JP7544994B2 - Electronic control device, fault diagnosis system, and fault diagnosis method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an electronic control unit installed in a vehicle and a fault diagnosis system and method for diagnosing the electronic control unit.

Vehicles such as automobiles are equipped with electronic control devices that control engines and the like based on detection signals from various sensors. Vehicles equipped with this type of electronic control device may have engines or motors that do not operate normally due to failures in the on-board battery, etc. In order to deal with vehicle failures, a fault diagnosis system that remotely diagnoses vehicle failures has been proposed, for example, in which "the server 6 has a first database 20 that stores user information including personal data of each user and data on the vehicle owned by each user, a second database 22 that stores vehicle-type information including complaints and problems from users of each vehicle type, a third database 26 that stores a diagnostic program for diagnosing vehicle failures, and a diagnostic program transmission means that transmits the fault diagnosis program via a network 28 to the vehicle of a user whose user information is stored in the first database, and the vehicle has a request means that requests the diagnostic program from the server, a diagnostic program receiving means that receives the diagnostic program, and an inspection means that inspects the vehicle using the received diagnostic program to obtain inspection results" (see Patent Document 1). According to the above fault diagnosis system, the condition of the vehicle can be remotely diagnosed via a network.

JP 2002-228552 A

However, in the fault diagnosis system of Patent Document 1, if an abnormal event occurs in which the electronic control unit itself cannot be powered on, the electronic control unit itself will not operate, and so it is not possible to diagnose the fault of the electronic control unit via the network. Furthermore, even if a conventional external diagnostic device used in vehicle manufacturer maintenance shops is used, it is not possible to diagnose the fault of an electronic control unit that cannot be powered on. When such an abnormal event occurs, it is not possible to collect the diagnostic data recorded in the electronic control unit, and it takes time to analyze the cause of the fault in the vehicle or electronic control unit.

The object of the present invention is to collect diagnostic data from memory even in a power-off state.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention comprises a diagnostic data management unit that receives power from a power source including at least a main power source, collects diagnostic data indicating the state of the diagnostic target from the diagnostic target, and stores the collected diagnostic data in a memory; an external connector that, on the condition of connection to an external communication device including an external power source, takes in the external power from the external communication device; an external power control unit that is started up when supplied with the external power introduced to the external connector and outputs the external power to a plurality of external power supply systems to which the diagnostic data management unit can output; and an external interface control unit that is started up when supplied with the external power introduced to the external connector, and transmits and receives information between the diagnostic data management unit and the external communication device, and is characterized in that the external interface control unit reads out the diagnostic data from the diagnostic data management unit in response to a request signal from the external communication device, and transmits the read diagnostic data to the external communication device.

The present invention allows diagnostic data to be collected from memory even when the power is off.

Problems, configurations and effects other than those described above will become clear from the description of the form for implementing the invention below.

1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration example of an electric power system according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a communication processing unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a CPU belonging to a diagnostic data management unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing another configuration example of the electronic control unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration example of an electric power system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration example of an electric power system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration example of an emergency data collection unit in an electric power system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a model diagram showing an example of a service form of an electric power system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, illustrating a remote emergency diagnosis service for an automobile. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a service form of an electric power system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, illustrating an emergency remote diagnosis service for an automobile.

Below, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiment is an example for explaining the present invention, and appropriate omissions and simplifications have been made for clarity of explanation. The present invention can also be implemented in various other forms. Unless otherwise specified, each component may be singular or plural.

In order to facilitate understanding of the invention, the position, size, shape, range, etc. of each component shown in the drawings may not represent the actual position, size, shape, range, etc. Therefore, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the position, size, shape, range, etc. disclosed in the drawings.

As examples of various types of information, expressions such as "table," "list," and "queue" may be used, but the various types of information may be expressed in other data structures. For example, various types of information such as "XX table," "XX list," and "XX queue" may be expressed as "XX information." When explaining identification information, expressions such as "identification information," "identifier," "name," "ID," and "number" are used, but these are interchangeable.

When there are multiple components with the same or similar functions, they may be described with the same reference numerals but different subscripts. Also, when there is no need to distinguish between these multiple components, the subscripts may be omitted.

In the embodiment, the processing performed by executing a program may be described. Here, the computer executes the program using a processor (e.g., CPU, GPU), and performs the processing defined in the program while using storage resources (e.g., memory) and interface devices (e.g., communication ports). Therefore, the subject of the processing performed by executing the program may be the processor. Similarly, the subject of the processing performed by executing the program may be a controller, device, system, computer, or node having a processor. The subject of the processing performed by executing the program may be a calculation unit, and may include a dedicated circuit that performs specific processing. Here, the dedicated circuit is, for example, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device).

The program may be installed on the computer from a program source. The program source may be, for example, a program distribution server or a computer-readable storage medium. When the program source is a program distribution server, the program distribution server may include a processor and a storage resource that stores the program to be distributed, and the processor of the program distribution server may distribute the program to be distributed to other computers. Also, in an embodiment, two or more programs may be realized as one program, or one program may be realized as two or more programs.

1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electric system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the electric system 1 is configured as an electronic control device mounted on a vehicle. Specifically, the electric system 1 includes a plurality of electronic control units 2, 6, and 7 for performing various system controls such as drive control and autonomous driving control, a communication unit 5 for communicating with an external server, a power supply control unit 8 for controlling the power supply to the electric system 1, a power switch 9 for starting and stopping the electric system 1, an auxiliary battery 10 for supplying main power (electricity) to electrical equipment including the electronic control units 2, 6, and 7, and an external connector 4 for wired connection between the electric system 1 and an external communication device 3 for diagnostic purposes.

The electronic control unit 2 is a unit that mainly performs data communication processing within the electric system 1, and is connected to the communication unit 5, electronic control units 6 and 7, and power supply control unit 8. The electronic control unit 2 comprises an emergency data collection unit 21 and a communication processing unit 24. The emergency data collection unit 21 is composed of an external IF (Interface) control unit 22 and an external power supply control unit 23. The communication processing unit 24 is composed of a diagnostic data management unit 25 including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 26 and memory (non-volatile memory) 27, and a peripheral circuit 28 including a CPU 29 and other components.

