`Breed
`
`(10) Patent N0.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 6,738,697 B2
`May 18, 2004
`
`US006738697B2
`
`(54) TELEMATICS SYSTEM FOR VEHICLE
`DIAGNOSTICS
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`(75) Inventor? David 5- Breed, BOOIHOH Township,
`Morris County, NJ (US)
`
`(73) Assignee: Automotive Technologies
`International Inc., Denville, NJ (US)
`
`( * ) Notice:
`
`Subject' to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adJuSted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 27 days.
`
`(21) Appl. N0.: 10/188,673
`(22) Filedi
`Jul- 3, 2002
`.
`.
`.
`Pnor Pubhcatlon Data
`US 2003/0009270 A1 Jan. 9, 2003
`
`(65)
`
`4,128,005 A 12/1978 Arnston et al. .......... .. 73/117.3
`4,418,388 A 11/1983 Allgor et al.
`364/431.01
`4,817,418 A
`4/1989 Asami et al.
`..... .. 73/1181
`4,989,146 A
`1/1991 Imajo ........................ .. 701/29
`_
`_
`(List continued on next page.)
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`DE
`WO
`
`3839959
`11/1988
`00/29257
`5/2000
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`Liubakka et al., “Failure Detection Algorithms Applied To
`Control System Design For Improved Diagnostics and Reli
`ability”, SAE Technical Paper Series, 02—29 To 04—04,
`1988, pp. 1—7.
`
`Related US. Application Data
`
`(Ust Continued on next page‘)
`
`t_ N 09/753 186 ?l d
`1_
`t f
`_
`f
`(63) C t_
`OIl H1118. lOIl-lIl-paf O app 1C8. 10H 0.
`7
`7
`e on
`Jan. 2, 2001, now Pat. No. 6,484,080, which is a continua-
`tion-in-part of application No. 09/137,918, ?led on Aug. 20,
`1998, now Pat. No. 6,175,787, which is a continuation-in-
`part of application No. 08/476,077, ?led on Jun. 7, 1995,
`now Pat‘ NO‘ 578097437’ application NO‘ 10/188,673’ apph_
`Cation No_ 10/079,065’ ?led on Feb 19’ 2002’ which is a
`continuation-in-part of application No. 09/765,558,' ?led on
`Jan- _ 19, 2001, apphfcatlo? N9 10/188573: whlc?li (115 a
`§3£m1n91at21(6g_21n_part O app lcanon NO‘ 10/174’709’ e on
`(60) PrO;,iSi(;na1 abplica?on NO_ 60/304,013’ ?led on JUL 9’
`2001, provisional application No, 60/291,511, ?led on May
`16, 2001, Provisional application N_0- 60/269,415, ?led on
`Feb‘ 16’ 2001’ and Provlslonal apphcanon NO‘ 60/231378’
`?led on Sep. 8, 2000.
`
`(51) Int. Cl.7 .......................... .. G01N 17/00; G06F 7/00
`
`_
`(52) US. Cl. .......................................... .. 701/29, 701/34
`
`Primary Examiner—Yonel Beaulieu
`'
`'
`(74) Attorney’ Agent’ Or Flrm—Bnan Roffe
`
`(57)
`ABSTRACT
`-
`-
`-
`-
`-
`Vehicle diagnostic system Which diagnoses the state of the
`vehicle or the state of a component of the vehicle and
`generates an output indicative or representative thereof. A
`communications device transmits the output of the diagnos
`tic system to a remote location, possibly via a satellite or the
`Internet. The diagnostic system can include sensors mounted
`on the vehicle, each providing a measurement related to a
`state of the sensor or a measurement related to a state of the
`mounting location, and a processor coupled to the sensors
`.
`and arranged to receive data from the sensors and process
`the data to generate the output indicative or representative of
`the state of the vehicle or its component. The processor may
`embody a pattern recognition algorithm trained to generate
`the Output from the data received from the Sensors and be
`arranged to control parts of the vehicle based on the output.
