JP2008172353A - In-vehicle relay device, in-vehicle communication system, and in-vehicle communication method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an in-vehicle relay device, an in-vehicle communication system and an in-vehicle communication method that can transmit and receive data according to priority levels given to the data not only in one network but also among a plurality of networks. <P>SOLUTION: The in-vehicle relay device 50 which relays the transmission and reception of the data among the plurality of networks NW1, NW2, ..., is provided with transmission queues by connection ports connecting in-cabin communication lines 31, 32, ... of the respective networks NW1, NW2, ..., and data are stored in the respective transmission queues in transmission order corresponding to priority levels of data received by the in-vehicle relay device 50. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle relay device for relaying transmission / reception of data between networks when a plurality of networks to which the in-vehicle communication device is connected is mounted on a vehicle, and communication of the in-vehicle communication device using the in-vehicle relay device. The present invention relates to an in-vehicle communication system and an in-vehicle communication method.

  Conventionally, many electronic devices are mounted on a vehicle to perform various processes. In order for these electronic devices to perform processing in a coordinated manner, it is necessary to provide each electronic device with a communication function, connect to a network, and transmit / receive data to / from each other to share information. When an electronic device having a communication function mounted on a vehicle (hereinafter referred to as an in-vehicle communication device) transmits and receives data, CAN (Controller Area Network) (see Non-Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 2) is widely used as a communication protocol. It has been adopted.

  Under the CAN convention, an in-vehicle communication device is connected to a CAN bus formed of a twisted pair cable that transmits a differential signal, and the in-vehicle communication device transmits and receives digital data represented by the differential signal. CAN is a protocol for serial communication, and only one in-vehicle communication device among a plurality of in-vehicle communication devices connected to the CAN bus can transmit data, and the other in-vehicle communication device is one in-vehicle communication device. Control is performed so that the communication device waits until data transmission is completed. Therefore, when a plurality of in-vehicle communication devices connected to the CAN bus attempt to transmit data at the same time, data transmission may compete. At this time, the in-vehicle communication device transmits data after arbitrating with another in-vehicle communication device in accordance with the rules of CAN.

  The data transmitted by the in-vehicle communication device includes an ID assigned to each type of information in order to identify various types of information included in the data. According to the CAN rules, arbitration of data transmission is performed using this ID as information indicating priority. Therefore, a field including the ID in the data is referred to as an arbitration field. For example, when high importance information such as information related to the state of a vehicle engine is assigned a small numerical value to the ID, and low importance information is assigned a large numerical value to the ID, and each in-vehicle communication device transmits data. Data with a small ID value is preferentially transmitted.

  In recent years, the number of electronic devices mounted on vehicles has increased, and a large number of electronic devices are connected to a single network, resulting in a lack of bandwidth in the network, and smooth transmission and reception of data. There is a possibility that problems such as stagnation of processing of each electronic device may occur. For this reason, the network of a vehicle is divided into a plurality of parts, each network is connected to a relay device such as a gateway, and data transmission / reception between the networks is performed via the relay device to compensate for the lack of network bandwidth. It has been broken.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of a conventional in-vehicle communication system. In the figure, reference numerals 10a, 10b,... Denote in-vehicle communication devices. A plurality of in-vehicle communication devices 10a, 10b,... Are mounted on the vehicle and connected to in-vehicle communication lines 31, 32,. In the illustrated example, the in-vehicle communication devices 10a and 10b are connected to the in-vehicle communication line 31 to form the network NW1, and the in-vehicle communication devices 10c and 10d are connected to the in-vehicle communication line 32 to form the network NW2. The in-vehicle communication devices 10e and 10f are connected to the in-vehicle communication line 33 to form a network NW3, and the in-vehicle communication devices 10g, 10h and 10i are connected to the in-vehicle communication line 34 to form a network NW4. Further, a plurality of networks NW1, NW2,... In the vehicle are respectively connected to the in-vehicle relay device 100, and the in-vehicle relay device 100 transmits data transmitted from one in-vehicle communication device connected to one in-vehicle communication line to the other in-vehicle communication device. Transmission to other in-vehicle communication devices connected to the in-vehicle communication line is possible. For example, data transmitted by the in-vehicle communication device 10a connected to the in-vehicle communication line 31 can be transmitted to the in-vehicle communication device 10i connected to the in-vehicle communication line 34 via the in-vehicle relay device 100.
ISO 11898-1: 2003 Road vehicles--Controller area network (CAN)-Part1: Data link layer and physical signaling ISO 11519-1: 1994 Road vehicles--Low-speed serial data communication--Part1: General and definitions

  FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing an example of data transmission of a conventional in-vehicle communication system, and illustrates an example in which data is transmitted in the in-vehicle communication system of FIG. FIG. 19A shows a case where data is transmitted and received only within one network NW4. For example, data with ID “23” is transmitted from the in-vehicle communication device 10g, and ID is “98” from the in-vehicle communication device 10h. Is transmitted, and data with ID “26” is transmitted from the in-vehicle communication device 10i. In this case, the data of the in-vehicle communication device 10g having the smallest ID is transmitted, and other data is waited for transmission. Thereafter, when another in-vehicle communication device connected to the in-vehicle communication line 34 receives the data and the transmission / reception of the data is completed, the data of the in-vehicle communication device 10i having the next smallest ID is transmitted. In this way, high-priority data can be preferentially transmitted by performing transmission according to the ID attached to the data.

  On the other hand, FIG. 19B shows a case where data is transmitted and received between a plurality of networks NW1, NW2,..., For example, data with an ID of “12” from the in-vehicle communication device 10b of the network NW1 of the network NW4. This is a case where data transmitted to the in-vehicle communication device 10i and the ID “23” is transmitted from the in-vehicle communication device 10d in the network NW2 to the in-vehicle communication device 10i in the network NW4. In this case, the transmitted data is received by the in-vehicle relay device 100. The in-vehicle relay device 100 has connection ports to which the in-vehicle communication lines 31, 32,... Of the networks NW1, NW2,... Are connected, and has a transmission queue for each connection port. It is made to accumulate | store in the transmission queue of the connection port corresponding to communication apparatus 10a, 10b .... Since the conventional in-vehicle relay device 100 accumulates the received data in each transmission queue in the order received, the relay device 100 first receives the data transmitted by the in-vehicle communication device 10d in the illustrated example, and the in-vehicle communication device 10b When the relay device 100 receives the data transmitted later, data with ID “23” is accumulated first in the transmission queue, and data with ID “12” is accumulated later. Therefore, the low-priority data is transmitted to the in-vehicle communication device 10i of the network NW4 first, and the high-priority data is transmitted later.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to connect an in-vehicle communication device that transmits and receives data including information related to priority to a network, and between a plurality of networks. When communicating, the data received from the in-vehicle communication device of one network is stored in association with the destination network to which the in-vehicle communication device of the transmission destination is connected, and the transmission order of the plurality of received data is prioritized. The data is transmitted in the order of transmission determined for each destination network, and the data is relayed according to the priority between the plurality of networks and communicated to the plurality of in-vehicle communication devices. It is providing the vehicle-mounted relay apparatus, vehicle-mounted communication system, and vehicle-mounted communication method which can be made.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a transmission queue for storing data in a queue in the order to be transmitted, store the data in the transmission queue so that transmission can be performed in the determined transmission order, and transmit To provide an in-vehicle relay device, an in-vehicle communication system, and an in-vehicle communication method capable of easily and reliably transmitting data by acquiring data from a queue and transmitting the data to a destination in-vehicle communication device. is there.

  Another object of the present invention is that a plurality of data received from an in-vehicle communication device connected to the same network is transmitted to the in-vehicle communication device of another network in the order received regardless of the priority. Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide an in-vehicle relay device, an in-vehicle communication system, and an in-vehicle communication method capable of transmitting data to another network with the highest priority given to the arbitration result of data transmission in one network.