The CPU 26 of the communication processing unit 24 transmits and receives information to and from the communication unit 5, and collects data from sensors such as rotational speed sensors and speed sensors that detect the state of the diagnostic target of each part of the vehicle as diagnostic data indicating the state of the diagnostic target from each sensor, and stores the collected diagnostic data in the memory 27. At this time, the CPU 26 collects data including diagnostic data collected by the CPU 29 from the CPU 29 that collects data indicating the state of the peripheral circuit 28, and stores the collected data in the memory 27. The CPU 29 of the peripheral circuit 28 transmits and receives data to and from the CPU 26 and the electronic control units 6, 7, receives diagnostic data and various data collected by the electronic control units 6, 7 having the same function as the communication processing unit 24 from the electronic control units 6, 7, and transfers the received diagnostic data and various data to the CPU 26. The CPU 26 of the diagnostic data management unit 25 manages the diagnostic data and various data in the electronic control units 2, 6, 7 and the communication unit 5 in addition to data communication processing in the electric system 1. At this time, the diagnostic data management unit 25 manages all the diagnostic data in a consolidated state in the memory 27, and transmits the data to an external server via the communication unit 5 at an appropriate timing.

The diagnostic data management unit 25 has a power supply domain separated from that of the peripheral circuit 28, and in normal times when the power stored in the auxiliary battery 10 is used as the main power source (internal power source), it operates on the main power source supplied from the power supply control unit 8, and in an emergency when the power supply from the main power source is stopped, it operates on the external power source supplied from the external power source control unit 23 of the emergency data collection unit 21. The diagnostic data management unit 25 of the emergency data collection unit 21 operates only when there is an external power source supplied, triggered by the external power source supplied from the external connector 4 via the external power source control unit 23.

The external IF control unit 22 of the emergency data collection unit 21 controls the reading of diagnostic data by the diagnostic data management unit 25 according to the diagnostic app (diagnostic application) 30 implemented in the external communication device 3 connected to the external connector 4. The external power supply control unit 23 converts the power supplied from the battery 31 built into the external communication device 3 into a necessary power supply type, and supplies the power converted into the necessary power supply type only to the diagnostic data management unit 25 as an external power supply. At this time, for example, the owner (user) of the external communication device 3 connects the battery terminal of the external communication device 3 to the external connect 4 with a connection cable. As the interface standard for the connection cable and the external connector 4, a standard that enables communication and power supply, such as USB (Universal Serial Bus), can be adopted. In other words, the external connector 4 forms a communication path and a power supply path connecting the external communication device 3 and the emergency data collection unit 21.

The external communication device 3 is a portable communication device, and is composed of a computer (not shown) equipped with a processor, a storage device, an input device, a display device, a communication device, and a battery, and may be, for example, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone. In this case, the storage device stores the diagnostic application 30, and the battery used is a battery 31 having a connection terminal that can be connected to a connection cable.

In the electric system 1, when the power switch 9 is turned on during normal operation, the power control unit 8 converts the main power source (internal power source), which is the power stored in the auxiliary battery 10, into the required multiple power source types and supplies the main power source converted into the multiple power source types to various units as normal power. This starts up the electric system 1. During normal operation when the electric system 1 starts up normally, even if the external communication device 3 is connected to the external connector 4, the power control unit 8 applies an enable signal 200 to the external power source control unit 23 to stop the operation of the external power source control unit 23 so that external power is not supplied from the external communication device 3 to the electric system 1.

Here, in an emergency in which the electric system 1 does not power up due to some reason, for example, a failure of the power switch 9 or the power control unit 8, and the electric system 1 does not start up normally, the user connects the external communication device 3 to the external connector 4 via a connection cable in order to read out diagnostic data. After this, when the diagnostic application 30 of the external communication device 3 is started by the user's operation, power is supplied from the battery 31 of the external communication device 3 to the emergency data collection unit 21 via the external connector 4, and the emergency data collection unit 21 starts up. When the emergency data collection unit 21 starts up, an authentication process is performed between the emergency data collection unit 21 and the external communication device 3, and data communication is possible between the emergency data collection unit 21 and the external communication device 3. When the diagnostic process by the diagnostic application 30 is started, the external communication device 3 starts power supply and data communication to the diagnostic data management unit 25 via the emergency data collection unit 21 that has been recognized in the authentication process. At this time, the main power supply (internal power supply) is not supplied to the electric system 1, and the power supply control unit 8 does not start, so the enable signal 200 from the power supply control unit 8 to the external power supply control unit 23 is released. As a result, power supply (external power supply) from the external power supply control unit 23 to the diagnostic data management unit 25 is started.

In addition, the diagnostic data management unit 25 not only collects diagnostic data in the event of an abnormality, but also during normal operation, collects diagnostic data from the peripheral circuit 28 and other components, such as the electronic control units 6 and 7, triggered by periodic or arbitrary events, manages the collected diagnostic data, and can also store the collected diagnostic data in the memory 27.

2 is a configuration diagram showing an example of the configuration of a communication processing unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the communication processing unit 24 includes a diagnostic data management unit 25, a peripheral circuit 28, a DC (Direct Current)/DC converter 32, a relay unit 33, and a DC/DC converter 34.

The power supply areas of the diagnostic data management unit 25 and the peripheral circuit 28 are separated from each other, and the diagnostic data management unit 25 is supplied with a main power supply (internal power supply) or an external power supply from the relay unit 33, and the peripheral circuit 28 is supplied with only the main power supply from the DC/DC converter 34. The DC/DC converter 32 is a power converter that converts DC power to DC power, and supplies the external power supply from the external power supply control unit 23 to the relay unit 33. The DC/DC converter 34 is a power converter that converts DC power to DC power, and supplies the main power supply from the power supply control unit 8 to the relay unit 33 and the peripheral circuit 28.

The relay unit 33 is composed of a relay coil 33a and a switch (relay contact) 33b. When the relay coil 33a is in a non-excited state, the switch 33b is connected to the DC/DC converter 34 side, and the main power supply from the DC/DC converter 34 is supplied to the diagnostic data management unit 25. On the other hand, when the relay coil 33a is in an excited state by the power supply switching signal 300 from the external IF control unit 22 in an emergency, the switch 33b is connected to the DC/DC converter 32 side, and the external power supply from the DC/DC converter 32 is supplied to the diagnostic data management unit 25. At this time, the relay unit 33 selects the main power supply system 34a by the main power supply as the power supply system to the diagnostic data management unit 25 in normal times, and selects the external power supply system 32a by the external power supply as the power supply system to the diagnostic data management unit 25 in an emergency.

That is, the relay unit 33 is arranged between the main power supply system 34a that supplies the main power and the external power supply system 32a that supplies the external power, and is configured as a power supply selection unit that selects one of the main power supply and the external power supply and supplies the selected one to the diagnostic data management unit 25. At this time, the power supply selection unit selects the main power supply from the main power supply system 34a when the main power supply is supplied from the main power supply system 34a and the relay coil 33a is in a non-excited state, and when the main power supply is not supplied from the main power supply system 34a, in response to the power supply switching signal 300, selects the external power supply from the external power supply system 32a on the condition that the relay coil 33a is in an excited state. The power supply switching signal 300 is output from the external IF control unit 22 when the external IF control unit 22 receives a request signal from the external communication device 3.

