JP2006151000A - Control device for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a control device for an automobile capable of normalizing the activation sequence of application according to a factor of waking up when ECU is waked up after sleeping. <P>SOLUTION: When the factor of waking up of ECU is generated based on operation request from the outside relative to at least one of a plurality of applications, resource of the application is set in preferential to resource of second kind application. Thereafter, since the first kind application is activated without setting the resource of the second kind application, the activation of the application with request of action can be made early by a degree that setting of the resource of the application particularly not receiving the request of action is canceled. Further, the application with no request of operation can be transferred to a sleep mode without performing waste resource setting and a time until it nextly sleeps can be shortened. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an automobile control device.

JP 2002-411141 A JP 2003-318924 A

In order to control various devices (controlled elements), an automobile is equipped with an ECU composed of a microprocessor (hardware control main body). The ECU shifts to the sleep mode under certain conditions, for example, when the vehicle is parked or when there is no switch operation (for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2). Specifically, the sleep mode is a standby mode in which the oscillator that constitutes the ECU is stopped, a slow clock mode that operates with a low-frequency oscillator different from the normal operation, or an intermittent mode in which the CPU is intermittently operated at regular intervals. It means that it is in the low current consumption mode. In particular, as in the keyless entry method, when the user who owns the portable device detects wirelessly that the user has approached the vehicle via the portable device and wants to automatically control operations such as door lock release and engine start, this control is performed. The controlling ECU must always continue to operate even when parking or when the engine is stopped. Especially when the parking time is extended for a long time, if the ECU is continuously operated in the normal operation mode, the battery voltage is lowered and the vehicle cannot be started. Therefore, the sleep control of the ECU has recently become important from the viewpoint of battery protection. It is increasing.

  The wake-up from the sleep mode is based on an external operation request for a specific application, when wakes up irregularly by interrupt processing (hereinafter referred to as external factor wake-up), or when the sleep is periodically performed by timer control. There are two types when repeating wake-up (hereinafter referred to as timer wake-up). In the timer wakeup, for example, as in a keyless entry system, a signal reception standby period from a user's portable device is intermittently generated through a sleep period, and is used for the purpose of power saving.

  In order for the vehicle control device to wake up from the sleep state and start the application, it is necessary to set resources assigned to each application (for example, input / output ports, interrupt numbers, etc.) to an appropriate state. . However, the situation where this resource setting is necessary is the case where an external operation wakeup, that is, when an operation request from the outside to the application is generated for the specific operation control of the controlled element (that is, , Only when there is a request for execution of the application main part). On the other hand, in the timer wakeup, the application is in a standby state after performing the startup process, particularly when there is no operation request from the outside, so that the main part of the application is not executed and the resource is set temporarily. However, it is possible that the time is up without being used and the next sleep is entered.

  However, in the conventional automobile control device, whether the generated wake-up factor corresponds to the above-mentioned external factor wake-up or timer wake-up, and even if it is an external factor wake-up, an operation request is received. It was not particularly determined which application was the application, and all the applications were set up after setting the resources for all applications uniformly. For this reason, since an extra resource is set for an application that has not received an operation request, there is a problem that activation of an important application having an operation request is delayed. In addition, there is a disadvantage that the dark current increases because the time from wake-up to the next sleep tends to be longer by the amount of application resource setting without an operation request.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an automobile capable of optimizing an application activation sequence according to a wake-up factor when a hardware control entity (ECU) responsible for controlling a plurality of functions wakes up after sleep. It is to provide a control device.

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention

In order to solve the above problems, the first configuration of the automotive control device of the present invention is:
A plurality of control means provided corresponding to the controlled elements for controlling the electrical operation of the plurality of controlled elements on the vehicle are respectively executed on the same hardware control entity. A control apparatus for an automobile configured to realize a function by a plurality of corresponding applications and to be able to switch between an operation mode of the control means between a normal operation mode and a sleep mode in which power consumption is lower than that of the normal operation mode Because
The hardware control entity includes a CPU, a ROM that stores applications, and a RAM that serves as a work area for executing a plurality of applications on the CPU, and each application of the hardware control entity is provided on the RAM. A setting area for resources allocated to each application is provided separately for each application.
In the case where the wake-up factor that causes the hardware control subject to switch from the sleep mode to the normal mode is generated based on an external operation request for at least one of the plurality of applications, among the plurality of applications, When the first application is defined as the first type application and the remaining application is defined as the second type application, the resource of the first type application is given priority over the resource of the second type application during the wakeup, and the corresponding setting area on the RAM Resource setting means to set to,
Application launching means for launching the first type application without setting the resource of the second type application after setting the resource of the first type application.