  Another object of the present invention is that a plurality of data received from the same in-vehicle communication device are transmitted to the in-vehicle communication device in another network in the order received regardless of the priority. It is an object of the present invention to provide an in-vehicle relay device, an in-vehicle communication system, and an in-vehicle communication method capable of transmitting data to another network with the highest priority given to the order of data transmission by one in-vehicle communication device.

  Another object of the present invention is to store the received data with information related to the reception time, and receive the reception time of one received data and the reception time of other previously received data. If the difference between the two exceeds the threshold, regardless of the priority order, other previously received data is transmitted first, so that the low-priority data is not transmitted and the standby state continues for a long time. It is providing the vehicle-mounted relay apparatus, vehicle-mounted communication system, and vehicle-mounted communication method which can prevent that.

  The in-vehicle relay device according to the first aspect of the invention includes a plurality of connection units connected to a network to which one or a plurality of in-vehicle communication devices are connected, and data transmitted by one in-vehicle communication device of the network connected to the one connection unit. Data transmitted by the in-vehicle communication device in the in-vehicle relay device comprising: a receiving means for receiving the data; and a transmitting means for transmitting the data received by the receiving means to another in-vehicle communication device connected to another connection unit Includes information relating to priority and stores the data received by the receiving means in association with the destination network to which the in-vehicle communication device to which the data is sent is connected, and the receiving means receives the data. Determining means for determining the transmission order of the plurality of data according to the priority of the data, wherein the transmitting means determines the transmission order determined by the determining means for each destination network. Characterized in that in accordance with the order are to be sent a the data accumulated in the accumulating means.

  In the in-vehicle relay device according to the second aspect of the invention, the storage unit stores data in a queue in the transmission order determined by the determination unit, and the transmission unit acquires data from the queue. It is characterized by being transmitted.

  Further, in the in-vehicle relay device according to the third aspect of the present invention, the determination unit receives the plurality of data received from the in-vehicle communication device connected to the same network as the reception unit, regardless of the priority of the data. The transmission order is determined so that the transmission means transmits in the order received by the means.

  Further, in the in-vehicle relay device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the determination unit receives a plurality of data received from the same in-vehicle communication device by the receiving unit in the order received by the receiving unit regardless of the priority of the data. The transmission order is determined so that the transmission means transmits.

  Further, in the in-vehicle relay device according to a fifth aspect of the invention, the storage means stores the data received by the receiving means with information relating to the reception time of the data, and the determining means When the difference between the reception time of the one data received by the receiving means and the reception time of the other data received previously exceeds a predetermined threshold, the priority is given to the priority of the one data and the other data. The transmission order is determined so that the other data is transmitted first.

  An in-vehicle communication system according to a sixth aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of networks to which one or a plurality of in-vehicle communication devices are respectively connected, a plurality of connection units connected to the network, and a network connected to the one connection unit. A receiving means for receiving data transmitted by the in-vehicle communication device, and an in-vehicle relay device having transmitting means for transmitting the data received by the receiving means to another in-vehicle communication device connected to another connection unit In the in-vehicle communication system, the in-vehicle communication device is configured to transmit data including information related to priority, and the in-vehicle relay device transmits the data received by the receiving unit to the in-vehicle destination of the data The storage means for storing the data in association with the destination network to which the communication device is connected, and the transmission order of the plurality of data received by the receiving means, Determining means for determining according to the priorities, wherein the transmitting means transmits the data accumulated in the accumulating means for each transmission destination network according to the transmission order determined by the determining means. It is characterized by that.

  In the in-vehicle communication system according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the in-vehicle relay device stores the data in a queue in the order of transmission determined by the determining unit, and the transmitting unit includes the waiting unit. Data is acquired from the matrix and transmitted.