The relay unit 33 can be configured to select one of the main power supply or the external power supply without using the power supply switching signal 300. For example, one end of the relay coil 33a is connected to the output side of the DC/DC converter 34 instead of being connected to the external IF control unit 22. In this case, the relay unit 33 is configured as a power supply selection unit that selects the main power supply from the main power supply system 34a when the main power supply is input from the main power supply system 34a, and selects the external power supply from the external power supply system 32a when the main power supply is not input from the main power supply system 34a. For example, when the main power supply is input from the main power supply system 34a, the relay coil 33a is held in an excited state, and the switch 33b is connected to the DC/DC converter 34 side to select the main power supply from the DC/DC converter 34. On the other hand, when no main current is input from the main power supply system 34a, the relay coil 33a of the relay unit 33 is de-energized and the switch 33b is connected to the DC/DC converter 32 side to select the external power supply from the DC/DC converter 32.

The diagnostic data management unit 25 also starts up in an emergency when an external power source is supplied. At this time, when a request signal for reading diagnostic data is output from the external communication device 3 by processing of the diagnostic application 30 of the external communication device 3, this request signal is transmitted to the external IF control unit 22 via the external connector 4. The external IF control unit 22, which has received the request signal, outputs a read control signal 301 to the diagnostic data management unit 25 in response to the request signal. In the diagnostic data management unit 25, in response to the read control signal 301, the CPU 26 reads out the diagnostic data stored in the memory 27 and transfers the read diagnostic data to the external IF control unit 22. The external IF control unit 22 transmits the transferred diagnostic data to the external communication device 3. The external communication device 3 stores the received diagnostic data in a recording area.

In FIG. 2, the DC/DC converter 34 supplies main power of the same voltage to the diagnostic data management unit 25 and the peripheral circuit 28. However, for example, if the diagnostic data management unit 25 and the peripheral circuit 28 operate at different voltages, the DC/DC converter 34 can be configured to generate multiple main power supplies of different voltages and supply each main power supply to the diagnostic data management unit 25 and the peripheral circuit 28, respectively.

The power supply domain of the diagnostic data management unit 25 and the power supply domain of the peripheral circuit 28 can also be the same. In this case, similar to the configuration in which the main power supply or external power supply is supplied to the diagnostic data management unit 25 from the relay unit 33, the peripheral circuit 28 is configured to be supplied with the main power supply or external power supply from the relay unit 33 instead of being supplied with only the main power supply from the DC/DC converter 34. When this configuration is adopted, the peripheral circuit 28 can send and receive information to and from the diagnostic data management unit 25 even in an emergency.

3 is a configuration diagram showing an example of the configuration of a CPU belonging to the diagnostic data management unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, the CPU 26 belonging to the diagnostic data management unit 25 has a plurality of interface units 71, 72, 73, and 74 as input/output interfaces. The interface unit 71 is configured as a first interface unit that transmits and receives information to and from the external IF control unit 22, and the interface unit 72 is configured as a second interface unit that transmits and receives information to and from the memory 27. The interface unit 73 is configured as a third interface unit that transmits and receives information to and from the memory 27 and the peripheral circuit 28, and the interface unit 74 is configured as a fourth interface unit that transmits and receives information to and from the peripheral circuit 28. At this time, the CPU 26 is configured as a control unit that controls the memory 27 and each interface unit 71, 72, 73, and 74, and executes interface control that disables the operation of the interface units 71 and 72 and enables only the operation of the interface units 73 and 74 on the condition that the main power is supplied from the power supply control unit 8 to the diagnostic data management unit 25. In addition, the CPU 26 executes interface control to disable the operation of the interface units 73 and 74 and enable only the operation of the interface units 71 and 72, on the condition that external power is supplied from the external power supply control unit 23 to the diagnostic data management unit 25.

Specifically, when the CPU 26 is started up from the main power source, only the operations of the interface units 73 and 74 are enabled, and the diagnostic data management unit 25 causes the CPU 26 to perform normal operations. At this time, the CPU 26 collects diagnostic data from the diagnostic target, and also collects diagnostic data obtained from the peripheral circuit 28 via the interface units 73 and 74, and stores the collected diagnostic data in the memory 27 via the interface unit 73. On the other hand, when the CPU 26 is started up from an external power source, only the operations of the interface units 71 and 72 are enabled, and the diagnostic data management unit 25 causes the CPU 26 to perform emergency operations. At this time, the CPU 26 reads out the diagnostic data stored in the memory 27 via the interface unit 72, and transmits the read out diagnostic data to the external IF control unit 22 via the interface unit 71.

In an environment where such interface control is executed, even if only the diagnostic data management unit 25 of the diagnostic data management unit 25 and the peripheral circuit 28 operates in an emergency, input and output of unnecessary signals can be masked so as not to affect the peripheral circuit 28. That is, when the emergency data collection unit 21 operates by powering from an external power source and only the diagnostic data management unit 25 is supplied with external power, only the operations of the interface units 71 and 72 are enabled and the operations of the interface units 73 and 74 are disabled, so that it is possible to prevent unnecessary signals from being output from the CPU 26 to the peripheral circuit 28 to which main power is not being supplied, and conversely, even if an unstable signal is output from the peripheral circuit 28, it is possible to prevent the unstable signal from being input to the CPU 26. The interface unit 73 can also be configured as an interface unit that transmits and receives information to and from the memory 27. In this case, the interface unit 73 stores in the memory 27 the diagnostic data collected by the interface unit 74 from the peripheral circuit 28 and the diagnostic data collected by the CPU 26.

Figure 4 is a configuration diagram showing another example of the configuration of the electronic control unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In Figure 4, the electronic control unit 2 includes an emergency data collection unit 21 and a communication processing unit 35, and the emergency data collection unit 21 and the communication processing unit 35 are connected via an Ethernet cable 36.

The communication processing unit 35 includes a DC/DC converter 32, a relay unit 33, a DC/DC converter 34, a diagnostic data management unit 37, and a peripheral circuit 40. The diagnostic data management unit 37 includes a switch device 38 for an in-vehicle network and a memory (non-volatile memory) 39 directly connected to the switch device 38, and is supplied with a main power supply (internal power supply) or an external power supply from the relay unit 33. The peripheral circuit 40 includes a plurality of CPUs 41 that collect data from the collection target, such as environmental data and diagnostic data, and is supplied with a main power supply (internal power supply) from the DC/DC converter 34.

