JP2007019735A - Electronic control unit, communication system and inspection method for surge absorbing element - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic control unit connected to a communication bus as a node of a communication system, and capable of appropriately determining the status of a surge absorbing element and performing appropriate operation control according to the status. <P>SOLUTION: At the time of inspection for surge absorbing elements 11 and 12, a predetermined inspection voltage is applied to internal bus lines 13a and 13b of an ECU (electronic control unit) 1 by a voltage applying circuit 16 under the condition that the ECU 1 is separated from a communication bus 30. Then, voltage of internal bus lines 13a and 13b at that time is measured by a measuring circuit 17, and the measured voltage is read by a control circuit 14. The control circuit 14 determines the status of surge absorbing elements 11 and 12, based on the voltage of internal bus lines 13a and 13b read from the measuring circuit 17. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention inspects an electronic control device connected to a communication bus as a node of a communication system, a communication system using the electronic control device, and a surge absorbing element for absorbing surge noise mixed in the electronic control device. It relates to the inspection method.

  Various electrical components mounted on the vehicle are electrically controlled by an electronic control unit called an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) according to the state of the vehicle detected by various sensors, operation input from the driver, and the like. . In recent years, a communication system has also been proposed in which a plurality of ECUs are connected to a communication bus to construct a communication network, and information is shared by communicating between the plurality of ECUs.

In such a communication system, each ECU connected to the communication bus as a node may be mixed with surge noise from the outside via the communication bus, and malfunction or failure may occur due to the influence of this surge noise. There is. Therefore, in this type of communication system, it has been proposed to provide a surge absorbing element in each ECU connected to the communication bus as a node to prevent malfunctions and failures due to surge noise mixing (for example, , See Patent Document 1). Specifically, Patent Document 1 discloses a surge clamp circuit in which a Zener diode as a surge absorbing element is provided between a point on a bus line from an input terminal of an ECU to a filter circuit and a power supply or ground. Has been.
JP 7-288451 A

  By the way, in the conventional surge clamp circuit described in Patent Document 1 described above, when surge noise exceeding the surge withstand capability of the surge absorbing element is mixed, an open mode failure in which the surge withstand capability of the surge absorbing element is significantly reduced. Or a failure called a short mode failure in which the surge absorbing element causes a short circuit. However, since the conventional surge clamp circuit is not provided with a means for determining the state of the surge absorbing element, it can detect even if an open mode failure or a short mode failure occurs. There is a problem in that it is impossible to notify the user when a failure occurs and to prompt appropriate action.

  In the conventional surge clamp circuit, since the surge absorbing element is directly connected to the bus line, when the short mode failure of the surge absorbing element occurs, the entire bus line is short-circuited. There was a problem of inviting and causing a failure of the entire system.

  The present invention was devised to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and appropriately determines the state of the surge absorbing element and appropriately determines the state. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic control device capable of performing proper operation control, a communication system using such an electronic control device, and an inspection method for inspecting a surge absorbing element.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention applies a predetermined inspection voltage to an internal bus line to which a surge absorbing element of the electronic control device is connected in a state where the electronic control device is disconnected from the communication bus. The voltage of the internal bus line was measured, and the state of the surge absorbing element was determined based on the measured voltage.

  According to the present invention, since the state of the surge absorbing element provided in the electronic control device can be appropriately determined, optimal operation control of the electronic control device can be performed according to the state of the surge absorbing element.

  Hereinafter, specific embodiments of a communication system to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Here, a plurality of ECUs for controlling the operation of various on-vehicle electrical components are connected by a communication bus composed of two electric wires, and a signal difference between the plurality of ECUs is determined by a potential difference between the two electric wires of the communication bus. An example in which the present invention is applied to a CAN (Controller Area Network) system as a vehicular communication system that performs transmission and reception will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to the example given here, and a plurality of electronic control devices serve as communication buses as nodes. The present invention can be widely applied to communication systems connected to.

  In the communication system to which the present invention is applied, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of ECUs (here, the first to fourth ECUs 1, 2, 3, 4) as communication nodes are connected to terminal resistors 33, 34. It is configured to be connected to each of the first line 31 and the second line 32 constituting the communication bus 30, and signals are transmitted and received between these four ECUs 1, 2, 3, and 4 via the communication bus 30. Is. These four ECUs 1, 2, 3, and 4 have the same configuration of parts related to communication. Hereinafter, a configuration of a part related to communication inside each ECU will be described by taking the ECU 1 as a representative example.

