Failure diagnostic apparatus and method of storing failure information

Abstract

A failure diagnostic apparatus determines the environment in which the condition of a vehicle is examined and selects an appropriate storage location for information regarding the condition of the vehicle. In particular, the failure diagnostic apparatus includes a vehicle-condition diagnostic portion, a plurality of failure-information storage portions, a diagnostic-environment determination portion, and a storage selection portion. When the vehicle-condition diagnostic portion determines that a failure has occurred, the diagnostic-environment determination portion determines the environment in which the condition of the vehicle is examined. Then, based on the diagnostic environment determined by the diagnostic-environment determination portion, the storage selection portion selects at least one storage portion of the plurality of failure-information storage portions to store information regarding the failure.

1 . A failure diagnostic apparatus, comprising:
 a vehicle-condition diagnostic portion that examines the condition of the vehicle to determine whether a failure has occurred;   a plurality of failure-information storage portions in which, when the vehicle-condition diagnostic portion determines that a failure has occurred, information about the failure is stored;   a diagnostic-environment determination portion that determines a diagnostic environment in which the vehicle-condition diagnostic portion examines the condition of the vehicle; and   a storage selection portion that selects at least one storage portion of the plurality of failure-information storage portions to store the information about the failure, based on the diagnostic environment determined by the diagnostic-environment determination portion.   
     
     
         2 . The failure diagnostic apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of failure-information storage portions includes a volatile storage portion in which the information about the failure is temporarily stored, and a non-volatile storage portion in which the information about the failure is permanently stored. 
     
     
         3 . The failure diagnostic apparatus according to  claim 2 , wherein
 the storage selection portion prohibits the information about the failure from being stored in the non-volatile storage portion when the diagnostic-environment determination portion determines that the diagnostic environment is a predetermined environment.   
     
     
         4 . The failure diagnostic apparatus according to  claim 3 , wherein
 the predetermined environment is a factory or a repair shop.   
     
     
         5 . The failure diagnostic apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the diagnostic-environment determination portion determines whether the vehicle-condition diagnostic portion examines the condition of the vehicle when a user is using the vehicle, or the vehicle-condition diagnostic portion examines the condition of the vehicle at a factory or a repair shop.   
     
     
         6 . The failure diagnostic apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an information determination portion that determines whether the information about the failure is first information that is temporarily needed, or second information that is permanently needed, wherein   the plurality of failure-information storage portions includes a first non-volatile storage portion and a second non-volatile storage portion;   if the information determination portion determines that the information about the failure is the first information, the storage selection portion selects the first non-volatile storage portion; and   if the information determination portion determines that the information about the failure is the second information, the storage selection portion selects the second non-volatile storage portion.   
     
     
         7 . A failure diagnostic apparatus, comprising:
 a failure-determination portion that determines whether a failure has occurred in the vehicle;   a vehicle-environment determination portion;   an information determination portion; and   a plurality of failure-information storage portions,   wherein, when the failure-determination portion determines that the failure has occurred, the vehicle-environment determination portion determines an environment around the vehicle and the information determination portion determines whether information about the failure is first information that is temporarily needed, or second information that is permanently needed, based on the determined environment around the vehicle; and the first information and the second information are stored in different portions in the plurality of failure-information storage portions.   
     
     
         8 . The failure diagnostic apparatus according to  claim 7 , wherein the plurality of failure-information storage portions includes a volatile storage portion and a non-volatile storage portion, the first information is stored in the volatile storage portion, and the second information is stored in the non-volatile storage portion. 
     
     
         9 . A method of storing information about a failure that has occurred in a vehicle, comprising:
 examining a condition of a vehicle to determine whether a failure has occurred;   determining a diagnostic environment in which the condition of the vehicle is examined; and   selecting, when it is determined that a failure has occurred, a storage location to store information about the failure, based on the determined diagnostic environment.