  According to the above configuration, when the cause of the wakeup of the hardware control subject is generated based on an external operation request for at least one of the plurality of applications, the resource of the application (that is, the first type application) is reduced. The resource type of the application that has not received the operation request is set because the first type application is started without setting the resource of the second type application. By omitting it, it is possible to speed up the activation of an application having an operation request.

  The application activation means may activate the second type application together with the first type application in a state where the resource setting for the second type application is not performed. In this way, when a new operation request is made for the second type application (functions controlled by it) after the first type application is started, the main part of the second type application has already been started. It is possible to move quickly to the execution process.

  Next, in the first aspect of the automotive control device of the present invention, after the hardware control entity wakes up, when a certain idling period has elapsed since the external operation request for a plurality of applications is interrupted, Sleep transition means for transitioning the hardware control subject to the sleep mode can be provided. In this case, the resource setting means does not perform resource setting for the second type application and does not perform the resource setting for any of the second type application during the idling period. The shift means can shift to the sleep mode without setting resources for the second type application. This makes it possible to shift to the sleep mode without performing unnecessary resource settings for applications that have not been requested for operation in the wake-up to sleep cycle, so the time from wake-up to next sleep can be shortened. , Dark current can be reduced. In this case, when an external operation request is made to one of the second type applications during the idling period, the resource setting means adds only the second type application for which the operation request has been made and sets the resource. If an operation request is additionally generated for the second type application, it is only necessary to supplement the necessary minimum resource setting, and this is efficient.

  In the first aspect of the automotive control device of the present invention, the hardware control entity is woken when a predetermined sleep period measured by the sleep timer elapses after the hardware control entity enters the sleep mode. Timer wake-up control means for increasing the speed can be provided. In this case, when the wake-up factor is generated based on a wake-up request from the timer wake-up control unit, the application activation unit described above activates the application without setting the resource at the time of the wake-up. Can be configured.

The second of the control devices for automobiles of the present invention is:
A plurality of control means provided corresponding to the controlled elements for controlling the electrical operation of the plurality of controlled elements on the vehicle are respectively executed on the same hardware control entity. A control apparatus for an automobile configured to realize a function by a plurality of corresponding applications and to be able to switch between an operation mode of the control means between a normal operation mode and a sleep mode in which power consumption is lower than that of the normal operation mode Because
A timer wakeup control means for waking up the hardware control subject when a predetermined sleep period measured by the sleep timer has elapsed after the hardware control subject enters the sleep mode;
When the wakeup factor that causes the hardware control subject to switch from the sleep mode to the normal mode is generated based on a wakeup request by the timer wakeup control means, the application is started without setting the resource at the time of the wakeup Application launching means.

  According to the above configuration, regarding the wake-up factor periodically generated by the sleep timer regardless of the external operation request for the specific application, the resources are set for a plurality of applications at the time of wake-up based on the cause. Since it started without any problems, the time from wakeup to application startup can be shortened.

  In this case, after the hardware control entity wakes up, when a certain idling period has elapsed since the external operation request for a plurality of applications is interrupted, the hardware control entity is shifted to the sleep mode. In addition, when an operation request from the outside is not made to any of the plurality of applications during the idling period, it is possible to provide a sleep transition unit that shifts to the sleep mode without setting resources for the application. When there is no operation request from the outside, it returns to sleep mode again without any resource setting, so the time from wakeup to the next sleep by the sleep timer can be greatly shortened, and dark current can be reduced. Can be planned.

  Further, when an external operation request is made to any of a plurality of applications during the idling period, resource setting means for setting a resource for the application that has requested the operation can be provided. Thus, when an operation request is additionally generated for a specific application after wake-up by the sleep timer, it is efficient because only the necessary minimum resource setting needs to be supplemented for that application.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an electrical configuration diagram of an ECU constituting the automobile control apparatus of the present invention. The ECU 1 includes a microprocessor in which a CPU 3, a ROM 5, a RAM 4, and an input / output unit (I / O port) 2 are connected by a bus. In the present embodiment, the ECU 1 is configured as a body system ECU that controls the body system of the automobile, and FIG. 2 shows a schematic architecture thereof. The software installed on the hardware control entity composed of a microprocessor is a platform and an application for realizing a body function that operates on the platform. In addition, in order to distinguish a some application, it attached | subjected and shown with the symbol of 1-n. The platform is for giving a common operating environment to each application even when the base hardware is different. In addition to the basic software (OS) for the application, the platform is linked with the application and hardware. Although it is configured to include an interface program and the like, it is a well-known part conceptually and will not be described in detail.