The switch device 38 is connected to the external IF control unit 22 via the Ethernet cable 36, and is also connected to the memory 39 and the CPU 41. At this time, the switch device 38 has a function of relaying information transmitted and received between the external IF control unit 22 and each CPU 41, and selecting a specified CPU 41 from among the multiple CPUs 41 in response to a read control signal 301 from the external IF control unit 22. In addition, the switch device 38 has a function of storing each transferred diagnostic data in the memory 39 when the diagnostic data collected by each CPU 41 is transferred from each CPU 41. Furthermore, in the event of an abnormality, in response to a read control signal 301 from the external IF control unit 22, the switch device 38 has a function of reading the diagnostic data stored in the memory 39 from the memory 39 and transferring the read diagnostic data to the external IF control unit 22 via the Ethernet cable 36.

If the in-vehicle network is Ethernet, it can be configured using PoE (Power over Ethernet), which uses an Ethernet cable 36 to supply power at the same time as data.

In this embodiment, communication between the electric system 1 and the external communication device 3 may be performed using a wireless communication function as well as a wired communication. In addition, a mobile battery separate from the external communication device 3 may be used to supply power to the electric system 1, and only communication may be performed by the external communication device 3.

In addition, the external connector 4 may be installed in a console box inside the vehicle cabin, near a diagnostic OBD (On Board Diagnostics) connector installed near the cockpit, or inside the hood.

In addition, the CPU or processor used in the diagnostic data management unit 25 may be started in a power saving mode such as safe mode during emergency startup.

In addition, the diagnostic data may include not only diagnostic data for the time period before and after the occurrence of the abnormality, but also vehicle information data and sensor data related to the vehicle environment.

According to this embodiment, diagnostic data can be collected from the memory 27 of the electric system (electronic control device) 1 when the power is not turned on. That is, an external power source is input from an external communication device 3 owned by the user into the electric system 1, and is supplied to the diagnostic data management unit 25, and the diagnostic data is read from the diagnostic data management unit 25. This makes it possible to read diagnostic data from the memory 27 of the electric system 1 when the power is not turned on, and as a result, it becomes possible to quickly identify the cause of the failure based on the read diagnostic data.

Figure 5 is a configuration diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electric system according to Example 2 of the present invention. In Figure 5, an electric system 43 is configured such that an emergency data collection unit 44 having the same function as the emergency data collection unit 21 in the electric system 1 in Example 1 is separated from the electronic control unit 2 in the electric system 1 in Example 1, and the emergency data collection unit 44 and the communication processing unit 24 are independent components. The other configuration is the same as in Example 1, and the same reference numerals are used to designate the same parts as in Example 1, and the description thereof will be omitted.

The emergency data collection unit 44 is composed of an external IF control unit 45 having the same function as the external IF control unit 22 of the first embodiment, and an external power supply control unit 46 having the same function as the external power supply control unit 23 of the first embodiment. The emergency data collection unit 44 is implemented in the electric system 43 as a component independent of the communication processing unit 24, the power supply control unit 8, and the like.

According to this embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be achieved, and the position of the emergency data collection unit 44 can be freely determined in accordance with the structure of the electric system 43.

6 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electric system according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 6, the electric system 47 includes an external connector 4, a power switch 9, an auxiliary battery 10, an emergency data collection unit 48, an in-vehicle network bus 51, communication processing units 52 and 54, and a power supply control unit 56. The same components as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals and their description is omitted. In addition, in this embodiment, in consideration of the fact that the communication processing units 52 and 54 and the power supply control unit 56 operate at different voltages (power supply voltages), a configuration is adopted in which a DC/DC converter 34 (not shown) generates multiple main power supplies with different voltages according to the power supply voltages of the communication processing units 52 and 54 and the power supply control unit 56, and supplies each of the generated main power supplies to the communication processing units 52, 54, and the power supply control unit 56, respectively.

The emergency data collection unit 48 includes an external IF control unit 49 and an external power supply control unit 50. The external IF control unit 49 is an interface that transmits and receives information to and from the external communication device 3 via the external connector 4, and also transmits and receives information to and from the communication processing units 52, 54 and the power supply control unit 56 via the in-vehicle network bus 51. The emergency data collection unit 48 is activated when an external power supply from the external communication device 3 is supplied via the external connector 4. When the emergency data collection unit 48 is activated, the external power supply control unit 50 converts the voltage of the external power supply supplied to the external connector 4 into a plurality of voltages Va, Vb, and Vc in accordance with the voltage of the main power supply supplied to the communication processing units 52, 54, and the power supply control unit 56, provided that the enable signal 200 is not applied from the power supply control unit 56, and supplies the converted external power supplies of the voltages Va, Vb, and Vc to the communication processing units 52, 54 and the power supply control unit 56, respectively. For example, an external power supply having a voltage Va is supplied to the communication processing unit 52 , an external power supply having a voltage Vb is supplied to the communication processing unit 54 , and an external power supply having a voltage Vc is supplied to the power supply control unit 56 .

Diagnostic data management units 53, 55, and 57, each including a CPU and memory, are distributed in the communication processing units 52, 54 and the power supply control unit 56. The CPUs belonging to the diagnostic data management units 53, 55, and 57 collect diagnostic data from each diagnostic target (sensor) and store the collected diagnostic data in memory.

In the communication processing units 52 and 54 and the power supply control unit 56, the DC/DC converter 32, the relay unit 33, and the DC/DC converter 34 (not shown) are arranged in the same manner as in the first embodiment. For example, in the communication processing unit 52, the DC/DC converter 32 for Va connected to an external power supply of voltage Va, the DC/DC converter 34 for Va connected to a main power supply of voltage Va obtained by transforming the output voltage of the auxiliary battery 10, and the relay unit 33 for Va arranged between the DC/DC converter 32 for Va and the DC/DC converter 34 for Va are arranged. In the communication processing unit 54, the DC/DC converter 32 for Vb connected to an external power supply of voltage Vb, the DC/DC converter 34 for Vb connected to a main power supply of voltage Vb obtained by transforming the output voltage of the auxiliary battery 10, and the relay unit 33 for Vb arranged between the DC/DC converter 32 for Vb and the DC/DC converter 34 for Vb are arranged. The power supply control unit 56 includes a DC/DC converter 32 for Vc connected to an external power supply of voltage Vc, a DC/DC converter 34 for Vc connected to a main power supply of voltage Vc obtained by transforming the output voltage of the auxiliary battery 10, and a relay section 33 for Vc arranged between the DC/DC converter 32 for Vc and the DC/DC converter 34 for Vc.

