Request for Certification
`
`February 28, 2014
`
`
`
`To: Commissioner, Japan Patent Office
`
`
`
`1. Indication of Matter
`
`
`
`
`
`2. Requester
`
`Japanese Patent Application No. S63-20004
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Postal Code
`
`105-0001
`
`
`
`
`
`Address
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Name
`
`
`
`Foreign Law Joint Enterprise Jones Day Law Firm
`
`Kamiyacho Prime Place
`
`1-17, Toranomon 4-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo
`
`Michiru TAKAHASHI
`
`3. Document Title Pertaining to Certification
`
`Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A-H1-197145)
`
`
`
`
`
`Please certify that the document title pertaining to certification is correct.
`
` I
`
` hereby certify that the document title pertaining to certification is correct.
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`March 11, 2014
`
`Hideo HATO
`
`Commissioner, Japan Patent Office
`
`
`
`2014 Certification of Filing No. 600114
`
`

`
`
`
`JP-A-H01-197145 (1)
`
`(12) Unexamined Patent Application Publication (A)
`(11) Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.
` H01-197145
`(43) Publication Date: December 17, 1993
`
`
`
`
`
`(19) Japan Patent Office (JP)
`
`
`
`(51) Intl. Classification4:
` B60R 16/02
` G01M 17/00
`
`Internal File No.:
`ID Code:
`
` R-7443-3D
`
`
`Z-6960-2G
`Examination Requested: No Number of Claims: 1 (6 Pages Total)
`
`
`
`
`
`(54) Title of Invention: FAILURE DIAGNOSIS APPARATUS FOR VEHICLE
`(21) Patent Application No.: S63-20004
`(22) Filing Date: January 30, 1988
`(72) Inventor: Toshihiro ISHIHARA
`c/o Mazda Motor Corporation, 3-1 Shinchi, Fuchu-cho, Aki-gun,
`Hiroshima Prefecture
`c/o Mazda Motor Corporation, 3-1 Shinchi, Fuchu-cho, Aki-gun,
`Hiroshima Prefecture
`c/o Mazda Motor Corporation, 3-1 Shinchi, Fuchu-cho, Aki-gun,
`Hiroshima Prefecture
`
`c/o Mazda Motor Corporation, 3-1 Shinchi, Fuchu-cho, Aki-gun,
`Hiroshima Prefecture
`
`(71) Applicant: Mazda Motor Corporation 3-1 Shinchi, Fuchu-cho, Aki-gun, Hiroshima Prefecture
`(74) Agent: Masaaki FUKUOKA, Patent Agent
`
`(72) Inventor: Haruhiro HIRANO
`
`(72) Inventor: Masao HIDESHIMA
`
`(72) Inventor: Satoru KAWAZOE
`
`[Prior Art]
`
`In recent years, much progress on mobile
`communication technology has led to the development
`of such failure diagnosis apparatus for automobiles as
`disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. JP-A-
`61−89114, for example. The diagnosis apparatus
`disclosed in this patent publication is configured such
`that a microcomputer with memory is mounted in the
`relevant automobile, and it compares signal data from
`sensors or actuators of various control systems provided
`in the automobile with data saved in the memory of the
`microcomputer to predict the occurrence of a failure, and,
`when the occurrence of a failure is predicted, a failure
`warning is displayed on a failure warning display device
`disposed in the automobile, while the failure information
`is transmitted to a failure diagnosis computer of a
`service company using a telephone line of an automobile
`telephone provided in the automobile so that the
`computer performs a failure diagnosis. With such a
`configuration, failure diagnosis of the automobile is
`performed quickly.
`[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]
`
`
`
`Specification
`1. Title of Invention
`Failure Diagnosis Apparatus for Vehicle
`2. Claim
`(1) A failure diagnosis apparatus for a vehicle including
`a failure detection unit that detects a failure of an on-
`board device and a transmitting unit that transmits, at an
`occurrence of the failure, an output signal from the
`failure detection unit to a failure diagnosis station
`outside of the vehicle, the apparatus comprising: a
`significance determination unit that is provided in the
`failure diagnosis station to categorize the failure detected
`by the failure detection unit into failure with high
`significance and failure with low significance; and a
`display control unit that displays only the failure that has
`been categorized as failure with high significance by the
`determination unit on a display device provided on the
`vehicle.
