Failure analyzing system and information processor

Abstract

To make it possible to specify date and place corresponding to failure occurrence of a vehicle by using external data with reliability.SOLUTION: A failure analyzing system, which is used for analyzing failure occurred in a vehicle 1, comprises failure data acquisition means 101 which acquires failure data concerning failure occurred in the vehicle 1; external environment data acquisition means 102 which acquires external environment data concerning external environment of the vehicle 1; control means 103 which, when failure occurs in the vehicle 1, correlates the external environment data of time sequence during a prescribed period with the failure data and stores the same in a storage part 105; and collation means 201 which collates weather data and the external environment data stored in the storage part 105 by using a server device 200 for managing database of the weather data, and specifies date and place corresponding to occurrence of the failure.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a failure analysis system and an information processing device used to analyze a failure that occurs in a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] When a breakdown occurs in a vehicle such as an automobile, identifying the date, time, and location of the breakdown is useful for failure analysis, such as identifying the cause of the breakdown, and can improve the accuracy and speed of failure analysis. Patent Document 1 discloses an information processing device that transmits information relating to the location of a specific vehicle to a server device, the information being used to analyze a predetermined malfunction. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2024-5088 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When a vehicle malfunctions, the vehicle's onboard electronic control unit (ECU) may store information about the date, time, and location in a memory unit. However, the ECU may not always retain this information. If the ECU does not retain this information, the date, time, and location corresponding to the malfunction cannot be used in malfunction analysis, making it difficult to improve the accuracy and speed of malfunction analysis. Furthermore, even if the ECU retains this information, the information may not necessarily be reliable.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has an object to make it possible to identify the date, time, and location of a vehicle failure by utilizing reliable external data. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The vehicle failure analysis system of the present invention is a failure analysis system used to analyze failures that occur in a vehicle, and is characterized by comprising: failure data acquisition means for acquiring failure data related to a failure that occurs in the vehicle; external environment data acquisition means for acquiring external environment data related to the external environment of the vehicle; control means for storing the external environment data in a time series for a predetermined period in a memory unit in association with the failure data when a failure occurs in the vehicle; and comparison means for using a server device that manages a database of weather data to compare the weather data with the external environment data stored in the memory unit and identify the date, time, and location corresponding to the occurrence of the failure. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] The present invention makes it possible to use reliable external data to identify the date, time and location of a vehicle failure. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a failure analysis system according to an embodiment; [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the relationship between weather data and external environment data. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a modified example of the failure analysis system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] A failure analysis system according to one embodiment of the present invention is a failure analysis system used to analyze a failure that has occurred in a vehicle (1), and includes a failure data acquisition means (101) that acquires failure data related to a failure that has occurred in the vehicle (1), an external environment data acquisition means (102) that acquires external environment data related to the external environment of the vehicle (1), a control means (103) that, when a failure occurs in the vehicle (1), stores the external environment data in time series for a predetermined period in a memory unit (105) in association with the failure data, and a comparison means (201) that uses a server device (200) that manages a database of weather data to compare the weather data with the external environment data stored in the memory unit (105) to identify the date, time, and location corresponding to the occurrence of the failure. This makes it possible to use weather data, which is reliable external data, to identify the date, time, and location of a vehicle breakdown. [Example]

[0010] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a failure analysis system according to an embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the failure analysis system is a system used to analyze a failure that occurs in an automobile 1, which is a vehicle, and includes an information processing device 100 mounted on the automobile 1, and a server device 200 that manages a database of weather data. The information processing device 100 and the server device 200 can communicate via a network 300. Although Fig. 1 shows only one automobile 1 (information processing device 100), there may be multiple automobiles 1 (information processing devices 100).

[0011] The information processing device 100 includes a failure data acquisition unit 101, an external environment data acquisition unit 102, a control unit 103, a communication unit 104, and a storage unit 105. The automobile 1 is equipped with an ECU that electronically controls various functions, and the ECU may function as the information processing device 100, for example.

[0012] The fault data acquisition unit 101 acquires fault data relating to a fault that has occurred in the automobile 1. The fault data includes, for example, information relating to the fault itself and information used for fault analysis. The information relating to the fault itself is data indicating the type of fault, such as a fault code. The information used for fault analysis is data indicating the vehicle's running status and operating status, specifically vehicle speed and engine speed. Note that the fault diagnosis system that outputs the fault data and the content of the fault data are not limited, and known techniques may be applied.

[0013] The external environment data acquiring unit 102 periodically acquires external environment data relating to the external environment of the automobile 1, which is measured by an on-board sensor 110. The on-board sensor 110 is, for example, an atmospheric pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, or an illuminance sensor, and the external environment data is at least one of the atmospheric pressure, temperature, and illuminance detected by these sensors. Note that although the external environment data acquiring unit 102 directly acquires the external environment data measured by the on-board sensor 110, the external environment data may also be acquired from another ECU or the like via CAN communication or the like.

[0014] When a breakdown occurs in the automobile 1, the control unit 103 stores in the storage unit 105 the time-series external environment data for a predetermined period acquired by the external environment data acquisition unit 102 in association with the failure data acquired by the failure data acquisition unit 101. For example, the storage unit 105 is configured to sequentially update and record the time-series external environment data for a certain period, including the most recent data. Then, when a breakdown occurs in the automobile 1, in other words, when failure data is acquired by the failure data acquisition unit 101, the control unit 103 stores in the storage unit 105 the time-series external environment data for a predetermined period including that time. Note that the predetermined period may be a period before and after the time when the breakdown occurs in the automobile 1, or a period before or after the time when the breakdown occurs in the automobile 1.