The Va relay unit 33 is disposed between the Va main power supply system and the Va external power supply system, and is configured as a Va power supply selection unit that selects one of the main power supply of voltage Va or the external power supply of voltage Va, and supplies the selected power supply to the diagnostic data management unit 53. At this time, the Va power supply selection unit selects the main power supply of voltage Va when the Va relay coil 33a is in a non-excited state, and selects the external power supply of voltage Va in response to a Va power supply switching signal when the Va relay coil 33a is in an excited state. The Va power supply switching signal is output from the external IF control unit 49 when the external IF control unit 49 receives a request signal from the external communication device 3.

The Vb relay unit 33 is disposed between the Vb main power supply system and the Vb external power supply system, and is configured as a Vb power supply selection unit that selects one of the main power supply of voltage Vb or the external power supply of voltage Vb and supplies the selected power supply to the diagnostic data management unit 55. At this time, the Vb power supply selection unit selects the main power supply of voltage Vb when the Vb relay coil 33a is in a non-excited state, and selects the external power supply of voltage Vb in response to the Vb power supply switching signal when the Vb relay coil 33a is in an excited state. The Vb power supply switching signal is output from the external IF control unit 49 when the external IF control unit 49 receives a request signal from the external communication device 3.

The Vc relay unit 33 is disposed between the Vc main power supply system and the Vc external power supply system, and is configured as a Vc power supply selection unit that selects one of the main power supply of voltage Vc or the external power supply of voltage Vc and supplies the selected power supply to the diagnostic data management unit 57. At this time, the Vc power supply selection unit selects the main power supply of voltage Vc when the Vc relay coil 33a is in a non-excited state, and selects the external power supply of voltage Vc in response to the Vc power supply switching signal when the Vc relay coil 33a is in an excited state. The Vc power supply off signal is output from the external IF control unit 49 when the external IF control unit 49 receives a request signal from the external communication device 3.

At this time, the diagnostic data management unit 53 is supplied with the main power supply for Va from the power supply control unit 56 during normal operation, and is supplied with the external power supply for Va (external power supply of voltage Va) from the external power supply control unit 50 of the emergency data collection unit 48 during emergency operation. The diagnostic data management unit 55 is supplied with the main power supply for Vb from the power supply control unit 56 during normal operation, and is supplied with the external power supply for Vb (external power supply of voltage Vb) from the external power supply control unit 50 of the emergency data collection unit 48 during emergency operation. The diagnostic data management unit 57 is supplied with the main power supply for Vc from the power supply control unit 56 during normal operation, and is supplied with the power supply for Vc (external power supply of voltage Vc) from the external power supply control unit 50 of the emergency data collection unit 48 during emergency operation.

The external IF control unit 49 can output the power supply switching signal for Va, the power supply switching signal for Vb, and the power supply switching signal for Vc according to information that specifies the order. For example, the external IF control unit 49 can output each power supply switching signal in any order (information in which the order is set arbitrarily), in a preset order (information in which the order is set in advance), in an order determined based on the remaining charge of the external power supply (information in which the order is determined according to the remaining charge of the external power supply), or in an order determined based on the amount of diagnostic data stored in the memory 27 during normal operation (information in which the order is determined based on the amount of diagnostic data). In addition, the external IF control unit 49 can output a read control signal to the diagnostic data management units 53, 55, and 57 in accordance with the order in which the power supply switching signal for Va, the power supply switching signal for Vb, and the power supply switching signal for Vc are output, and the diagnostic data can be read from the diagnostic data management units 53, 55, and 57.

7 is a configuration diagram showing an example of the configuration of the emergency data collection unit in the electric system according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 7, the emergency data collection unit 48 includes an external IF control unit 49 and an external power supply control unit 50, and the external power supply control unit 50 includes a power supply control unit 60, a supply voltage adjustment unit 61, and a relay unit 62. The power supply control unit 60 of the external power supply control unit 50 starts when an external power supply is supplied to the emergency data collection unit 48, and outputs a power supply control signal 400 to the relay unit 62 according to a power supply sequence that specifies the order of power supply to each diagnostic data management unit 53, 55, and 57. The supply voltage adjustment unit 61 starts when an external power supply is supplied to the emergency data collection unit 48, on the condition that the enable signal 200 is not applied from the power supply control unit 56, converts the voltage of the external power supply supplied from the external connector 4 into multiple voltages Va, Vb, and Vc, and supplies the converted external power supplies of the voltages Va, Vb, and Vc to the relay unit 62, respectively.

At this time, the power supply control unit 60 can generate a power supply control signal 400 for simultaneously supplying power to all the diagnostic data management units 53, 55, and 57 as a power supply control signal 400 for the relay unit 62. In addition, the power supply control unit 60 can generate the power supply control signal 400 in cooperation with the external IF control unit 49 in accordance with the order in which the external IF control unit 49 outputs the power supply switching signal 300 for Va, the power supply switching signal 300 for Vb, and the power supply switching signal 300 for Vc. For example, the power supply control unit 60 can output the power supply control signal 400 in cooperation with the external IF control unit 49 according to information that specifies the order. In addition, the power supply control unit 60 can output the power supply control signal 400 in any order (information in which the order is set arbitrarily), in a preset order (information in which the order is set in advance), in an order determined based on the remaining charge of the external power source (information in which the order is determined based on the remaining charge of the external power source), or in an order determined based on the amount of information of the diagnostic data stored in the memory 27 during normal operation (information in which the order is determined based on the amount of information of the diagnostic data).

In addition, the external IF control unit 49 can also import power information indicating the amount of power required to read out diagnostic data from each diagnostic data management unit 53, 55, 57 from the external IF control unit 49, set the priority of power supply and data collection for each diagnostic data management unit 53, 55, 57 based on the imported information, and perform power supply and data collection in cooperation with the power supply control unit 60 based on each set priority order. In this case, it is possible to prevent data collection from being interrupted midway due to the remaining battery level of the external communication device 3. In addition, the external IF control unit 49 can import information indicating the amount of information and the importance of diagnostic data stored in each diagnostic data management unit 53, 55, 57 from each diagnostic data management unit 53, 55, 57, set the priority of power supply and data collection for each diagnostic data management unit 53, 55, 57 based on the imported information, and perform power supply and data collection in cooperation with the power supply control unit 60 based on each set priority order.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to achieve the same effect as in embodiment 1. In addition, according to this embodiment, it is possible to supply an external power supply suitable for each power supply voltage to multiple diagnostic data management units 53, 55, and 57 having different power supply voltages, and it is possible to read diagnostic data from each diagnostic data management unit 53, 55, and 57 according to information specifying the order.

