Patent Application
20090187304
The present invention relates to methods and systems for recording real-time data within an electronic control module of a vehicle.
Traditionally, vehicles include multiple systems that regulate overall operation of the vehicle. For example, the vehicle may include an internal combustion engine, an electric machine, and/or a transmission. Each of the components may include an associated control module or modules that communicate with one another to regulate operation of the vehicle.
Each of the control modules operate based on real-time data that is directly sensed from the vehicle or determined from the sensed data. When vehicle faults occur, it is helpful for engineers and technicians to be able to evaluate the real-time data associated with the fault. In production vehicles, access to the real-time data is limited to designated variables that were defined during development of the control module. In some cases, the designated variables may not be helpful to the engineers or technicians. Furthermore, a technician tool must be connected to the vehicle to record the data. The technician tool monitors the communication bus for the designated variables and displays the data for viewing.
Accordingly, a control system for a vehicle is provided. The system generally includes a first setup module that configures at least one data recording trigger based on data parameters received from at least one of a telematics system and a technician tool. A data logger module records and stores real-time vehicle data based on the at least one data recording trigger.
In other features, a method of recording real-time vehicle data is provided. The method includes: receiving data parameters from at least one of a telematics system and a technician tool; configuring at least one data recording trigger based on the data parameters; and recording and storing real-time vehicle data based on the at least one data recording trigger.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.
The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features. As used herein, the term module refers to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable components that provide the described functionality.
Referring now to
The transmission 16 can include, but is not limited to, a CVT, a manual transmission, an automatic transmission and an automated manual transmission (AMT). Drive torque is transferred from the engine 12 to the transmission 16 through a coupling device 30 such as, for example, a friction clutch or a torque converter. The transmission 16 multiplies the drive torque through one of a plurality of gear ratios.
One or more control modules 32, 34 regulate operation of one or more components of the vehicle 10 and are configured with an integrated diagnostic flight recording (IDFR) system in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. For example, an engine control module 32 controls the engine 12 and a transmission control module 34 controls the transmission 16. Each control module 32, 34 includes an IDFR system as will be discussed further below. Real-time data recorded by the IDFR system in each control module 32, 34 can be communicated to a telematics system 36 of the vehicle 10 via a communication bus 38. The telematics system 36 transmits information from the IDFR system to a remote location for further analysis. The real-time data recorded by the IDFR system in each control module 32, 34 can additionally or alternatively be retrieved via a technician tool 42 connected to a communication port 40 (i.e. ALDL connection port) of the vehicle 10.
Referring now to
The trigger setup module 50 receives as input a trigger address 60, a diagnostic trouble code (DTC) 62, an address data type 64, an operator 66, an operand 68, a trigger position 70, a variable list 72 and/or combinations thereof. The inputs 60-72 can be configured by, for example, an engineer or technician via the technician tool 42 or the telematics system 36 (
The overwrite setup module 52 receives as input the trigger address 60, the DTC 62, the address data type 64, the operator 66, the operand 68, a re-arm option 76, and/or combinations thereof. The inputs 60-68 and 76 can be configured by, for example, an engineer or technician via the technician tool 42 or the telematics system 36 (
The data logger module 54 receives as input the trigger position 70, the variable list 72, the data triggers 74, the overwrite parameters 78, and real-time data 80. The data logger module 54 initiates recording of the real-time data 80 based on the data triggers 74. For example, if the data trigger 74 corresponds to a DTC specific class, the data logger module 74 records a snapshot of real-time data 74 corresponding to the variable list 72. In various embodiments, the variable list 72 is retrieved via a pointer to the list. In another example, if the data trigger 74 corresponds to a triggered class, the data logger module 54 continually records real-time data 80 corresponding to the variable list 72 in a circular memory buffer 81 as shown in
Once recorded, the data logger module 54 stores the recorded data 82 in the datastore 58. The activation of the storage can be based on a certain event such as, for example, upon key off of the vehicle 10 (
The data retrieval module 56 receives as input a data request 84. Based on the data request 84, the data retrieval module 56 retrieves the stored data 85 from the datastore 58 and communicates the data in the appropriate message form 86 to the entity generating the data request 84 such as the telematics system 36 or the technician tool 42 (
Referring now to
In one example, the method may begin at 100. The method is performed for each data trigger 74 defined. If there is a data trigger 74 to be processed at 110, it is determined whether the real-time data 80 has already been stored at 120. If the real-time data 80 has already been stored at 120, the overwrite parameters 78 are processed to formulate an overwrite condition at 130 and the overwrite condition is evaluated at 140. If the overwrite condition is met at 140, the data trigger 74 is processed at 150 and evaluated at 160. Otherwise, if the overwrite condition is not met at 140, the method proceeds to evaluate whether there is a next data trigger 74 at 110.
If the real-time data 80 has not already been stored at 120 the data trigger 74 is processed at 150 and evaluated at 160. If the data trigger 74 is defined as a DTC specific class at 160, the designated DTC 62 is evaluated at 170. If the DTC 62 is activated at 170, the designated variable list 72 is retrieved at 180 and the real-time data 80 corresponding to the variables of the variable list 72 is recorded and stored in the datastore 58 at 190. Otherwise, if the DTC 62 is not activated at 170 the method proceeds to evaluate whether there is a next data trigger 74 at 110.
However, if the data trigger 74 is not defined as a DTC specific class, rather a triggered class at 160, the variables of the variable list 72 is recorded in the buffer 81 (
Those skilled in the art can now appreciate from the foregoing description that the broad teachings of the present disclosure can be implemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while this disclosure has been described in connection with particular examples thereof, the true scope of the disclosure should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent to the skilled practitioner upon a study of the drawings, specification, and the following claims.
