Automatic vehicle diagnostic detection and communication

Abstract

Methods and systems for vehicle diagnostic detection and communication are disclosed. Specifically, a method to monitor the health of vehicle systems and subsystems and diagnose detected anomalies is provided. In the event an anomaly or unhealthy state is detected within a vehicle, subsystem or component, the system may take a number of actions. In one embodiment, the actions comprise notifying a maintenance provider, a regulatory monitor, and original equipment manufacturer. The system may also maintain a vehicle fleet-wide performance database to enable identification and analysis of systemic fleet-wide data.

1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A method, comprising:
 receiving sensor data from one or more vehicle sensors;   determining a vehicle health state of one or more subsystems of a vehicle;   determining an overall vehicle health status based on the vehicle health state;   communicating, based at least partially on the vehicle health state, a status of a required vehicle maintenance item to a user of the vehicle;   determining whether the user has completed the required vehicle maintenance item; and   storing information about whether the user has completed the required vehicle maintenance item in memory.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein communicating the status of the required vehicle maintenance item includes sending a notification to an application running on a communication device of the user. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising comparing the sensor data to subsystem specification data, wherein the subsystem specification data is stored in a maintenance database. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the one or more subsystems of a vehicle is unhealthy if the comparison results in one or more characteristics of subsystem specification data not satisfied. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein if one or more subsystems of a vehicle is unhealthy, the vehicle is unhealthy. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , further comprising noticing a third party if the vehicle is in an unhealthy status. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the third party is at least one of an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), a maintenance provider, a regulatory monitor and a user. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising updating a fleet-wide OEM performance database if one or more subsystems are unhealthy. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the information about whether the user has completed the required vehicle maintenance item is stored in a user profile associated with the user. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 21  further comprising receiving a query from a third-party as to the health state of one or more subsystems of the vehicle and whether the user has completed the required vehicle maintenance item. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising diagnosing the unhealthy subsystem. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31 , further comprising noticing a third party if the vehicle is in an unhealthy status. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 21 , where the one or more vehicle sensors include an odometer, a tachometer, an oil level meter and an image sensor. 
     
     
         34 . A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, perform a method comprising:
 receiving sensor data from one or more vehicle sensors;   determining a vehicle health state of one or more subsystems of a vehicle;   determining an overall vehicle health status based on the vehicle health state;   communicating, based at least partially on the vehicle health state, a status of a required vehicle maintenance item to a user of the vehicle;   determining whether the user has completed the required vehicle maintenance item; and   storing information about whether the user has completed the required vehicle maintenance item in memory.   
     
     
         35 . The computer readable medium of  claim 34 , further comprising comparing the sensor data to subsystem specification data. 
     
     
         36 . The computer readable medium of  claim 35 , wherein the one or more subsystems of a vehicle is unhealthy if the comparison results in one or more characteristics of subsystem specification data not satisfied. 
     
     
         37 . The computer readable medium of  claim 36 , wherein if one or more subsystems of a vehicle is unhealthy, the vehicle is unhealthy. 
     
     
         38 . The computer readable medium of  claim 37 , further comprising noticing a third party if the vehicle is in an unhealthy status, wherein the third party is at least one of an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), a maintenance provider, a regulatory monitor and a user. 
     
     
         39 . A vehicle diagnostic detection and communication system comprising a vehicle control system configured to:
 receive sensor data from one or more vehicle sensors;   determine a vehicle health state of one or more subsystems of a vehicle;   determine an overall vehicle health status based on the vehicle health state;   communicate, based at least partially on the vehicle health state, a status of a required vehicle maintenance item to a user of the vehicle;   determine whether the user has completed the required vehicle maintenance item; and   store information about whether the user has completed the required vehicle maintenance item in memory.   
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 39 , the vehicle control system further configured to compare the sensor data to subsystem specification data, wherein the one or more subsystems of a vehicle is unhealthy if the comparison results in one or more characteristics of subsystem specification data not satisfied.