  The ECU 1 includes surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 for absorbing surge noise mixed in the ECU 1 via the first line 31 and the second line 32 that constitute the communication bus 30. The surge absorbing element 11 is connected via a switch 20 to an internal bus line 13a inside the ECU 1 connected to a first line 31 constituting the communication bus 30. Further, the surge absorbing element 12 is connected via a switch 21 to an internal bus line 13b in the ECU 1 that is connected to a second line 32 constituting the communication bus 30. These surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 are composed of elements that can suppress surge noise, such as Zener diodes and varistors. The switches 21 and 22 are controlled by the control circuit 14 to connect or disconnect the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 to the internal bus lines 13a and 13b.

  The ECU 1 communicates with the other ECUs 2, 3, 4 via the first line 31 and the second line 32 constituting the communication bus 30 by the transmission / reception circuit 15. At this time, the ECU 1 When surge noise is mixed into the internal bus lines 13 a and 13 b via the second line 32, the surge noise is absorbed by the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 to protect the transmission / reception circuit 15. And especially in the said ECU1 used as a communication node of the communication system to which this invention is applied, the surge absorption elements 11 and 12 are inspected as necessary, and appropriate operation control is performed according to the state. Yes. As a mechanism for this, the ECU 1 includes a voltage application circuit 16 and a measurement circuit 17 in addition to the control circuit 14 described above.

  The voltage application circuit 16 is for applying a test voltage to the internal bus lines 13 a and 13 b in a state where the ECU 1 is disconnected from the communication bus 30. Specifically, the voltage application circuit 16 includes switches 23 and 24 whose operations are controlled by the control circuit 14, and by switching the switches 23 and 24, the internal bus lines 13 a and 13 b of the ECU 1 are connected to the communication bus. 30 is switched between a state connected to the first line 31 and the second line 32 and a state connected to the power source VDD serving as a supply source of the inspection voltage via the resistors 25 and 26. In the ECU 1, normally, the switches 23 and 24 are operated so that the internal bus lines 13a and 13b are connected to the first line 31 and the second line 32 of the communication bus 30, while the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 are connected. At the time of inspection, the switches 23 and 24 are operated so that the internal bus lines 13a and 13b are connected to the power supply VDD via the resistors 25 and 26, and the inspection voltage is applied to the internal bus lines 13a and 13b.

  The measuring circuit 17 measures the voltage of the internal bus lines 13a and 13b when the voltage application circuit 16 applies a test voltage to the internal bus lines 13a and 13b. The measurement result of the measurement circuit 17 is sent to the control circuit 14. The control circuit 14 determines the state of the surge absorbing elements 12 and 13 based on the voltage of the internal bus lines 13a and 13b when the inspection voltage is applied, which is measured by the measuring circuit 17, and the optimum circuit according to the state. Perform motion control.

  Further, the ECU 1 is provided with an alarm circuit 18 whose operation is controlled by the control circuit 14. The alarm circuit 18 has a failure called an open mode failure in which the surge withstand capability of the surge absorbing elements 12 and 13 is remarkably reduced and a failure called a short mode failure in which the surge absorbing elements 12 and 13 cause a short circuit. When the control circuit 14 detects this, an alarm for notifying the passenger of the vehicle is generated.

  In the ECU 1 configured as described above, in normal times, as shown in FIG. 2, for example, on the internal bus line 13a side connected to the first line 31 of the communication bus 30, the reference potential and α A communication waveform that swings with a higher potential is transmitted and received, and on the side of the internal bus line 13b connected to the second line 32 of the communication bus 30, between the reference potential and a potential lower by α than the reference potential. By transmitting and receiving an amplitude communication waveform, a potential difference (potential difference between the first line 31 and the second line 32) between the internal bus lines 13a and 13b is generated and a logic signal is transferred.

  Here, in the conventional communication system in which the ECU serving as the communication node does not have a function of inspecting the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12, if surge noise is mixed in the ECU, if the surge voltage is within an assumed range, for example, FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, it is clamped by the clamp voltage of the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 connected to the internal bus lines 13a and 13b, so that breakage of the transmission / reception circuit 15 due to surge noise mixing is prevented in advance. . However, when surge noise exceeding the surge capacity of the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 is mixed and an open mode failure occurs in the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the internal bus lines 13a and 13b are used. As a result, an excessive voltage is applied to the transmission / reception circuit 15, which may cause problems such as breakage of the transmission / reception circuit 15.

