Vehicle diagnostic record mapping
Contents
1. 50 55 60 65 12 ing and Diagnostic Module SDM in FIG 5 is derived from CKT 347 AND SDM and COMPONENT LOCATION Left front floor stud is derived from STUD AT THE DRIVERS FLOOR in the resolution text summary 430 field in FIG 4 An embodiment of the present invention maps semi structured and unstructured vehicle service records into a target record format This may result in making free text information more useful by providing the ability to group and eliminate redundancies among like service records and to sort and search on keywords contained in target record attributes This data may then be presented to technicians as a lessons learned database for use in diagnosing and servic ing vehicles and provided to product developers for use in developing new products or product upgrades In addition an embodiment of the present invention furthers the use of a standard vocabulary by translating the phrases found in free text into standard language phrases to be entered into the target record The ability to automate the conversion of unstructured service data into structured target records may result in a cost savings when compared to performing the conversion manually In addition automating the process may lead to more consistent data in the target records The ability to take previously solved problems that are docu mented only in unstructured text and convert them into a structured target record format a2. SERIES e g Limited Custom VIN BODY e g two door sedan four door all purpose vehicle VIN ENGINE encodes displacement configuration and fuel system e g 4 0 liter V8 Sequential Fuel Injection 1 8 liter inline 4 cylinder Sequential Fuel Injection VIN YR vehicle year code VIN PLANT plant where vehicle was manufactured VIN SERIAL serial number of vehicle and MILEAGE The target record format depicted in FIG 2 also includes a set of bookkeeping attributes 230 The bookkeeping attributes 230 include information about who entered the service record data and the status of the structured record The bookkeeping attributes 230 include DATE AUTHORED DATE EDITED AUTHOR EDITOR BUL LETINS bulletins related to the structured record RECORD NUMBER the sequence number of the source record utilized to create this structured record TARGET RECORD STATUS e g is the target record released or unreleased RELEASE AUTHORIZER and LANGUAGE e g English German An exemplary target record format also includes a set of system attributes 240 The system attributes 240 contain information about the category of service described in the target record format The system attributes 240 include SERVICE CATEGORY TYPE the applicable service manual section e g transmission SER VICE CATEGORY the applicable service manual sub section e g automatic manual and SERVICE SUB CATEGORY identifies additional description of the ser
3. fields and contains further information about the FUNCTIONAL COMPONENT SYSTEM The FREQUENCY attribute describes the frequency with which the problem is observed or experienced It may be sourced from a keyword heading field in the TAC record or from the TAC text data Phrases that the text mining software could be instructed to locate include always intermittent flashing and flickers The vehicle diagnostic record mapping soft ware may be instructed to recognize various spellings and abbreviations of the word intermittent may be directed to enter the word always in the FREQUENCY field in response to locating the terms always constantly or constant in the text and be instructed to recognize variants of phrases such as 1 time only 2 days for 2 days and erratic The ENVIRONMENT CONDITION attribute describes the con dition of the environment at the time the symptom is observed This attribute may be generated from a keyword heading field in the TAC record or from the TAC text data using text mining capabilities The environment condition may be defined using terms such as hot cold rain car wash and road surface For example HVAC cases may include a case where the symptom is cold draft from door handle and the ENVIRONMENT CONDITION attribute may include the data string strong wind The VEHICLE CONDITION attribute describes the operating conditions of the vehicle at US 6 768 935 B1 9 the time the symptom is o
4. global network e g Internet a virtual private network VPN and an intranet The 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 network 106 may be implemented using a wireless network or any kind of physical network implementation known in the art Auser system 102 may be coupled to the host system through multiple networks e g intranet and Internet so that not all user systems 102 are coupled to the host system 104 through the same network One or more of the user systems 102 and the host system 104 may be connected to the network 106 in a wireless fashion In an exemplary embodiment the user system 102 is connected directly i e not via the network 106 to the host system 104 which executes the vehicle diagnostic record mapping software The storage device 108 may be implemented using a variety of devices for storing electronic information It is understood that the storage device 108 may be implemented using memory contained in the host system 104 or it may be a separate physical device The storage device 108 is logi cally addressable as a consolidated data source across a distributed environment that includes a network 106 The physical data may be located in a variety of geographic locations depending on application and access requirements Information stored in the storage device 108 may be retrieved and manipulated via the host system 104 The storage device 108 includes a database of target record
5. keyword heading fields e g keyword qualifier non keyword qualifier Text mining software may be instructed to look for bul letin numbers in the text and keyword heading fields in the form XXXXXX XX XX XX XXXXXXXX XX XX XX XX XXXXXXXXX XX XX XX XXX YXXXXXX OF YXXXXXxy where y is a letter and x is an integer In addition bulletin numbers may be preceded by TSB Technical Service Bulletin PSB Published Service Bulletin SB Service Bulletin PI Preliminary Information SMU Service Manual Update Bulletin or Bull Note that the general rule implies that any 6 8 or 9 digit number can represent a bulletin If this is true then there may be a conflict with other attributes e g part number may be an 8 digit number and the text mining tool will have to determine the appropriate choice from the context of the text More specific rules may be created for specific systems or components within the vehicle For example for an anti lock brake system ABS the following rules may be utilized to identify bulletins if the third character is then the string represents a bulletin and if the first two characters are AO then the string represents a bulletin The remaining set of bookkeeping attributes 230 may contain default values For example DATE EDITED may default to blank and then be updated if the record is edited TARGET RECORD STATUS may default to unreleased RELEA