Figure 8 is a model diagram showing an example of a service form of an electric system according to Example 4 of the present invention, which is an automobile fault diagnosis system, and in particular shows a remote diagnostic service in an emergency. In this model, when an event occurs in which the power of the vehicle 100 owned by the user 101 does not turn on and the electric system 1 installed in the vehicle 100 does not start, if the vehicle 100 has an emergency diagnosis function, the diagnostic data stored inside the vehicle can be read using the smartphone 102 owned by the user 101, and the read diagnostic data can be transferred to the support center 103 via the smartphone 102, thereby providing optimal diagnostic support.

8, when an event occurs in which the power of the vehicle 100 owned by the user 101 does not turn on, the user 101 launches the diagnostic application 30 pre-installed in the smartphone 102, which corresponds to the external communication device 3. At the same time as launching the diagnostic application 30, the smartphone 102 transmits a support request notification including a notification of the occurrence of the trouble and the location information (GPS location information) of the smartphone 102 to the support center 103 (A1).

The support center 103 accepts a support request notification from the smartphone 102 and location information of the smartphone 102, initiates user support via telephone or chat, and transmits information to the smartphone 102 that the support request has been accepted and information on support instructions (A2).

Following the received support instruction information or manual, the user 101 connects the smartphone 102 to an external connector 4 provided in the vehicle cabin via a wired connection cable, and supplies external power from the smartphone 102 to the vehicle 100 via the external connector 4 (A3). When the emergency data collection unit 21 in the vehicle is activated by the external power supply from the smartphone 102, the smartphone 102 recognizes the connection with the vehicle 100 and displays the recognition result on the screen (A4).

At this time, when the user 101 selects vehicle information displayed on the screen of the smartphone 102, the selected information is transmitted from the smartphone 102 to the vehicle 100 (A5), and power supply from the external power source to the diagnostic data management unit 25 inside the vehicle is started. After starting up, the diagnostic data management unit 25 automatically reads out diagnostic data from the memory 27 and transmits the read out diagnostic data to the smartphone 102 (A6).

When the smartphone 102 receives diagnostic data transmitted from the vehicle 100, it displays the received diagnostic data on the screen and stores it in a storage device, and further adds environmental information and location information to the received diagnostic data and transmits it to the support center 103 (A7).

When the support center 103 receives diagnostic data including environmental information and location information sent from the smartphone 102, it performs a failure analysis to estimate the repair processing contents based on the received diagnostic data including the environmental information and location information, generates repair processing information including replacement parts and replacement procedures as a result of the failure analysis, and notifies the generated repair processing information to the service personnel 104 (A8).

The service personnel 104 performs on-site maintenance of the vehicle 100 in accordance with the repair processing information notified by the support center 103. The service personnel 104 performs sufficient maintenance of the vehicle 100, and after a detailed diagnosis, if there are no abnormalities in the vehicle 100, returns the vehicle 100 to the user 101 (A9).

Figure 9 is an example of a service form of an electric system according to Example 4 of the present invention, which is a fault diagnosis system for an automobile, and is a model diagram showing a remote diagnosis service in an emergency in particular. In Figure 9, when an event occurs in which the power of the vehicle 100 owned by the user 101 does not turn on, the user 101 launches a diagnostic app 30 pre-installed on the smartphone 102 corresponding to the external communication device 3.

At the same time as launching the diagnostic app 30, the smartphone 102 sends a support request notification including a notification of the occurrence of a problem and location information (GPS location information) of the smartphone 102 to the support center 103 (S1).

A server (support server) 103a, which is located in the support center 103 and is composed of a computer including an information transmission/reception unit, accepts a support request notification from the smartphone 102 and location information of the smartphone 102, initiates user support using telephone or chat, and transmits information to the smartphone 102 that the support request has been accepted and information on support instructions (S2).

The user 101 connects the smartphone 102 to the external connector 4 provided in the vehicle cabin via a wire (connection cable) in accordance with the support instruction information or manual received by the smartphone 102. The smartphone 102 supplies external power to the vehicle 100 via the external connector 4 (S3, S4). At this time, the external power supply control unit 23 of the emergency data collection unit 21 receives external power supply from the smartphone 102 and starts up. When the external power supply control unit 23 in the vehicle starts up, the external power supply is supplied to the external IF control unit 22 of the emergency data collection unit 21 (S5), the smartphone 102 recognizes the connection with the vehicle 100 (S6), the recognition result is transmitted from the external IF control unit 22 to the smartphone 102 (S7), and the vehicle information of the vehicle 100 is displayed on the screen of the smartphone 102.

At this time, when the user 101 selects vehicle information displayed on the screen of the smartphone 102, for example, a first request signal including data collection target selection information for selecting, for example, the diagnostic data management unit 25 as a data collection target is transmitted from the smartphone 102 to the external IF control unit 22 (S8). The external IF control unit 22 that has received the first request signal outputs a power supply switching signal 300 for supplying the external power supply to the diagnostic data management unit 25 to the relay unit 33 (S9). As a result, the external power supply control unit 23 supplies the external power supply to the diagnostic data management unit 25 (S10). When the diagnostic data management unit 25 powered by the external power supply is started, the diagnostic data management unit 25 transmits a start-up notification to the external IF control unit 22 and the smartphone 102 (S11, S12).

The smartphone 102 that has received the startup notification transmits a second request signal including information on a data collection instruction for collecting diagnostic data to the external IF control unit 22 (S13). The external IF control unit 22 that has received the second request signal executes processing for the diagnostic data management unit 25 in cooperation with the external power supply control unit 23 (S14). For example, the external IF control unit 22 instructs the diagnostic data management unit 25 to mask input/output in cooperation with the external power supply control unit 23 (S15), and then outputs a read control signal 301 to the diagnostic data management unit 25 (S16). The diagnostic data management unit 25 executes processing to read diagnostic data from the memory 27, and transfers the diagnostic data read from the memory 27 to the external IF control unit 22 (S17). The external IF control unit 22 adds a notification requesting storage of the diagnostic data to the diagnostic data transferred from the diagnostic data management unit 25 and transmits the result to the smartphone 102 (S18).

Upon receiving the diagnostic data storage notification, the smartphone 102 stores the diagnostic data in a storage device and transmits the diagnostic data including the environmental information and location information to the support center 103 (S19). The server 103a of the support center 103 that received the diagnostic data including the environmental information and location information performs a failure analysis (failure cause analysis) to estimate the repair processing content based on the received diagnostic data including the environmental information and location information, generates repair processing information including replacement parts and replacement procedures as a result of the failure analysis, transmits the generated repair processing information to the service personnel information terminal 104a of the service personnel 104 to instruct the service personnel 104 (S20), and further transmits instruction information indicating a countermeasure method to the smartphone 102 (S21).

