The powertrain on a modern vehicle is a complex arrangement of machinery and electronics. Because of this complexity, a modern powertrain is frequently connected to a monitoring system to detect faults, errors and/or malfunctions (hereinafter, “faults”) during powertrain operations for the purpose of alerting the driver of the vehicle to the existence of the fault. If a fault is detected, a fault code, sometimes called a Diagnostic Trouble Code (“DTC”), will be recorded in the monitoring system. The fault code corresponds to the type of fault that is detected and is later retrieved and used by a technician to diagnose and repair the powertrain.
Faults are typically categorized into one of two categories: A-code faults and B-code faults. The A or B designation is typically included in the fault code that is recorded at the monitoring system. A-code faults generally have more urgency because they carry a higher risk that powertrain damage may result if they are not immediately addressed. B-code faults are faults that have less urgency associated with them and are less likely to immediately result in damage to a powertrain component.
To alert a driver to the existence of a fault, a notification system is typically mounted onboard the vehicle. The notification system will illuminate a warning light, commonly referred to as a Malfunction Indicator Light (“MIL”) or it will illuminate some other warning that is visible to the driver. Because of the differences in their respective urgencies, A-code faults are reported to the driver sooner than B-code faults.
If the fault is an A-code fault, the monitoring system will record the fault and instruct the notification system to illuminate the warning light after the first occurrence of the fault. When the fault is a B-code fault, however, the monitoring system will record the fault code, but will not immediately instruct the notification system to illuminate the warning light. Rather, the monitoring system is configured to wait until the next ignition actuation of the vehicle (i.e., the next time that the vehicle is turned on) to verify that the fault remains present. If, at that time, the B-code fault is detected again, then the monitoring system will instruct the notification system to illuminate the warning light. A new fault code will not be recorded at the monitoring system after the second occurrence of the fault. Rather, the status of the existing fault code that is recorded at the monitoring system will change from a “pending” status to a “notify” status and the monitoring system will then instruct the notification system to illuminate the warning light.
When the notification system illuminates the warning light, it may provide a predetermined message to the driver, such as “Service Engine Soon”, or “Turn Off Engine Now”, but it is otherwise not able to provide any further explanation to the driver about the vehicle's condition. Additional information about the fault, however, is available at the monitoring system and can be provided to the driver immediately via a telematics service. Telematics services are those services that are provided by a remotely located call center to a vehicle equipped with a telematics unit. The call center and the telematics unit communicate via an automatic and/or on-demand communications link that connects the call center to the telematics unit.
The monitoring system on the vehicle is configured to provide notification of the occurrence of a fault to the telematics unit each time that a fault code is recorded in the monitoring system, regardless of whether the fault is an A-code type of fault or a B-code type of fault. The telematics unit is configured to then initiate a call to the call center when it receives the notification of the fault. A human advisor or automaton at the call center can then initiate contact with the driver of the vehicle to offer assistance in diagnosing the fault. (Communication from the call center to the vehicle is not restricted to verbal communication. An automaton in lieu of a human advisor may send messages to the vehicle and the vehicle may render the messages as text on a simple display, incorporate graphics along with a message to be rendered on a multimedia display, or may deliver aural, textural or graphic data to be rendered simultaneously on a vehicle multimedia display.)
If communication is initiated each time that a fault is recorded at the monitoring system and the telematics unit is notified, then in instances where the fault is a B-code type of fault, the call center will contact the driver to address the fault when the warning light is not illuminated and the driver is unaware of the fault. Additionally, if the B-code type fault is detected again after the next ignition actuation, the warning light will come on, but there will be no communication initiated by the call center to assist the driver because the second occurrence does not cause recordation of the fault at the monitoring unit and therefore no notice will be provided to the telematics unit.
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USPTO Backgrounds