6. nature of the SYMPTOM FUNC TIONAL COMPONENT SYSTEM DETAIL is filled in with Left Front Driver derived from DRIVERS in the text field 420 portion of the TAC service record and taken from standard phrases on file for this kind of symptom In other words because the SYMPTOM was Air Bag a particular subset of phrases those related to air bag problems may be scanned for by the text mining functions of the vehicle diagnostic record mapping application The result is that CODE 24 becomes DTC Diagnostic Trouble Code 24 the DTC QUALIFER is set to Current by default The FREQUENCY attribute under the set of symptom attributes 550 in FIG 5 is filled in with the word Always based on finding the word STAYS ON in the text field 420 in FIG 4 The ADDITIONAL SYMPTOM COMMENTS are gleaned from the TEXT focusing on diagnostic and repair verbs with associated noun phrases as guided by the text mining logic The attributes listed under the set of action attributes 560 in FIG 5 are filled in based on the results of applying text mining capabilities to the data contained in the resolu tion text summary field 430 in FIG 4 The resulting data in the ACTION TAKEN attribute under the set of action attributes 560 in FIG 5 includes Repair Replace derived from REPAIRED AND REPLACED Similarly the COMPONENT NAME Wiring harness circuit 347 Sens 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
7. not be tracked and depending on the data contained in the source records data may not exist for every entry in the target record The text mining capabilities may be set up differently depending on the type of source records and the structure of the target records In addition the text mining functions may be updated and fine tuned based on the accuracy of the mapping results as well as in response to changes in terminology technology and practices by service technicians FIG 4 is an exemplary subset of a semi structured vehicle service record from a technical assistant center TAC It US 6 768 935 B1 11 includes a heading information field 410 a text field 420 and a resolution text summary field 430 Both the text field 420 and the resolution text summary field 430 contain free text that may be searched using text mining capabilities FIG 5 is an exemplary subset of a target record that is the result of mapping the semi structured service diagnostic record depicted in FIG 4 using an exemplary embodiment of the present invention As shown in FIGS 4 and 5 the heading information field 410 is mapped directly into the corre sponding attributes in the target record Referring to FIG 5 the following attributes are filled in with data directly from corresponding fields in the source record depicted in FIG 4 all vehicle description attributes 520 all bookkeeping attributes 530 all system attributes 540 here there are some name
8. of the previous list of phrases In an exemplary embodiment the FUNCTIONAL COMPONENT SYSTEM attribute of the target record indi cates which part of the vehicle is experiencing causing the condition described in the MAIN SYMPTOM GROUP For example if the MAIN SYMPTOM GROUP contains the value indicator on then the text mining software will search to locate the specific indicator that is being referred to In this example the text mining software may search for terms that include antilock brake system ABS enhanced traction control ETC traction control system TCS low traction low trac service engine soon SES service vehicle soon SVS low tire pressure monitor LTPM low tire pressure warning system LTPWS brake ABS active and traction off Other phrases in the text and keyword heading fields may be specified for searching depending on factors such as whether the indicator is part of the instrument cluster driver information center secondary information center or navigation radio display As shown in the previous example an embodiment of the present invention allows for the text mining software to search for different phrases in the TAC service record text and keyword heading fields based on data values contained in one or more of the target record fields The FUNCTIONAL COMPONENT SYSTEM DETAIL attribute in the set of symptom attributes 250 of the target record is sourced from the TAC service record text or keyword heading
9. program attempts to locate bookkeeping data in the TAC service record If bookkeeping data is located then step 312 is performed to map the bookkeeping data into book keeping attributes 230 in the target record format otherwise processing continues with step 314 In an exemplary embodiment the DATE AUTHORED AUTHOR EDITOR and RECORD NUMBER fields are sourced from the cor responding fields in the TAC service record The BULLE TINS field may be populated utilizing text mining capabili ties Performing text mining includes utilizing a text mining software tool to inspect the free text and keyword heading field portions of the TAC service record for standard termi nology or for clues in the text in order to source an attribute in the target record The use of a controlled vocabulary ontology including standard terms and phrases when entering a TAC service record can expedite this process but it is not required to implement an embodiment of the present invention The BULLETINS field may be generated from the TAC record heading fields labeled bulletin number or keyword qualifier or non keyword qualifier or US 6 768 935 B1 7 alternatively from the text portion of the TAC record The TAC record bulletin number heading field is searched first and if a match is found will be used to populate the BULLETINS field Otherwise text mining will be utilized in an attempt to populate the BULLETINS field from the text or
10. 0 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 embodiment the method comprises receiving a vehicle service record A target record is created in response to receiving the vehicle service record The target record includes a target record number attribute a set of vehicle description attributes a set of bookkeeping attributes a set of system attributes a set of symptom attributes and a set of action attributes Vehicle description data is mapped into the set of vehicle description attributes in response to locating the vehicle description data in the vehicle service record Bookkeeping data is mapped into the set of bookkeeping attributes in response to locating the bookkeeping data in the vehicle service record Vehicle system data is mapped into the set of system attributes in response to locating the system data in the vehicle service record Symptom data is mapped into the set of symptom attributes in response to locating the symptom data in the vehicle service record Action data is mapped into the set of action attributes in response to locating the action data in the vehicle service record In another aspect a system for vehicle diagnostic record mapping comprises a network and a host system in com munication with the network The host system includes application software to implement a method for receiving a vehicle service record A target record is created in response to receiving the vehicle service record The target record in
11. E een VON VEHICLE DESCRIPTION 506 ATTRIBUTES IN Dest TARGET RECORD 312 GENERATE BOOKKEEPING LOCATE 510 BOOKKEEPING ATTRIBUTES IN DATA TARGET RECORD 316 GENERATE SYSTEM LOCATE ATTRIBUTES IN h ES SYSTEM ia TARGET DATA RECORD NO 320 GENERATE LOCATE SYMPTOM 318 SYMPTOM gt ATTRIBUTES IN DATA TARGET RECORD GENERATE ACTION vee LOCATE 399 ATTRIBUTES IN j lt TARGET RECORD ACTION DATA NO 528 eno FIG 3 U S Patent Jul 27 2004 Sheet 4 of 5 US 6 768 935 B1 410 HEADING INFORMATION VIN IGMDX03E0VD211750 VEHICLE YEAR 1997 MAKE CHEVROLET MODEL VENTURE APV ENGINE 3 4L V6 MFI MILEAGE 43852 DATE ENTERED 01 Mar 00 USER ID UPDATED HZKD7D CASE NUMBER 3776537 SERVICE MANUAL SECTION Restraints SUBSECTION Supplemental Inflatable Restraints COMPONENT TYPE null MAIN SYMPTOM GROUP Indicator On 420 TEXT STRATEGY BASED DIAGNOSTICS _2_ Number of times in for the same condition _4_ Number of days vehicle in dealership for same condition _Y_ YAN Is the vehicle in the dealership _N_ Y N Is the vehicle modified non production accessories if yes list _Y_ Y N Can complaint be duplicated if yes Sreq hot cold etc _N_ Y N Have you compared this with an identical vehicle _N_ Y N Can you isolate the area of the customers complaint _Y_ Y N S M search completed if yes list section pe _Y
12. OMMENTS attribute will be populated utilizing text mining capabilities by searching the text data in the TAC service record for additional comments relating to the action attributes 260 At step 326 the vehicle diagnostic record mapping is complete and processing ends The exemplary embodiment described in reference to FIGS 2 and 3 is one where a semi structured TAC service record is mapped into a target record format Target record formats that differ from the one depicted in FIG 2 may be utilized with an embodiment of the present invention other attributes and sets of attributes may be added or existing ones may be eliminated based on user requirements Similarly the source for the mapping may be a TAC service record as well as any other semi structured or un structured service document including war ranty information records and field feedback records Each set of target records may be sourced from one or more types of semi structure d or unstructured vehicle service records e g TAC and warranty Each type of vehicle service record may have a corresponding set of mapping and text mining software rules that conform to local norms and result in the data being mapped into a common target record format In addition it is not necessary for all attributes in the target record to be filled in with data values when the vehicle diagnostic record mapping process has been completed Depending on the type of source records some attributes may
13. SE AUTHORIZER may default to blank and then be updated with the name of the service engineer who releases the case and LANGUAGE may default to English Once the set of bookkeeping attributes 230 is in the target record format step 312 is complete and processing continues at step 314 At step 314 the vehicle diagnostic record mapping appli cation program attempts to locate system data in the TAC service record If system data is located then step 316 is performed to map the system data into system attributes 240 of the target record format otherwise processing continues with step 318 In an exemplary embodiment the SERVICE CATEGORY TYPE is sourced from the service manual section heading field and the SERVICE CATEGORY attribute is sourced from the subsection heading field in the TAC service record The SERVICE SUB CATEGORY attribute may be sourced from either the component type heading field the keyword qualifier heading field the non keyword qualifier heading field or from the text data in the TAC service record The SERVICE SUB CATEGORY attribute identifies additional information about the SERVICE CATEGORY The text mining software may be instructed to locate this additional information which may include data such as engine and transmission numbers At step 318 the vehicle diagnostic record mapping appli cation program attempts to locate symptom data in the TAC service record If symptom data is located
14. _ Y N Bulletin or PI search performed _Y_ Y N Is the customer concern the same as symptom description if no list _Y_ Y N Condition details list dtc s etc _Y_ Y N Diagnosis parts replaced veh history etc TECH TOM BILLINGS STS SIR LAMP FLASHES 7 TIMES AND STAYS ON DLR REPLACED DRIVERS INFLATOR MODULE AND SDM LAST VISIT WAS OK FOR SEVERAL WEEKS CODE RESET DLR STS FLOW CHART FOR CODE 24 IS INCORRECT AND IS LEADING HIM TO INSTALL ANOTHER DRIVERS MODULE DLR DID FIND A CHAFFED WIRE CKT 347 AT LEFT FLOOR AREA ADVISE J UNPLUG CONNECTOR AT BASE OF COLUMN AND UNPLUG SDM CK FOR CONTINUITY TO GROUND ON CKTS 347 AND 348 WHILE MANIPULATING HARNESS 2 COMPARE DRIVER SENSE LOW VALUE TO A KNOWN GOOD VEHICLE 3 IF ALL OK REPLACE SDM 430 RESOLUTION TEXT SUMMARY DLR TECH TOM REPORTS FINDING WIRES CHAFFED BY THE STUD AT THE DRIVERS FLOOR REPAIRED AND REPLACED CKT 347 AND SDM FIG 4 U S Patent Jul 27 2004 Sheet 5 of 5 US 6 768 935 B1 510 TARGET RECORD NUMBER 54321 520 _ VEHICLE DESCRIPTION VIN 1GMDX03E0VD211750 VEH YR 1997 VIN MAKE CHEVROLET VIN MODEL VENTURE APV VIN ENGINE 3 4L V6 MFI MILEAGE 43852 530 7 BOOKKEEPING DATE AUTHORED 01 Mar 00 AUTHOR EDITOR HZKD7D TAC RECORD NUMBER 3776537 540 SYSTEM SERVICE CATEGORY TYPE Restraints SERVICE CATEGORY Supplemental Inflatable Restraints SERVICE SUB CATEGORY null 550 SYMPTOM 560 MAIN SYMPTOM GROUP Indica
15. a United States Patent US006768935B1 10 Patent No US 6 768 935 B1 Morgan et al 45 Date of Patent Jul 27 2004 54 VEHICLE DIAGNOSTIC RECORD MAPPING 6 449 539 B1 9 2002 Ohno et al wees 701 31 75 Inventors Alexander P Morgan Birmingham OTHER PUBLICATIONS MI US Lawrence M Quinn US Publication No US 2003 0014383A1 Jan 2003 Cho et Macomb MI US Gulcin Sengir al Techniques for Facilitating information acquisition and Bloomfield Hills MI US Diane I storage Gibbons Troy MI US Michael A Lakemeyer Gerhard Nebel Bernhard Exploring Artificial Sowa Clinton Township MI US Intelligence in the New Millennium Chapter 3 Natural Stephen L Falko Southfield MI US Language Understandingj pp 69 102 Frederick J Vondrak Livonia MI Weiss Sholom Indurkhya Nitin Predictive Data Mining A US Thorsten W Rommel Mainz Practical Guide pp 4 6 DE PE cited by examiner 73 Assignee mS Motors Corporation Detroit Primary Examiner Yonel Beaulieu 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Kathryn A Marra Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this 57 ABSTRACT patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U S C 154 b by 0 days A method for vehicle diagnostic record mapping comprising receiving a vehicle service record A target record is created 21 Appl No 10 408 848 in response to receiving the vehicle service record The target record includes a target record numb
16. bserved Conditions may include hot cold under load acceleration deceleration just after starting parking maneuvers and highway speeds Note that the hot and cold in this context refers to the condition of the vehicle and not the ambient air temperature The VEHICLE CONDITION attribute may be sourced using a keyword heading field in the TAC service record or through using the text field in the TAC service record The text mining soft ware may be instructed to recognize variations of stop start turning accelerating MPH or KM H to indicate speed at which the symptom occurs bumps turning high speed low speed normal braking and ignition switch position The VEHICLE ZONE attribute in the set of symptom attributes 250 of the target record is sourced from a TAC service record keyword heading field or text and contains specific information that adds to the information already provided about the symptom Values that the text mining software may search for include top bottom right hand side and left hand side Also included in the set of symptom attributes 250 may be a DTC diagnostic trouble code associated with the record In an exemplary system using an ABS system as an example the DTC field may be in the form yxxxx where y is B C P or U and x is any integer In an exemplary embodiment the words no codes and no dtc will be recognized and be utilized to populate the DTC field with the phrase NO DTC s so that it ca