  Therefore, in the communication system to which the present invention is applied, each of the ECUs 1, 2, 3 and 4 serving as communication nodes has a function of inspecting the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 by the following method to detect a short mode failure. In this case, it is possible to avoid the short circuit of the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 from adversely affecting the internal bus lines 13a and 13b and the communication bus 30, and it is possible when an open mode failure is detected. As soon as possible, repairs such as replacement of the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 are promoted so that adverse effects due to subsequent surge noise can be prevented. Here, for convenience of explanation, the case where the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 in the ECU 1 are inspected will be described as an example.

  When inspecting the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 in the ECU 1, first, the ECU 1 is communicated by switching the switches 23 and 24 of the voltage application circuit 16 to the power supply VDD side under the control of the control circuit 14. In addition to being disconnected from the bus 30, a test voltage from the power supply VDD is applied to the internal bus lines 13a and 13b. Here, the inspection voltage is set slightly higher than the clamp voltage of the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 so as not to damage the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12. In this state, the voltage of the internal bus lines 13a and 13b is measured by the measuring circuit 17 to determine whether or not the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 are in a normal state.

  Specifically, when the control circuit 14 reads the measurement value of the measurement circuit 17 and the voltage measured by the measurement circuit 17 is substantially equal to the clamp voltage of the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12, the control circuit 14 is more than the clamp voltage. Since the inspection voltage set slightly higher indicates that the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 are clamped to the clamp voltage, it is determined that the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 are in a normal state.

  Further, when the voltage measured by the measurement circuit 17 is substantially equal to the inspection voltage supplied from the power supply VDD, the control circuit 14 indicates that the inspection voltage is not clamped by the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12. Therefore, it is determined that the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 are in the open mode failure state.

  Further, when the voltage measured by the measurement circuit 17 is approximately 0 V, the control circuit 14 determines that the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 and / or the transmission / reception circuit 15 are in the short mode failure state. In this case, the control circuit 14 opens the switches 20 and 21 connecting the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 to the internal bus lines 13a and 13b, and disconnects the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 from the internal bus lines 13a and 13b. In this state, by confirming the voltages of the internal bus lines 13a and 13b measured by the measurement circuit 17, the location where the short mode failure has occurred is determined. Specifically, the control circuit 14 measures the voltage measured by the measuring circuit 17 with the switches 20 and 21 closed, and is measured by the measuring circuit 17 with the switches 20 and 21 opened. When the measured voltage becomes substantially equal to the inspection voltage, it can be determined that the short circuit failure has occurred in the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12. On the other hand, when the voltage measured by the measurement circuit 17 is approximately 0 V in both the closed state and the open state of the switches 20 and 21, both the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 and the transmission / reception circuit 15 are short-circuited. It can be determined that there is a mode failure or a short mode failure of the transmission / reception circuit 15.

  As described above, the ECU 1 determines the state of the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 by measuring the voltage of the internal bus lines 13a and 13b with the test voltage applied by the measuring circuit 17, and further breaks down. If this occurs, the failure location and failure mode can be identified, and based on this result, the alarm circuit 18 is activated under the control of the control circuit 14 to prompt the vehicle occupant to repair the vehicle. As a result, it is possible to prevent malfunctions due to subsequent surge noise and damage to the transmission / reception circuit 15.

  Further, when the ECU 1 completes the inspection of the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12, the ECU 1 performs a normal communication operation with the other ECUs 2, 3, and 4. However, as a result of the inspection, the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 have a short mode failure. Is detected, the switches 20 and 21 are opened under the control of the control circuit 14, and the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 in which the failure has occurred are disconnected from the internal bus lines 13a and 13b. In this state, the ECU 1 is connected to the communication bus 30. Thereby, it is possible to effectively avoid the disadvantage that the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 in which the failure has occurred hinders the communication operation of the ECU 1 and makes the ECU 1 in a communication disabled state.