[0015] The communication unit 104 communicates with the server device 200 via the network 300. The communication unit 104 transmits the external environment data stored in the storage unit 105 to the server device 200. The communication unit 104 also receives information on the date, time, and location identified by the matching unit 201, which is transmitted from the server device 200.

[0016] The server device 200 includes a collating unit 201, a communication unit 202, and a storage device 203 that stores a database of weather data. The weather data includes time-series information on atmospheric pressure, temperature, and sunshine for a period ranging from several years to several decades for each of a plurality of locations. Such weather data can be provided by the Japan Meteorological Agency.

[0017] When the collation unit 201 receives external environment data from the information processing device 100, it collates the external environment data with weather data to identify the date, time, and location corresponding to the occurrence of the malfunction. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between weather data and external environment data. As shown in FIG. 2, the collation unit 201 collates time-series external environment data (● in the diagram) for the period before and after the time point when the malfunction occurred in the automobile 1 (× in the diagram) with weather data (characteristic line WD in the diagram) to identify the date, time, and location corresponding to the occurrence of the malfunction. Note that, although the example in FIG. 2 shows an example in which the date, time, and time are identified by atmospheric pressure, the date, time, and location may also be identified by combining this with other information.

[0018] The communication unit 202 communicates with the information processing device 100 via the network 300. The communication unit 202 receives external environment data stored in the storage unit 105 and transmitted from the information processing device 100. The communication unit 202 also transmits information on the date, time, and location identified by the matching unit 201 to the information processing device 100.

[0019] As described above, by using weather data, which is reliable external data, it is possible to identify the date, time, and location corresponding to the occurrence of a malfunction in automobile 1, thereby improving the accuracy and speed of malfunction analysis. The accuracy of identifying the date, time, and location can be adjusted by appropriately setting the cycle at which the external environment data acquisition unit 102 periodically acquires the external environment data and the period (predetermined period) of the time-series external environment data stored in the storage unit 105. For example, it is possible to identify the date and time with an accuracy of about one hour, and the location with an accuracy of city level.

[0020] In addition, if the information processing device 100 holds information on date, time, and location, for example, if the time information is known because data transfer is performed over the air (OTA), or if communication area information is known, this information may be used to narrow down the range to be compared with the weather data. Furthermore, the travel distance may be estimated from the speed of the automobile 1, and information on this travel distance may also be used when specifying the location.

[0021] The configuration of the failure analysis system shown in Fig. 1 is an example and is not limited to this. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the schematic configuration of a modified example of the failure analysis system. In Fig. 3, the same components as those shown in Fig. 1 are given the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. In the configuration example of FIG. 1, the information processing device 100 mounted on the automobile 1 communicates with the server device 200. However, the information processing device 100 may not have a communication function. In the configuration example of FIG. 3, the information processing device 100 includes a failure data acquisition unit 101, an external environment data acquisition unit 102, a control unit 103, and a storage unit 105, but does not include a communication unit 104. Another information processing device (e.g., a personal computer or test tool used by a dealer) 400 includes a communication unit 401 and communicates with the server device 200 via the network 300. The other information processing device 400 reads the external environment data stored in the storage unit 105 of the information processing device 100 and transmits it to the server device 200. The other information processing device 400 then receives the information on the date, time, and location identified by the collation unit 201, which is transmitted from the server device 200.

[0022] 1 and 3, the server device 200 includes the collating unit 201, but the server device 200 may simply provide weather data. An information processing device that can communicate with the server device 200 (the information processing device 100, another information processing device 400, or an information processing device not shown) may include a collating unit that collates the weather data provided by the server device 200 with the external environment data stored in the storage unit 105, and identifies the date, time, and location corresponding to the occurrence of a failure.

[0023] 1 and 3 show a single information processing device 100, but multiple information processing devices may work together. For example, a CGW (Central Gate Way) may periodically acquire external environment data, and when an individual ECU fails, the CGW may be notified of the timing of the failure, thereby linking the failure data and the external environment data.

[0024] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, each embodiment merely shows a specific example of how the present invention can be implemented. The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to each embodiment. Various modifications of the present invention are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention, and these modifications are also included within the technical scope of the present invention. An information processing device to which the present invention is applied is configured by a computer device equipped with, for example, a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc., and the functions of each means are realized by the CPU executing a predetermined program stored, for example, in the ROM. [Explanation of symbols]

[0025] 1: automobile, 100: information processing device, 101: failure data acquisition unit, 102:, external environment data acquisition unit, 103: control unit, 104: communication unit, 105: storage unit, 200: server device, 201: collating unit, 202: communication unit, 203: storage device, 400: other information processing device, 401: communication unit

Claims

1. A failure analysis system used to analyze a failure that occurs in a vehicle, a failure data acquisition means for acquiring failure data relating to a failure that has occurred in the vehicle; an external environment data acquisition means for acquiring external environment data relating to an external environment of the vehicle; a control means for storing the external environment data in a time series for a predetermined period in a storage unit in association with the failure data when a failure occurs in the vehicle; A failure analysis system characterized by comprising a comparison means that uses a server device that manages a database of weather data to compare the weather data with the external environment data stored in the memory unit, and identifies the date, time, and location corresponding to the occurrence of the failure.

2. the meteorological data includes time-series information on atmospheric pressure, time-series information on temperature, and time-series information on sunshine at each of a plurality of locations; 2. The failure analysis system according to claim 1, wherein the external environment data is at least one of atmospheric pressure, temperature, and illuminance.

3. An information processing device mounted on a vehicle, a failure data acquisition means for acquiring failure data relating to a failure that has occurred in the vehicle; an external environment data acquisition means for acquiring external environment data relating to an external environment of the vehicle; and a control means for storing the external environment data in a time series for a predetermined period in a storage unit in association with the failure data when a failure occurs in the vehicle.

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