17. changes SERVICE MANUAL SECTION to SER VICE CATEGORY TYPE SUBSECTION to SERVICE CATEGORY and COMPONENT TYPE to SERVICE SUB CATEGORY and the MAIN SYMPTOM GROUP attribute in the set of symptom attributes 550 Further the target record number attribute 510 is generated as a part of the target record authoring and maintenance process and is not related to any data in the semi structured service diagnostic record depicted in FIG 4 The other attributes in the target record depicted in FIG 5 are filled in from the text field 420 and resolution text summary field 430 portions of the TAC service record shown in FIG 4 This is accomplished by utilizing the text mining capabilities described above For example because the service manual section is restraints the text mining function searches for data related to restraints to enter into the SYMPTOM and SYMPTOM DETAIL attributes The phrase SIR LAMP FLASHES 7 TIMES AND STAYS ON is changed to the agreed upon standard phrase Air Bag Light On in the SYMPTOM field on the target record This manipulation of the data can provide consistency in describing the symptom and allow searching and grouping of like symptoms Each implementation may utilize a different set of standard phrases depending on the standard language utilized or recommended when describ ing vehicle diagnostic data Similarly the FUNCTIONAL COMPONENT SYSTEM attribute is filled in with Air Bag derived from the
18. circuit for performing a method comprising receiving a vehicle service record creating a target record in response to said receiving wherein said target record includes a target record number attribute a set of vehicled description attributes a set of bookkeeping attributes a set of system attributes a set of symptom attributes and a sect of action attributes mapping vehicle description data into said set of vehicle description attributes in response to locating said vehicle description data in said vehicle service record 5 10 16 mapping bookkeeping data into said set of bookkeep ing attributes in response to locating said bookkeep ing data in said vehicle service record mapping system data into said set of system attributes in response to locating said system data in said vehicle service record mapping symptom data into said set of symptom attributes in response to locating said symptom data in said vehicle service record and mapping action data into said set of action attributes in response to locating said action data in said vehicle service record
19. cludes a target record number attribute a set of vehicle description attributes a set of bookkeeping attributes a set of system attributes a set of symptom attributes and a set of action attributes Vehicle description data is mapped into the set of vehicle description attributes in response to locating the vehicle description data in the vehicle service record Bookkeeping data is mapped into the set of bookkeeping attributes in response to locating the bookkeeping data in the vehicle service record Vehicle system data is mapped into the set of system attributes in response to locating the system data in the vehicle service record Symptom data is mapped into the set of symptom attributes in response to locating the symptom data in the vehicle service record Action data is mapped into the set of action attributes in response to locating the action data in the vehicle service record In a further aspect a computer program product for vehicle diagnostic record mapping comprises a storage medium readable by a processing circuit and storing instruc tions for execution by the processing circuit for performing a method comprising receiving vehicle service record A target record is created in response to receiving the vehicle service record The target record includes a target record number attribute a set of vehicle description attributes a set of bookkeeping attributes a set of system attributes a set of symptom attributes and a set of act
20. d be performed by an expert who is familiar with vehicle diagnosis and the stan dard vocabulary Both of these approaches have pitfalls For example forcing the use of a controlled vocabulary and the entry of data only in structured attributes could lead to losing valu able insight into the diagnosis process because the service technician may not find a category that exactly matches the information he has acquired In addition the computer system might need frequent upgrades to account for new vehicle models and new service trends Because data entry may be difficult and too structured the service technician may not enter data into the system at all or the service technician may enter data that is incomplete or inaccurate Using text mining tools to extract information from free text data may make it difficult to group and re use the data because of a lack of standard terminology on which to base searches and groupings Further depending on the service technician entering the data different categories of infor mation may be entered again making it difficult to consoli date data across records These problems of inconsistent and incomplete data may be magnified when records from more than one repair facility are to be included in the database of structured service records BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION One aspect of the present invention is a method for vehicle diagnostic record mapping In an exemplary 10 15 20 25 3
21. em comprising a network and a host system in communication with said network said host system including application software to imple ment a method comprising receiving a vehicle service record via said network creating a target record in response to said receiving wherein said target record includes a target record number attribute a set of vehicle description attributes a set of bookkeeping attributes a set of system attributes a set of symptom attributes and a set of action attributes mapping vehicle description data into said set of vehicle description attributes in response to locating said vehicle description data in said vehicle service record mapping bookkeeping data into said set of bookkeep ing attributes in response to locating said bookkeep ing data in said vehicle service record mapping system data into said set of system attributes in response to locating said system data in said vehicle service record mapping symptom data into said set of symptom attributes in response to locating said symptom data in said vehicle service record and mapping action data into said set of action attributes in response to locating said action data in said vehicle service record 19 A computer program product for vehicle diagnostic record mapping the computer program product comprising US 6 768 935 B1 15 a storage medium readable by a processing circuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing
22. er attribute a set 22 Filed Apr 7 2003 of vehicle description attributes a set of bookkeeping 51 Int C17 o GO6F 7 00 GO1M 17 00 tibutes a set of system attributes a set of symptom f attributes and a set of action attributes Vehicle description 52 U S Cl oassssssssssrsssssssresessessssnsrnsnnsnens 701 29 701 35 data is mapped into the set of vehicle description attributes 58 Field of Search 701 29 30 32 in response to locating the vehicle description data in the 701 34 35 702 183 187 188 vehicle service record Bookkeeping data is mapped into the set of bookkeeping attributes in response to locating the 56 References Cited bookkeeping data in the vehicle service record Vehicle U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 5 541 840 A 5 542 024 A 5 546 507 A 5 918 240 A 6 205 456 B1 6 374 261 B1 6 389 337 B1 6 405 162 B1 7 1996 Gurne et al 701 33 7 1996 Balint et al r 8 1996 Staub eee eeeeeeeeeeee 395 76 6 1999 Kupiec et al 707 531 3 2001 Nakao 707 531 4 2002 Alvarez et al 707 200 5 2002 Kolls 00 701 29 6 2002 Segond et al 704 9 GENERATE GENERATE ENTER TARGET RECORD NUMBER iN TARGET RECORD VEHICLE DESCRIPTION YES LOCATE ATTRIBUTES IN VEHICLE DESCRIPTION TARGET DATA RECORD NO SYSTEM ATTRIBUTES IN TARGET RECORD system data is mapped into the set of system attributes in response to locating the system data in the vehicle ser
23. er symptom attributes 250 may include VEHICLE ZONE specific information that adds to the information already provided about the symptom e g top bottom right hand side DTC diagnostic trouble code automatically generated by the 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 electronics of the vehicle DTC QUALIFIER describes the status of the DTC e g current history null current and history and ADDITIONAL SYMPTOM COMMENTS The target record format depicted in FIG 2 also includes a set of action attributes 260 The action attributes 260 include information about what service was performed in response to the service request or symptoms that generated the source record The action attributes 260 include ACTION TAKEN the action taken to fix the problem COMPONENT NAME COMPONENT LOCATION the location of the component being acted upon COMPO NENT PIECE OF free text that defines the piece of the component being acted upon COMPONENT DETAIL free text that defines the component being acted upon in detail LABOR OPS labor operation codes and ADDI TIONAL ACTION COMMENTS FIG 3 is a flow diagram of an exemplary vehicle diag nostic record mapping process that can be utilized to convert a semi structured service record in this case a TAC service record into a structured target record The process begins at step 302 when a semi structured vehicle service record is received At step 304 a tar
24. es text mining functions that may be provided by a commercial product In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention a commercial text mining software tool is integrated in a seamless fashion with the rest of the functions provided by the vehicle diagnostic record mapping software Processing may be shared by the user system 102 and the host system 104 by providing an application e g java applet to the user system 102 Alternatively the user system 102 can include a stand alone software application for performing a portion or all of the processing described herein As previously described it is understood that sepa rate servers may be utilized to implement the network server functions and the application server functions Alternatively the network server the firewall and the application server may be implemented by a single server executing computer programs to perform the requisite functions FIG 2 is an exemplary target record format The exem plary target record format includes a target record number US 6 768 935 B1 5 attribute 210 Also included in the target record format is a set of vehicle description attributes 220 As depicted in FIG 2 the vehicle description attributes 220 include VIN vehicle identification number VEH YR vehicle year VEH LINE vehicle line e g Platform for cars and S T Trucks 2WD and 4WD small trucks and Sport Utility Vehicles VIN MODEL e g Name VIN MAKE e g Division VIN
25. get record number 210 is gener ated for the new target record At step 306 the vehicle diagnostic record mapping application program attempts to locate vehicle description data in the semi structured service record If vehicle description data is located as determined at step 306 then step 308 is performed otherwise processing continues at step 310 At step 306 vehicle description attributes 220 are generated in the target record In an exemplary embodiment where the semi structured service record is a TAC service record the vehicle description attributes 220 for the target record are mapped directly from corresponding fields in the TAC service record All vehicle description data contained in the service record fields are entered into the corresponding target record attributes One exception may be the VIN MAKE attribute which may be created by copying the first three digits of the VIN field Once step 308 is complete processing continues with step 310 In this example the data fields from the TAC service record map one to one with the corresponding attributes in the target record However this does not have to be the case and other mappings are possible For example all of the vehicle description 220 attributes may be deduced from the VIN except mileage The supplemental information needed to do this is available from a separate software application e g VIN Decoder At step 310 the vehicle diagnostic record mapping appli cation
26. ion attributes Vehicle description data is mapped into the set of vehicle description attributes in response to locating the vehicle description data in the vehicle service record Bookkeeping data is mapped into the set of bookkeeping attributes in response to locating the bookkeeping data in the vehicle service record Vehicle system data is mapped into the set of system attributes in response to locating the system data in the vehicle service record Symptom data is mapped into the set of symptom attributes in response to locating the symptom data in the vehicle service record Action data is mapped into the set of action attributes in response to locating the action data in the vehicle service record BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to the exemplary drawings wherein like ele ments are numbered alike in the several FIGURES FIG 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system for performing vehicle diagnostic record mapping US 6 768 935 B1 3 FIG 2 is an exemplary target record format FIG 3 is a flow diagram of an exemplary vehicle diag nostic record mapping process FIG 4 is an exemplary semi structured vehicle service record from a technical assistant center TAC and FIG 5 is an exemplary target record that is the result of mapping the semi structured vehicle service record depicted in FIG 4 using an exemplary embodiment of the present invention DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A method of vehic
