Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Vehicle subsystem or accessory control
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-09
2003-08-05
Nguyen, Tan Q. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Vehicle subsystem or accessory control
C701S034000, C340S988000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06604038
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to data communication and more particularly to establishing a wireless data communication link between the data bus of a vehicle and a remote interrogation device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many of today's vehicles are equipped with sophisticated computer systems. These computer systems typically include a central computer that receives data from sensors located throughout the vehicle. The sensors record data information concerning systems of the vehicle, and the central computer system uses this information to control the operation of the vehicle, store the data for historical purposes, and/or analyze the data for diagnostic purposes. For example, many vehicles include central computer systems that receive data from sensors such as throttle sensors, oxygen sensors, and fuel flow sensors to regulate the engine.
In addition to providing data for operation of the vehicle, many vehicle computer systems include sensors that provide data concerning the various systems of the vehicle for use in diagnostic and maintenance operations. For example, many heavy duty vehicles now include sensors that provide data relating to safety systems, such as the status of the brakes of the vehicle. Additionally, many systems provide logistics data relating to the vehicle, such as mileage, fuel tank levels, gas mileage, status of contents hauled in the vehicle, etc.
To access data from the computer system, many of today's vehicles include electrical pin-out connectors that are accessible for connection. In these systems, a diagnostic device may be connected to the pin-out connector to receive and transmit data to and from the onboard computer of the vehicle. In light of this, several interrogation devices have been developed in the past few years that interface with the pin-out connector of a vehicle and transmit and receive data relating to the operation of the vehicle and status of its various systems. Although these conventional systems are effective for receiving data from and transmitting data to the data bus of the vehicle, these interrogation devices require physical connection to the vehicle, which may not be desirable in situations where the vehicle is either in transit or is remote from the interrogation device requesting data input.
Although remote, wireless communication with the computer system of a vehicle is typically desired, the physical limitations of the communication infrastructure of most vehicles hinder the move to wireless communication. For instance, the communication systems of many conventional vehicles, such as heavy duty vehicles (e.g., tractor-trailer vehicles) use a communication protocol that requires real-time communication with the vehicle. Specifically, many heavy duty vehicles include a data bus that is operated using one of two bus standards, either J1708 or J1939. Communication on the data bus of these vehicles may be problematic due to the nature of the J1708 and J1939 standards. For example, a data bus that uses the J1708 standard is a differentially driven, twisted pair. The data bus of this system is half duplexed such that data transmitted on the data bus is transmitted on both of the twisted pair of wires, where data transmitted on one of the twisted pair of wires is mirrored with respect to the other twisted pair wire. Because data transmitted on the bus is transmitted on both wires of the bus, the data bus does not have a transmit and receive line. Further, systems attempting to transmit data on the data bus must monitor the data bus for an idle state when data is not transmitted, before the system transmits data on the data bus.
As discussed, many conventional interrogation devices have been developed for use in direct electrical communication with the data bus of a vehicle. These systems, to some extent, do not experience problems with the infrastructure or protocol of the data bus, because they are in direct electrical connection with the data bus. This direct electrical connection allows these systems to monitor the idle states of the data bus in real-time. For this reason, in the past few years several interrogation devices have been developed for transmitting and receiving data from the data bus of a vehicle using direct electrical communication with the data bus. Importantly, these interrogation devices typically use software programs that are specifically designed to interface with the data bus in real-time. The software programs monitor the bus for idle states and transmit data to the bus.
Due to the limitations of direct physical connection with the vehicle, however, there has been a desire to retrofit these existing systems with front end wireless communication add-on systems such that the existing interrogation devices may be remotely located away from the vehicle. For instance, many of these systems are now retrofitted with RF based communication systems that communicate with the vehicle remotely. Although these conventional systems provide wireless communication, the retrofit of an existing interrogation device may be costly.
Specifically, because these retrofitted systems communicate with the vehicle remotely, instead of a direct electrical connection, there is some delay due to processing of the data and transmission of the data. Because of these delays, most of these systems can no longer provide a real-time data link with the data bus of the vehicle. Instead, most retrofitted systems use data buffers that buffer data transmitted to and data received from the data bus of the vehicle. The buffered data is held until the data bus has an idle state, at which time the data is applied to the data bus. This buffering of data presents a problem, however, with retrofitting existing interrogation devices.
Specifically, most of these interrogation systems, prior to retrofit, have computer software designed for real-time communication with the data bus. As such, as part of the retrofit process, the original software for operating the interrogation system must be updated or otherwise reprogrammed to accommodate for the delay due to buffering of data. The reprogramming or updating of these programs can be costly. For instance, third party contractors, who may no longer be available for updating the software, may have created many of the programs. Further, the software may have been written using older software programming languages. In some instances, the software may have to be totally reprogrammed. As such, solutions are needed that allow for remote, wireless communication with the data bus of vehicles that is either real-time or approximately real-time, such that the software of the interrogation device and the data bus communicate in approximate real-time and the software of the interrogation device does not have to be altered.
One problem with providing remote, approximate real-time data communication is the data bus infrastructure and protocol and the data communication devices themselves. This data bus infrastructure and protocol is one reason existing systems buffer data. With reference to
FIG. 1
, some of the problems associated with wireless communication with the data bus of a vehicle are illustrated. Specifically,
FIG. 1
shows a transceiver
10
for transmitting to and receiving data from a remote location to be applied to the data bus of a vehicle. The transceiver includes both a transmitter
12
and a receiver
14
connected to the data bus
16
of a vehicle. In this illustration, the data bus uses J1708 protocol and is a differentially driven, twisted pair. As discussed previously, the data bus does not include a read and write data communication line. Instead, both the transmitter and the receiver of the transceiver are commonly connected to the bus at a node
17
. This common connection causes problems when data is transmitted from the receiver of the transceiver to the data bus.
Specifically, when the receiver
14
of the transceiver receives data
18
, the data
18
is applied to the data bus
16
. Because of the common connection at the node
17
, the da
Lesesky Alan C.
Weant Bobby Ray
Johnston Michael G.
Moore & Van Allan PLLC
Nguyen Tan Q.
Power Talk, Inc.
Tran Dalena
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