  When the location where the short mode failure occurs includes the transmission / reception circuit 15, the ECU 1 sets the switches 23 and 24 of the voltage application circuit 16 to the communication bus 30 side even after the inspection of the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 is completed. The ECU 1 is kept disconnected from the communication bus 30 without switching to. This is because when the ECU 1 is connected to the communication bus 30 in a state where the short circuit failure has occurred in the transmission / reception circuit 15, not only the communication failure of the ECU 1 but also the first line 31 and the second line 32 of the communication bus 30 are in a short state In order to avoid this, the communication operations of the other ECUs 2, 3, and 4 connected to the first line 31 and the second line 32 may be hindered.

  Specifically, the inspection of the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 in the ECU 1 is performed by the control circuit 14 executing a series of processes as shown in the process flow of FIG. 5, for example. Here, for convenience of explanation, the case where the surge absorbing element 11 connected to one internal bus line 13a is inspected will be described, but the inspection of the surge absorbing element 12 connected to the other internal bus line 13b will be described. Needless to say, the same procedure is used.

  In the ECU 1, the processing flow shown in FIG. 5 is started when it is determined that the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 need to be inspected. As a situation where the surge absorbers 11 and 12 need to be inspected, for example, when power is turned on or when a communication error occurs.

  When the processing flow of FIG. 5 is started, first, the control circuit 14 operates the switch 23 of the power supply circuit 16 to the power supply VDD side, and the internal bus line 13a is connected to the power supply VDD via the resistor 25. And As a result, the test voltage from the power supply VDD is applied to the internal bus line 13a. Next, in step S2, the control circuit 14 reads the voltage of the internal bus line 13a measured by the measurement circuit 17 in a state where the test voltage from the power supply VDD is applied to the internal bus line 13a. In step S3, it is determined whether or not the voltage read in step S2 is substantially equal to the clamp voltage of the surge absorbing element 11.

  Here, when the voltage read in step S2 is substantially equal to the clamp voltage of the surge absorbing element 11, the control circuit 14 determines that the surge absorbing element 11 is in a normal state, and in step S4, The switch 23 of the power supply circuit 16 is operated to the communication bus 30 side to connect the ECU 1 to the communication bus 30 and the process for inspecting the surge absorbing element 11 is finished. On the other hand, when the voltage read in step S2 is different from the clamp voltage of the surge absorbing element 11, the control circuit 14 makes the voltage read in step S2 substantially equal to the inspection voltage from the power supply VDD in step S5. Determine whether or not.

  If the voltage read in step S2 is substantially equal to the inspection voltage from the power supply VDD, the control circuit 14 determines that an open mode failure has occurred in the surge absorbing element 11, and the step In S6, the alarm circuit 18 is activated to generate an alarm for prompting the vehicle occupant to repair the surge absorber 11 or the like. Thereafter, in step S7, the control circuit 14 operates the switch 23 of the power supply circuit 16 to the communication bus 30 side to connect the ECU 1 to the communication bus 30 and ends the processing for the inspection of the surge absorbing element 11. .

  On the other hand, when the voltage read in step S2 is different from the inspection voltage from the power supply VDD (when it is 0V), the control circuit 14 causes the short circuit failure in the surge absorbing element 11 and / or the transmission / reception circuit 15. In step S8, the switch 20 is opened to disconnect the surge absorbing element 11 from the internal bus line 13a. In step S9, the control circuit 14 reads the voltage of the internal bus line 13a measured by the measurement circuit 17 again with the surge absorbing element 11 disconnected from the internal bus line 13a. In step S10, the control circuit 14 returns to step S9. It is determined whether or not the read voltage is 0V.

  Here, when the voltage read in step S9 is 0 V, the control circuit 14 indicates that a short mode failure has occurred in the transmission / reception circuit 15 or both the surge absorber 11 and the transmission / reception circuit 15. In step S11, the alarm circuit 18 is activated to generate an alarm for prompting the vehicle occupant to repair the surge absorbing element 11 or the like. Then, the process for inspecting the surge absorbing element 11 is terminated without connecting the ECU 1 to the communication bus 30.

  On the other hand, when the voltage read in step S9 is not 0 V (when it is substantially equal to the inspection voltage), the control circuit 14 determines that the short mode failure has occurred only in the surge absorbing element 11. In step S12, the alarm circuit 18 is activated to generate an alarm for prompting the vehicle occupant to repair the surge absorbing element 11 or the like. Thereafter, in step S13, the control circuit 14 operates the switch 23 of the power supply circuit 16 to the communication bus 30 side while keeping the surge absorbing element 11 disconnected from the internal bus line 13a, and causes the ECU 1 to enter the communication bus 30. The connection is completed, and a series of processes for the inspection of the surge absorbing element 11 is completed.

