Vehicle Service Tool Attribute Derivation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicle service tools often require users to repeatedly enter vehicle attributes, leading to frustration as different applications may need the same attributes, and existing systems fail to efficiently share or derive necessary data.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle service tool system that determines and derives vehicle attributes from a 'master application' or 'peer applications' within its data storage, using a common vehicle descriptor application to search for and provide attributes, and prompts the user only when necessary, allowing for efficient retrieval of appropriate vehicle reference data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the vehicle service tool prompts the user to enter vehicle attributes for each application, then the user can provide accurate vehicle information for each application, but the user has to re-enter the same vehicle attribute multiple times, leading to frustration and reduced efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by determining vehicle attributes from the first application before the second application requests them. The vehicle service tool stores the determined attributes and automatically provides them to subsequent applications, eliminating the need for users to re-enter the same information multiple times while maintaining data accuracy.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the vehicle service tool stores vehicle attributes for each application separately, then each application can access its required attributes, but the device complexity increases due to multiple storage locations and search operations
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements universality by creating a shared vehicle attribute data structure that can be accessed by multiple applications. Instead of maintaining separate storage for each application, the tool stores vehicle attributes once in a common data structure that any application can query and use, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining adaptability to different application needs.
3Measurement precision
If the vehicle service tool searches data storage for each requested attribute, then the system can retrieve accurate attribute values, but the productivity decreases due to repeated search operations
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary determination of vehicle attributes from the first application and stores them in advance. When the second application requests attributes, the system checks the stored data first before performing searches, significantly reducing the number of search operations needed and improving service operation efficiency while maintaining accurate attribute retrieval.
4Reliability
If the vehicle service tool requires user input for all vehicle attributes, then the system ensures complete and accurate data entry, but the ease of operation decreases due to repetitive manual entry
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service by automatically determining and storing vehicle attributes from the first application, then automatically providing these attributes to subsequent applications without requiring user intervention. The user interface only prompts for attributes that cannot be automatically determined, significantly improving usability while maintaining data completeness and accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method directed to determining vehicle attributes associated with a vehicle under service so as to eliminate the need for a user of a vehicle service tool to enter the vehicle attributes or to reduce the quantity of vehicle attributes that the user has to enter in order for the vehicle service tool to identify the vehicle under service and, in turn, to retrieve vehicle reference data associated with the vehicle under service. The vehicle service tool may include vehicle service applications for servicing various systems and/or components of the vehicle under service. A vehicle service application selected by the user may function as a requester application that queries other applications and/or data storage for the vehicle attributes needed by the requester application to identify the vehicle under service.