`3. [Detailed Description of the Invention]
`[Industrial Field of Application]
`
`The present invention relates to a failure
`diagnosis apparatus for a vehicle, especially a failure
`diagnosis apparatus that is configured to follow, when a
`failure occurs, an instruction from a failure diagnosis
`station outside of the vehicle to display only those with
`high significance on a display device inside of the
`vehicle.
`
`Honda Exhibit 1004
`Page 1
`
`

`
`
`
`
`
`JP-A-H01-197145 (2)
`
`have been determined to be high in significance will be
`displayed on the display device provided in the vehicle.
`In other words, failures displayed by the display device
`provided in the vehicle will be limited to those as
`minimally required, and hence will not cause anxiety for
`the person on board or create a sense of distrust due to
`frequently displayed failures. Also, failures with high
`significance will be definitely reported to the person on
`board, and hence such failures will not be disregarded.
`[Example]
`
`Below, the present invention will be described
`based on an example.
`
`Firstly, an outline of a failure diagnosis
`apparatus for a vehicle according to the present
`embodiment is described with reference to Fig. 1. The
`failure diagnosis apparatus 1 is configured to include an
`on-board apparatus 2 and a failure diagnosis station 3
`that is outside of vehicle. The on-board apparatus 2 is
`configured to include a control unit 4 that controls
`various devices or systems on board and detects failures
`thereof, a display apparatus 5 that is connected to the
`control unit 4, a communication control unit 6 that
`controls the communication between the control unit 4
`and the failure diagnosis station 3 outside the vehicle,
`and an antenna 7 that transmits and receives a
`communication signal to/from the unit 6. The failure
`diagnosis station 3 outside the vehicle is configured to
`include an antenna 8 that transmits and receives the
`above communication signal to/from the vehicle, a
`communication control unit 9 that is connected to the
`antenna 8 and controls the communication to/from the
`on-board apparatus 2, and a failure diagnosis unit 10 that
`performs failure diagnosis based on a signal received by
`the unit 9.
`
`Next, the control unit 4 in the above on-board
`apparatus 2 is described with reference to Fig. 2.
`
`The control unit 4 controls an automatic
`transmission mounted in the vehicle. To the unit 4 are
`connected a vehicle speed sensor 11 that detects vehicle
`speed, a throttle sensor 12 that detects the degree of
`throttle opening of the engine, a turbine sensor 13 that
`detects turbine rotational frequency of a torque converter,
`and an idle switch 14 that detects idle status of the
`engine, and output signals 11a, 12a, 13a, and 14a from
`these sensors 11, 12, 13, and 14 are input to a computer
`16 in the control unit 4 via an input processing circuit 15.
`
`
`
`The failure diagnosis apparatus disclosed in the
`above patent publication displays all failures on the
`warning display device in the vehicle regardless of
`significance of the failure. In such a case, the number of
`displayed failure warnings increases and may cause
`anxiety for a person on board, for example, which may
`lead to a loss of trust in the automobile, or the person on
`board may become too familiar with the displayed
`failure warnings, which may cause the highly significant
`warnings displayed to be taken lightly and disregarded.
`
`An objective of the present invention is to
`provide a failure diagnosis apparatus for a vehicle that
`transmits to a failure diagnosis station outside the
`vehicle all data related to a failure and performs the
`required failure diagnosis, while displaying only failures
`as minimally required on the display device provided in
`the automobile, so that the apparatus does not lead to a
`loss of trust by causing anxiety for the person on board,
`or lead to disregarding highly significant failures due to
`the person on board becoming too familiar with
`displayed failures.
`[Means for Solving the Problems]
`
`The failure diagnosis apparatus according to the
`present invention is configured as follows in order to
`meet the objective above.
`
`The configuration, which has a failure detection
`unit that detects a failure of an on-board device and a
`transmitting unit that transmits, at an occurrence of the
`failure, an output signal from the failure detection unit to
`a failure diagnosis station outside the vehicle, includes a
`significance determination unit that is provided in the
`failure diagnosis station and that categorizes the failure
`detected by the on-board failure detection unit and
`transmitted by the transmitting unit into failure with high
`significance and failure with low significance, and a
`display control unit that displays only the failure that has
`been categorized as failure with high significance by the
`determination unit on a display device disposed in the
`vehicle.
