Back to results
US 6,603,394 B2Granted
Multi-protocol wireless communication module
AssigneeSPX Corporation
InventorsKurt R. Raichle, David A. Reul
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeSPX Corporation
InventorsKurt R. Raichle, David A. Reul
Estimating the term…
A wireless communication module communicates with a remote station and a plurality of motor vehicle control units that implement at least two different communication protocols within a single motor vehicle. The wireless communication module includes an RF interface, a processor and a selectable multiple protocol interface. The processor communicates with the RF interface and thereby communicates with the remote station. The processor executes diagnostic routines and thereby provides commands to one of the plurality of motor vehicle control units. The selectable multiple protocol interface is coupled between the plurality of motor vehicle control units and the processor. The selectable multiple protocol interface converts processor commands into a format that is readable by the selected motor vehicle control unit and converts received diagnostic information into a format that is readable by the processor. If desired, both the selectable multiple protocol interface and the processor functionality can be incorporated within the field programmable gate array (FPGA).
A wireless communication module for communicating with a remote station and a plurality of motor vehicle control units within a single motor vehicle, the plurality of motor vehicle control units implementing at least two different communication protocols, the wireless communication module comprising:
A wireless diagnostic system for communicating with a plurality of motor vehicle control units within a single motor vehicle, the plurality of motor vehicle control units implementing at least two different communication protocols, the wireless diagnostic system comprising:
A method for providing a wireless communication module for communicating with a remote station and a plurality of motor vehicle control units within a single motor vehicle, the plurality of motor vehicle control units implementing at least two different communication protocols, the method comprising the steps of:
A wireless communication module for communicating with a remote station and a plurality of motor vehicle control units within a single motor vehicle, the plurality of motor vehicle control units implementing at least two different communication protocols, the wireless communication module comprising:
The wireless communication of claims, 39, 40, 41 or 42, further comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
Drawings are temporarily unavailable. Open the PDF at USPTO
From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
Term ended 8 Dec 2020 (estimated)
USPTO file history isn’t available for this patent, so only indexed dates are shown.
The present invention is generally related to a diagnostic tool. More particularly, the present invention relates to a wireless communication module for communicating with a motor vehicle that includes multiple control units that implement at least two different communication protocols.
Today, motor vehicles include electronic control units for controlling various systems and/or subsystems within the vehicle. Such control units, for example, are employed to control the engine, transmission, brakes and the steering mechanism. These control units are typically coupled to a variety of sensors and/or actuators. Depending on the vehicle, the control units may implement various different communication protocols. In addition, many of these control units operate at different voltage levels and may transmit data and signal information in differential or single-ended modes.
Many prior art diagnostic tools have been coupled to a vehicle diagnostic connector with cables. These cables have constrained a user of such tools. In an effort to make diagnostic tools less cumbersome to use, at least one prior art diagnostic system has included a main control module and a user interface module. The main control module connected to the vehicle diagnostic connector and executed translation routines directed at a control unit within the vehicle. This main control module wirelessly communicated with the user interface module, thus obviating the need for cables to connect the modules. As mentioned above, diagnostic systems of this type have been implemented because it was desirable for a diagnostic technician to be able to diagnose a motor vehicle unconstrained by cables. However, this diagnostic system only implemented a single communication protocol.
FIG. 1A is a block diagram of a wireless communication module in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1B is a block diagram of a remote station for communicating with the wireless communication module of FIG. 1A.
FIG. 1C is a block diagram of another remote station for communicating with the wireless communication module of FIG. 1A.
A wireless communication module, embodying the present invention, couples to an existing vehicle diagnostic connector and provides a multi-protocol communication interface. The multi-protocol communication interface provides interface logic for on-board diagnostics (OBD) I, OBD II and enhanced OBD II vehicles. An embodiment of the present invention includes a logic device that has eight modules, as is shown in FIG. 2. The disclosed modules are configured such that they can selectively implement multiple communication protocols. For example, a J1850 channel module handles either a pulse width modulation (PWM) or a variable pulse width modulation (VPWM) communication protocol. Grouping similar communication protocols within a single module allows conversion circuitry that is common to the grouped communication protocols to be shared.
Referring now to the figures, in FIG. 1A there is shown a block diagram of a wireless communication module 100, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Wireless communication module 100 includes a voltage level translator 110 that is coupled to a motor vehicle communication interface 116 through an existing vehicle diagnostic connector 112 (typically located in the vehicle passenger compartment). Voltage level translator 110 changes the level of signals received from a motor vehicle control unit to voltage levels compatible with a processor 102, such as a microprocessor. For example, the J1850 VPWM standard requires a high level signal to be between 4.25 and 20 volts and a low level signal to be between ground and 3.5 volts. In a typical 3.3 volt implementation, processor 102 would require a high level signal to be between 2.64 and 3.3 volts and a low level signal to be between ground and 0.66 volts. Thus, translator 110 converts a received signal to a voltage level appropriate for processor 102.
In a similar manner, voltage level translator 110 translates a signal that is being transmitted from wireless communication module 100 to a motor vehicle control unit, to an appropriate voltage level. In addition to translating J1850 signals, voltage level translator 110 can translate signals for ISO 9141, Chrysler collision detection (CCD), data communication links (DCL), serial communication interface (SCI), S/F codes, a solenoid drive, J1708, RS232, controller area network (CAN), a 5 volt I/O, a diagnostic enable and an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter.