Claims:We claim:
1 A method of obtaining onboard diagnostic data of a vehicle, said method comprising:
Establishing connection between an onboard diagnostic module (12) and an in-vehicle communication device (14) of said vehicle; and
acquiring said onboard diagnostic data from said onboard diagnostic module (12) by said in-vehicle communication device (14).
2 The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said in-vehicle communication device (14) is a Car radio infotainment unit or a navigation system.
3 The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said in-vehicle communication device (14) is a smart-phone integration unit.
4 The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said connection between said onboard diagnostic module (12) and said in-vehicle communication device (14) is established using one of a wired communication means or a wireless communication means or an optical fiber communication.
5 The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising
transmitting said onboard diagnostic data to an external device (16) by said in-vehicle communication device (14).
6 The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein said external device (16) is one selected from a group of devices such as a smart-phone, a laptop and a diagnostic testing device.
7 A system of obtaining onboard diagnostic data of a vehicle, said system comprising:
an onboard diagnostic module (12) comprising said onboard diagnostic data of said vehicle; and
an in-vehicle communication device (14) adapted to be connected to said onboard diagnostic module (12) for acquiring said onboard diagnostic data from said onboard diagnostic module (12).
8 The system as claimed in claim 7, wherein said in-vehicle communication device (14) is adapted to be connected to said onboard diagnostic module (12) using one of a wired communication medium and a wireless communication medium or an optical fiber communication.
9 The system as claimed in claim 7 further comprising:
an external device (16) adapted to be connected to said in-vehicle communication device (14) for receiving said onboard diagnostic data from said in-vehicle communication device (14).

10 The system as claimed in claim 7 wherein said external device (16) is one selected from a group of devices such as a smart-phone, laptop and a diagnostic testing device.
, Description:Field of the invention:
[0001] The invention relates to a method of obtaining onboard diagnostic data of a vehicle.

Background of the invention:
[0002] Onboard diagnostic system is installed in every vehicle for obtaining diagnostic data of the vehicle. The onboard diagnostic system is in communication with various vehicle components for obtaining diagnostic data. In case of any critical error an MIL lab is turned ON to notify user. The diagnostic data is sent to an external device such as a smart phone or a laptop embedded with numerous diagnostic codes for identifying and examining the fault condition. The diagnostic data is transmitted to the external device through a specific hardware device known as an OBD dongle. The OBD dongle is physically connected to the onboard diagnostic system and is enabled with wireless communication protocol for connecting with the external devices. Hence, transmitting the diagnostic data to the external device. The OBD dongle connects to the external device using wireless communication, for example, WI-FI or Bluetooth.
[0003] According to US2002150050, disclosed is a method of conveying vehicle operation data from a vehicle to a remote monitoring recipient, comprising the steps of establishing a data link between the vehicle and the remote monitoring recipient; collecting vehicle operation data from data sources in the vehicle; packaging the vehicle operation data in a data packet using protocol derived from SNMP; and conveying the data packet over the data link.

Brief description of the accompanying drawings:
[0004] Figure 1 is a flowchart for a method of obtaining onboard diagnostic data of a vehicle, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure; and
[0005] Figure 2 is a system for obtaining onboard diagnostic data of a vehicle, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure.
Detailed description of the embodiments:
[0006] Figure 1 is a flowchart for a method of obtaining onboard diagnostic data of a vehicle, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0007] At step 105, connection between an onboard diagnostic module (12) and an in-vehicle communication device (14) is established.

[0008] The onboard diagnostic module (12) is in communication with vehicle components and is adapted to receive onboard diagnostic data from various components of the vehicle. Examples of the onboard diagnostic data include, but are not limited to, odometer parameters, fuel level, engine speed, engine torque, NOx level, Particulate matter level, fuel injection data, engine temperature, coolant temperature, air flow rate, fuel pressure, seat position sensor and other various vehicle parameters.
