JP4655291B2 - In-vehicle apparatus and application program maintenance method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle device including a communication unit that transmits and receives information to and from a communication device provided on a road side, and a maintenance method of an application program thereof, for example, in an intelligent transport system (ITS). The present invention relates to an in-vehicle device applied to a system that performs road-to-vehicle communication using a wireless technology called dedicated narrow-area communication in the field, and a maintenance method for the application program.

  Recently, a system that provides various services to a running or stopped vehicle by using a wireless technology called dedicated narrow-area communication in the field of ITS has attracted attention. One practical application is a toll road automatic toll collection system (ETC: Electronic Toll Collection System).

  In ETC, an in-vehicle device is installed in a vehicle. When the vehicle passes through a toll gate on a toll road in a non-stop manner, wireless communication is performed between the roadside device and the in-vehicle device. The toll road usage fee is automatically deducted from the IC card that is part of the machine interface. The wireless communication used here is a technology called Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC), and its detailed technical standard is “Toll Road Automatic Toll Payment System Standard ARIB STD-T55”. After that, it was standardized by the company group as “Narrow Area Communication (DSRC) System Standard ARIB STD-T75” with an expanded purpose of use other than ETC (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-179543 A

  In the field of ITS, various applications such as a parking lot management system and an electronic signboard are assumed in addition to ETC, and the dedicated narrow area communication technology is positioned as a technology that can be commonly used for these applications.

  However, in reality, when a new application other than an existing application such as ETC is to be installed in the in-vehicle device, it is replaced with a new in-vehicle device in which the new application is installed, or another new in addition to the existing in-vehicle device. I had to install an in-vehicle device.

  That is, adding a new application to the conventional in-vehicle device is a burden on the user, or there is a problem that the installation location of the new in-vehicle device cannot be found in the vehicle. There was a problem that updating and deleting of applications could not be done easily as well.

  The present invention has been made in view of the conventional problems as described above, and when providing a new application in the field of ITS, it is necessary to replace an in-vehicle device already installed in the vehicle or to add a new in-vehicle device. It is an object of the present invention to provide an in-vehicle apparatus having functions of adding, updating, and deleting an application, and a maintenance method for the application program.

  Other objects of the present invention and specific advantages obtained by the present invention will become more apparent from the description of embodiments described below.

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, for example, an application management (AMG) unit is connected to an external device via a dedicated narrowband communication unit in accordance with ARIB STD-T75 standardized as a standard of the Japan Radio Industry Association. In addition to transmitting and receiving information wirelessly between them, the control information, display information, etc. are exchanged with the human machine interface means according to the instructions of the application program, and an instruction to add, update, or delete the application is received from the external device. If so , add, update, or delete the application.

That is, the present invention is an in-vehicle device provided with dedicated narrow area communication means for transmitting and receiving information to and from an external device provided on the road side,
Processor means for controlling transmission and reception of information via the dedicated narrow area communication means ;
Program memory means for storing a plurality of application programs for causing the processor means to function;
Human machine interface means for inputting and outputting information to the processor means;
A plurality of application programs stored in the program memory means are managed by an application management table, and application management (AMG) means for performing application maintenance processing according to maintenance information. The application management (AMG) means includes: In the case of a control code indicating application management information via the dedicated narrow area communication means, a control identifier indicating whether an application is updated, added or deleted, an application identifier for individually identifying an application, a security code indicating security information, or an update to show the contents of the new programs, receive maintenance information including data unit to be omitted if the deletion, received maintainer The maintenance process of the application in accordance with the Nsu information, additional applications by referring to the information in the application management table, characterized by unitarily performing the update and deletion.

In-vehicle apparatus according to the present invention, additional said application management (AMG) means of application, as a means for receiving information relating to update and delete, the dedicated where vehicle apparatus originally has for communication with the roadside apparatus ITS FIELD Use narrow area communication means.

Further, the present invention is a maintenance method of an application program in an in-vehicle device provided with a dedicated narrow area communication means for transmitting and receiving information to and from an external device provided on the road side, and the application management (AMG) means, A plurality of application programs stored in the program memory means are managed by an application management table , a control code indicating application management information via the dedicated narrow area communication means , a control identifier indicating whether an application is updated, added, or deleted, Application identifiers that individually identify applications, security codes that indicate security information, the contents of new programs in the case of updates, and maintenance information including a data part that is omitted in the case of deletion. Taken by maintenance processing of the application in accordance with the received maintenance information, by referring to the information in the application management table, the application program for operating the processor means for controlling the transmission and reception of information via the dedicated short range communication means It is characterized in that addition, update, and deletion are performed in a unified manner.