`
`(58) Field of Search ............................ .. 701/29, 33, 34,
`701/36; 340/438, 439
`
`62 Claims, 38 Drawing Sheets
`
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`Voltage or
`Current Sensor
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`
`Component
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`
`1
`
`Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, Petitioner - Ex. 1001
`
`
`
`US 6,738,697 B2
`Page 2
`
`US. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`5,041,976 A
`
`8/1991 Marko et a1. ........ .. 364/424.03
`
`5,056,023 A * 10/1991 Abe . . . . . . . . . . . . .
`
`. . . .. 701/32
`
`714/26
`6/1992 Simpkins et a1. .
`5,123,017 A
`701/47
`5,164,901 A 11/1992 Blackburn et a1.
`364/508
`5,313,407 A
`5/1994 Tiernan et a1.
`5,325,082 A
`6/1994 Rodriguez ................ .. 340/438
`5,333,240 A
`7/1994 Matsumoto et a1. ........ .. 706/20
`5,400,018 A
`3/1995 Scholl et a1. ........ .. 340/825.54
`5,406,502 A
`4/1995 Haramaty et a1.
`364/551.01
`5,420,794 A
`5/1995 James ...................... .. 701/117
`5,442,553 A
`8/1995 Parrillo ................ .. 364/424.04
`5,481,906 A
`1/1996 Nagayoshi et a1. ......... .. 73/116
`
`5,581,464 A * 12/1996 W011 et a1. . . . . . . . .
`
`. . . .. 701/35
`
`5,594,740 A
`
`5,754,965 A
`
`1/1997 LaDue . . . . . . . . .
`
`. . . .. 379/59
`
`5/1998 Hagenbuch
`
`701/35
`
`5,809,437 A
`
`9/1998 Breed . . . . . . . . . . .
`
`. . . .. 701/29
`
`5,829,782 A 11/1998 Breed et a1.
`5,955,942 A
`9/1999 Sli?<in et a1. ..
`6,028,537 A
`2/2000 Suman et a1. ..
`6,144,859 A 11/2000 LaDue ....... ..
`
`280/735
`340/436
`340/988
`455/511
`
`6,175,787 B1
`
`1/2001 Breed . . . . . . . .
`
`. . . .. 701/29
`
`6,263,268 B1
`
`7/2001 Nathanson
`
`701/29
`
`6,295,492 B1
`6,339,736 B1
`
`9/2001 Lang et a1. . . . . . . .
`1/2002 Moskowitz et a1.
`
`. . . .. 701/33
`701/29
`
`6,356,822 B1
`3/2002 DiaZ et a1. . . . . . . . .
`. . . .. 701/33
`2002/0103622 A1 * 8/2002 Burge ....................... .. 702/183
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`James et al., “Microprocessor Based Data Acquisition For
`Analysis Of Engine Performance”, SAE Technical Paper
`Series, Feb. 23—27, 1987, pp. 1—9.
`Engine Monitoring Based on NorrnaliZed Vibration Spectra,
`NASA Tech Briefs, MFS—26529, 1994.
`V.K. Varadan et al., “Conforrnal MEMS—IDT Gyroscopes
`and Their Comparison With Fiber Optic Gyro, Srnart Struc
`tures and Materials 2000”, Smart Electronics and MEMS,
`Proceedings of SPIE vol. 3990 (2000), pp. 335—344.
`
`H.K. Tonshoff et al., “Using Acoustic Ernission Signals for
`Monitoring of Production Processes”, Ultrasonics 37
`(2000), pp. 681—686, 2000.
`Design and Development of a MEMS—IDT Gyroscope, V.K.
`Varadan et al., Srnart Mater. Struct. vol. 9, Jul. 21, 2000, pp.
`898—905.
`Microsensors, Microelectrornechenical Systerns (MEMS),
`and Electronics for Smart Structures and Systems, V.K.
`Varadan et al., Srnart Mater. Struct., vol. 9, Feb., 1999, pp.
`953—972.
`
`Abstract of Wireless Remote Accelerorneter, V.K. Varadan et
`al., in Physics of Semiconductor Devices, vol. 1: Proceed
`ings of the 9th International Workshop on Physics of Serni
`conductor Devices (IWPSD), Delhi, India, Dec. 6—20, 1997.