The application realizes a body function that is a function related to operation of each part of the vehicle by the vehicle user. Specifically, the body system functions include control associated with opening / closing of a door, control associated with opening / closing of a window, control associated with turning on / off a light switch, control of a wireless door lock mechanism employed in a keyless entry system, etc.・ ・ Etc. Specific examples include the following:
-Driver door, passenger door, rear right seat door, rear left seat door, roof lock / unlock, power window operation, etc.
・ Power supply operation for air conditioners, car audio systems, car navigation systems, etc.
-Switch lighting control for room lamp, cockpit lamp, headlight, small lamp, hazard lamp, tail lamp, etc.

  Returning to FIG. 1, each application 1, 2,... Is stored in the ROM 5, and is executed by the CPU 3 on a work area corresponding to each application in the RAM 4. If it is not premised on version upgrade or addition / deletion of the applications 1, 2,..., The ROM 5 can be configured with a non-rewritable mask ROM. On the other hand, when version upgrade, addition / deletion, etc. are assumed, it is configured by an electrically rewritable ROM such as EEPROM 5 or flash ROM (of course, a mask ROM and an electrically rewritable ROM) Can be used in combination. In this type of rewritable ROM, the driving voltage at the time of reading and the driving voltage at the time of writing / erasing are set to different values, and unlike the RAM, writing / erasing cannot be performed with the same control voltage as at the time of reading.

In the present embodiment, the following four applications are illustrated as applications that are executed by the body system ECU 1, and work areas 41, 42, 43, and 44 are respectively secured in the RAM 4 and predetermined resources are allocated.
(1) Light system application (work area 41): an operation control application of the headlight lighting unit 71 and the tail lamp lighting unit 72 (that is, the main light) that is lit in conjunction with the headlight lighting unit 71. Are set in the resource setting area 41R.
(Input system: light switch / sensor resource area)
-Input port of the ignition switch SW1 (shared resource); when the ignition switch SW1 is OFF, only the main light can be turned on / off by the manual switch operation;
-Input port for operation signals from the light control switch SW2 (switching of lighting modes such as low beam, high beam, and high flash lighting, manual lighting / extinguishing, and automatic lighting / extinction switching);
-Input port for illuminance detection information from the light sensor (illuminance sensor) 61;
(Output system: Resource area for write output control)
-Control output port for switching the low beam lighting, high beam lighting, high flash lighting and extinguishing for the headlight lighting unit 71;
A switching control output port for turning on and off the taillight lighting unit 72.

  The light system application controls automatic lighting of the main light. The light application acquires illuminance information from a light sensor 61 (illuminance sensor: FIG. 1) that detects the amount of light outside the vehicle, and the amount of light outside the vehicle indicated by the illuminance information is The main light is automatically turned on when it is smaller than the prescribed value, and the main light is automatically turned off when the amount of light outside the vehicle is larger than the prescribed value.

(2) Power window control application (work area 42): This is a power window operation control application, and the following resources are set in the resource setting area 42R in the work area 42.
(Input system: Resource area for power window switch)
-Input port (shared resource) of ignition switch SW1; power window operation prohibited when ignition switch SW1 is OFF;
An input port for operation signals from the power window switch unit 62 (window up / down switching, lift mode intermittent / auto switching, etc.);
(Output system: Resource area for power window output control)
A control output port for driving mode switching such as window raising / lowering and intermittent / auto switching of the raising / lowering mode for the power window drive unit 73.

(3) Door opening / closing application (work area 43): This is an operation control application of the door opening / closing unit, and the following resources are set in the resource setting area 43R in the work area 43. This application is required when an electric door is installed.
(Input system: Resource area for door operation switches)
An input port for operation signals from the door operation switch unit 63;
(Output system: Door open / close mechanism resource area)
A control output port for opening and closing the door for the door opening and closing unit 74.

(4) Wireless door lock control application (work area 44): An operation control application of a wireless door lock mechanism that locks / unlocks a door by wireless remote operation using a wireless key possessed by a user or a portable device 164. Resources are set in the resource setting area 44R in the work area 44. This application is required when an electric door is installed.
(Input system: Resource area for wireless receivers)
An input port for a lock opening / closing request signal from the wireless receiver control unit 64 (which wirelessly communicates with the portable device 164 and outputs a control signal for opening / closing the lock (lock opening / closing request signal));
(Output system: Resource area for door lock mechanism)
A lock / unlock control output port for the door lock mechanism 75.