`[Operation]
`
`With the above configuration, regardless of
`whether the failure of the on-board device is high or low
`in significance, all data is automatically transmitted to
`the failure diagnosis station outside the vehicle and
`significance of the failure is determined in the failure
`diagnosis station. Then, especially only failures that
`
`
`Honda Exhibit 1004
`Page 2
`
`

`
`
`
`
`
`JP-A-H01-197145 (3)
`
`unit 6 is provided with a communication control circuit
`31 that controls flow between the received signal and the
`transmitted signal as described above to pass the signals
`from/to the transmitted-received data processing circuit
`23 in the control unit 4.
`
`The display apparatus 5 is configured to include
`a signal converting circuit 32 that converts a signal
`output from the display selection circuit 24 of the control
`unit 4 into an easily-displayable signal, and a display
`device 33 comprised of a CRT, for example.
`
`Next, the failure diagnosis station 3 will be
`explained with reference to Fig. 3. The failure diagnosis
`station 3 has a communication control unit 9 having the
`same structure as the communication control unit 6 of
`the on-board apparatus 2, and is provided with a
`receiving circuit 34 that receives a failure data signal
`transmitted from the on-board apparatus 2 via an antenna
`8, a received data demodulation circuit 35 that converts
`the received signal into an easily-processable signal, a
`received data buffer 36 that stores the processed signal, a
`transmitted-data buffer 37 that stores a diagnosis data
`signal output from the failure diagnosis unit 10, to be
`described later, and a transmitted data modulation circuit
`38 that modulates the signal into a signal appropriate for
`being transmitted, and a transmitting circuit 39 that
`transmits the signal. The communication control unit 9
`is also provided with a communication control circuit 40
`that controls flow between the received signal and the
`transmitted signal to pass the signals from/to the failure
`diagnosis unit 10.
`
`The failure diagnosis unit 10 is provided with a
`failure inference circuit 41, which is a host computer,
`and a rule-database file 42 in which processing methods
`for the failure data signal from the on-board apparatus 2
`are filed. In the failure inference circuit 41, a display
`device 44 for displaying failure data and an inference
`result or the like from the above on-board apparatus 2
`and a keyboard 45 for inputting required data or
`inputting a message to the vehicle, for example, are
`connected via an interface 43, and an output circuit 46
`that outputs the diagnosis data from the failure inference
`circuit 41 to the above communication control unit 9 is
`provided.
`
`Next, operation of the embodiment will be
`explained with reference to the flow chart of Fig. 4,
`centered around the operation of the computer 16 in the
`control unit 4 of the above on-board apparatus 2.
`
`
`
`The computer 16 is configured to include a
`control section 16a and a failure detection section 16b,
`and is provided with a memory 17 (RAM). Based on
`input signals 11a to 14a from each of the above sensors
`11 to 14 and a predetermined program saved in the
`memory 17, the control section 16a outputs control
`signals 18a to 20a via an output processing circuit 21 to
`a first transmission solenoid 18, a second transmission
`solenoid 19, and a solenoid for lock-up 20, thereby
`controlling operation of the automatic transmission. The
`failure detection section 16b determines whether or not
`abnormality exists in the input signals 11a to 14a from
`each of the above sensors 11 to 14 and the control
`signals 18a to 20a in light of data or a program saved in
`the memory 17 to detect the occurrence of a failure in
`the automatic transmission or its control system. For a
`predetermined abnormality, a warning lamp 22 is turned
`on via the output processing circuit 21 at the time of its
`occurrence.
` The control unit 4 is further provided with a
`transmitted-received data processing circuit 23 and a
`display selection circuit 24 in addition to the
`configuration described above. The transmitted-received
`data processing circuit 23 exchanges data between the
`control unit 4 and the communication control unit 6, and
`the display selection circuit 24 controls the display
`apparatus 5 to selectively display diagnosis data from the
`failure diagnosis station 3, which is described later.
`
`The communication control unit 6 is configured
`to include a receiving circuit 25 that receives a diagnosis
`data signal from the failure diagnosis station 3 via the
`antenna 7, a received data demodulation circuit 26 that
`converts the signal received by the receiving circuit 25
`into an easily-processable signal, a received data buffer
`27 that stores the demodulated signal, a transmitted data
`buffer 28 that stores a failure data signal output from the
`control unit 4, a transmitted data modulation circuit 29
`that converts the data signal into an easily-transmittable
`signal, and a transmitting circuit 30 that transmits the
`modulated failure data signal to the failure diagnosis
`station 3 via the antenna 7. The communication control
`
`
`Honda Exhibit 1004
`Page 3
`
`

`
`
`
`
`
`JP-A-H01-197145 (4)
`
`turned on in Step S3, Step S5 and the steps afterwards
`will still be followed and the failure data will be
`transmitted to the failure diagnosis station 3 to determine
`whether or not it needs to be displayed, as described
`above.
