JP2002271333A - Program and electronic controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a program and an electronic controller for controlling an object efficiently. SOLUTION: When control data is handed over from processing at a data management section to processing by application software, attribute data for deciding whether a control processing using that control data is executed or not is also handed over in correspondence with the control data. During processing according to the application software, a decision is made whether a control processing using that control data is executed or not and if it is not executed, the control processing is not executed even if the control data has been handed over already. Since unnecessary execution of control processing can be eliminated, the control object can be controlled efficiently and prevention of erroneous operation of the system can be expected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic control unit for controlling a control target and a program for operating the electronic control unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, an electronic control unit such as a vehicle control unit that controls a control target such as an engine or an automatic transmission mounted on a vehicle performs information processing on control data in accordance with a control program. Control for a predetermined control target is realized. As a process associated with such control (hereinafter, simply referred to as “control process”), for example, a control amount is calculated by performing an operation based on given control data (passed to the process), and the control target is calculated based on the control amount. , A process of calculating new control data by performing an operation based on given control data and storing the same in a storage area, or a process of passed control data (for example, an integration process) , Differential processing, etc.), and various processes using the control data, such as a process of updating the content of the control data with the processing result.

[0003]

As described above, various types of processing using control data can be considered. Even when control data is given to such processing, the execution of the processing is not performed by the entire control system. It may not be desirable. For example, when the control data of the same value as that of the previous drive for the control target is given, even if the same drive as the previous drive is performed using the value of the control data, there is no change and the process is not performed. In some cases, similar results can be obtained. In such a case, it is considered that not performing the process can save useless operations, and is rather preferable for the control system as a whole.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a program and an electronic control device that enable efficient control of a control target.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention A program according to the present invention (described in claim 1) made to solve the above-mentioned problems is for causing a computer to realize a function of executing a control process on a control target. Control program,
It has a data management program provided separately from this control program. The data management program causes a computer to realize a function of storing control data used in the control processing in a control data storage area and a function of managing input / output of control data to processing according to the control program.

[0006] In particular, according to the data management program of the present invention (claim 1), when transferring the control data to the processing by the control program, the computer determines whether or not to execute the control processing using the control data. Attribute data for determination "is associated with the control data and passed to the process according to the control program.

[0007] Then, the computer determines, based on the attribute data, whether or not to execute a control process using the control data in the process according to the control program. If it is determined not to execute, the control process is not executed. Therefore, according to the present invention (claim 1), unnecessary execution of the control processing can be omitted.
Efficient control can be performed for the control target, and prevention of malfunction of the system can be expected.

In addition, since it is possible to determine whether or not to execute the control processing very easily based on the attribute data during the processing of the control program, the configuration of the control program is simplified and the control program is stored. This is preferable from the viewpoint of reducing the storage area for performing the program and reducing the number of steps of program development. For example, in an automobile, since a plurality of control targets are mounted, a plurality of control programs are provided accordingly. If it is assumed that each control program makes a similar determination as to whether or not the control process can be executed without using the attribute data, an overlapping portion occurs between the control programs. This is because the recording capacity is wastefully consumed, and the man-hour for developing each control program increases.

Now, various types of attribute data can be considered. For example, the control processing is processing for processing control data, and the data management program is configured to realize a function of updating the control data in the control data storage area with the control data processed in the control processing. In this case, information indicating whether or not the update of the control data in the control data storage area is prohibited may be used as the attribute data. In that case, the control data is processed even though it cannot be updated,
That is, it is possible to prevent the unnecessary processing from being performed, and it is possible to realize efficient control.

Such attribute data can be generated, for example, by configuring a data management program as follows. That is, it is determined whether or not the control data in the control data storage area is being used, and when the control data is being used, information indicating that the update of the used control data should be prohibited is set to the attribute corresponding to the control data. It is preferable to configure the data management program so as to realize the “function as data”.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, information indicating whether or not the value of the control data in the control data storage area has been changed during a predetermined period is set in the attribute data corresponding to the control data. It may be. If the value is changed within the predetermined period, the value of the control data is considered to be a value different from the value used for the previous control. Therefore, if such information is used as attribute data, it is possible to prevent the previous control using the control data having the same value from being repeated, and to efficiently control the control target.