The service staff 104 prepares parts according to the repair processing information notified from the support center 103, travels to the site, and performs maintenance on the vehicle 100 at the site. The service staff 104 performs sufficient maintenance on the vehicle 100, and if there is no abnormality in the vehicle 100 after a detailed diagnosis, returns the vehicle 100 to the user 101 and ends the repair processing for the vehicle 100 (S22). In this embodiment, an example in which the electric system 1 is installed in the vehicle 100 has been described, but as the electric system, electric systems 43 and 47 can also be installed instead of the electric system 1. The smartphone 102 can also output the first request signal and the second request signal together as one request signal. At this time, the external IF control unit 22 outputs the power supply switching signal 300 and the read control signal 301 in response to one request signal.

According to this embodiment, diagnostic data is read from the electric system 1 in a power-off state, the read diagnostic data is transmitted to the support center 103, and the server 103a of the support center 103 performs a fault analysis of the vehicle 100 or the electric system 1 based on the received diagnostic data, so that the server 103a of the support center 103 can identify the detailed cause of the fault. In other words, a remote diagnostic solution that can be used even in an emergency can be provided. In addition, according to this embodiment, the analysis result of the fault cause is provided to the service staff 104, and the service staff 104 goes to the site to repair the vehicle 100, which avoids the need to return the vehicle to a repair shop by a tow truck or the like, and improves the recovery rate at the site, thereby reducing the time and cost required for repairing the vehicle 100.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes various modified examples and equivalent configurations within the spirit of the appended claims. For example, configurations that are realized by combining the functions shown in each embodiment are also included. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to those that include all of the configurations described.

In addition, the control lines and information lines shown are those considered necessary for explanation, and do not necessarily show all the control lines and information lines necessary for implementation. In reality, it can be assumed that almost all components are interconnected.

In addition, each of the configurations, functions, etc. described above may be realized in part or in whole in hardware, for example by designing them as integrated circuits, or in software, by a processor interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function.

Information such as programs, tables, and files that realize each function can be stored in storage devices such as memory, hard disks, and SSDs (Solid State Drives), or on recording media such as IC (Integrated Circuit) cards, SD (Secure Digital) cards, and DVDs (Digital Versatile Discs).

1, 43, 47...Electric system, 2, 6, 7...Electronic control unit, 3...External communication device, 4...External connector, 5...Communication unit, 8, 56...Power supply control unit, 9...Power supply switch, 10...Auxiliary battery, 21, 44, 48...Emergency data collection unit, 22, 45, 49...External IF control unit, 23, 46, 50...External power supply control unit, 24, 52, 54...Communication processing unit, 25, 37, 53, 55, 57...Diagnostic data management unit, 26, 29, 41 CPU, 27, 39... memory, 28... peripheral circuit, 30... diagnostic application, 31... battery, 32, 34... DC/DC converter, 33, 62... relay unit, 36... Ethernet cable, 38... switch device, 51... in-vehicle network bus, 60... power supply control unit, 61... supply voltage adjustment unit, 71, 72, 73, 74... interface unit, 100... vehicle, 102... smartphone, 103... support center

Claims (11)