  The memory structure of each resource setting area is as shown in FIG. 12, for example. The address of each port provided in the input / output unit 2, the specific information of the corresponding assigned application, and the setting of the port requested by the assigned application The state is stored in association with each other. When waking up from the sleep mode, it is necessary to rewrite from the port setting state in the sleep state to a setting state necessary for starting the application after wakeup (these are determined uniquely for each application). . The rewriting process is a resource setting process at the time of wake-up, and will be handled by a wake-up control program (which is a part of the sleep management control software 55 in FIG. 1; incorporated in the platform in FIG. 2). Then, the wake-up control program realizes the function realizing means of the resource setting means, the application starting means, and the sleep transition means described in the claims of the present invention by execution on the CPU 3.

  The three applications other than the light application are defined as second-type applications whose activation is postponed with respect to the first-type application at the time of reset / restart, and corresponding storage areas 52 to 54 in the ROM 5, and Corresponding work areas 42 to 44 of the RAM 4 are defined as the second type memory areas 4S and 5S.

  As described above, the ECU 1 controls the operation of the various types of body-based control target devices (controlled elements) by executing each application while referring to input signals from external switches and sensors. In addition, the ECU 1 is a sleep mode that is a low power consumption mode (standby mode in which an oscillator that constitutes the ECU is stopped, A slow clock mode in which a low frequency oscillator different from the normal operation is operated, or an intermittent mode in which the CPU is intermittently operated at regular intervals). The platform portion of FIG. 2 is responsible for the control (installed in the ROM 5 of FIG. 1 but not shown).

The ECU 1 is connected to another hardware control entity (for example, another ECU) via a network bus, and starts operation when a reset instruction or a wake-up factor is determined by communication via the network bus. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an outline of the processing. When there is a reset instruction, system setting at the time of resetting is performed (S100), and then the process proceeds to S120. On the other hand, if the wake-up factor is determined, the system setting at the time of wake-up is performed (S110), and then the process proceeds to S120. In S120, control by each application is performed. Here, the states of a plurality of applications are determined, the system setting during sleep is performed when a predetermined condition is satisfied (S130), and then sleep is performed. The sleep management / control software 81 shown in FIG. 1 performs overall control of the ECU 1 including the determination, such as transition to the sleep state and preparation control for wake-up. The sleep management / control software 81 implements the following function implementation means on the CPU 3.
Sleep control information acquisition means: Sleep control information for directly or indirectly specifying the start time and end time of the sleep period required by a plurality of application software is individually requested as the requested sleep control information from the plurality of application software To get on;
Valid sleep period calculation means: calculates a period commonly included in a plurality of requested sleep periods respectively defined by the acquired requested sleep control information of each application software as an effective sleep period;
-Sleep transition means: When the start time of the calculated effective sleep period arrives, the hardware control entity that centrally manages the execution of a plurality of application software is shifted to the sleep mode, and the effective sleep period elapses Thus, the hardware control subject is woken up from the sleep mode to the normal operation mode.
In terms of software structure, it can be grasped as a part of the platform of FIG. Details thereof will be described later.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of FIG. 3 showing control by each application in S120 of FIG. Here, a state in which a plurality of applications 1, 2,... N are sequentially started by a scheduler formed as a part of the platform function is shown. At this time, the state management program in the platform collectively manages the state of a series of applications, and determines the control state and performs state transition processing. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing state transition processing by the state management program. The state management program defines three states as an application state, that is, a preparation state α, a control state β, and a control start monitoring state γ. For each series of startup processing by the scheduler shown in FIG. Based on the signal from the application, the state is changed as necessary.

  That is, when the operation is started by the reset instruction, the preparation state α is initially set. On the other hand, when the operation is started by determining the wake-up factor, the control start monitoring state γ is initially set. Then, in the preparation state α, when there is a notification of preparation completion from each application, the state is then shifted to the control state β (symbol (1)). In the control state β, the sleep management / control software 81 obtains sleep control information for directly or indirectly specifying the start time and end time of the requested sleep period that differs for each application software. If sleep control information is acquired from all applications, the state transitions to the control start monitoring state γ (symbol (2)).

