JP2007022300A - Apparatus and method for distributing control program and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus and method for distributing a control program and a computer program capable of facilitating unification of versions of the control program which control the operation of an ECU in one vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: In the control program distributing device which distributes the control program which can be executed by a plurality of control devices which control the operation of a plurality of on-vehicle equipment to the plurality of control devices, information for specifying the control program necessary for controlling the operation is received from the control device which controls the operation of one on-vehicle equipment, the necessary control program is generated based on the information for specifying the received control program or is sampled from the plurality of stored control programs, and the control program which is sampled or generated is distributed to the plurality of control devices which control the operation of the other plurality of on-vehicle equipment of which the information for identifying the types of the on-vehicle equipment is the same as the one of the one on-vehicle equipment. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a control program distribution device, a control program distribution method, and a computer program for distributing a control program for controlling the operation of an in-vehicle device. In particular, the present invention relates to a control program distribution device, a control program distribution method, and a computer program that can easily unify control program versions for the same type of in-vehicle device.

  As electronic control of a vehicle progresses, a control program that operates with a control device (Electric Control Unit: hereinafter referred to as ECU) that controls the operation of an in-vehicle device has come to have various functions. In order to operate a plurality of in-vehicle devices smoothly, for example, data is transmitted and received between a plurality of ECUs to perform various operation controls.

  Moreover, ECUs that control these operations tend to increase with the rapid increase in electrical components due to the high added value of automobiles. Conventionally, in order to secure an installation space for the ECU, a plurality of ECU boards are intensively mounted in one ECU case, and each ECU board is provided with a connector connected to a wire harness (see Patent Document 1). . Therefore, when designing the ECU, it is necessary to simultaneously design the communication function in addition to the original function design of the ECU, and there is a problem that the design burden of the ECU increases.

In order to solve such problems, the ECU functional part and the communication part are configured to be detachable, and only the communication part corresponding to the case where the vehicle type is different, the network interface is different, the communication protocol is different, etc. in advance. Attempts have been made to design. As a result, even when the number of types of ECUs increases, it is not necessary to design the communication portion together, and the design burden on the ECU can be reduced.
JP 2003-324824 A

  It is preferable that the control program for controlling the operation of the ECU used for the functional part and the communication part is the same for the same type of equipment provided in the same vehicle. However, since the functional part and the communication part are detachable, there is no guarantee that the version of the control program for controlling the functional part is the same even if the control program for controlling the communication part is the same. Since the control program is updated for each ECU, there is a problem in that it is difficult to unify the version of the control program for controlling the communication part with the same type of equipment provided in the same vehicle.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a control program distribution device, a control program distribution method, and a computer that can easily unify versions of a control program for controlling the operation of an ECU within the same vehicle. The purpose is to provide a program.

  In order to achieve the above object, a control program distribution device according to a first aspect of the present invention is a control program distribution for distributing a control program executable by a plurality of control devices that control operations of a plurality of in-vehicle devices to the plurality of control devices. In the apparatus, control necessary for controlling the operation of the in-vehicle device from storage means for storing information identifying the type of the in-vehicle device in association with the in-vehicle device and a control device for controlling the operation of the one in-vehicle device. A means for receiving information for specifying a program and a necessary control program based on the information for specifying the received control program, or a plurality of control programs stored in the storage means The means for extracting from the control program and the information for identifying the type of the in-vehicle device control operations of a plurality of other in-vehicle devices that are the same as the one in-vehicle device That for a plurality of control devices, characterized in that it comprises a means of distributing the control program.

  The control program distribution device according to a second aspect of the present invention is the control program distribution device according to the first aspect, wherein the control program is a communication program for performing communication between a plurality of control devices that control operations of a plurality of in-vehicle devices. The information to be specified is information for specifying the transmission timing of the communication packet.