[0009] The onboard diagnostic module (12) is connected to the various components of the vehicle using wired communication. Usually cable harness is used for connecting various modules in the vehicle components to the onboard diagnostic module (12). In some cases, the onboard diagnostic module (12) may be connected to the components of the vehicle using other communication means such as optical fiber communication, wireless communication means such as, but not limited to, WLAN, ZigBee or Bluetooth.
[0010] Examples of the in-vehicle communication device (14) include, but are not limited to, car radio infotainment unit or navigation system integrated in the vehicle for connecting a smart-phone to the vehicle.
[0011] The in-vehicle communication device (14) is usually enabled with a wireless communication means, such as WIFI or Bluetooth for establishing connection with external device (16). Additionally, the in-vehicle communication device (14) may include a display unit for displaying user interface data. But it should be noted that, not all in-vehicle communication device (14) is equipped with the display unit.
[0012] The onboard diagnostic module (12) and the in-vehicle communication device (14) is present within the vehicle (10) and the connection between the onboard diagnostic module (12) and the in-vehicle communication device (14) is established using various communication means such as wired communication means, wireless communication means and optical fiber communication.
[0013] In case of wired communication means, the onboard diagnostic module (12) is connected to the in-vehicle communication device (14) using cable harness. In case of wireless communication means, a WLAN, ZigBee, are embedded in the onboard diagnostic module (12) and the in-vehicle communication device (14) so that connection is established with each other. In case of optical fiber communication, optical fibers are connected between the onboard diagnostic module (12) and the in-vehicle communication device (14) for establishing connection with each other.
[0014] Once the connection between the onboard diagnostic module (12) and the in-vehicle communication device (14) is established, at step 110, the onboard diagnostic data is acquired by the in-vehicle communication device (14). That is, the onboard diagnostic module (12) transmits the onboard diagnostic data to the in-vehicle communication device (14). In some cases, the onboard diagnostic module (12) can receive data and commands from in-vehicle communication device (14), which can be a request from an external device (16) or a request from a cloud server to get more diagnostic details for processing.
[0015] In cases where the in-vehicle communication device (14) is equipped with a display unit, the onboard diagnostic data can also be displayed on the display unit. Hence, a user can view the onboard diagnostic data directly displayed on the display unit of the in-vehicle communication device (14).
[0016] Also, the method also includes transmitting the onboard diagnostic data to an external device (16) by the in-vehicle communication device (14). Examples of the external device (16) include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, TABLETS, a laptop, a diagnostic testing device and an IoT enabled equipment. Transmission of the onboard diagnostic data to the external device (16) is obtained through wireless communication means such as, but not limited to, Bluetooth.
[0017] Most commonly, the in-vehicle communication device (14), for example, the car radio infotainment unit or navigation system connects with the external device (16), for example, a smart-phone using wireless communication means. That is, the car radio infotainment unit or navigation system unit and the user device are connected through Bluetooth or WiFi interface for establishing wireless communication with each other.
[0018] A user of a smart-device can receive the onboard diagnostic data using existing wireless communication modules like Bluetooth, or WiFi installed in the in-vehicle communication device (14) such as an Car radio infotainment unit or navigation system. An application running on the smart-device facilitates the receipt of the onboard diagnostic data from vehicle. The onboard diagnostic data received is displayed on a display of the smart-phone. In some cases, the onboard diagnostic data is sent to a cloud server for further analysis by the smart-phone.
[0019] The pattern or structure in which the onboard diagnostic data is displayed on the smart-phone or the external device (16) depends on various parameters such as the application running on the smart-phone, size of the display, parameters selected by the user, access permission provided by manufacturer and the like.
[0020] Therefore, the method enables a user to view onboard diagnostic data on his/her smart-phone or an external device (16) without needing an external hardware such as an OBD dongle. This enables the user to at least detect or understand an erroneous condition thereby, in some cases, eliminating an immediate need for the user to visit a service station or understanding the criticality of diagnosed data and immediately rush to service station for servicing thereby avoiding further damages to vehicle.