  Each application is programmed to set a requested sleep period as a timer and periodically repeat sleep and wakeup. For example, when the keyless entry method is adopted, a radio signal from the user portable device is received and input as “input of switch / sensor, etc.” in FIG. 1, and the door lock control application corresponding to the keyless entry method receives the received signal. The operation control of the ECU 1 is performed so that the standby period is the normal mode period and is repeated alternately with the sleep period.

  On the other hand, part or all of the application is an interrupt processing command (that is, an operation command from the outside) triggered by an external operation signal (light lighting, door lock release command, etc.) regardless of the above sleep cycle. ) Is waked up from time to time as a wakeup factor. After that, if there is no wake-up factor for a certain period, the requested sleep period is reset and the process shifts to sleep. Therefore, the relative relationship on the time axis of the requested sleep period of each application varies depending on the above irregular wakeup factors. Furthermore, the requested sleep period defined by the timer varies depending on the application. In the present embodiment, a period that is commonly included in a plurality of requested sleep periods defined by the obtained requested sleep control information of each application software is calculated as an effective sleep period. Then, in the control start monitoring state γ, when the start timing of the effective sleep period arrives, the effective sleep period is set in the wakeup sleep timer 7T, and the state shifts to the sleep state. The sleep timer 7T transmits a wake-up signal when the effective sleep period expires, causing the ECU 1 to wake up.

  The requested sleep control information is described in each application, and is written at a designated address in the corresponding work area of the RAM 4. The sleep management / control software 81 can voluntarily access this address to obtain the requested sleep control information. However, when the memory address to which the application program is loaded is converted into a relative address, the sleep management / control software 81 The write address of the sleep control information becomes indefinite, and an extra step is required to specify the requested sleep control information (considering the write address from the application side to the sleep management / control software 81 may be considered). In order to eliminate such trouble, as shown in FIG. 1, the RAM 4 of the ECU 1 displays a registration memory commonly used in a plurality of application software (in the figure, “timer registration memory 82” is displayed as a subordinate concept). Each application software voluntarily writes its own sleep control information into this memory so that it can be registered (sleep control information registration). means). In this embodiment, the correspondence between IDs (numbers) of a plurality of timers and applications is determined in advance, and thereafter, the sleep start / end time set in the timer of the requested ID (application) (Request sleep control information) is read and used (that is, “stored in association with an application” means “stored in a state in which the correspondence with the application can be specified) And the application itself is not stored in the registration memory).

  As shown in FIG. 5, there are various ways of providing the requested sleep control information. First, A is the simplest method, and the application registers the requested sleep period Td (that is, timer registration data) in the registration memory (that is, the timer registration memory 82) at the time when the application wants to start sleep. FIG. 9 is an example of a flowchart showing the flow of the timer registration process by the sleep management / control software 81 in this case. The application number k is initialized in S51, and the requested sleep period Td is written from the application of number k in S52. Check if it was done. If written, the requested sleep start time tsk corresponding to the writing time is registered in S53.

  In this case, the sleep management / control software 81 is provided with a management timer 81T as shown in FIG. 1, and the time can be grasped from the value of the management timer 81T when writing is performed. From the application, the requested sleep period Tdk is written in advance by a predetermined time Δt with respect to the time when the user actually wants to go to sleep, and if the written time is tsk ′, tsk ′ + Δt is requested. It can be registered as the sleep start time tsk. The requested sleep period Tdk can be set in a sleep timer 7T described later for the next sleep, for example, at the time of wakeup from the previous sleep. In this case, Δt is a non-occurrence duration (idling period) of an external request wakeup factor (for example, an operation signal by a user such as door opening / closing, door lock, lamp lighting), which is a condition for the next sleep after wakeup. Can be determined.

  If the requested sleep start time tsk can be calculated, the requested sleep end time twk is calculated by tsk + Tdk from the written requested sleep period Tdk and registered (S55, S56). When the above process is repeated for all applications, the contents of the registration memory are as shown in FIG. That is, the contents of the requested sleep control information for each application are stored in association with the application.

  The final purpose of the processing here is to arbitrate the requested sleep periods Tdk of a plurality of applications, and to determine the period that is included in common as the effective sleep period Tdc that actually causes the ECU 1 to sleep. For this purpose, the required sleep start time tsk is required to determine the start time (tsc) of the effective sleep period Tdc, and the required sleep end time twk is required to determine the end time (twc). is there. As shown by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 1, if the ECU 1 is provided with a clock 6 for grasping the absolute time, a registration method as shown in FIGS. That is, by reading the clock 6 on the application side, B registers the requested sleep start time tsk and the requested sleep period Tdk. In C, the requested sleep end time twk and the requested sleep period Tdk are registered. In D, the requested sleep start time tsk and the requested sleep period Tdk are registered.