Such attribute data can be generated, for example, by configuring a data management program as follows. That is, "the value of the control data in the control data storage area is monitored, and it is determined whether or not the value has been changed over a predetermined period. Information indicating the determination result is set as attribute data corresponding to the control data. It is preferable to configure the data management program so as to realize "functions to be handled".

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the information indicating the state of the control target controlled by the control process using the control data may be attribute data corresponding to the control data. By doing so, it is possible to prevent performing meaningless control on the control target, and it is possible to efficiently control the control target.

Such attribute data can be generated, for example, by configuring a data management program as follows. That is, the data management program may be configured to realize “a function of detecting a state of a control target controlled by control processing using control data and treating the detection result as attribute data corresponding to the control data”. .

[0015] According to the electronic control device (claim 5) for controlling the control target by operating the computer according to the above-described program according to claims 1 to 4, the control target is efficiently controlled. be able to.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings. It is needless to say that the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the following examples, and can take various forms as long as they belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows an electronic control unit 20 as an embodiment.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a body system 90 including (hereinafter, referred to as an ECU 20). The body system 90 includes an ECU
The D seat door ECU 20a and the P seat door ECU 2 as 20
0b, an instrument panel ECU 20c, and a body ECU 20d.

These ECUs 20 include a CPU, a ROM,
This is a computer system including a microcomputer including a RAM, an I / O, a timer, and the like. The CPU reads and executes a program written in the ROM or the RAM, thereby controlling a device connected to the I / O. Also, I / O
Is connected to the input device 30, the output device 40, and the in-vehicle LAN 50.

The D-seat door ECU 20a and the P-seat door E
The CU 20b reads the state of the input device 30 to generate a packet, and sends the packet to the body ECU 20d via the in-vehicle LAN 50.
It has a function to send to. Also, the D seat door ECU 20a
The P-seat door ECU 20b and the instrument panel ECU 20c have a function of controlling the output device 40 based on packet control information from the body ECU 20d input via the in-vehicle LAN 50.

The D-seat door ECU 20a is an ECU installed on the door on the driver side. The D-seat control switch 30a and the like are connected as the input device 30, and the D-seat door lock motor 40a and the D-seat power as the output device 40. A window motor and the like are connected.

The P-seat door ECU 20b is an ECU installed in the door on the side of the auxiliary seat. The P-seat control switch 30b or the like is connected as the input device 30, and the P-seat door lock motor 40b or the P-seat power window as the output device 40. A motor or the like is connected.

The instrument panel ECU 20c is an ECU installed in the instrument panel. For example, a buzzer 40c and a lamp 40d are connected as the output device 40. The D-seat control switch 30a and the P-seat control switch 30b include a door lock switch for inputting an instruction for locking or unlocking a door, a power window switch for inputting an instruction for opening and closing a power window, and the like. Is included.

The body ECU 20d is a D-seat door ECU 2
0a and a packet transmitted from the P seat door ECU 20b to the in-vehicle LAN 50 at predetermined time intervals, received via I / O, and executes application software according to the content of the captured packet to control the output device 40. Is required, a control process of generating and transmitting a packet including control information to the D-seat door ECU 20a, the P-seat door ECU 20b, the instrument panel ECU 20c, and the like to be controlled is performed.

Next, FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing a communication model in the ECU 20 (hereinafter, the body ECU 20d will be described as an example, but the same applies to the other ECUs 20a to 20c). In the following description, for example, expressions such as “the shared memory unit 210 does ...” and “the physical value conversion unit 220 performs the program” operate the CPU in accordance with the program portion. It is shown that.

As shown in FIG. 3, a program for operating the body ECU 20d includes an application unit 100 that performs processing for controlling a control target (ie, control processing).
And a communication driver unit 300 for transmitting and receiving data to and from the other ECUs 20a to 20c, management of input / output of control data to / from application software, storage of the control data in a storage area, storage of the control data in the storage area Writing / reading, and further using the communication driver unit 300 for other ECUs
The data management unit 200 manages control data, such as transmitting and receiving control data to and from 20a to 20c.

The application section 100, the data management section 200, and the communication driver section 300 are provided as separate programs. Then, the data management unit 20
0 generates the communication data sequence to be transmitted by the communication driver unit 300 from the control data calculated by the application unit 100, and converts the communication data sequence received by the communication driver unit 300 into the application unit 1
00 is converted into control data that can be used by a hierarchical shared memory unit 210, a physical value conversion unit 220,
Common packet data section 230, communication data conversion section 240
It has.