  In the in-vehicle communication system according to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the in-vehicle relay device includes a plurality of pieces of data received from the in-vehicle communication device connected to the same network by the determining unit. Regardless, the transmission order is determined so that the transmission means transmits in the order received by the reception means.

  Further, in the in-vehicle communication system according to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the plurality of data received by the determining means from the same in-vehicle communication apparatus by the receiving means are the same regardless of the priority of the data. The transmission order is determined so that the transmission means transmits in the order received by the reception means.

  Further, in the in-vehicle communication system according to the tenth invention, the in-vehicle relay device is configured such that the storage unit stores the data received by the reception unit with information relating to the reception time of the data. And when the difference between the reception time of the one data received by the reception means and the reception time of the other data previously received exceeds a predetermined threshold, the determination means The transmission order is determined so that the other data is transmitted first regardless of the priority of the data.

  An in-vehicle communication method according to an eleventh aspect of the present invention is an in-vehicle relay device including a plurality of connection units connected to a network to which one or a plurality of in-vehicle communication devices are connected, and a network connected to one connection unit. In the in-vehicle communication method of receiving the data transmitted by the in-vehicle communication device and transmitting the received data to other in-vehicle communication devices of the network connected to other connection units, the data transmitted by the in-vehicle communication device has a priority. The received data is stored in association with the transmission destination network to which the in-vehicle communication device that is the transmission destination of the data is connected, and the transmission order of the plurality of received data is set to the priority of the data. The data stored in the storage means is transmitted according to the determined transmission order for each destination network.

  The on-vehicle communication method according to the twelfth aspect of the invention is characterized in that data is accumulated as a queue in the determined transmission order, and data is acquired from the queue and transmitted.

  In the in-vehicle communication method according to the thirteenth aspect, the transmission order is determined so that a plurality of data received from the in-vehicle communication devices connected to the same network are transmitted in the order received, regardless of the priority of the data. It is characterized by doing.

  The in-vehicle communication method according to the fourteenth invention is characterized in that the transmission order is determined so that a plurality of data received from the same in-vehicle communication device are transmitted in the order received, regardless of the priority of the data. To do.

  In the in-vehicle communication method according to the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, the received data is stored with the information related to the reception time of the data, and the reception time of the received one data and the other data previously received are stored. The transmission order is determined so that the other data is transmitted first regardless of the priority of the one data and the other data when the difference from the reception time exceeds a predetermined threshold. To do.

  In the present invention, a plurality of connection units are provided in the in-vehicle relay device, and the networks to which one or a plurality of in-vehicle communication devices are connected are respectively connected. Each in-vehicle communication device transmits data including information relating to priority, and the in-vehicle relay device receives this data from the in-vehicle communication device connected to one network and transmits it to the in-vehicle communication device connected to another network. To do. At this time, the in-vehicle communication device accumulates the received data in association with the transmission destination network, and determines the transmission order of the plurality of received data according to the priority of each data, for each transmission destination network. Data is transmitted according to the determined transmission order. The in-vehicle relay device does not simply transmit data in the order received, but instead transmits data in the order of transmission according to the priority of each data. Effective priority can be used.

  In the present invention, a transmission queue for storing data as a queue in the order to be transmitted to the in-vehicle relay device is provided, and the data is stored in the transmission queue so that transmission can be performed in the determined transmission order. When transmitting data, the in-vehicle relay device only needs to acquire and transmit data stored in the transmission queue in order. By using a transmission queue for data accumulation, data transmission can be performed easily and reliably.

  In the present invention, for a plurality of data received from one or a plurality of in-vehicle communication devices connected to the same network, the order of transmission is not determined according to the priority order of each data, but according to the order of reception. To determine the transmission order. Since the transmission order of data has already been adjusted in the same network, the order received by the in-vehicle relay device is the original transmission order. By determining the transmission order of data related to the same network in the order of reception, the original priority order is not reversed by switching according to the priority order.