  A control program distribution method according to a third aspect of the present invention is a control program distribution method for distributing a control program executable by a plurality of control devices that control operations of a plurality of in-vehicle devices to the plurality of control devices. Information for identifying the type of the vehicle-mounted device is stored in association with the vehicle-mounted device, and information specifying a control program necessary for controlling the operation of the vehicle-mounted device is received from a control device that controls the operation of the vehicle-mounted device. Based on the information specifying the received control program, a necessary control program is generated, or a plurality of control programs are stored in the storage means, extracted from the plurality of stored control programs, and the in-vehicle device The control program for a plurality of control devices that control the operation of a plurality of other in-vehicle devices whose information identifying the type of the same is the same as the one in-vehicle device Characterized in that it distributed.

  The control program distribution method according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the control program distribution method according to the third aspect, wherein the control program is a communication program for communicating between a plurality of control devices that control operations of a plurality of in-vehicle devices. The information to be specified is information for specifying the transmission timing of the communication packet.

  The computer program according to the fifth aspect of the invention can be executed by a control program distribution device that distributes a control program that can be executed by a plurality of control devices that control operations of a plurality of in-vehicle devices to the plurality of control devices. In the computer program, the control program distribution device stores the information for identifying the type of the in-vehicle device in association with the in-vehicle device, the control device for controlling the operation of the one in-vehicle device, the operation of the in-vehicle device Means for receiving information for identifying a control program necessary for controlling the control, generating a necessary control program based on the information for identifying the received control program, or storing a plurality of control programs in the storage means The means for extracting from a plurality of stored control programs and the information for identifying the type of the in-vehicle device are Respect of the in-vehicle device and a plurality of control devices for controlling the operation of a plurality of other vehicle equipment is the same, characterized in that to function as a means of distributing the control program.

  The computer program according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the computer program according to the fifth aspect, wherein the control program is a communication program that communicates between a plurality of control devices that control operations of a plurality of in-vehicle devices, and specifies the control program. The information is characterized in that it is information for specifying the transmission timing of the communication packet.

  In the first invention, the third invention, and the fifth invention, the information specifying the control program necessary to control the operation of the in-vehicle device is received from the control device that controls the operation of the one in-vehicle device, and received. Based on the information specifying the control program, a necessary control program is generated or extracted from a plurality of control programs stored in the storage means. The extracted control program is distributed to a plurality of control devices that control operations of a plurality of other in-vehicle devices of the same type as the one in-vehicle device. As a result, when it is necessary to update the control program in one in-vehicle device, the control program to be updated can be distributed in a batch to the control device that controls the operation of another in-vehicle device of the same type. It is possible to easily unify the versions of the control programs of the control devices that control the operation of the same type of in-vehicle equipment.

  In the second invention, the fourth invention, and the sixth invention, the control program is a communication program for performing communication between a plurality of control devices that control operations of a plurality of in-vehicle devices, and communication packets are used as information for specifying the control program. The information specifying the transmission timing is received. As a result, the transmission timing of communication packets for the same type of in-vehicle device can be easily unified, and it is possible to prevent malfunction of the in-vehicle device due to communication abnormalities caused by different versions of the control program. .

  According to 1st invention, 3rd invention, and 5th invention, when the necessity for updating a control program arises with one vehicle equipment, it updates with respect to the control apparatus which controls operation | movement of the other vehicle equipment of the same kind. The control programs to be distributed can be distributed all at once, and the versions of the control programs of the control devices that control the operation of the same type of in-vehicle device can be easily unified.