`According to this example, as described above,
`
`whether or not a failure in the control system exists is
`detected based on the input signals 11a to 14a from each
`of the sensors 11 to 14 and control signals 18a to 20a
`output to each of the solenoids 18 to 20, for example,
`which are used for controlling the automatic
`transmission, while the failure data is transmitted to the
`failure diagnosis station 3 to determine its significance
`when a failure occurs. Only a failure with high
`significance will be displayed on the display apparatus 5
`on board the vehicle, and therefore it prevents from
`causing anxiety for the person on board or causing a loss
`of trust in the vehicle or displayed failures, which may
`occur in the case where all failures are displayed.
`
`If the display device 33 displays nothing despite
`the warning lamp 22 having been turned on, it may
`cause anxiety for the person on board. Hence, in this
`example, a manual switch 47 is provided as shown in
`Fig. 1 so that the result of the diagnosis performed in the
`failure diagnosis station 3 can be displayed on the
`display apparatus 5 inside the vehicle by operating the
`manual switch 47.
`
`It is noted that the above example is an
`application of the present idea to a control system of an
`automatic transmission; however, the present idea may
`be applied to other control systems on board a vehicle,
`such as an anti-skid braking system 48 and an electronic
`fuel injection system 49, for example. In such a case,
`employing a multiplex transmission system among these
`systems will allow the communication control unit 6
`shown in Fig. 2 on board of the vehicle to be shared.
`[Effect of the Invention]
`
`As described above, the failure diagnosis
`apparatus for a vehicle according to the present
`invention does not display all failures in the vehicle, but
`rather, determines significance of a failure in the failure
`diagnosis station outside the vehicle to display only the
`failures with high significance on the display device, and
`thus this type of failure is only displayed as minimally
`required. It prevents failures from unnecessarily being
`
`
`
`
`Firstly, in Step S1, the input signals 11a to 14a
`from each of the sensors 11 to 14 and control signals 18a
`to 20a output to each of the solenoids 18 to 20 used for
`controlling the automatic transmission are input to the
`failure detection section 16b of the computer 16, and
`whether or not a failure exists is detected based on a
`program saved in the memory 17. If it is determined in
`Step S2 that there is a failure, an identification code for
`failure content is appended in front of the failure data,
`and whether or not a warning lamp 22 needs to be turned
`on is determined based on the identification code in Step
`S3. If the warning lamp 22 needs to be turned on, a
`signal for turning the lamp on is output to the warning
`lamp 22 in Step S4 to turn on the lamp 22. Next in Step
`S5, the above failure data is transmitted as a transmitted
`signal from the communication control unit 6 to the
`failure diagnosis station 3 outside the vehicle, such as a
`service shop. The failure data signal is received by the
`communication control unit 9 in the failure diagnosis
`station 3, and input to the failure inference circuit 41 in
`the failure diagnosis unit 10. The failure inference
`circuit 41 performs failure diagnosis according to a
`processing method indicated in the rule-database file 42
`in Step S6. Then, whether or not this information needs
`to be displayed on the display apparatus 5 of the on-
`board apparatus 2 is determined based on the
`significance of the failure, while the diagnosis data is
`transmitted from the communication control unit 9 to the
`vehicle with an identification code appended thereto.
`
`The diagnosis data signal is received by the
`control unit 4 of the on-board apparatus 2 via the
`communication control unit 6 in Step S7. After the
`diagnosis data is temporarily saved in the memory 17
`together with related information data in Step S8,
`whether or not a diagnosis result of the failure needs to
`be displayed is determined based on the identification
`code appended in front of the diagnosis data in Step S9.
`If the result needs to be displayed, it is displayed on the
`display device 33 provided in the vehicle in Step S10.
`
`It is noted that, even when it has been
`determined that the warning lamp 22 does not need to be
`
`
`Honda Exhibit 1004
`Page 4
`
`

`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`JP-A-H01-197145 (5)
`
`
`
`displayed and thereby causing anxiety to the person on
`board or creating a sense of distrust, and also prevents
`the person on board from becoming too familiar with
`displayed failures leading him/her to disregard highly
`significant failures, and therefore, it improves the
`reliability of displayed failures.