`Using Rernote Diagnostics and Prognostics in the R&D
`Environrnent, Maggy Blagrove, no earlier than J an., 2002.
`VetroniX Corporation, WirelessRoad System Description, no
`earlier than Jan. 1, 2002.
`
`Wingcast to Market Rernote Vehicle Diagnostic and Prog
`nostic Solutions With HP, Press Release dated May 15, 2002.
`
`ATX Unveils Direct Telernatics Link from Vehicle to Car
`Dealer, Press Release, Jan. 23, 2002.
`CosWorth Technology, Inc. and North American Bus Indus
`tries (NABI) to Unveil the CornpoBus TM Suited With the
`Revolutionary i3000 {R} Predictive Diagnostic System at
`APTA Conference in Ft. Worth, Texas, Oct. 28—31, 2001.,
`Press Release, Oct. 28, 2001.
`
`Telernatics Integrated With Tire Pressure Monitoring, Press
`Release, Oct. 3, 2001.
`
`* cited by eXarniner
`
`2
`
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`
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`US 6,738,697 B2
`
`1
`TELEMATICS SYSTEM FOR VEHICLE
`DIAGNOSTICS
`
`CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPI .ICATIONS
`
`This application is a continuation—in—part of U.S. patent
`application Ser. No. 09/753,186 filed Jan. 2, 2001, now U.S.
`Pat. No. 6,484,080, which in turn is a continuation-in-part of
`U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/137,918 filed Aug. 20,
`1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,175,787, which in turn is a
`continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
`08/476,077 filed Jun. 7, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,437.
`This application is a continuation-in-part of US. patent
`application Ser. No. 10/079,065 filed Feb. 19, 2002 which in
`turn is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser.
`No. 09/765,558 filed Jan. 19, 2001, which Claims priority
`under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. provisional patent appli—
`cation Ser. No. 60/231,378 filed Sep. 8, 2000.
`This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e)
`of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/269,415
`filed Feb. 16, 2001, U.S. provisional patent application Ser.
`No. 60/291,511 filed May 16, 2001 and U.S. provisional
`patent application Ser. No. 60/304,013 filed Jul. 9, 2001
`through U.S. patent application Ser. No. l0/079,065 filed
`Feb. 19, 2002.
`This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent
`application Ser. No. 10/174,709 filed Jun. 19, 2002 and
`claims benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 60/269,
`415 filed Feb. 16, 2001.
`All of the above-mentioned patents and applications are
`incorporated by reference herein in their entirety as if they
`had each been set forth herein in full.
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention relates to methods and apparatus
`for diagnosing components in a vehicle and transmitting
`data relating to the diagnosis of the components in the
`vehicle and other information relating to the operating
`conditions of the vehicle to one or more remote locations
`distant from the vehicle, i.e., Via a telematics link.
`The present invention also relates to systems and method
`for diagnosing the state or condition of a vehicle, e.g.,
`whether the vehicle is about to rollover or is experiencing a
`crash and whether the vehicle has a component which is
`operating abnormally and could possibly fail resulting in a
`crash or severe handicap for the operator, and transmitting
`data relating to the diagnosis of the components in the
`vehicle and optionally other information relating to the
`operating conditions of the vehicle to one or more remote
`locations, i.e., via a telematics link.
`The present
`invention further relates to methods and
`apparatus for diagnosing components in a vehicle and deter-
`mining the status of occupants in a vehicle and transmitting
`data relating to the diagnosis of the components in the
`vehicle, and optionally other information relating to the
`operating conditions of the vehicle, and data relating to the
`occupants to one or more remote facilities such as a repair
`facility and an emergency response station.
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`to
`It is now generally recognized that it is important
`monitor the occupancy of a passenger compartment of a
`vehicle. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,782 (Breed et al.)
`describes a vehicle interior monitoring system that utilizes
`pattern recognition techniques and wave-receiving sensors
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`to obtain information about the occupancy of the passenger
`
`
`compartment and uses this information to a ect the opera-
`tion of one or more systems in the vehicle, including an
`occupant restraint device, an entertainment system, a heating
`and air-conditioning system, a vehicle communication
`system, a distress notification system, a light filtering system
`and a security system.