The data is not transferred directly from the application unit 100 to the other ECUs 20a to 20c, but is sequentially transferred from the application unit 100 to the lower layers.
, Physical communication with the outside (communication target) is realized. In addition, each layer in this communication model requests a service to a layer below it and provides a service to a layer above it. The purpose of each layer is to To hide detailed information such as actual communication specifications.

Here, the application section 100 is composed of a plurality of application software (corresponding to a “control program” in the claims) further subdivided for each control target and control contents. And each application software,
The control data calculated by other application software is also used for its own arithmetic processing. That is, each application software shares control data.

The shared memory unit 210 is provided in the body ECU.
A specific area different from a storage area (hereinafter referred to as a control data storage area) for temporarily storing all control data used by each application software of the application unit 100 to control the control target in the RAM provided in the application unit 100d. In the shared memory set as a storage area, control data commonly used between application software and ECUs 20a to 20b other than the body ECU 20d are used.
20c also writes control data commonly used (hereinafter referred to as external shared data), and reads and provides control data from the shared memory.

The physical value conversion section 220 is connected to the body ECU.
At the time of data transmission from 20d to the outside (the other ECUs 20a to 20c), among the control data stored in the shared memory, the control data to be transmitted has the data length (therefore, LSB of the data). LSB conversion for converting a physical value indicated by a hit and data accuracy) into a data length adopted by the transmission destination (the other ECUs 20a to 20c) is performed.

When receiving data from the outside (the other ECUs 20a to 20c), the physical value conversion unit 220 uses the data length of the received control data in each application software of the application unit 100. LSB conversion is performed to convert the data into a data length.

When data is transmitted from the body ECU 20d to the outside, the common packet data unit 230 collects control data to be transmitted subjected to LSB conversion by the physical value conversion unit 220 and arranges the control data in series, thereby performing multiplex communication and serial communication. , And creates packet data common to each communication protocol independent of the communication protocol such as DMA communication (hereinafter, referred to as common packet data).

The communication data conversion unit 240
When transmitting data from the CU 20d to the outside, the common packet data created by the common packet data unit 230 is converted into a communication data string corresponding to a communication protocol with a communication target (communication partner).

The communication driver unit 300 is provided for the body EC.
When transmitting data from the U20d to the outside, the communication data sequence created by the communication data conversion unit 240 is actually output as communication data with the transfer data amount, baud rate, and transfer timing determined by the communication protocol with the communication target. I do.

The timing of creating the communication data string and performing the LSB conversion is determined by an internal timer so that communication is performed at a suitable timing. Communication driver 3
00 also has a function of receiving and acquiring data transmitted from the other ECUs 20a to 20c and providing the data to the communication data conversion unit 240.

The communication data converter 240 converts the communication data sequence acquired by the communication driver 300 into
It also has a function of converting to common packet data. Further, at the time of receiving data from the outside, the common packet data unit 230 decomposes the common packet data created by the communication data conversion unit 240, and extracts each control data constituting the common packet data, Furthermore,
It also has a function of causing the physical value conversion unit 220 to perform LSB conversion on each of the control data, and updating and writing the control data after the LSB conversion to the shared memory in the shared memory unit 210.

As described above, the data management unit 200 manages the control data. Further, the control data in the control data storage area is used by any application software, and the communication driver unit 300 Other ECU
It also monitors the use state of the control data, such as whether transmission is being performed to 20a to 20c. During that monitoring,
When it is determined that the control data is being used, the information indicating that the update of the used control data should be prohibited is set as one of the attribute data corresponding to the control data.

The data management section 200 determines whether the control data in the control data storage area has been changed for a predetermined period (that is, whether the control data has been changed to a different value last). (Eg, whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed after the completion of the determination). Then, information indicating the determination result is set as one of the attribute data corresponding to the control data.

When transferring the control data to the application software, the data management unit 200 also transfers the attribute data corresponding to the control data to the application software. As shown in FIG. 3 (a), the data is passed as an argument or a return value as a variable separate from the control data, and as shown in FIG. A mode in which attribute data is stored and passed in a part (for example, several bytes) of the variables, as shown in FIG. 3C, the attribute data is written in a predetermined storage area, and is referred to the application software. Various methods can be adopted, such as a mode of causing the image to be made, but any of them may be used.