  Further, in the present invention, for a plurality of data received from the same in-vehicle communication device, the transmission order is not determined according to the priority order of each data, but is determined according to the reception order. Since data is transmitted from the same in-vehicle communication device in the order to be transmitted according to the control, the data transmitted from the same in-vehicle communication device is determined according to the priority order by determining the transmission order in the order of reception. The original priority order is not reversed by the replacement. The in-vehicle communication device transmits, for example, a vehicle state detected by a sensor or the like as data, but often transmits data in time series in the order detected by the sensor. Therefore, when the transmission order of the data transmitted from the same in-vehicle communication device is changed, other in-vehicle communication devices that receive and use these data for processing process the time-series data in a non-time-series manner. Therefore, there is a possibility that the processing of another in-vehicle communication device becomes difficult to execute. This can be avoided by transmitting data from the same in-vehicle communication device in the order of reception.

  Further, in the present invention, when the received data is accumulated, information related to the reception time is attached to the data and accumulated. When determining the transmission order of data, if the difference between the reception time of one received data and the reception time of other data previously received exceeds the threshold, The transmission order is determined so that other received data is transmitted first. Since data is transmitted from the in-vehicle communication device in time series, when there is a predetermined time interval between data transmission from the in-vehicle communication device, the order received by the in-vehicle relay device is the original transmission order. It is. By determining the transmission order of data received at intervals of a predetermined time or more in the order of reception, the original priority order is not reversed by switching according to the priority order. Further, if data is always transmitted according to the priority of the data, there is a possibility that the low priority data cannot be transmitted when the high priority data is continuously received. When the difference in data reception time exceeds a threshold, this can be avoided by transmitting data of low priority first.

  In the first invention, the sixth invention, and the eleventh invention, an in-vehicle communication device that transmits and receives data including priority information is connected to a network, and a plurality of connection units are provided in the in-vehicle relay device to connect the networks. In addition, the data received from the in-vehicle communication device of one network is stored in association with the destination network to which the in-vehicle communication device of the transmission destination is connected, and the transmission order of the plurality of received data is set according to the priority. By determining and transmitting data in the transmission order determined for each destination network, communication according to the priority assigned to each data can be performed not only within the network but also between networks. Therefore, a plurality of in-vehicle communication devices can share information important for traveling of the vehicle more quickly and reliably. Further, even if a plurality of networks are connected via the in-vehicle relay device, the priority of data is not invalidated, so that the degree of freedom of the vehicle network configuration can be increased.

  Further, in the case of the second invention, the seventh invention and the twelfth invention, a transmission queue for storing data as a queue in the order to be transmitted to the in-vehicle relay device is provided so that transmission can be performed in the determined transmission order. By collecting data in the transmission queue, acquiring the data from the transmission queue, and transmitting the data to the destination in-vehicle communication device, the data accumulated in the transmission queue is sequentially acquired when transmitting the data. Since it is only necessary to transmit, data can be transmitted easily and reliably. Therefore, the hardware scale of the in-vehicle relay device is not increased and the processing is not complicated.

  In the third invention, the eighth invention, and the thirteenth invention, with respect to a plurality of data received from the in-vehicle communication device connected to the same network, the in-vehicle communication in other networks in the order received regardless of the priority. By adopting a configuration to transmit to the device, communication between multiple networks can be performed via the in-vehicle relay device without disrupting the transmission order of data in the same network that has already been arbitrated. It is possible to prevent the transmission of data having a lower rank from being unduly delayed. Therefore, since it is easy to divide the network into a plurality of parts and connect them by the in-vehicle relay device, the degree of freedom of the vehicle network configuration can be further increased.

  In the case of the fourth, ninth, and fourteenth inventions, a plurality of data received from the same in-vehicle communication device are transmitted to the in-vehicle communication devices in other networks in the order received regardless of the priority. By doing so, the data transmitted by one in-vehicle communication device in time series can be received by another in-vehicle communication device via the in-vehicle relay device without destroying the time series. That is, it is possible to prevent the transmission of data with low priority from being unduly delayed. Therefore, since it is easy to divide the network into a plurality of parts and connect them by the in-vehicle relay device, the degree of freedom of the vehicle network configuration can be further increased.