`the
`Of particular interest, Breed et al. mentions that
`presence of a child in a rear facing child seat placed on the
`right front passenger seat may be detected as this has
`become an industry-wide concern to prevent deployment of
`an occupant restraint device in these situations. The U.S.
`automobile industry is continually searching for an easy,
`economical solution, which will prevent the deployment of
`the passenger side airbag if a rear facing child seat is present.
`Another important aspect disclosed in Breed et al. relates
`to the operation of the cellular communications system in
`conjunction with the vehicle interior monitoring system.
`Vehicles can be provided with a standard cellular phone as
`well as the Global Positioning System (GPS), an automobile
`navigation or location system with an optional connection to
`a manned assistance facility, In the event of an accident, the
`phone may automatically call 911 for emergency assistance
`and report the exact position of the vehicle. If the vehicle
`also has a system as described below for monitoring each
`seat location, the number and perhaps the condition of the
`occupants could also be reported. In that way, the emergency
`service (EMS) would know what equipment and how many
`ambulances to send to the accident site. Moreover, a com—
`munication channel can be opened between the vehicle and
`a monitoring facility/emergency response facility or person-
`nel to determine how badly people are injured, the number
`of occupants in the vehicle, and to enable directions to be
`L» .n
`provided to the occupant(s) of the vehicle to assist in any
`‘ necessary first aid prior to arrival of the emergency assis—
`tance personnel.
`Communications between a vehicle and a remote assis—
`tance facility are also important for the purpose of diagnos-
`ing problems with the vehicle and forecasting problems with
`the vehicle, called prognostics. Motor vehicles contain com—
`plex mechanical systems that are monitored and regulated
`by computer systems such as electronic control units (ECUs)
`and the like. Such ECUs monitor various components of the
`vehicle including engine performance, carburation, speed/
`acceleration control, transmission, exhaust gas recirculation
`(EGR), braking systems, etc. However, vehicles perform
`such monitoring typically only for the vehicle driver and
`without communication of any impending results, problems
`and/or vehicle malfunction to a remote site for trouble-
`shooting, diagnosis or tracking for data mining.
`In the past, systems that provide for remote monitoring
`did not provide for automated analysis and communication
`of problems or potential problems and recommendations to
`the driver. As a result, the vehicle driver or user is often left
`stranded, or irreparable damage occurs to the vehicle as a
`result of neglect or driving the vehicle without the user
`knowing the vehicle is malfunctioning until it is too late,
`such as low oil level and a malfunctioning warning light, fan
`belt about to fail, failing radiator hose etc.
`In this regard, U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,018 (Scholl et al.)
`describes a system for relaying raw sensor output from an off
`road work site relating to the status of a vehicle to a remote
`location over a communications data link. The information
`consists of fault codes generated by sensors and electronic
`control modules indicating that a failure has occurred rather
`than forecasting a failure. The vehicle does not include a
`
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`US 6,738,697 B2
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`3
`system for performing diagnosis. Rather, the raw sensor data
`is processed at an off-vehicle location in order to arrive at a
`diagnosis of the vehicle’s operating condition. Bi—directional
`communications are described in that a request for addi-
`tional information can be sent to the vehicle from the remote
`location with the vehicle responding and providing the
`requested information but no such communication takes
`place with the vehicle operator and not of an operator of a
`vehicle traveling on a road. Also, Scholl et al. does not teach
`the diagnostics of the problem or potential problem on the
`vehicle itself nor does it teach the automatic diagnostics or
`any prognostics. In Scholl et al. the determination of the
`problem occurs at the remote site by human technicians.
`US. Pat. No. 5,754,965 (Hagenbuch) describes an appa-
`ratus for diagnosing the state of health of a vehicle and
`providing the operator of the vehicle with a substantially
`real-time indication of the efficiency of the vehicle in
`performing as assigned task with respect to a predetermined
`goal. A processor in the vehicle monitors sensors that
`provide information regarding the state of health of the
`vehicle and the amount of work the vehicle has done. The
`processor records information that describes events leading
`11p to the occurrence of an anomaly for later analysis. The
`sensors are also used to prompt the operator to operate the
`vehicle at optimum elliciency.