`4. [Brief Description of the Drawings]
`
`The drawings illustrate the example of the
`present invention. Fig. 1 is an overall schematic
`configuration diagram of the failure diagnosis apparatus
`for a vehicle; Fig 2 is a block diagram illustrating a
`configuration of the on-board apparatus; Fig. 3 is a block
`diagram illustrating a configuration of the failure
`diagnosis station; and Fig. 4 is a flow chart showing the
`failure diagnosis operations.
`
`1… failure diagnosis apparatus for vehicle, 3…
`failure diagnosis station, 6… transmitting unit
`(communication control unit), 16… failure detection unit
`(computer), 33… display device, 41… significance
`determination unit (failure inference circuit)
`Applicant: Mazda Motor Corporation
`Agent: Masaaki
`
`
`
`
`Fig. 1
`
`Fig. 3
`
`Comm
`un-
`ication
`control
`circuit
`
`Control unit
`
`Communication
`control unit
`
`Receiving
`circuit
`
`Received data
`demodulating
`circuit
`
`Received
`data
`buffer
`
`Transmit-
`ting
`circuit
`
`Transmit-
`ted data
`modulat-
`ing circuit
`
`Transmit-
`ted data
`buffer
`
`Commun-
`ication
`control
`unit
`
`Failure
`diagnosis
`unit
`
`Inter-
`face
`
`Display
`device
`
`Keyboard
`
`
`
`Output
`circuit
`
`Fai-
`lure
`infer-
`ence
`cir-
`cuit
`
`Rule-
`data-
`base
`file
`
`Honda Exhibit 1004
`Page 5
`
`

`
`
`
`Fig. 2
`
`JP-A-H01-197145 (6)
`
`Signal
`converting
`circuit
`
`Display
`device
`
`Display
`selection
`circuit
`
`Con-
`troller
`
`Mem-
`ory
`(RAM)
`
`Trans-
`mitted /
`receiv-
`ed data
`process
`-ing
`circuit
`
`Failure
`detector
`
`Input
`pro-
`cess-
`ing
`cir-
`cuit
`
`Out-
`put
`pro-
`cess-
`ing
`cir-
`cuit
`
`Vehicle speed sensor
`
`Throttle sensor
`
`Turbine sensor
`
`Idle sensor
`
`First transmission solenoid
`
`Second transmission solenoid
`
`Solenoid for lock-up
`
`Receiving
`circuit
`
`Received data
`demodulating
`circuit
`
`Received
`data
`buffer
`
`Comm
`un-
`ication
`control
`circuit
`
`Transmit-
`ting
`circuit
`
`Transmit-
`ted data
`modulat-
`ing circuit
`
`Transmit-
`ted data
`buffer
`
`
`
`
`
`End
`
`Display diagnosis result
`
`result displayed?
`Need inference
`
`data in memory
`Save related information
`
`Receive inference result
`
`
`
`Fig. 4
`
`using transmitted data
`Perform failure inference
`
`
`
`Transmit failure data
`
`Turn on warning lamp
`
`lamp turned on?
`Need warning
`
`Is there a failure?
`
`failure
`Detect whether there is
`
`Start
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Honda Exhibit 1004
`Page 6
`
`

`
`Certification
`
`Park IP Translations
`
`TRANSLATOR’S DECLARATION: March 25, 2014
`
`1, Lauren Barrett, hereby declare:
`
`That I possess advanced knowledge of the Japanese and English
`languages. My qualifications are as follows:
`
`0
`
`25 years of experience as a translator of patents from
`Japanese to English
`
`0 Engineering degree from the Massachusetts Institute of
`Technology
`
`of" my knowledge and
`to the best.
`translation is,
`The attached.
`belief, a true and accurate translation from Japanese to English
`of a certified copy of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application
`Publication Number H01—197145.
`I understand that willful false
`
`imprisonment,
`statement and the like are punishable by fine or
`or both (18 U.S.C. 1001) and may jeopardize the validity of the
`application or
`any patent
`issuing thereon.
`I declare under
`penalty of perjury that all statements made herein of my own
`knowledge are true and all statements made on information and
`belief are believed to be true.
`
`/we Zwq
`
`Lauren Barrett
`
`Park Case # 39071
`
`15 W. 37th Street 8”‘ Floor - New York, NY. 10018
`Phone: 212-581-8870 0 Fax: 212-581-5577
`
`Honda Exhibit 1004
`Page 7
`
`Honda Exhibit 1004
`Page 7