27. le diagnostic record mapping is pre sented The target records created by an exemplary embodi ment of the present invention may be utilized by a technician to assist in vehicle fault diagnosis Target records that have a defined structure e g structured records are created from problem solving records kept by technicians to document their work These problem solving records are generally unstructured or semi structured records e g free text or free text indexed with some key phrases An exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a mapping process that maps unstructured or semi structured records into a database of structured target records that may be accessed by technicians in the field Unstructured or semi structured data may include items such as technical assis tance center TAC phone logs technician feedback records i e feedback by technicians critiquing the quality of exist ing structured records and warranty information records A set of mapping rules is utilized to determine how the unstructured or semi structured records will fill in the attributes of the structured target records The mapping rules may capture and infer diagnostic knowledge from text If an ontology is available the rules may be guided by the ontology and by the structure of the structured records An embodiment of the present invention is specialized to a vehicle diagnostics assistance application As such the mapping rules embody speciali
28. llows previously solved problems to be leveraged in providing future vehicle diag nostic service This may lead to improved service and improved diagnostic quality As described above the embodiments of the invention may be embodied in the form of computer implemented processes and apparatuses for practicing those processes Embodiments of the invention may also be embodied in the form of computer program code containing instructions embodied in tangible media such as floppy diskettes CD ROMs hard drives or any other computer readable storage medium wherein when the computer program code is loaded into and executed by a computer the computer becomes an apparatus for practicing the invention An embodiment of the present invention can also be embodied in the form of computer program code for example whether stored in a storage medium loaded into and or executed by a computer or transmitted over some transmission medium such as over electrical wiring or cabling through fiber optics or via electromagnetic radiation wherein when the computer program code is loaded into and executed by a computer the computer becomes an apparatus for practicing the invention When implemented on a general purpose microprocessor the computer program code segments con figure the microprocessor to create specific logic circuits While the invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments it will be understood by those skilled in
29. n be recog nized that there were actually no DTC s present not simply that there were no DTC s recorded In the case of an exemplary ABS system several rules may be applied to the text mining software in order to extract DTC data from the keyword heading fields or text ABS rules for DTC data extraction may include if the length of the string is five and the first character is a C and the second character is a numeric digit 0 9 then the string corresponds to a DTC and if the length of the string is seven and the first character is a C and the second character is a numeric digit and the sixth character is an E or M then the string corresponds to a DTC Also referring to exemplary ABS rules sometimes the first alpha digit is not included in the text To accom modate this if the length of the string is four and the first character is a numeric digit then the string corresponds to a DTC The vehicle diagnostic record mapping software would then manipulate the data from the TAC service record by adding a C to the beginning of the four digit string to create a five digit DTC Other rules for text mining for an ABS system may include if the first two characters are PO P1 UO or U1 then the string represents a DTC if the string starts with DTC then it represents a DTC and is stored without the DT prefix e g DTC1226 is stored in the structured record as C1226 and some
30. ng said bookkeeping data in said vehicle service record mapping system data into said set of system attributes in response to locating said system data in said vehicle service record mapping symptom data into said set of symptom attributes in response to locating said symptom data in said vehicle service record and mapping action data into said set of action attributes in response to locating said action data in said vehicle service record 2 The method of claim 1 wherein said locating is per formed using text mining 3 The method of claim 1 wherein said locating is per formed by matching a data field in said vehicle service record to one of said attributes in said target record 4 The method of claim 1 wherein said mapping is performed by manipulating data from said vehicle service record into one of said attributes in said target record 5 The method of claim 1 wherein said vehicle service record includes data in an unstructured format 6 The method of claim 1 wherein said vehicle service record includes data in a semi structured format 7 The method of claim 1 wherein said vehicle service record includes data in a free text format 8 The method of claim 1 wherein said set of vehicle description attributes includes a vehicle identification num ber attribute a vehicle year attribute a vehicle line attribute a vehicle identification number model attribute a vehicle identification number make attribute a vehicle iden
31. s and one or more databases of unstructured or semi structured service records The storage device 108 may also include other kinds of data such as information concerning the mapping of the service records to target records e g a user identifier date and time of mapping In an exemplary embodiment the host system 104 operates as a database server and coordinates access to application data including data stored on storage device 108 The host system 104 depicted in FIG 1 may be imple mented using one or more servers operating in response to a computer program stored in a storage medium accessible by the server The host system 104 may operate as a network server e g a web server to communicate with the user system 102 The host system 104 handles sending and receiving information to and from the user system 102 and can perform associated tasks The host system 104 may also include a firewall to prevent unauthorized access to the host system 104 and enforce any limitations on authorized access For instance an administrator may have access to the entire system and have authority to modify portions of the system A firewall may be implemented using conventional hardware and or software as is known in the art The host system 104 may also operate as an application server The host system 104 executes one or more computer programs to perform vehicle diagnostic record mapping functions The vehicle diagnostic record mapping software includ