  According to the second invention, the fourth invention, and the sixth invention, it is possible to easily unify the transmission timing of communication packets for the same type of vehicle-mounted device, and the vehicle-mounted device caused by communication abnormality caused by different versions of the control program. It becomes possible to prevent malfunction.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings illustrating embodiments thereof. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control program distribution device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a mounting state of a control program distribution device according to an embodiment of the present invention on a vehicle. FIG. As shown in the figure, the vehicle 1 is equipped with a plurality of in-vehicle devices 11, 11,..., And ECUs 12, 12,. One for each vehicle-mounted device 11 or one for a plurality of vehicle-mounted devices 11, 11,. The ECUs 12, 12,... Are connected via an in-vehicle hub 15 so that data can be transmitted and received via the in-vehicle LAN 13. A control program distribution device 14 that distributes a control program to the ECUs 12, 12,... Is connected to the in-vehicle LAN 13 via the in-vehicle hub 15.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the control program distribution device 14 includes at least an MPU 141, a ROM 142, a RAM 143, a communication interface 144 that connects to the in-vehicle LAN 12, and an internal bus 145 that connects the hardware described above.

  The MPU 141 is connected to each hardware unit as described above of the control program distribution device 14 via the internal bus 145, controls each hardware unit described above, and performs various processes according to the processing program stored in the ROM 142. Perform software functions.

  The ROM 142 includes an SRAM, a flash memory, and the like, and stores a plurality of control programs that control the operation of the in-vehicle device, a control program generation program that generates a control program according to predetermined generation conditions, and the like.

  The RAM 143 is configured by SRAM, flash memory, or the like, and stores temporary data generated when software is executed. For example, information relating to the type of the in-vehicle device 11 is stored in association with the information for identifying the in-vehicle device 11. The communication interface 144 is connected to the internal bus 145, and transmits / receives data required for processing by being connected to the in-vehicle LAN 12.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the control program distribution apparatus 14 described above will be described. In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which the control program to be distributed is a communication program for controlling communication between a plurality of ECUs 12, 12,. Of course, the control program is not limited to the communication program. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the MPU 141 of the control program distribution apparatus 14 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The MPU 141 receives, from the ECU 12 that controls the operation of one in-vehicle device 11, a control program update request, information for identifying the in-vehicle device, and information for specifying a control program to be updated (hereinafter referred to as an update control program) (step S301). ). For example, when the update control program is a communication program and is a program that transmits a transmission packet transmitted from each ECU 12 by the TDMA method, information specifying the control program is a transmission interval and a transmission time of the transmission packet. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing information for specifying a control program when transmitting a transmission packet sent from each ECU 12 by the TDMA method.

  In the example of FIG. 4, the four ECUs 12, 12, 12, and 12 are A, B, C, and D, respectively, and slots that transmit transmission packets from the respective ECUs 12 are #A, #B, #C, and #D, respectively. Is shown. Therefore, in order to specify the transmission timing of the transmission packet by the communication program, it is only necessary to specify the transmission interval T1, which is the arrangement period of the transmission packet, and the transmission time TA, TB, TC, TD per transmission packet.

  When the MPU 141 receives an update request for an update control program, the MPU 141 determines whether an update control program corresponding to the ROM 142 is stored based on the received information specifying the control program (step S302). When the MPU 141 determines that the corresponding update control program is stored (step S302: YES), the MPU 141 extracts the corresponding update control program from the ROM 142 (step S303).

  When the MPU 141 determines that the corresponding update control program is not stored (step S302: NO), the MPU 141 generates a corresponding update control program based on the received information specifying the control program (step S304). ). For example, when the control program is a communication program and is a program that transmits a transmission packet transmitted from each ECU 12 by the TDMA method, the information specifying the control program includes a transmission interval that is an array period of the transmission packet, and a transmission packet. Since it is the transmission time per one, an update control program corresponding to this is generated.

  The RAM 143 stores information for identifying the type of the in-vehicle device in association with the information for identifying the in-vehicle device 11. The MPU 141 inquires the RAM 143 based on the received information for identifying the in-vehicle device 11, and extracts the in-vehicle devices 11, 11,... Of the same type as the one in-vehicle device 11 that has transmitted the control program update request. (Step S305), the extracted or generated update control program is transmitted to the ECUs 12, 12,... That control the operations of the extracted in-vehicle devices 11, 11,.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when it is necessary to update the control program in one in-vehicle device 11, the ECU 12 that controls the operation of other in-vehicle devices 11, 11,. ,... Can be distributed in a batch and the ECUs 12, 12,... Controlling the operation of the same type of in-vehicle devices 11, 11,. It is possible to easily unify control program versions. Moreover, it becomes possible to prevent malfunction of the in-vehicle devices 11, 11,... Due to communication abnormality caused by different versions of the control program.

