Staged Vehicle Diagnostic System for Electromechanical Fault Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern vehicles with complex electronic and electromechanical components pose challenges in troubleshooting and repair due to numerous possible causes and complex diagnostic procedures, often requiring professional service even after user attempts, leading to inefficiency and cost.
Innovation Solution
A staged diagnostic system that includes a user interface and control unit configured to detect faults, recommend actions, and initiate diagnostic procedures, allowing users to troubleshoot and potentially repair malfunctioning components through branching logic and user interaction, including voice, visual, or augmented reality interfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of repair
If users attempt to troubleshoot complex vehicle electrical components themselves, then they may save service costs and gain understanding, but the complexity of multiple fuse boxes and diagnostic procedures makes the task daunting and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system (control unit with diagnostic software) that mediates between the user and the complex vehicle electrical system. This intermediary automatically identifies fuse box locations, retrieves diagnostic information, and guides users through troubleshooting steps, thereby reducing the perceived complexity while maintaining repair capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables vehicle owners to perform self-diagnosis and self-repair of electrical components through an automated guided process. The control unit provides step-by-step instructions, automatically checks diagnostic parameters, and guides users through repair procedures without requiring professional service intervention.
2Reliability
If users invest substantial time and effort to diagnose and repair components themselves, then they may resolve the issue, but the process is inefficient and may still fail without professional expertise
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary diagnostic actions automatically before user intervention. The control unit pre-identifies potential fault locations, retrieves relevant service information, and prepares diagnostic procedures in advance, so that when the user engages with the system, the groundwork is already laid out, reducing both time and improving accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The diagnostic system incorporates feedback loops where the control unit continuously monitors diagnostic progress, user actions, and system responses. Based on this feedback, the system dynamically adjusts the diagnostic procedure, providing real-time guidance and correcting the diagnostic path to ensure accurate fault identification while minimizing time investment.
3Ease of operation
If the system provides detailed step-by-step diagnostic instructions to users, then users can perform repairs themselves, but the system complexity increases requiring sophisticated interfaces and control logic
Solution Approach 1:
The diagnostic system is segmented into modular functional components: fault detection module, information retrieval module, guidance generation module, and user interface module. Each module handles a specific aspect of the diagnostic process, making the overall complex system manageable through clear separation of concerns while maintaining ease of operation for the user.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle includes an automotive staged diagnostic system including: one or more components of the vehicle, a user interface, and a control unit configured to receive a signal identifying at least one malfunctioning component of the vehicle. The system may automatically identify a diagnostic procedure for the malfunctioning component from a plurality of diagnostic procedures, initiate and execute the steps of the identified diagnostic procedure by: soliciting information from a user, issuing instructions to the user, executing branching logic steps, and checking electrical pathways upstream and downstream of the malfunctioning component. The control unit is further configured to initiate repair or replacement of the malfunctioning component based on a user action received via the user interface, and recommend service options if the diagnostic procedure is unable to return the malfunctioning component to working order.