US-20260127054-A1 - Method, system, and computer-readable memory to diagnose a vehicle problem

US20260127054A1US 20260127054 A1US20260127054 A1US 20260127054A1US-20260127054-A1

Abstract

A computing system, memory, and method use a diagnostic device and measurement tool to diagnose a vehicle problem. The device is coupled to the measurement tool. A diagnostic flowchart corresponding to the vehicle problem includes elements (e.g., diagnostic steps) in a particular order that form a diagnostic process. A portion of the flowchart including a diagnostic step of the diagnostic process is displayed by the device. The diagnostic step is performed by instructing the measurement tool to perform a measurement and receiving measurement data indicative of the measurement. Feedback data is determined based on performing the diagnostic step and comprises the measurement data. During the performance, the device transmits the feedback data to a server for generating a modified flowchart comprising a different set or order of elements. The device receives the modified flowchart and displays a portion of the modified flowchart including a decision element that completes the diagnosis.

Inventors

Patrick S. Merg

Assignees

SNAP-ON INCORPORATED

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251231

Claims (20)

1 . A method of using a diagnostic computing device and a measurement tool to diagnose a vehicle problem associated with a vehicle, wherein the diagnostic computing device includes a display and is coupled to the measurement tool, wherein a diagnostic flowchart corresponding to the vehicle problem includes elements in a particular order that form a diagnostic process for diagnosing the vehicle problem, and wherein the elements include diagnostic steps, the method comprising: displaying, by the display, a graphical user interface showing a portion of the diagnostic flowchart, the portion including a diagnostic step of the diagnostic process; performing, by the diagnostic computing device, the diagnostic step by instructing the measurement tool to perform a measurement on the vehicle and receiving measurement data from the measurement tool, the measurement data indicative of the measurement; determining feedback data during a performance of the diagnostic flowchart, wherein the feedback data is based on performing the diagnostic step and comprises at least the measurement data; transmitting, by the diagnostic computing device to a computing server during the performance of the diagnostic flowchart, the feedback data for use by the computing server to generate a modified diagnostic flowchart based on at least the diagnostic flowchart and the feedback data; receiving, by the diagnostic computing device, the modified diagnostic flowchart, wherein the modified diagnostic flowchart comprises the elements in a different order or a different set of elements; and displaying, by the display, a portion of the modified diagnostic flowchart within the graphical user interface, wherein the portion of the modified diagnostic flowchart includes a decision element that leads to a final element for completing a diagnosis of the vehicle.
2 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising: displaying, by the display, the diagnostic flowchart alongside the modified diagnostic flowchart.
3 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising: determining, by the diagnostic computing device, data indicative of a technician input made during a performance of the diagnostic flowchart, wherein the feedback data further comprises the data indicative of the technician input, and wherein the data indicative of the technician input comprises any one or more of the following: data indicating a performance of at least one path element of the diagnostic flowchart, data indicating a time associated with performing an element of the diagnostic flowchart, or data based on a service bulletin.
4 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising: transmitting, by the diagnostic computing device, a first vehicle data message to the vehicle over a communication link; receiving, by the diagnostic computing device, a second vehicle data message, wherein the second vehicle data message comprises data from an electronic control unit in the vehicle, wherein the measurement data comprises the data from the electronic control unit, and wherein the data from the electronic control unit comprises any one or more of the following: an electronic control unit identifier, a parameter identifier, a mode identifier, or a parameter value.
5 . The method according to claim 4 , further comprising: selecting, by the diagnostic computing device, data from within the second vehicle data message; and displaying, by the display, the data selected from within the second vehicle data message.
6 . The method according to claim 4 , wherein the first vehicle data message and the second vehicle data message are arranged according to one of the following vehicle data message protocols: a Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) J1850 vehicle data message protocol, a controller area network (CAN) vehicle data message protocol, an International Organization of Standardization (ISO) 9141-2. K-Line vehicle data message protocol, or an International Organization of Standardization (ISO) 14230-4. KWP2000 K-Line vehicle data message protocol.
7 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising: receiving, by use of a timer, time data for associating with a diagnostic step or path element of the diagnostic flowchart, wherein: the time data indicates how long it took to perform the diagnostic step or path element of the diagnostic flowchart or how long it took to perform the measurement, and the feedback data comprises the time data.
8 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein performing the measurement comprises performing a voltage measurement, a compression measurement, a thickness measurement, a pressure measurement, or a temperature measurement.