  According to the present invention, the application management resident in the program memory area executes addition, update, and deletion of an application in accordance with an instruction from an external device. Therefore, a new in-vehicle device is added each time an application is added even after the in-vehicle device is installed in the vehicle. There is no need to replace it or install it separately, and the function of the in-vehicle device can be improved as it is.

  In addition, if the dedicated narrow-band communication function already possessed by the in-vehicle device is used, not only can the data connection to the application management means be performed by wire or IC card, but the labor of mechanical connection can be saved. A functional operation check test after execution of work can be performed and verified in an actual environment of wireless communication.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the following examples, and can be arbitrarily changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  The present invention is applied to an in-vehicle device 100 configured as shown in FIG.

  The in-vehicle device 100 has a function of wirelessly transmitting / receiving information to / from an external device 200 by using a dedicated short-range communication unit 10 that conforms to a DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication) system standard. A processor unit 20 for controlling transmission / reception of information via the dedicated narrow area communication unit 10; a program memory unit 30, a work memory unit 40, a removable memory unit 50, and a human machine interface connected to the processor unit 20; Part 60 and the like.

  In the in-vehicle device 100, the processor unit 20, the program memory unit 30 and the work memory 40 unit operate integrally to process information received from the external device 200 via the dedicated narrow area communication unit 10, and a human machine interface The processing result is handed over to the unit 60 for display or voice guidance, and data is passed to the removable memory unit 50 such as an IC card, etc., and the key switch or keyboard of the human machine interface unit 60 is used. A process of processing the input information and transmitting the information to the external apparatus 200 via the dedicated narrow area communication unit 10 is performed.

  Here, in the program memory unit 30 and the work memory unit 40, a memory having a sufficient storage capacity is mounted in advance in anticipation of future application program addition. In the ITS application, the required memory capacity per application is about 5 kbytes. It is enough if the total number of ITS applications for the future is about 20. The program memory unit 30 includes an individual application program 31 and an application management program 32. The application management program 32 includes an application management table 33.

  In addition, as shown in the protocol stack diagram of FIG. 2, the dedicated narrow area communication in the in-vehicle device 100 includes the OSI reference model layer 1 (physical layer) 111, layer 2 (data link layer) 112, and layer 7 (application A protocol stack 110 including a three-layer structure (layer) 113 and an ASL (application sublayer) 114 is used. The detailed technical standards of this dedicated narrow area communication conform to the narrow area communication (DSRC) system standard ARIB STD-T75 defined by the Japan Radio Industry Association.

  An application management AMG that manages the addition, update, and deletion of a plurality of individual applications AP1 to APn and applications is located on the protocol stack 110.

  Next, an application maintenance method in the vehicle-mounted device 100 having such a configuration will be described.

  When the external device 200 tries to add, update, or delete an application to the in-vehicle device 100, first, the contents of the application management table 33 are read.

  Here, in the application management table 33, as shown in FIG. 3, option information such as an application name, a start address, an end address, and a manufacturer name is described for each individual application, for example, the name of the application 1 = xxx1. Further, optional information such as the free capacity of the memory and the manufacturer name and model name of the in-vehicle device is included.

  After reading the contents of the application management table 33, the external device 200 checks whether the same application has already been installed and whether the memory has enough free space when adding an application.

  Further, although not shown, the human machine interface unit 60 of the application program to be added from the in-vehicle device manufacturer name and model name in the read application management table 33 is adapted to the target in-vehicle device 100. Check whether or not. This is due to consideration that the human machine interface unit 60 of the in-vehicle device 100 differs depending on the manufacturer and model name.

  The same applies to the update, and in the case of deletion, it is checked whether or not the target application is installed.

  Next, a message instructing application maintenance (addition, update, or deletion) processing is transmitted from the external device 200 to the in-vehicle device 100.

  The sequence of messages to be transmitted is control code + control identifier + APL identifier + option information + security code + data, and the control code is a header indicating application management information, and the control identifier is application update, addition and deletion The APL identifier identifies the individual application, the option information is undefined but the manufacturer code, the program version number, etc., the security code indicates the security information for concealing the data, and the data part is In the case of addition or update, the content of the new program is shown, and in the case of deletion, it is omitted.

  Then, the application management AMG of the in-vehicle device 100 executes a maintenance (addition, update or deletion) process of the application according to the content of the received message.

  The application maintenance process by the application management AMG is executed according to the procedure shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  That is, when receiving a message instructing application maintenance processing from the external device 200, the application management AMG branches to addition, update, or deletion according to the control code, control identifier, and APL identifier included in the message (step S1).

  In the case of addition, after reconfirming that there is free space in the memory (step S2), the additional application program is returned to plain text using the security code (step S3), and then the additional application program is installed ( Step S4), the process ends normally. If there is no free space in step S2 or if the security process is not successful in step S3, the process ends abnormally.