Such attribute data is information for each application software to determine whether or not to execute a control process using the corresponding control data. In addition to the above, various information related to the control data is provided. Is handled as attribute data, and is passed along with control data to a process according to the application software.

When each application software receives the control data and the attribute data from the data management unit 200, it determines whether or not to execute the control process, and shifts the process to execution only when it is determined that the control process is to be executed. For example, FIG. 4 shows that from the application software of the body ECU 20d, "control data indicating that the D-seat door should be unlocked (that is, control data for driving the D-seat door lock motor 40a in the direction to unlock the D-seat door)" When issued (),
The information is transmitted to the D-seat door ECU 2 via the in-vehicle LAN 50.
0a (), and as a result, the D-seat door ECU 20
a is passed to the application software.

In the D-seat door ECU 20a, the data management unit determines the current state of the key of the D-seat door (locked state or unlocked state.
Is equivalent to ) Is detected. The control data for driving the D-seat door lock motor 40a is associated with information indicating the key status of the D-seat door as attribute data, and the control data is transmitted to the application software of the D-seat door ECU 20a. When passed, this attribute data is also passed.

Then, the application software of the D-seat door ECU 20a determines whether or not to perform the control processing for driving the D-seat door lock motor 40a in the direction to unlock the D-seat door based on the passed attribute data. As a result, if it is determined to execute (specifically,
When the key of the D seat door is locked), by executing the control processing for driving the D seat door lock motor 40a (), the key of the door is opened (). On the other hand, if the door of the D seat is already unlocked, there is no need to
The process of driving the seat door lock motor 40a is not performed.

As described above, the electronic control unit 20 of this embodiment
Then, when the control data is passed to the processing by the application software, the attribute data for determining whether or not to execute the control processing using the control data is also passed in association with the control data. Then, in the process according to the application software, it is determined whether or not to execute the control process using the control data. If it is determined that the control process is not to be performed, the control data is already passed, Do not execute the control process. Therefore, unnecessary execution of the control process can be omitted, so that efficient control can be performed on the control target, and prevention of malfunction of the system can be expected.

As described above, one embodiment of the present invention has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can take various forms. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the information indicating the control target state is exemplified by the information indicating the locked state of the D seat door, and the information is described as the attribute data. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a body system including an electronic control unit (ECU) according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing a communication model in an ECU.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an aspect of how control data and attribute data are passed from a data management unit to application software.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing how control data is sent from a body ECU to a D-seat door ECU.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 20 electronic control unit 20a D seat door ECU 20b P seat door ECU 20c instrument panel ECU 20d body ECU 30 input device 30a D seat control switch 30b P seat control switch 40 output device 40a D seat door Lock motor 40b P seat door lock motor 40c Buzzer 50 Vehicle LAN 90 Body system 100 Application unit 200 Data management unit 300 Communication driver unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Katsuhiko Furuta 1-1-1, Showa-cho, Kariya-shi, Aichi Pref. F term (reference) 5H215 AA10 BB07 CC07 CX03 GG04 GG17 5K033 BA06 BA08 DB12 5K048 BA42 CA08 DA05 DC04 EA11 EB02 FC01

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A control program for realizing a function of executing a control process on a control target in a computer, and a program provided separately from the control program, the control program controlling control data used in the control process. A data management program that causes a computer to realize a function of storing the data in a data storage area and a function of managing input and output of control data to processing according to the control program. When passing data to a process according to the control program, a function of associating attribute data for determining whether to execute the control process using the control data with the control data and passing the attribute data to a process according to the control program is provided. The control program is configured to be realized by a computer. Program whether to execute the control process using the control data, characterized in that it is configured to realize a function of determining on the computer based on the attribute data passed in association with the control data. 2. The program according to claim 1, wherein the control process is a process of processing the passed control data, and the data management program is a control data processed by the process. The computer is configured to realize a function of updating the control data of the control data storage area, and the attribute data indicates whether or not the update of the control data of the control data storage area is prohibited. A program characterized by the following. 3. The program according to claim 1, wherein the attribute data indicates whether a value of the control data in the control data storage area has been changed during a predetermined period. And the program. 4. The program according to claim 1, wherein the attribute data indicates a state of a control target controlled by a control process using the passed control data. 5. An electronic control, comprising: a computer for controlling an object to be controlled, wherein the computer operates according to the program according to claim 1 to control the object to be controlled. apparatus.