  The sleep condition including the effective sleep period Tdc can be set, for example, by the following procedure. First, among the registered requested sleep start times tsk, the latest arrival time (second type limit time) is calculated as the effective sleep start end time tsc and registered as shown in FIG. However, the effective sleep start time tsc may be set by adding a certain period δt to the second type limit time in consideration of the time margin of the sleep process.

  Also, among the registered requested sleep end times twk, the earliest arrival time (first type limit time) is calculated as the effective sleep end time twc and registered as shown in FIG. However, the effective sleep end time twc may be set by subtracting a certain period δt from the first type limit time in consideration of the time margin of the wake-up process. Then, the effective sleep period Tdc is calculated by twc-tws.

  FIGS. 7 and 8 are timing charts of the above processing. FIG. 7 shows an example in which the requested sleep start times tsk of all the applications match. In this case, the requested sleep period (Td2 in the figure) of the application in which the requested sleep end time twk arrives earliest is equivalent to the effective sleep end time twc. If it is known in advance that the requested sleep start times tsk of all applications always coincide, it is possible to register only the requested sleep period Tdk or the requested sleep end time twk as sleep control information.

  On the other hand, FIG. 8 shows a case where the requested sleep start time tsk does not match between applications. Between the registered request sleep start time tsk that arrives latest (second type limit time) and the registered request sleep end time twk that arrives earliest (first type limit time) It is clear that the effective sleep period Tdc is set.

  As described above, it is clear that there are two types of factors related to wakeup from the sleep mode. One of them is a wake-up caused by the time-up of the sleep timer 7T (timer wake-up: in this embodiment, the wake-up signal generation unit 7 accordingly inputs a wake-up signal to the wake-up port INT. The other is wakeup (external request wakeup) caused by an internal processing interrupt caused by an operation request from the outside. The main point of the present invention is that these two types of wakeup factors are clearly detected and distinguished, and the flow of application activation processing after wakeup is also different.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a flow of the above-described wake-up control process that controls the specific process. First, in S101, a wake-up factor is monitored. Specifically, an ignition switch SW1, a light control switch SW2, a light sensor 61 (above, for a light control application), a power window switch unit 63 (for a power window control application), a door operation switch unit 63 (for a door opening / closing control application) ) State of each signal input port (referred to as first type input port) such as wireless receiver 64 (for wireless door lock control application) and state of port INT for timer wakeup (referred to as second type input port) To monitor. The input state from each of the input devices is changed by an operation by the user. The change is detected, and the corresponding controlled element (headlight / taillight lighting units 71 and 72, power window driving unit) is detected. 73, the door opening / closing unit 74 or the door lock mechanism 75) is controlled by the corresponding application. That is, from the input state change of the first type input port, it is possible to easily determine whether or not there is an operation request for the application to which the port is assigned. If an effective state change appears in any of the first type input ports, the wakeup in this case is an external factor wakeup, and it is possible to grasp which application operation is requested from the type of the port. On the other hand, if an effective state change appears in the second type port, it can be understood that the wakeup in this case is a timer wakeup.

  If a wake-up factor is detected in S102, the process proceeds to S103 and an initial setting process is performed. This processing includes calculation and setting processing of the sleep conditions tsc, twc, and Tdc as well as setting of peripheral register contents. In S104, it is determined whether the wakeup is a timer wakeup. If it is not the timer wake-up, it is an external factor wake-up, so the process proceeds to S113, and which application is involved in the wake-up factor is determined from the type of the port where the signal has changed. Then, the application is set as a first type application, and only the resources allocated to the first type application are set to a state necessary for wakeup (the function of the resource setting means in the first of the present invention is realized). . Next, the process proceeds to S114, in which all of the first type application and the remaining second type application are activated (the function of the application activation means in the first of the present invention is realized). The subsequent processing flow of the application is not shown in FIG. 11, but the main part (main program) of the first type application is so that the corresponding controlled element performs a desired operation in accordance with an operation request from the outside. Is moved to the execution operation. On the other hand, since there is no operation request from the outside, the second type application is in a standby state until there is an operation request. Thereafter, the process proceeds to S106.

  On the other hand, if the timer wakes up, the process proceeds from S104 to S105. In this case, there is no operation request for any application from outside, so that all applications are started without any application resource setting (the function of the application starting means in the second of the present invention is realized) is doing).