9 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the measurement tool comprises any one or more of: a digital volt ohm meter, a wheel alignment machine, a brake lathe, a wheel balancer, a tire thread measurement machine, a compression gauge, a temperature gauge, and an air conditioning manifold gauge set.
10 . A computing system comprising: a measurement tool; and a diagnostic computing device comprising a processor, a display, and a non-transitory computer-readable memory, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable memory contains executable instructions, and execution of the executable instructions by the processor causes the diagnostic computing device to perform functions comprising: displaying, by the display, a graphical user interface showing a portion of a diagnostic flowchart, the diagnostic flowchart including elements in a particular order that form a diagnostic process for diagnosing a vehicle problem with a vehicle, the elements including diagnostic steps, and the portion including a diagnostic step of the diagnostic process; performing the diagnostic step by instructing the measurement tool to perform a measurement on the vehicle and receiving measurement data indicative of the measurement; determining feedback data during a performance of the diagnostic flowchart, wherein the feedback data is based on performing the diagnostic step and comprises at least the measurement data; transmitting, by the processor to a computing server during the performance of the diagnostic flowchart, the feedback data for use by the computing server to generate a modified diagnostic flowchart based on at least the diagnostic flowchart and the feedback data; receiving the modified diagnostic flowchart, wherein the modified diagnostic flowchart comprises the elements in a different order or a different set or elements; and displaying, by the display, a portion of the modified diagnostic flowchart within the graphical user interface, wherein the portion of the modified diagnostic flowchart includes a decision element that leads to a final element for completing a diagnosis of the vehicle.
11 . The computing system according to claim 10 , wherein the measurement tool comprises any one or more of: a digital volt ohm meter, a wheel alignment machine, a brake lathe, a wheel balancer, a tire thread measurement machine, a compression gauge, a temperature gauge, and an air conditioning manifold gauge set.
12 . The computing system according to claim 10 , wherein the measurement tool comprises any one or more from among: a thermistor, a transducer, a thermocouple, a potentiometer, an accelerometer, and a strain gauge.
13 . The computing system according to claim 10 wherein the measurement comprises any one or more of: a voltage measurement, a compression measurement, a thickness measurement, and a pressure measurement, and a temperature measurement.
14 . The computing system according to claim 10 , further comprising: a vehicle interface configured to communicatively couple the diagnostic computing device to a data link connector within the vehicle via a communication link, wherein the functions further comprise: transmitting, by the diagnostic computing device, a first vehicle data message to the vehicle over the communication link; receiving, by the diagnostic computing device, a second vehicle data message, wherein the second vehicle data message comprises data from an electronic control unit in the vehicle, wherein the measurement data comprises the data from the electronic control unit, and wherein the data from the electronic control unit comprises any one or more of the following: an electronic control unit identifier, a parameter identifier, a mode identifier, and a parameter value.
15 . The computing system according to claim 14 , wherein the vehicle interface is configured to communicatively couple the diagnostic computing device to the data link connector via wireless communication.
16 . The computing system according to claim 10 , further comprising: a timer configured to provide time data for associating with a diagnostic step or path element of the diagnostic flowchart, wherein: the time data indicates how long it took to perform the diagnostic step or path element of the diagnostic flowchart or how long it took to perform the measurement, and the feedback data comprises the time data.
17 . The computing system according to claim 10 , further comprising: the computer server, wherein the computer server is configured to: receive a request to search for a diagnostic flowchart associated with the vehicle problem, vehicle characteristics of the vehicle, or both the vehicle problem and the vehicle characteristics, receive the feedback data, and modify the diagnostic flowchart.
18 . The computing system according to claim 17 , wherein the computing server is further configured to: aggregate the feedback data with additional feedback data from one or more other instances of performing the diagnostic flowchart, and modify the diagnostic flowchart based on the aggregated feedback data.
19 . The computing system according to claim 10 , wherein the measurement tool and the diagnostic computing device are communicatively coupled to each other via a wireless communication link.
