Vehicle Diagnostics Clearing System with Timer-Based Fault Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Diagnostic faults in vehicle control modules can become stuck due to single point ROM or RAM failures, leading to continuous clearing of faults without notifying the driver of existing issues, potentially causing further damage.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle diagnostics clearing system that includes a clear diagnostic faults flag monitoring module, a timer, and a comparing module to periodically monitor and clear diagnostic faults from the control module only when the timer is less than a predetermined period, preventing unintended fault resets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the clear diagnostic faults flag is continuously monitored and faults are cleared automatically, then the system can respond quickly to fault conditions, but the system may inadvertently clear faults due to single point ROM or RAM failures, leading to loss of diagnostic information
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by setting a predetermined time period threshold before actually clearing the diagnostic fault. When the clear diagnostic faults flag is first detected, the system starts a timer and only clears the fault if the flag remains set beyond the predetermined time period. This preliminary time-based verification prevents inadvertent fault clearing due to single point memory failures while maintaining quick response to genuine fault conditions.
2Loss of time
If diagnostic faults are cleared immediately when the clear diagnostic faults flag is set, then the system operates with minimal delay, but the driver is not notified of existing issues and may cause further damage
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback by continuously monitoring the clear diagnostic faults flag over a predetermined time period before clearing the fault. The monitoring module detects whether the flag remains set throughout the entire time period, providing feedback that confirms the fault clearing condition is genuine and not due to a transient memory error. This feedback mechanism ensures faults are only cleared when properly indicated, maintaining timely fault notification to the driver.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle diagnostics clearing system that detects a clear diagnostic faults flag and clears diagnostic faults from a control module includes a clear diagnostic faults flag monitoring module and a clear diagnostic faults module. The clear diagnostic faults flag monitoring module periodically monitors the clear diagnostic faults flag in the control module. When the clear diagnostic faults flag monitoring module detects that the clear diagnostic faults flag is set, the clear diagnostic faults module clears the diagnostic faults from the control module for a predetermined period.