  The processes after S106 are common to the two types of wakeup. First, in S106, it is determined whether or not the calculated effective sleep period Tdc is shorter than the reference value Tdmin. If not, the process proceeds to S107, the current time is read by the management timer 81T in FIG. It is confirmed whether the start time tsc has arrived. If it has arrived, the process proceeds to S109, where the effective sleep period Tdc is set in the sleep timer 7T of the wake-up signal generation unit 7 in FIG. 1, and the ECU 1 is shifted to the sleep state.

  When the process proceeds to S114, this means that none of the second type applications have requested an operation until a certain idling period measured by the sleep timer has expired. The application shifts to the sleep mode without setting resources (pattern B in FIG. 13). On the other hand, when the process proceeds to S105 from the flow of S105, if no external operation request is made to any of the plurality of applications during the idling period, resource setting for the application is not performed. A transition is made to the sleep mode (pattern C in FIG. 13). It is clear that the functions of the sleep transition means in the first and second aspects of the present invention are realized, respectively. In any case, as shown in pattern A in FIG. 13, the time until the application is started as compared to the conventional method of starting the application after setting the resources of all the applications without distinguishing the wake-up factor. It can be seen that the time until the transition to the next sleep and the dark current application time are also shortened.

  Although not shown in the flowchart of FIG. 11, the wakeup signal generation unit 7 of FIG. 1 receives the above processing flow, and when the effective sleep period Tdc elapses, the wakeup signal generation unit 7 enters the wakeup port INT that is one of the interrupt ports. A wakeup signal is input (that is, it functions as a timer wakeup control means). In response to this, the ECU 1 wakes up from the sleep mode by interrupt processing (the above timer wakeup).

  The wake-up control process in FIG. 11 is repeatedly executed at a constant cycle. For example, if the effective sleep start time tsc does not arrive in S108, S110 is skipped, and the execution cycle of the sleep control process ends without entering the sleep mode, and the effective sleep start time in the transition execution cycle When tsc arrives, the sleep mode is entered.

  In S111 on the way, the input state of the first-type port group is scanned again to check whether a valid state change indicating an operation request for the specific application has occurred. If a state change has occurred, the application is identified and the application resource is immediately set (S112). On the other hand, if there is no effective state change, S112 is skipped. That is, if an effective state change indicating an operation request is detected as the wake-up control process is repeated, the resource setting is added only for the application corresponding to the change. As a result, it is possible to more effectively suppress the problem that the wasteful resource setting process is repeated, the non-sleep period is eroded, and the dark current increases. However, instead of the process of S112, when there is an external operation request for some application, the resource setting of all applications may be performed, and then the process of restarting the application may be performed again (pattern of FIG. 13). D).

  Note that the sleep condition setting (arbitration) process of S103 also plays a role of monitoring the state of each application for each execution cycle. If there is a change in the registered content of the sleep control information, the setting content of the effective sleep period is also updated. Is done. For example, in FIG. 8, after the sleep arbitration is temporarily performed between the applications 1 to 3 having a relatively high operation frequency, the application 4 having a very low operation frequency is accidentally operated at all times, and the application 4 is added. When the re-arbitration becomes necessary, the sleep control information of the application 4 is added and the effective sleep period Tdc is updated as indicated by the broken line.

  Further, when the applications 1 to 3 are rewritten due to version upgrade or the like, as long as the applications 1 to 3 have a registration function of the requested sleep control information, the sleep control information registration process of FIG. 9 and the wake of FIG. There is no change in the control processing program, and the registration content in FIG. 6 is also rewritten spontaneously in a form corresponding to the version upgrade, and there is no need to modify the program for sleep arbitration. This situation is the same even when an application that did not originally exist is newly written to the ROM 5 (FIG. 1) by adding a function.

  Next, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, hardware sleep / wake-up of each application is executed in units of ECU 1 in accordance with the effective sleep period Tdc calculated as an arbitration result of the requested sleep period. However, in the internal processing of each application, as shown in FIG. 1, the requested sleep control information is given by an individual timer having the requested sleep period Td as a set time. The application itself does not start unless the requested sleep end time specified by each timer arrives. This is shown in FIG. In this case, as shown in a to c, the activation timing of the application is not constant depending on the setting state of the effective sleep period. For example, when the requested sleep period deviates later in time with respect to the effective sleep period Tdc, even if there is no external operation request for the application, the timing of entering the next sleep by the delay of the activation However, there is a problem that leads to an increase in dark current. Therefore, as shown in d, only when there is no external operation request for any application after wakeup, an interrupt higher than the sleep timer is forcibly generated by the execution of software prepared separately, and the execution of the application is started It can be controlled to advance the time. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the dark current.