`US. Pat. No. 5,955,942 (Slifldn et a1.) describes a method
`for monitoring events in vehicles in which electrical outputs
`representative of events in the vehicle are produced,
`the
`characteristics of one event are compared with the charac-
`teristics of other events accumulated over a given period of
`time and departures or variations of a given extent from the
`other characteristics are determined as an indication of a
`significant event. A warning is sent
`in response to the
`indication, including the position of the vehicle as deter—
`mined by a global positioning system on the vehicle. For
`example, for use with a railroad car,
`a microprocessor
`responds to outputs of an accelerometer by comparing
`acceleration characteristics of one impact with accumulated
`acceleration characteristics of other impacts and determines
`departures of a given magnitude from the other character—
`istics as a failure indication which gives rise of a warning.
`Every automobile driver fears that his or her vehicle will
`breakdown at some unfortunate time, e.g., when he or she is
`traveling at night, during rush hour, or on a long trip away
`from home. To help alleviate that fear, certain luxury auto-
`mobile manufacturers provide roadside service in the event
`of a breakdown. Nevertheless, unless the vehicle is equipped
`with 0nStar® or an equivalent service, the vehicle driver
`must still be able to get to a telephone to call for service. It
`is also a fact that many people purchase a new automobile
`out of fear of a breakdown with their current vehicle. This
`invention is primarily concerned with preventing break-
`downs and with minimizing maintenance costs by predicting
`component failure that would lead to such a breakdown
`before it occurs.
`
`When a vehicle component begins to fail, the repair cost
`is frequently minimal if the impending failure of the com—
`ponent is caught early, but increases as the repair is delayed.
`Sometimes if a component in need of repair is not caught in
`a timely manner,
`the component, and particularly the
`impending failure thereof, can cause other components of
`the vehicle to deteriorate. One example is where the water
`pump fails gradually until the vehicle overheats and blows
`a head gasket. It is desirable, therefore, to determine that a
`vehicle component is about to fail as early as possible so as
`to minimize the probability of a breakdown and the resulting
`repair costs.
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`There are various gages on an automobile which alert the
`driver to various vehicle problems. For example, if the oil
`pressure drops below some predetermined level, the driver
`is warned to stop his vehicle immediately. Similarly, if the
`coolant temperature exceeds some predetermined value, the
`driver is also warned to take immediate corrective action. In
`these cases, the warning often comes too late as most vehicle
`gages alert the driver after he or she can conveniently solve
`the problem. Thus, what is needed is a component failure
`warning system that alerts the driver to the impending
`failure of a component sufliciently in advance of the time
`when the problem gets to a catastrophic point.
`Some astute drivers can sense changes in the performance
`of their vehicle and correctly diagnose that a problem with
`a component is about to occur. Other drivers can sense that
`their vehicle is performing differently but they don’t know
`why or when a component will fail or how serious that
`failure will be, or possibly even what specific component is
`the cause of the dilference in performance. The invention
`disclosed herein will, in most cases, solve this problem by
`predicting component failures in time to permit maintenance
`and thus prevent vehicle breakdowns.
`Presently, automobile sensors in use are based on specific
`predetermined or set levels, such as the coolant temperature
`or oil pressure, whereby an increase above the set level or a
`decrease below the set level will activate the sensor, rather
`than being based on changes in this level over time. The rate
`at which coolant heats 11p, for example, can be an important
`clue that some component in the cooling system is about to
`fail. There are no systems currently on automobiles to
`monitor the numerous vehicle components over time and to
`compare component performance with normal performance.
`Nowhere in the vehicle is the vibration signal of a normally
`operating front wheel stored, for example, or for that matter,
`any normal signal from any other vehicle component.
`Additionally,
`there is no system currently existing on a
`vehicle to look for erratic behavior of a vehicle component
`and to warn the driver or the dealer that a component is
`misbehaving and is therefore likely to fail in the very near
`future.