a diagnostic data management unit that receives power from a power source including at least a main power source, collects diagnostic data indicating a state of the diagnostic object from the diagnostic object, and stores the collected diagnostic data in a memory;
an external connector that takes in an external power source from an external communication device on condition that the external communication device is connected to the external communication device;
an external power supply control unit that is started by receiving the supply of the external power supply introduced into the external connector and outputs the external power supply to a plurality of external power supply systems to which the diagnostic data management unit can output;
an external interface control unit that is started by receiving the supply of the external power source introduced into the external connector and transmits and receives information to and from the diagnostic data management unit and the external communication device;
a power source selection unit that is disposed between a main power supply system that supplies the main power source and the external power supply system that supplies the external power source, and that selects one of the main power source and the external power source, and supplies the selected one of the power sources to the diagnostic data management unit;
Equipped with
The external interface control unit includes:
In response to a request signal from the external communication device, read out the diagnostic data from the diagnostic data management unit and transmit the read out diagnostic data to the external communication device;
In response to the request signal, outputting a power supply switching signal to the power supply selection unit;
The power source selection unit is
When the main power is input from the main power supply system, the main power supply is selected, and when the main power is not input from the main power supply system, the external power supply is selected from the external power supply system in response to the power supply switching signal.
1. An electronic control device comprising: 2. The electronic control device according to claim 1,
a peripheral circuit that receives the supply of the main power, collects data from a collection target, and transfers the collected data to the diagnostic data management unit;
The diagnostic data management unit
a first interface unit that transmits and receives information to and from the external interface control unit, a second interface unit that transmits and receives information to and from the memory, a third interface unit that transmits and receives information to and from the memory and the peripheral circuit, and a control unit that controls the first interface unit to the third interface unit and the memory,
The control unit is
An electronic control device characterized by executing interface control that, when the main power source is supplied, disables operation of the first interface unit and the second interface unit and enables operation of only the third interface unit, and, when the external power source is supplied, disables operation of the third interface unit and enables operation of only the first interface unit and the second interface unit. 2. The electronic control device according to claim 1,
The diagnostic data management unit
It is composed of multiple diagnostic data management units with different power supply voltages,
a plurality of power source selection units that select one main power source or one external power source from among a plurality of main power sources that output a voltage corresponding to a power source voltage of each of the plurality of diagnostic data management units or a plurality of external power sources that output a voltage corresponding to a power source voltage of each of the plurality of diagnostic data management units, and supply the selected one main power source or the selected one external power source to each of the plurality of diagnostic data management units;
The external interface control unit includes:
In response to the request signal, output a power supply switching signal to each of the power supply selection units according to information specifying an order, read out the diagnostic data from each of the diagnostic data management units according to the information specifying the order, and transmit the read out diagnostic data to the external communication device;
Each of the plurality of power source selection units is
an electronic control device that selects the one of the main power sources when the one of the main power sources is input, and selects the one of the external power sources in response to the power source switching signal when the one of the main power sources is not input. a portable communications device having a battery and a processor running a diagnostic application;
A support server located at a support center;
An electronic control device mounted on a vehicle,
A fault diagnosis system in which the portable communication device, the support server, and the electronic control device are connected via a communication network,
The electronic control device includes:
a diagnostic data management unit that receives power from a power source including at least a main power source, collects diagnostic data indicating a state of the diagnostic object from the diagnostic object, and stores the collected diagnostic data in a memory;
an external connector that takes in the electric power stored in the battery as an external power source from the battery on condition that the external connector is connected to the battery of the portable communication device;
an external power supply control unit that is started by receiving the supply of the external power supply introduced into the external connector and outputs the external power supply to a plurality of external power supply systems to which the diagnostic data management unit can output;
an external interface control unit that is started by receiving the supply of the external power source introduced into the external connector and transmits and receives information to and from the diagnostic data management unit and the portable communication device;
a power source selection unit that is disposed between a main power supply system that supplies the main power source and the external power supply system that supplies the external power source, and that selects one of the main power source and the external power source, and supplies the selected one of the power sources to the diagnostic data management unit;
Equipped with
The portable communication device includes:
Transmitting a request signal to the electronic control device in response to an operation;
The external interface control unit includes:
In response to the request signal from the portable communication device, read out the diagnostic data from the diagnostic data management unit and transmit the read out diagnostic data to the portable communication device;
In response to the request signal, outputting a power supply switching signal to the power supply selection unit;
The power source selection unit is
When the main power is input from the main power supply system, the main power supply is selected, and when the main power is not input from the main power supply system, the external power supply is selected from the external power supply system in response to the power supply switching signal.
A fault diagnosis system comprising: 5. A fault diagnosis system according to claim 4 ,
The portable communication device includes:
when the diagnostic data is received, adding location information indicating a location of the portable communication device and environmental information including a time when the diagnostic data was received to the received diagnostic data, and transmitting the diagnostic data including the location information and the environmental information to the support server via the communication network;
The support server includes:
A fault diagnosis system characterized in that, when the diagnostic data including the location information and the environmental information is received, the cause of a fault in the vehicle or the electronic control unit is analyzed based on the diagnostic data including the received location information and the environmental information. 6. A fault diagnosis system according to claim 5 ,
a service staff information terminal connected to the support server via the communication network;
The support server includes:
A fault diagnosis system characterized by generating information on repair processing for the vehicle or the electronic control device based on analysis results of the cause of the failure of the vehicle or the electronic control device, and transmitting the generated information on repair processing to the service personnel information terminal via the communication network. 5. A fault diagnosis system according to claim 4 ,
a peripheral circuit that receives the supply of the main power, collects data from a collection target, and transfers the collected data to the diagnostic data management unit;
The diagnostic data management unit
a first interface unit that transmits and receives information to and from the external interface control unit, a second interface unit that transmits and receives information to and from the memory, a third interface unit that transmits and receives information to and from the memory and the peripheral circuit, and a control unit that controls the first interface unit to the third interface unit and the memory,
The control unit is
a fault diagnosis system which, when the main power source is supplied, executes interface control to disable operation of the first interface unit and the second interface unit and enable operation of only the third interface unit, and, when the external power source is supplied, executes interface control to disable operation of the third interface unit and enable operation of only the first interface unit and the second interface unit. 5. A fault diagnosis system according to claim 4 ,
The diagnostic data management unit
It is composed of multiple diagnostic data management units with different power supply voltages,
a plurality of power source selection units that select one main power source or one external power source from among a plurality of main power sources that output a voltage corresponding to a power source voltage of each of the plurality of diagnostic data management units or a plurality of external power sources that output a voltage corresponding to a power source voltage of each of the plurality of diagnostic data management units, and supply the selected one main power source or the selected one external power source to each of the plurality of diagnostic data management units;
The external interface control unit includes:
In response to the request signal, output a power supply switching signal to each of the power supply selection units according to information specifying an order, read out the diagnostic data from each of the diagnostic data management units according to the information specifying the order, and transmit the read out diagnostic data to the portable communication device;
Each of the plurality of power source selection units is
a fault diagnosis system that selects the one of the main power sources when the one of the main power sources is input, and selects the one of the external power sources in response to the power source switching signal when the one of the main power sources is not input. a portable communications device having a battery and a processor running a diagnostic application;
A support server located at a support center;
An electronic control device mounted on a vehicle,
The electronic control device includes:
a diagnostic data management unit that receives power from a power source including at least a main power source, collects diagnostic data indicating a state of the diagnostic object from the diagnostic object, and stores the collected diagnostic data in a memory;
an external connector that takes in the electric power stored in the battery as an external power source from the battery on condition that the external connector is connected to the battery of the portable communication device;
an external power supply control unit that is started by receiving the supply of the external power supply introduced into the external connector and outputs the external power supply to a plurality of external power supply systems to which the diagnostic data management unit can output;
an external interface control unit that is started by receiving the supply of the external power source introduced into the external connector and transmits and receives information to and from the diagnostic data management unit and the portable communication device;
a power source selection unit that is disposed between a main power supply system that supplies the main power source and the external power supply system that supplies the external power source, and that selects one of the main power source and the external power source, and supplies the selected one of the power sources to the diagnostic data management unit;
Including,
A fault diagnosis method in a fault diagnosis system in which the portable communication device, the support server, and the electronic control device are connected via a communication network, comprising:
a first transmitting step in which the portable communication device transmits a request signal to the electronic control device in response to an operation of the portable communication device;
a second transmission step in which the external interface control unit reads the diagnostic data from the diagnostic data management unit in response to the request signal from the portable communication device, and transmits the read diagnostic data to the portable communication device;
an output step in which the external interface control unit outputs a power supply switching signal to the power supply selection unit in response to the request signal;
a selection step in which the power source selection unit selects the main power source when the main power source is input from the main power source feed system, and selects the external power source from the external power source feed system in response to the power source switching signal when the main power source is not input from the main power source feed system;
A fault diagnosis method comprising: 10. A fault diagnosis method according to claim 9 , comprising:
a third transmission step of, when the portable communication device receives the diagnostic data, adding, to the received diagnostic data, location information indicating a location of the portable communication device and environmental information including a time when the diagnostic data was received, and transmitting the diagnostic data including the location information and the environmental information to the support server via the communication network;
a step of, when the support server receives the diagnostic data including the location information and the environmental information, analyzing the cause of a failure of the vehicle or the electronic control device based on the received diagnostic data including the location information and the environmental information. 11. A fault diagnosis method according to claim 10 , comprising:
the fault diagnosis system further comprises a service staff information terminal connected to the support server via the communication network,
A fault diagnosis method characterized by comprising a fourth transmission step in which the support server generates information on repair processing for the vehicle or the electronic control unit based on analysis results of the cause of the failure of the vehicle or the electronic control unit, and transmits the generated information on repair processing to the service personnel information terminal via the communication network.

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