20 . A non-transitory computer-readable memory having stored therein instructions executable by a processor to cause a computing system to perform functions, wherein the computing system comprises a measurement tool and a diagnostic computing device, wherein the diagnostic computing device comprises a processor and a display, and wherein the functions comprise: displaying, by the display, a graphical user interface showing a portion of a diagnostic flowchart, the diagnostic flowchart including elements in a particular order that form a diagnostic process for diagnosing a vehicle problem with a vehicle, the elements including diagnostic steps, and the portion including a diagnostic step of the diagnostic process; performing the diagnostic step by instructing the measurement tool to perform a measurement on the vehicle and receiving the measurement from the measurement tool; determining feedback data during a performance of the diagnostic flowchart, wherein the feedback data is based on performing the diagnostic step and comprises at least the measurement from the measurement tool; transmitting, by the processor to a computing server during the performance of the diagnostic flowchart, the feedback data for use by the computing server to generate a modified diagnostic flowchart based on at least the diagnostic flowchart and the feedback data; receiving the modified diagnostic flowchart, wherein the modified diagnostic flowchart comprises the elements in a different order or a different set or elements; and displaying, by the display, a portion of the modified diagnostic flowchart within the graphical user interface, wherein the portion of the modified diagnostic flowchart includes a decision element that leads to a final element for completing a diagnosis of the vehicle.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation of U.S. Patent Application No. 15/225,806, filed August 1, 2016, titled “Methods and Systems for Modifying Diagnostic Flowcharts Based on Flowchart Performances,” and published as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0032909 A1 on February 1, 2018. U.S. Patent Application No. 15/225,806 and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0032909 A1 are each incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. BACKGROUND Most vehicles are serviced at least once during their useful life. In many instances, a vehicle is serviced at a facility with professional mechanics (e.g., technicians). The technicians may use any of a variety of hand tools to service (e.g., repair) any of the wide variety of mechanical components on a vehicle. The technicians may also use electronic diagnostic equipment to service (e.g., diagnose) any of the wide variety of electrical components on a vehicle. The technician may need different data during various stages of servicing the vehicle in conjunction with or without the various tools and equipment. OVERVIEW Several example embodiments that related to modifying diagnostic flowcharts based on performance of the flowcharts are described herein. In one respect, an example embodiment can take the form of a method performed by a computing server, the method comprising: (i) receiving, from a diagnostic computing device, a request indicative of a vehicle problem, (ii) selecting a first diagnostic flowchart associated with the vehicle problem from a plurality of diagnostic flowcharts, wherein each diagnostic flowchart comprises one or more ordered and performable path elements, wherein each path element leads to one or more decision elements, and wherein each path element comprises one or more diagnostic steps, (iii) sending the first diagnostic flowchart for performance at the diagnostic computing device, (iv) determining first feedback data associated with a performance of the first diagnostic flowchart at the diagnostic computing device, and (v) modifying the first diagnostic flowchart based at least on the first feedback data. In another respect, an example embodiment takes the form of a method performed by a diagnostic computing device, the method comprising: (i) determining that a first input indicates a vehicle problem, (ii) sending a first request indicative of the vehicle problem to a computing server, (iii) receiving from the computing server a first diagnostic flowchart associated with the vehicle problem, wherein the first diagnostic flowchart comprises one or more ordered and performable path elements, wherein each path element leads to one or more ordered decision elements, wherein each path element comprises one or more diagnostic steps, (iv) outputting the first diagnostic flowchart to be displayed on a graphical interface of a display at the diagnostic computing device, (v) determining a second input to the diagnostic computing device indicates an instruction to perform at least one path element of the first diagnostic flowchart, (vi) performing the at least one path element, (vii) determining first feedback data associated with the performed at least one path element and (viii) sending the first feedback data to the computing server. In yet another respect, an example embodiment takes the form of an apparatus comprising: (i) a display device, (ii) a network interface, (iii) one or more processors, and (iv) at least one computer-readable medium storing program instructions, that when executed by the one or more processors, cause a set of functions to be performed, the set of functions comprising: (a) determining that a first input indicates a vehicle problem, (b) sending a request indicative of the vehicle problem to a computing server, (c) receiving from the computing server a first diagnostic flowchart associated with the vehicle problem, wherein the first diagnostic flowchart comprises one or more ordered and performable path elements, wherein each path element leads to one or more ordered decision elements, wherein each path element comprises one or more diagnostic steps, (d) outputting the first diagnostic flowchart to be displayed on a graphical interface of the display device, (e) determining that a second input indicates an instruction to perform at least one path element of the first diagnostic flowchart, (f) performing the at least one path element, and (g) determining first feedback data associated with the at least one performed path element. In still yet another respect, an example embodiment takes the form of a system comprising: (i) a computing server including one or more processors, and (ii) at least one non-transitory computer readable medium containing program instructions executable by the one or more processors to:(a) determine that first a request indicates a vehicle problem, (b) select a first diagnostic flowchart associated with the vehicle problem from a plurality of diagnostic