`
`Sometimes, when a component fails, a catastrophic acci-
`dent results. In the Firestone tire case, for example, over 100
`people were killed when a tire of a Ford Explorer blew out
`which caused the Ford Explorer to rollover. Similarly, other
`component failures can lead to loss of control of the vehicle
`and a subsequent accident. It is thus very important
`to
`accurately forecast that such an event will take place but
`furthermore, for those cases where the event takes place
`suddenly without warning, it is also important to diagnose
`the state of the entire vehicle, which in some cases can lead
`to automatic corrective action to prevent unstable vehicle
`motion or rollovers resulting in an accident. Finally, an
`accurate diagnostic system for the entire vehicle can deter-
`mine much more accurately the severity of an automobile
`crash once it has begun by knowing where the accident is
`taking place on the vehicle (e.g., the part of or location on
`the vehicle which is being impacted by an object) and what
`is colliding with the vehicle based on a knowledge of the
`force deflection characteristics of the vehicle at that location.
`Therefore, in addition to a component diagnostic, the teach—
`ings of this invention also provide a diagnostic system for
`the entire vehicle prior to and during accidents. In particular,
`this invention is concerned with the simultaneous monitor—
`ing of multiple sensors on the vehicle so that
`the best
`possible determination of the state of the vehicle can be
`determined. Current crash sensors operate independently or
`at most one sensor may influence the threshold at which
`
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`US 6,738,697 B2
`
`5
`another sensor triggers a deployable restraint. In the teach—
`ings of this invention,
`two or more sensors, frequently
`accelerometers, are monitored simultaneously and the com—
`bination of the outputs of these multiple sensors are com-
`bined continuously in making the crash severity analysis.
`Marko et al. (US. Pat. No. 5,041,976) is directed to a
`diagnostic system using pattern recognition for electronic
`automotive control systems and particularly for diagnosing
`faults in the engine of a motor vehicle after they have
`occurred. For example, Marko et al. is interested in deter-
`mining cylinder specific faults after the cylinder is operating
`abnormally. More specifically, Marko et al. is directed to
`detecting a fault in a vehicular electromechanical system
`indirectly, i.e., by means of the measurement of parameters
`of sensors which are affected by that system, and after that
`fault has already manifested itself in the system. In order to
`form the fault detecting system, the parameters from these
`sensors are input to a pattern recognition system for training
`thereof Then known faults are introduced and the parameters
`from the sensors are inputted into the pattern recognition
`system with an indicia of the known fault. Thus, during
`subsequent operation,
`the pattern recognition system can
`determine the fault of the electromechanical system based
`on the parameters of the sensors, assuming that the fault was
`“trained” into the pattern recognition system and has already
`occurred.
`the
`When the electromechanical system is an engine,
`parameters input
`into the pattern recognition system for
`training thereof, and used for
`fault detection during
`operation, all relate to the engine. (If the electromechanical
`system is other than the engine, then the parameters input
`into the pattern recognition system would relate to that
`system.) In other words, each parameter will be affected by
`the operation of the engine and depend thereon and changes
`in the operation of the engine will alter the parameter, e.g.,
`the manifold absolute pressure is an indication of the airflow
`into the engine. In this case, the signal from the manifold
`absolute pressure sensor may be indicative of a fault in the
`intake of air into the engine, e.g., the engine is drawing in too
`much or too little air, and is thus affected by the operation
`of the engine. Similarly, the mass air flow is the airflow into
`the engine and is an alternative to the manifold absolute
`pressure. It is thus a parameter that is directly associated
`with, related to and dependent on the engine. The exhaust
`gas oxygen sensor is also affected by the operation of the
`engine, and thus directly associated therewith, since during
`normal operation, the mixture of the exhaust gas is neither
`rich or lean whereas during abnormal engine operation, the
`sensor will detect an abrupt change indicative of the mixture
`being too rich or too lean.
`Thus, the system of Marko et al. is based on the mea-
`surement of sensors which affect or are affected by, i.e., are
`directly associated with,
`the operation of the electrome-
`chanical system for which faults are to be detecte