  In this embodiment, the method of extracting the corresponding control program from the ROM 142 and the method of newly generating the corresponding control program based on the information for specifying the control program are used in combination. It is not limited, and it may be extracted from the ROM or may be newly generated.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control program distribution apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the mounting state to the vehicle of the control program distribution apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of MPU of the control program distribution apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the information which specifies the control program in the case of transmitting the transmission packet sent from each ECU by a TDMA system.

Explanation of symbols

1 vehicle 11 on-vehicle equipment 12 ECU (control device)
13 In-vehicle LAN
14 Control Program Distribution Device 141 MPU
142 ROM
143 RAM
144 Communication interface 145 Internal bus

Claims (6)

In a control program distribution device that distributes a control program that can be executed by a plurality of control devices that control operations of a plurality of in-vehicle devices to the plurality of control devices,
Storage means for storing information identifying the type of the in-vehicle device in association with the in-vehicle device;
Means for receiving information identifying a control program necessary for controlling the operation of the in-vehicle device from a control device for controlling the operation of the one in-vehicle device;
A means for generating a necessary control program based on the information for specifying the received control program, or storing a plurality of control programs in the storage means, and extracting from the stored control programs;
Means for distributing the control program to a plurality of control devices for controlling operations of a plurality of other in-vehicle devices having the same information identifying the type of the in-vehicle device as the one in-vehicle device. A control program distribution device characterized by the above. The control program is a communication program for performing communication between a plurality of control devices that control operations of a plurality of in-vehicle devices.
2. The control program distribution apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information specifying the control program is information specifying transmission timing of a communication packet. In a control program distribution method for distributing a control program executable by a plurality of control devices that control operations of a plurality of in-vehicle devices to the plurality of control devices,
Information that identifies the type of in-vehicle device is stored in association with the in-vehicle device,
Receiving information specifying a control program necessary to control the operation of the in-vehicle device from a control device that controls the operation of the one in-vehicle device;
Based on the information specifying the received control program, generate a necessary control program, or store a plurality of control programs in the storage means, extract from a plurality of stored control programs,
The control program is distributed to a plurality of control devices that control operations of a plurality of other in-vehicle devices having the same information identifying the type of the in-vehicle device as the one in-vehicle device. Control program distribution method. The control program is a communication program for performing communication between a plurality of control devices that control operations of a plurality of in-vehicle devices.
4. The control program distribution method according to claim 3, wherein the information specifying the control program is information specifying transmission timing of a communication packet. In a computer program that can be executed by a control program distribution device that distributes a control program that can be executed by a plurality of control devices that control operations of a plurality of in-vehicle devices to the plurality of control devices,
The control program distribution device;
Storage means for storing information for identifying the type of in-vehicle device in association with the in-vehicle device;
Means for receiving information identifying a control program necessary to control the operation of the in-vehicle device from a control device for controlling the operation of the one in-vehicle device;
Based on the information specifying the received control program, a necessary control program is generated, or a plurality of control programs are stored in the storage means and extracted from the plurality of stored control programs; The information for identifying the type of device functions as a means for distributing the control program to a plurality of control devices that control operations of a plurality of other in-vehicle devices that are the same as the one in-vehicle device. A computer program. The control program is a communication program for performing communication between a plurality of control devices that control operations of a plurality of in-vehicle devices.
6. The computer program according to claim 5, wherein the information specifying the control program is information specifying transmission timing of a communication packet.

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