  In the case of update, after reconfirming that there is free space in the memory (step S5), the update application program is returned to plain text using the security code (step S6), and the old application program is deleted. (Step S7), the update application program is installed (Step S8), and the process ends normally. If there is no free space in step S5, or if the security process cannot be successfully restored in step S6, the process ends abnormally.

  Furthermore, in the case of deletion, the program of the application is deleted (step S9), and the process ends normally.

  Next, the application management MG of the in-vehicle device 100 transmits to the external device 200 a message indicating whether the result of the maintenance process has ended normally or abnormally. The message format is a sequence of control code + control identifier + APL identifier + option information + security code + data. The process from the control code to the security code is the same as described above, and the processing result of addition, update or deletion is entered in the data part.

  Finally, the external device 200 executes a functional operation test to determine whether the application program after addition or update operates normally with the in-vehicle device 100.

  In the in-vehicle device 100 in this embodiment, the application management MG that resides in the program memory area executes application maintenance (addition, update, and deletion) processing in accordance with an instruction from the external device 200. It can be added, and it is not necessary to replace it with a new in-vehicle device or install it separately, and the function can be improved as it is.

  In addition, if the dedicated narrow-area communication function of the in-vehicle device 100 is used, not only can the data connection to the application management AMG be performed by wire or IC card, but the labor for mechanical connection can be saved. It is possible to perform a functional operation check test after execution in a real environment called wireless communication for verification.

  In the above embodiment, the in-vehicle device 100 is described as a stand-alone device. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Of course.

  In addition, the application management MG installed in the in-vehicle device 100 receives application maintenance (addition, update, and deletion) information via the dedicated narrow area communication unit 10, but receives maintenance information from a personal computer connected by cable. It is also possible to receive maintenance information via the removable memory unit 50 such as an IC card.

  In the DSRC in-vehicle device 100 equipped with the application management MG as described above, as shown in FIG. 5, the application software and data are downloaded from the DSRC roadside device, that is, the external device 200, and a new application service is realized. Application maintenance (addition, update, and deletion) processing can be executed by receiving maintenance information from a personal computer 300 connected by a cable or receiving maintenance information via a removable memory unit 50 such as an IC card.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle-mounted apparatus to which this invention is applied. It is a protocol stack figure of exclusive narrow band communication adopted with the above-mentioned in-vehicle device. It is a figure which shows typically the content of the application management table in the said vehicle equipment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of the application management mounted in the said vehicle equipment. It is a figure which shows typically the various acquisition routes of the maintenance information by the application management mounted in the said vehicle-mounted apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Dedicated narrow area communication part, 20 Processor part, 30 Program memory part, 31 Individual application program, 32 Application management program, 33 Application management table, 40 Work memory part, 50 Removable memory part, 60 Human machine interface part, 100 In-vehicle apparatus , 111 Layer 1 (physical layer), 112 Layer 2 (data link layer), 113 Layer 7 (application layer), 114 ASL (application sublayer), 110 Protocol stack, 200 External device, 300 Personal computer, AP1 to APn Individual application , AMG Application Management

Claims (2)

An in-vehicle device provided with dedicated narrow area communication means for transmitting and receiving information to and from an external device provided on the road side,
Processor means for controlling transmission and reception of information via the dedicated narrow area communication means;
Program memory means for storing a plurality of application programs for causing the processor means to function;
Human machine interface means for inputting and outputting information to the processor means;
A plurality of application programs stored in the program memory means are managed by an application management table, and application management (AMG) means for performing application maintenance processing according to maintenance information is provided.
The application management (AMG) means includes a control code indicating application management information via the dedicated narrow area communication means, a control identifier indicating whether the application is updated, added, or deleted, an application identifier for individually identifying the application, security Security code indicating information, indicates the contents of a new program in the case of update, receives maintenance information including a data part that is omitted in the case of deletion, and performs the above-mentioned application through application maintenance processing according to the received maintenance information An in-vehicle device characterized in that application addition, update, and deletion are performed in a unified manner with reference to information in a management table. A maintenance method of an application program in an in-vehicle device provided with a dedicated narrow area communication means for transmitting and receiving information to and from an external device provided on the road side,
A plurality of application programs stored in the program memory means are managed by an application management (AMG) means by an application management table , a control code indicating application management information via the dedicated narrow area communication means , application update, addition and Maintenance identifier including a control identifier that indicates the type of deletion, an application identifier that individually identifies the application, a security code that indicates security information, the contents of the new program in the case of update, and a data portion that is omitted in the case of deletion the receipt, by the maintenance processing of the application in accordance with the received maintenance information, by referring to the information in the application management table, via the dedicated short range communication means Additional application program for causing a processor means for controlling the transmission and reception of information, maintenance method of definitive application program to the in-vehicle device, wherein the updating and deleting centrally.

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