[0021] Figure 2 is a system for obtaining onboard diagnostic data of a vehicle, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. The system comprises an onboard diagnostic module (12) that includes the onboard diagnostic data of the vehicle and an in-vehicle communication device (14) adapted to be connected to the onboard diagnostic module (12) for acquiring the onboard diagnostic data from the onboard diagnostic module (12).
[0022] The onboard diagnostic module (12) is in communication with various components of the vehicle for receiving data from the components. The onboard diagnostic module (12) is connected to various components of the vehicle using wired communication means or wireless communication means or optical fiber communication.
[0023] Hence, the onboard diagnostic module (12) obtains onboard diagnostic data of the vehicle.
[0024] The system also includes an in-vehicle communication device (14) adapted to be connected to the onboard diagnostic module (12) for acquiring the onboard diagnostic data from the onboard diagnostic module (12).
[0025] The in-vehicle communication device (14) is adapted to be connected to the onboard diagnostic module (12) using various communication means such as wired communication means or wireless communication means or optical fiber communication.
[0026] In case of wired communication means, the in-vehicle communication device (14) is connected to the onboard diagnostic module (12) using cable harness. In case of wireless communication means, the in-vehicle communication device (14) may have connected to the onboard diagnostic module (12) using interfaces such as WLAN and ZigBee integrated in the in-vehicle communication device (14) and the onboard diagnostic module (12). In case of optical fiber communication, the in-vehicle communication device (14) is connected to the onboard diagnostic module (12) using optical fibers.
[0027] Such connection of the in-vehicle communication device (14) with the onboard diagnostic module (12) enables the in-vehicle communication device (14) to acquire the onboard diagnostic data from onboard diagnostic module (12).
[0028] Most commonly, the in-vehicle communication device (14) is device that is enabled to connect with external devices using wireless communication. Hence, the preferred in-vehicle communication device (14) used in this disclosure is a Car radio infotainment unit or navigation system or a smart-phone integration unit.
[0029] The system also includes an external device (16) for obtaining such onboard diagnostic data. That is, the in-vehicle communication device (14) is adapted to transmit the onboard diagnostic data to an external device (16), such as a smart-phone, a laptop and a diagnostic testing device. Thus a user of the external device (16) can view the onboard diagnostic data on a display of the external device (16).
[0030] Various communication means are used for establishing communication between the vehicle communication device and the external device (16) so that the onboard diagnostic data is transmitted to the external device (16).
[0031] Most commonly, the in-vehicle communication device (14), for example, the Car radio infotainment unit or navigation system or any dashboard devices or cockpit units are adapted to be connected with the external device (16), for example, a smart-phone using wireless communication means. That is, the Car radio infotainment unit or navigation system and the smart-phone are integrated with a Bluetooth, WIFI, or similar interfaces for establishing wireless communication with each other.
[0032] Therefore the present disclosure enables a method of obtaining onboard diagnostic data without using any external hardware such as an OBD dongle. The existing Car radio infotainment unit or navigation system or any unit in the vehicle adapted to be connected to an external device (16) such as a smart-phone can be used for acquiring the onboard diagnostic data. Hence, the user can download complete error details and also understand fault condition. Also if need be, the onboard diagnostic data can be sent or uploaded to remote server for further analysis. Also, since the method eliminates the need for using an OBD dongle, the method of obtaining onboard diagnostic data is being made more optimal and economical.
[0033] It should be understood that embodiments explained in the description above are only illustrative and do not limit the scope of this invention. Many such embodiments with regard to the type of connection established between the onboard diagnostic module (12) and the in-vehicle communication device (14), structure of display of the onboard diagnostic data on a display of the external device (16) or the in-vehicle communication device (14) envisaged. The scope of the invention is only limited by the scope of the claims.