Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
  • G06Q10/06—Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Definitions

• the invention relates to a computer-aided method for the identification of complex diagnostic situations in the customer service of motor vehicles.
• a computer program real diagnostic situations from the customer service of motor vehicles are analyzed and evaluated.
• the evaluation includes the identification of relevant defect images and the identification of suitable remedial measures with which the defect images can be processed successfully. Error pictures here are combinations of error codes that were detected with diagnostic means. By mirroring the recognized as relevant defect images in the definition of the diagnostic systems used in customer service, they can be significantly improved.
• the computer based system of US 6,609,050 B2 is a diagnostic system supplemented with warranty management and workshop selection.
• the diagnostic means by an improved Bedatung or by an improved identification of relevant diagnostic situations, the technical teaching from the US patent does not.
• Communication dependence of the control units ensures that a local disturbance which was detected in the control unit network by a self-diagnosis routine of a control unit is often determined by other self-diagnostic routines of further control units. Then, however, under a different functional aspect and thus under a different functional or ECU specific error code. As a result, in customer service after reading the error codes from the various control units with a diagnostic tester very often arise very complex diagnostic situations with a variety of different error codes. The Variety of different error codes stands in the way of a quick and successful diagnosis in the way.
• the solution succeeds mainly with a comparative evaluation of a database in which the diagnostic situations occurring in the field are stored, with another database in which the repair measures carried out in the field are stored.
• Both the data records of the individual diagnostic situations and the records of the customer service measures carried out are identified by the vehicle identification number FIN and the date of the customer service measure and can be related to one another via this identification.
• the data sets of the diagnosis situations are marked with a Computer software searches for common subcombinations of error codes.
• the performed customer service measure is determined for the identified subcombinations on error codes and it is checked whether a customer service measure has been carried out significantly more frequently. If this is the case, the identified subcombination can be defined on error codes for a relevant fault pattern and, as such, taken over into the rating of the diagnostic systems used in the service together with the identified customer service measure that correlates with it.
• the main advantage of the defect images thus established lies in a better and more reliable definition of diagnostic systems in motor vehicle service.
• the diagnostic decisions made with these diagnostic systems become more reliable and are much more focused on the service activities to be performed.
• a further comparison with production data can take place.
• the equipment variants of a vehicle are read out and with the help of identified as relevant error images is checked whether certain faulty images accumulate in a trim level variant. If this is the case, this information can be incorporated into the development of the successor models of a motor vehicle or in the model maintenance.
• Clusters of defect images in a certain equipment variant can point to systemic deficiencies, which result from the interplay of incompatible, partially incompatible components and which can then be eliminated. If there are no systemic deficiencies in the aforementioned sense, then the accumulation of the error images can also be associated with an accumulation of the Guarantee and goodwill for a particular component correlate, which is then an indication to replace this component with a better component.
• Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining the most important
• Fig. 2 is a block diagram for explaining how relevant
• Fig. 1 illustrates a typical scenario for the use and implementation of the invention.
• a plurality of ECUs are installed and communicate with each other via one or more bus systems.
• An external diagnostic tester DAS Diagnosis Assistance System
• OBD On-Board Diagnostic Interface
• the error codes determined by the self-diagnostic routines of the control units are read from their error memory and further processed.
• a diagnostic program is implemented in the diagnostic tester, with the help of the error codes read a troubleshooting and possible also a fault location is performed. So far, the diagnostic systems and work processes in different form already in the service workshops in the Commitment. However, with the already mentioned above disadvantage of very confusing diagnosis situations.
• a diagnostic situation in the sense of the present invention is defined by the sum of all error codes FCl, FC2,... FCXY, which is read out by the diagnostic tester from the error memories of the installed control units at the beginning of the diagnostic session.
• This diagnostic situation is marked for further processing with the vehicle identification FIN and the calendar date of the diagnosis session. Definition and identification of the diagnostic situation take place in the diagnostic tester.
• the thus prepared diagnostic situation is then stored by the diagnostic tester in a central database.
• the central database thus stores all diagnostic situations that are reported to it from the field of service workshops by the diagnostic testers.
• This diagnostic situation database is operated and maintained by the manufacturer of the motor vehicles in the so-called backward chain. Also in the backward chain in the service of motor vehicle fleets, GuK (guarantee and goodwill) databases are already operated and maintained today.