32. stomer invoices as well as for service technicians to view detailed service records for a particular vehicle In addition the service record information may be accessed by other service tech nicians in the repair shop that are performing similar ser vices on other vehicles In many cases a trade off exists between collecting data that is reusable and making data entry as easy as possible for the service technician To collect data that is reusable the computer system could force the service technician to enter or to select from a menu specific terms to describe the vehicle the symptoms and the actions taken This data could then be saved in a structured target record format within a database of vehicle diagnosis information However a service technician may prefer to enter free text data In this manner the service technician can describe the problem as he sees it and not worry about trying to fit each piece of information into a particular category using a pre defined vocabulary Text mining soft ware may be utilized to search for particular words and phrases within a free text document and to perform particu lar actions based on the results of the search Rules includ ing the particular words and phrases may be defined in advanced and the text mining software can be instructed to choose among several meanings of a word based on context Alternatively the process of converting free text data into a structured target record format coul
33. the ACTION TAKEN COMPO NENT NAME COMPONENT LOCATION and COMPO NENT PIECE OF attributes will be sourced from the key word heading fields or from the text data in the TAC service record Text mining capabilities will be utilized to determine the appropriate entries for these attributes based on a list of approved phrases for each of these attributes The COM PONENT DETAIL attribute will be populated with the free text that defines the component in detail being acted upon This attribute will be generated from the text data in the TAC service record utilizing text mining capabilities In an exemplary embodiment where the TAC service record has to do with an ABS the following rules can be utilized by the text mining functions to locate and manipulate the data if the first character is then the string represents a part number and drop the for uniformity if the first three characters are p n then the string represents a part num ber if the first two characters are pn then the string represents a part number if the length of the string is eight and the first character is numeric then the string corresponds to a part number if it makes sense contextually and if the eighth character is an R and the character string is sev enteen characters or less then the string is a bar code type of part number The LABOR OPS field may be source from the TAC heading field labeled labor code Finally the ACTION ADDITIONAL C
34. the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention In addition many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof Therefore it is intended that the invention not to be limited to the particular embodi ment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims Moreover the use of the terms first second etc do not denote any order or importance but rather the terms first second etc are used to distinguish one element from another US 6 768 935 B1 13 What is claimed is 1 Amethod for vehicle diagnostic record mapping said method comprising receiving a vehicle service record creating a target record in response to said receiving wherein said target record includes a target record number attribute a set of vehicle description attributes a set of bookkeeping attributes a set of system attributes a set of symptom attributes and a set of action attributes mapping vehicle description data into said set of vehicle description attributes in response to locating said vehicle description data in said vehicle service record mapping bookkeeping data into said set of bookkeeping attributes in response to locati
35. then step 318 is performed to map the symptom data into the set of symptom attributes 250 in the target record format otherwise pro cessing continues with step 322 In an exemplary embodiment the MAIN SYMPTOM GROUP attribute is sourced from a heading field in the TAC service record This data may include phrases such as air leak abnormal operation concerns with fluids indicator inoperative indi cator on inoperative noise odor unwanted operation and vibration The SYMPTOM attribute may be sourced from 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 8 the keyword heading field in the TAC record or from the TAC text data If the system is an ABS then phrases that the text mining software could be instructed to locate may include light lamp indicator LED mil pulsate pulsation unwanted activation stall and vehicle will not go over xxx mph The SYMPTOM DETAIL field may be sourced from a heading field in the TAC record or from the TAC text data using text mining capabilities This information adds to the symptom description For example if the symptom is noise then the symptom detail might describe the type of noise For example in an ABS system the text mining software may be instructed to locate the following phrases buzz chatter chime click click chatter click tick clunk grow squeak squeal and rattle The text mining software would also locate variations in spelling as well as misspellings
36. tification number series attribute a vehicle identification number body attribute a vehicle identification number engine attribute a vehicle identification number year attribute a vehicle iden tification number plant attribute a vehicle identification number serial attribute and a mileage attribute 9 The method of claim 1 wherein said set of vehicle description attributes includes a vehicle identification number attribute and a mileage attribute or an attribute derivable from said vehicle identification number and said mileage attribute 10 The method of claim 1 wherein said set of bookkeep ing attributes includes a date authored attribute a date edited attribute an author editor attribute a bulletins attribute a record number attribute a target record status attribute a release authorizer attribute and a language attribute 11 The method of claim 1 wherein said set of bookkeep ing attributes includes at least one of a date authored attribute a date edited attribute an author editor attribute a bulletins attribute a record number attribute a target record status attribute a release authorizer attribute and a language attribute 10 15 20 25 30 35 45 50 55 60 65 14 12 The method of claim 1 wherein said set of system attributes includes a service category type attribute or said service category type attribute and a service category attribute or said service category type a
37. tor On SYMPTOM Air Rag Light On SYMPTOM DETAIL null FUNCTIONAL COMPONENT SYSTEM Air Bag FUNCTIONAL COMPONENT SYSTEM DETAIL Left Front Driver FREQUENCY Always ENVIRONMENT CONDITION null VEHICLE CONDITION null VEHICLE ZONE null DTC Diagnostic Trouble Code 24 DTC QUALIFIER Current ADDITIONAL SYMPTOM COMMENTS Replaced driver inflator module and SDM OK for several weeks then code reset Found a chaffed wire CKT 347 at left floor area ACTION TAKEN Repair Replace COMPONENT NAME Wiring harness circuit 347 Sensing and Diagnostic Module SDM COMPONENT LOCATION Left front floor stud COMPONENT PIECE OF null FIG 5 US 6 768 935 B1 1 VEHICLE DIAGNOSTIC RECORD MAPPING BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present disclosure relates generally to vehicle diag nostic record mapping and in particular to a method of mapping semi structured vehicle diagnostic records into structured target records that may be utilized to assist in vehicle diagnostics Many automotive repair shops including car dealerships and independent repair shops have some form of comput erized record keeping for vehicle diagnosis and repair Records that contain data to explain the reason the car was brought in for service the resulting diagnosis and the actions taken to service the vehicle are typically entered into a computer system This information may be used to print detailed service information on the cu