  In the communication system to which the present invention is applied, the control circuits 14 of the ECUs 1, 2, 3, 4 connected to the communication bus 30 as communication nodes are connected to the surge absorbing elements 11, 12 in accordance with the series of procedures as described above. By performing the inspection, it is possible to specify a failure mode such as an open mode failure or a short mode failure and a location where the failure has occurred, and the operation of each ECU 1, 2, 3, 4 is optimized according to the state of the failure. It becomes possible to control the state.

  In the communication system to which the present invention is applied, when only the failure mode needs to be specified, the switches 20 and 21 for connecting or disconnecting the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 to or from the internal bus lines 13a and 13b are omitted. However, as shown in FIG. 6, for example, the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 can be always connected to the internal bus lines 13a and 13b. When such a configuration is adopted, the control circuit 14 operates the switches 24 and 25 of the voltage application circuit 16 to the communication bus 30 side when it is detected that a short mode failure has occurred. Instead, by keeping the ECU 1 disconnected from the communication bus 30, it is possible to avoid the failure of the ECU 1 from hindering the communication operation of the other ECUs 2, 3, 4.

  As described above in detail, in the communication system to which the present invention is applied, each of the ECUs 1, 2, 3, and 4 connected to the communication bus 30 as a communication node has a surge absorbing element 11 for absorbing surge noise. 12 is inspected. That is, the ECUs 1, 2, 3, and 4 apply predetermined test voltages to the internal bus lines 13a and 13b in a state where the ECUs 1, 2, 3, and 4 are disconnected from the communication bus 30, and the internals at that time It has a function of measuring the voltage of the bus lines 13a and 13b and determining the state of the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 based on the measured voltage. Therefore, according to the communication system to which the present invention is applied, when a failure occurs in the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 of the ECUs 1, 2, 3, and 4, it is detected promptly and is optimal according to the failure mode. It is possible to control the operation of the ECUs 1, 2, 3, and 4 in which a failure has occurred in the normal state.

  In particular, in this communication system, each of the ECUs 1, 2, 3, and 4 serving as communication nodes is subjected to an open mode failure or a failure based on the voltage of the internal bus lines 13a and 13b measured in a state where a test voltage is applied. The control circuit 14 can easily determine which of the short mode failures has occurred. Therefore, in this communication system, when each of the ECUs 1, 2, 3 and 4 serving as communication nodes detects an open mode failure, the alarm circuit 18 is activated to allow the vehicle occupant to connect the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 to each other. Repairs such as replacement can be promoted, and adverse effects due to subsequent surge noise can be prevented, and when a short mode failure is detected, the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12 are connected to the internal bus lines 13a and 13b. By disconnecting or disconnecting the ECU itself from the communication bus 30, it is possible to avoid a short mode failure occurring in the ECU from adversely affecting the entire communication system.

  Further, in this communication system, when each of the ECUs 1, 2, 3, 4 serving as communication nodes detects a short mode failure, the surge absorbing elements 11, 12 are disconnected from the internal bus lines 13a, 13b. By measuring the voltages of the internal bus lines 13a and 13b, based on the measured voltage, the failure of the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12, the failure of the transmission / reception circuit 15, or the surge absorbing elements 11, 12 and the transmission / reception circuit 15 It is possible to easily determine which of the two failures is present.

  Furthermore, in this communication system, when each of the ECUs 1, 2, 3, and 4 serving as communication nodes detects a short mode failure of the surge absorbing elements 11 and 12, a surge is controlled under the control of the control circuit 14. By connecting the ECU to the communication bus 30 in a state where the absorption elements 11 and 12 are disconnected from the internal bus lines 13a and 13b, it is possible to communicate with the ECU while eliminating the influence of the surge absorption elements 11 and 12 in which a failure has occurred. Communication with other ECUs can be performed via the bus 30.

