage in the information storage means and prohibiting transmission by the information transmission means to the predetermined communication station;
An in-vehicle device for failure diagnosis, comprising: An in-vehicle device for failure diagnosis that is detachably mounted on a vehicle and collects vehicle information for failure diagnosis,
Information storage means for receiving and storing external input of vehicle attribute information;
Information acquisition means for acquiring vehicle attribute information of the host vehicle;
Determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle attribute information stored in the information storage means and the vehicle attribute information of the host vehicle acquired by the information acquisition means match;
Information collecting / transmitting means for collecting vehicle information of the own vehicle for failure diagnosis and transmitting the collected vehicle information to a predetermined communication station together with vehicle attribute information stored in the information storage means;
When the determination means determines that the vehicle attribute information stored in the information storage means and the vehicle attribute information of the host vehicle acquired by the information acquisition means do not match, the information collection / transmission means Information adding means for adding information indicating that there is an error in the transmitted vehicle attribute information to the information transmitted to the communication station;
An in-vehicle device for fault diagnosis characterized by comprising: An in-vehicle device for fault diagnosis according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The determination means determines whether the vehicle attribute information stored in the information storage means matches the vehicle attribute information of the own vehicle acquired by the information acquisition means when the ignition switch of the own vehicle is turned on. In-vehicle device for fault diagnosis characterized by the above. The in-vehicle device for fault diagnosis according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
When the determination unit determines that the vehicle attribute information stored in the information storage unit and the vehicle attribute information of the host vehicle acquired by the information acquisition unit do not match, the alarm unit outputs an alarm. An in-vehicle device for fault diagnosis characterized by the above.

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