38. ttribute said service category attribute and a service sub category attribute 13 The method of claim 1 wherein said set of symptom attributes includes a main symptom group attribute a symp tom attribute a symptom detail attribute a functional component system attribute a functional component system detail attribute a frequency attribute an environment con dition attribute a vehicle condition attribute a vehicle zone attribute a diagnostic trouble code attribute a diagnostic trouble code qualifier attribute and an additional symptom comments attribute 14 The method of claim 1 wherein said set of symptom attributes includes a main symptom group attribute a func tional component system attribute and a diagnostic trouble code attribute 15 The method of claim 14 wherein said set of symptom attributes further includes at least one of a symptom attribute a frequency attribute an environment condition attribute and a vehicle condition attribute 16 The method of claim 1 wherein said set of action attributes includes an action taken attribute a component name attribute a component location attribute a component piece of attribute a component detail attribute a labor operations attribute and an additional action comments attribute 17 The method of claim 1 wherein said set of action attributes includes an action taken attribute and a component name attribute 18 A system for vehicle diagnostic record mapping the syst
39. two digit numeric strings represent DTC s but two digit numeric strings may represent other information e g vehicle speed model year and therefore assignments of two digit numeric strings to DTC s need to be evaluated in context e g the presence of MPH in the field for example will indicate that the number represents vehicle speed and probably belongs in the VEHICLE CONDITION category The DTC QUALIFIER attribute in the set of symptom attributes 250 describes the status of the DTC in terms of whether it represents an active error code or an error code generated in the past The DTC QUALIFIER values may include current history null or current amp history This attribute will be populated using text mining capabili ties from the keyword heading fields or from the text in the TAC service record Similarly the field SYMPTOM ADDITIONAL COMMENTS will be populated using text mining capabilities if additional comments relating to the symptom are identified 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 10 At step 322 the vehicle diagnostic record mapping appli cation program attempts to locate data about corrective or repair actions in the TAC service record If such data is located then step 324 is performed to map the action data into the set of action attributes 260 in the target record format otherwise processing continues with step 326 In an exemplary embodiment
40. vice category e g engine or transmission numbers such as 4T65 E 4L80 E NV3500 ZF56 650 Also depicted in FIG 2 are a set of symptom attributes 250 The first symptom attribute 250 in FIG 2 is the MAIN SYMPTOM GROUP The MAIN SYMPTOM GROUP attribute includes the service technician s classification of the symptoms e g air leak abnormal operation concerns with fluids indicator inoperative indicator on inoperative noise odor unwanted operation or vibration The SYMP TOM GROUP attribute may include data that reflects symp toms more specifically e g air bag indicator on engine has burning odor Additional symptom attributes 250 include SYMPTOM the symptom or customer complaint SYMP TOM DETAIL adds to the symptom description e g if SYMPTOM is noise then SYMPTOM DETAIL might describe the type of noise FUNCTIONAL COMPONENT SYSTEM which part of the vehicle is experiencing causing the condition described by the MAIN SYMPTOM GROUP FUNCTIONAL COMPONENT SYSTEM DETAIL additional information about the FUNCTIONAL COMPONENT SYSTEM FREQUENCY frequency with which the problem is observed or experienced e g intermittent flashes ENVIRONMENT CONDITION describes the condition of the environment at the time the symptom is observed e g raining 95 degrees F and VEHICLE CONDITION describes the operating condi tions of the vehicle at the time the symptom is observed e g just after starting under load Furth
41. vice record Symptom data is mapped into the set of symptom attributes in response to locating the symptom data in the vehicle service record Action data is mapped into the set of action attributes in response to locating the action data in the vehicle service record 19 Claims 5 Drawing Sheets 304 U S Patent Jul 27 2004 Sheet 1 of 5 US 6 768 935 B1 Host System FIG U S Patent Jul 27 2004 Sheet 2 of 5 US 6 768 935 B1 210_ TARGET RECORD NUMBER 220 _ VEHICLE DESCRIPTION VIN 230 VEH YR VEH LINE VIN MODEL VIN MAKE VIN SERIES VIN BODY VIN ENGINE VIN YR VIN PLANT VIN SERIAL MILEAGE _ BOOKKEEPING DATE AUTHORED DATE EDITED AUTHOR EDITOR BULLETINS RECORD NUMBER TARGET RECORD STATUS RELEASE AUTHORIZER LANGUAGE _ 240 SYSTEM SERVICE CATEGORY TYPE SERVICE CATEGORY SERVICE SUB CATEGORY 260 MAIN SYMPTOM GROUP SYMPTOM SYMPTOM DETAIL FUNCTIONAL COMPONENT SYSTEM FUNCTIONAL COMPONENT SYSTEM DETAIL FREQUENCY ENVIRONMENT CONDITION VEHICLE CONDITION VEHICLE ZONE DTC DTC QUALIFIER ADDITIONAL SYMPTOM COMMENTS ACTION TAKEN COMPONENT NAME COMPONENT LOCATION COMPONENT PIECE OF COMPONENT DETAIL LABOR OPS ADDITIONAL ACTION COMMENTS FIG 2 U S Patent Jul 27 2004 Sheet 3 of 5 US 6 768 935 B1 RECEIVE SEMI STRUCTURED VEHICLE SERVICE RECORD 302 ENTER TARGET RECORD NUMBER IN 308 TARGET RECORD Sou GENERATE VEHICLE LOCAT
42. zed technical knowledge of the service experts who developed it The results of the mapping may need to be verified by human experts but an embodiment of the present invention offers significant improvements in speed and consistency over purely manual approaches In FIG 1 a block diagram of an exemplary system for performing vehicle diagnostic record mapping is generally shown The system includes one or more user systems 102 through which users at one or more geographic locations may contact the host system 104 to initiate the execution of the mapping process to verify the results of the mapping process and to edit the results of the mapping process if required In an exemplary embodiment the host system 104 executes the vehicle diagnostic record mapping application program and the user system 102 is coupled to the host system 104 via a network 106 Each user system 102 may be implemented using a general purpose computer executing a computer program for carrying out the processes described herein The user system 102 may be a personal computer e g a lap top a personal digital assistant or a host attached terminal If the user system 102 is a personal computer the processing described herein may be shared by a user system 102 and the host system 104 e g by providing an applet to the user system 102 The network 106 may be any type of known network including but not limited to a wide area network WAN a local area network LAN a
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