The block diagram which shows an example of ECU which comprises the control apparatus for motor vehicles of this invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an architecture of the system of FIG. 1. The figure which shows typically the concept of the execution cycle of the some application by a scheduler. The schematic diagram of the state transition which concerns on reset and sleep. The figure which shows various examples of the registration form of the request sleep control information of each application. The schematic diagram which shows the content of the timer registration memory. The conceptual diagram which shows the 1st example of sleep arbitration. The conceptual diagram which shows a 2nd example similarly. The flowchart which shows an example of the registration process of request | requirement sleep control information. The flowchart which shows the general | schematic process flow which concerns on reset, sleep, and wakeup. The flowchart which shows an example of the wake-up control process which makes the principal part of this invention. The conceptual diagram which shows the memory structure of a resource setting area | region. The timing diagram which shows the effect of this invention compared with a prior art example. The timing diagram which shows the outline | summary of reference technology.

Explanation of symbols

  1 ECU (Hardware control subject: Automotive control device)

Claims (8)

Each control means, each of which is executed on the same hardware control entity, with a plurality of control means provided corresponding to the controlled elements to control the electrical operation of the controlled elements on the automobile The function is realized by a plurality of applications corresponding to the above, and the operation mode of the control means is configured to be switchable between a normal operation mode and a sleep mode that consumes less power than the normal operation mode. A control device,
The hardware control entity includes a CPU, a ROM that stores the application, and a RAM that serves as a work area for executing the plurality of applications on the CPU. A setting area for resources allocated to each application of the hardware control entity is provided for each application individually.
In the case where the cause of the wakeup in which the hardware control subject switches from the sleep mode to the normal mode is generated based on an operation request from the outside for at least one of the plurality of applications, When the application that requested the operation is defined as a first type application and the remaining applications are defined as a second type application, the first type application resource is given priority over the second type application resource during the wakeup. Resource setting means for setting a corresponding setting area on the RAM;
Application starting means for starting the first type application without setting the resource of the second type application after setting the resource of the first type application;
A control apparatus for an automobile, comprising: 2. The automotive control device according to claim 1, wherein the application activation unit is configured to activate the second type application together with the first type application in a state where resource setting for the second type application is not performed. After the hardware control entity wakes up, a sleep transition that causes the hardware control entity to transition to the sleep mode when a certain idling period has elapsed since the external operation request for the plurality of applications is interrupted And the resource setting means performs resource setting for the second type application when no external operation request is made to any of the second type applications during the idling period. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sleep shift means shifts to the sleep mode without setting a resource for the second type application. The resource setting means adds a resource only for the second type application for which the operation request is made when an external operation request is made to any of the second type applications during the idling period. 4. The vehicle control device according to claim 3, wherein the setting is performed. A timer wakeup control means for waking up the hardware control subject when a predetermined sleep period measured by a sleep timer has elapsed after the hardware control subject enters the sleep mode;
The application activation unit activates the application without performing resource setting when the wake-up factor is generated based on a wake-up request from the timer wake-up control unit. The control apparatus for motor vehicles of any one of Claim 1 thru | or 4. Each control means, each of which is executed on the same hardware control entity, with a plurality of control means provided corresponding to the controlled elements to control the electrical operation of the controlled elements on the automobile The function is realized by a plurality of applications corresponding to the above, and the operation mode of the control means is configured to be switchable between a normal operation mode and a sleep mode that consumes less power than the normal operation mode. A control device,
Timer wakeup control means for waking up the hardware control subject when a predetermined sleep period measured by a sleep timer has elapsed after the hardware control subject has entered the sleep mode;
In the case where the wake-up factor for the hardware control subject to switch from the sleep mode to the normal mode is generated based on a wake-up request by the timer wake-up control means, the resource setting of the application is performed during the wake-up. Application starting means for starting without performing,
A control apparatus for an automobile, comprising: After the hardware control entity wakes up, when a certain idling period has elapsed since an external operation request for the plurality of applications is interrupted, the hardware control entity is shifted to the sleep mode. And a sleep transition means for transitioning to the sleep mode without performing resource setting for any of the plurality of applications during the idling period without any external operation request. The automobile control device according to claim 5 or 6. 8. The vehicle according to claim 7, further comprising resource setting means for setting a resource for an application for which an operation request has been made when an operation request from the outside is made to any of the plurality of applications during the idling period. Control device.

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