  Furthermore, in this communication system, when each ECU 1, 2, 3, 4 serving as a communication node detects a short mode failure including the transmission / reception circuit 15, the ECU is controlled under the control of the control circuit 14. Is not connected to the communication bus 30, the first line 31 and the second line 32 of the communication bus 30 are short-circuited due to the short-mode failure including the transmission / reception circuit 15. It is possible to effectively avoid the inconvenience that the communication operation of other ECUs connected to the second line 32 is hindered.

  Note that the communication system described above exemplifies one embodiment of the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the contents disclosed in the description of the above embodiment. Of course, various alternative techniques that can be easily derived from these disclosures are also included.

It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the communication system to which this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the communication waveform at the time of normal transmitted / received between ECU which is a communication node in the communication system to which this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows a communication waveform in case surge noise mixes in the state which the surge absorption element of ECU is functioning normally. It is a figure which shows a communication waveform in case surge noise mixes in the state in which the open mode failure has generate | occur | produced in the surge absorption element of ECU. 7 is a flowchart showing a series of processing procedures executed by a control circuit when an ECU as a communication node inspects a surge absorbing element in a communication system to which the present invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the modification of the communication system to which this invention is applied.

Explanation of symbols

1, 2, 3, 4 ECU (electronic control unit)
11, 12 Surge absorbing element 13a, 13b Internal bus line 14 Control circuit (determination means)
15 Transmission / Reception Circuit 16 Voltage Application Circuit 17 Measurement Circuit 20, 21, 23, 24 Switch 30 Communication Bus 31 First Line 32 Second Line

Claims (8)

An electronic control device connected to a communication bus as a node in a communication system,
A surge absorbing element connected to the internal bus line of the electronic control unit;
A voltage applying means for applying a predetermined test voltage to the internal bus line in a state where the electronic control device is disconnected from the communication bus;
Voltage measuring means for measuring the voltage of the internal bus line when a voltage for inspection is applied by the voltage applying means;
An electronic control device comprising: determination means for determining a state of the surge absorbing element based on a voltage measured by the voltage measuring means.   The electronic control device according to claim 1, further comprising a notifying unit that notifies the occurrence of the failure when the determination unit detects the occurrence of an open mode failure or a short mode failure.   The electronic control device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines whether an open mode failure or a short mode failure has occurred based on the voltage measured by the voltage measurement unit. . A transmission / reception circuit for transmitting / receiving a signal to / from another electronic control unit via the communication bus;
Switch means for connecting or disconnecting the surge absorbing element with respect to the internal bus line,
If the determination means determines that a short mode failure has occurred, the determination means controls the switch means to disconnect the surge absorbing element from the internal bus line and to disconnect the surge absorbing element from the internal bus line. Based on the voltage measured by the voltage measuring means in the state, the short mode failure is either a failure of the surge absorbing element or a failure of the transmitting / receiving circuit, or a failure of both the surge absorbing element and the transmitting / receiving circuit. The electronic control device according to claim 3, wherein it is determined whether or not there is.   When the determination unit determines that the short mode failure is a failure of the surge absorbing element, the electronic control unit controls the switch unit to disconnect the surge absorbing element from the internal bus line. 5. The electronic control device according to claim 4, wherein a device is connected to the communication bus.   When the determination unit determines that the short-mode failure is a failure of the transmission / reception circuit or a failure of both the surge absorbing element and the transmission / reception circuit, the electronic control device is not connected to the communication bus. The electronic control device according to claim 4, wherein the electronic control device is controlled as follows. In a communication system in which a plurality of electronic control devices are connected to a communication bus as nodes,
The electronic control unit is
A surge absorbing element connected to the internal bus line of the electronic control unit;
A voltage applying means for applying a predetermined test voltage to the internal bus line in a state where the electronic control device is disconnected from the communication bus;
Voltage measuring means for measuring the voltage of the internal bus line when a voltage for inspection is applied by the voltage applying means;
And a determining unit that determines a state of the surge absorbing element based on the voltage measured by the voltage measuring unit. An inspection method for inspecting a surge absorbing element connected to an internal bus line of an electronic control device connected to a communication bus as a node of a communication system,
Applying a predetermined test voltage to an internal bus line of the electronic control device in a state where the electronic control device is disconnected from the communication bus;
Measuring the voltage of the internal bus line when the inspection voltage is applied;
And a step of determining a state of the surge absorbing element based on a voltage of the internal bus line measured in a state where the inspection voltage is applied.

Images