• the GuK database records the repair activities carried out by a customer service within the guarantee and goodwill. These customer service measures are marked with a damage code which allows the identification of the serviced motor vehicle, the date of the customer service carried out and the measure taken with which the repair of the motor vehicle was successful.
• the method according to the invention for identifying complex diagnostic situations in customer service can now be carried out. This is done with another computer system and with this In the case of implemented software, a statistical evaluation of the stored diagnostic situations is carried out and relevant error images are defined by means of a comparative evaluation of the performed customer service measures from the CIS database, which in turn find their way into the definition of the diagnostic software in the diagnostic testers used and thus improve the diagnostic testers.
• the data records are from the individual diagnosis sessions Dia read in the field and then stored in the database.
• the diagnostic session in each case has an identifier, which is formed for example by the diagnosis date and the vehicle identification number.
• the data records are stored from the fault memories of the control units installed in the motor vehicle. These data records therefore consist of all error codes read during the respective diagnostic session. Considering all error codes belonging to one diagnostic situation, a different combination of error codes results practically for each identifier. For example, in a first diagnostic session with the identifier Dia. Sit 1 the error code combination FCl. FC2 ...
• FCn result.
• FCl the error code combination
• FC3 the error code combination
• FCk the error code combination
• relevant error images which are each defined by a combination of error codes.
• error images preferably comprise two, three or four combinations of error codes.
• more complex combinations may define a defect image if a customer service measure correlates with reasonable probability.
• the combinations of error codes can lead to a relevant error image even if error codes have not occurred.
• a relevant error image can be formed from the positive error code FCl and the unobserved error code FClO. This is particularly meaningful if, for example, the error code FCl codes for "vehicle electrical system voltage too low" and the error code FClO codes for "generator defective". In this case, an error image from the combination (FCl, not " FClO) would indicate a high leakage current in the electrical system.
• the individual data sets of the diagnosis situation database are examined for the occurrence of individual error codes and the frequency distribution determines their occurrence.
• a computer program is used to determine all possible combinations of two types of error codes and to investigate which two-way combinations occur as often in the data records of the diagnosis situations.
• the possible triple combinations of the error codes are determined and the frequency of their occurrence in the data sets of the diagnostic situations is determined.
• the frequency of occurrence of a data tuple of n elements defined in the data sets of the diagnostic situations can also be determined. If significant clusters occur for individual error code combinations, then these frequently occurring error code combinations are further evaluated by the computer program.
• This further evaluation includes a comparison with the GuK database.
• the vehicle identification and the diagnostic date for the observed accumulation are used first to determine the quantity of customer service measures carried out from the CIS database and then via the Damage key determines a frequency distribution of the performed customer service measures under the considered error code combination. If a clearly preferred after-sales service measure, which was always carried out with the considered error code combination and successfully resolved the observed diagnosis situation, then a relevant error picture is found.
• the found fault pattern is assigned the significantly frequently occurring damage code.
• a relevant error image from a significantly frequently occurring error code combination in the diagnosis situation database now correlates with a significant number of damage codes in the CCP database. This correlation allows the machine processable definition of relevant defect images and the assignment of the most likely successful remedial action, identifiable by the damage key.
• Diagnose decision can get.
• the current diagnosis situation ie the current amount of error codes read in the current diagnostic session, is searched for the relevant, defined error images. If predefined faulty images are found by the diagnostic routine of the diagnostic system, the computer-aided Error message assigned to corrective action can be determined and proposed.
• a database with data records from the production of the vehicle can still be consulted for the evaluation.
• the trim level or model variant of the motor vehicle can be additionally determined and queried.
• a further query can be programmed, which checks whether one of the detected faulty images appears particularly frequently in an identifiable model variant.
• control devices and functional groups are installed across models, it can be checked whether not only functional groups have specific deficiencies, but whether there are also systemic deficiencies that arise due to the model. This is e.g. then the case, when a fault pattern only ever popped up in one model variant, although the assigned damage code would have to be relevant for other models, since these other models contain the same components or spare parts.
• a model-specific frequently occurring damage code is thus an indication of systemic error causes.

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• 2005
  • 2005-08-25 DE DE102005040142A patent/DE102005040142A1/de not_active Withdrawn
• 2006
  • 2006-07-28 WO PCT/EP2006/007482 patent/WO2007022849A2/fr active Application Filing

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