Vehicle Diagnostic System Prioritizing Failure Codes

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing vehicle diagnostic systems struggle to accurately identify the primary failure source among multiple generated failure codes, requiring additional confirmation and information for effective repairs.

Innovation Solution

A method involving an automotive diagnostic tool that receives data from an onboard vehicle computer, communicates it to a prior experience database, prioritizes diagnostic solutions based on matched data, and logs data related to identified vehicle components to verify the failure source, with optional wireless communication for remote support.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If multiple failure codes are retrieved and analyzed, then diagnostic information is provided, but the complexity of determining the primary failure source increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvediagnostic informationVSAvoidcomplexity of determining failure source

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

A remote diagnostic server acts as an intermediary between the vehicle's onboard computer and the diagnostician. The server receives failure codes, analyzes them against a database of known failure patterns, and provides interpreted diagnostic information, thereby reducing the complexity of determining the primary failure source while maintaining comprehensive diagnostic capability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The manual analysis process is replaced with automated computer-based analysis. The system uses software algorithms to compare failure codes against stored diagnostic databases and automatically determine likely failure sources, substituting the complex manual reasoning process with computational analysis

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Adaptability or versatility

If failure codes from multiple systems are analyzed, then comprehensive diagnostic coverage is achieved, but the time required to identify the primary failure source increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvediagnostic coverageVSAvoidtime to identify failure source

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary analysis by pre-storing diagnostic databases containing known failure patterns and code combinations before the actual diagnostic process. When failure codes are retrieved, the system immediately compares them against these pre-existing databases to rapidly identify likely failure sources without time-consuming analysis

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system provides feedback by comparing retrieved failure codes against stored diagnostic information and returning interpreted results. This feedback mechanism allows the diagnostician to quickly understand the likely failure source without manually analyzing all possible code combinations, thereby reducing diagnostic time while maintaining comprehensive coverage

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Reliability

If additional diagnostic data is collected and analyzed, then confirmation of failure source is improved, but the amount of data processing required increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveconfirmation of failure sourceVSAvoiddata processing efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts and analyzes only the relevant diagnostic data needed to confirm failure sources. By focusing the analysis on specific failure codes and their associated diagnostic information rather than processing all available vehicle data, the system maintains high reliability in failure confirmation while improving data processing efficiency

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the parameters of data analysis by transforming raw failure codes into interpreted diagnostic information. This parameter transformation allows the system to maintain high reliability through thorough analysis while improving productivity by working with simplified, pre-processed data structures rather than raw data

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentUS8068951B2Vehicle diagnostic system

Publication Date: 2011.11.29 INNOVA ELECTRONICS CORP

AI summary

There is provided a method of providing vehicle support. The method includes receiving diagnostic data from the onboard vehicle computer. The diagnostic data is received by an automotive diagnostic tool and is then communicated to a prior experience database having information related to diagnostic solutions associated with combinations of diagnostic data. The prior experience database is arranged to match the received diagnostic data to possible diagnostic solutions. The diagnostic solutions are then prioritized in accordance with ranked matches of the received diagnostic data to the previous combinations of diagnostic data stored in the prior experience database. The possible diagnostic solution associated with the highest ranked combination of diagnostic data is identified as the most likely solution. Vehicle components associated with the most likely solution are then identified. The diagnostic tool is subsequently configured to log diagnostic data related to the vehicle components associated with the most likely solution.