  Further, in the case of the fifth, tenth and fifteenth inventions, the received data is added with information related to the reception time and stored, and the reception time of the received one data and other previously received data are stored. If the difference from the data reception time exceeds the threshold, the system will continue to receive high-priority data continuously by sending other previously received data regardless of priority. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the transmission of data with low priority from being unduly delayed, and the state where data with low priority cannot be transmitted for a long time. Reliability of data transmission / reception between a plurality of networks can be improved.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings showing embodiments thereof. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of an in-vehicle communication system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In the figure, reference numerals 10a, 10b,... Denote in-vehicle communication devices. A plurality of in-vehicle communication devices 10a, 10b,... Processing is performed. Each of the in-vehicle communication devices 10a, 10b,... Is appropriately connected to the in-vehicle communication lines 31, 32, etc. by an electric communication cable or an optical communication cable laid in the vehicle, and constitutes a plurality of networks NW1, NW2,. Yes. In the illustrated example, the in-vehicle communication devices 10a and 10b are connected to the in-vehicle communication line 31 to form the network NW1, and the in-vehicle communication devices 10c and 10d are connected to the in-vehicle communication line 32 to form the network NW2. The in-vehicle communication devices 10e and 10f are connected to the in-vehicle communication line 33 to form the network NW3, and the in-vehicle communication devices 10g, 10h and 10i are connected to the in-vehicle communication line 34 to form the network NW4.

  Further, the plurality of networks NW1, NW2,... In the vehicle can transmit / receive data to / from each other via the in-vehicle relay device 50 by connecting the in-vehicle communication lines 31, 32,. I can do it. The in-vehicle relay device 50 is disposed at an appropriate position in the vehicle, receives data transmitted by the in-vehicle communication device in one network through the in-vehicle communication line, and receives another network through another in-vehicle communication line. It can be transmitted to the in-vehicle communication device.

  The in-vehicle relay device 50 includes a plurality of transmission queues 501, 502,. The transmission queues 501, 502,... Are provided for each of the plurality of networks NW1, NW2,... Connected to the in-vehicle relay device 50, and temporarily transmit data to be transmitted to the in-vehicle communication devices 10a, 10b,. It accumulates in. In the illustrated example, four networks NW1 to NW4 are connected to the in-vehicle relay device 50, and four transmission queues 501 to 504 are provided in association with the networks NW1 to NW4. For example, data transmitted from the in-vehicle communication device 10a of the network NW1 to the in-vehicle communication device 10i of the network NW4 is received by the in-vehicle relay device 50 via the in-vehicle communication line 31, and is transmitted in association with the network NW4. After being stored in the queue 504, it is transmitted to the in-vehicle communication device 10i of the network NW4 via the in-vehicle communication line 34.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing configurations of the in-vehicle communication device 10a and the in-vehicle relay device 50 of the in-vehicle communication system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The other configurations of the in-vehicle communication devices 10b, 10c,... Are the same as the configuration of the in-vehicle communication device 10a, and are not shown. The in-vehicle communication device 10a includes a power supply circuit 14 that supplies power to the following units, a storage unit 15 that stores programs and data necessary for control, a communication unit 16 that is connected to the in-vehicle communication line 31 and transmits / receives data, It is connected to a sensor 17 that detects the running state of the vehicle and obtains a signal input from the sensor 17, and is connected to and controlled by a device (not shown) to be controlled mounted on the vehicle. An output unit 13 that outputs signals and the like, and a control unit 11 that controls operations of these units are provided.

  The power supply circuit 14 of the in-vehicle communication device 10a is connected to a power supply source such as an alternator or a battery (not shown), adjusts the power from the power supply source to a voltage or current suitable for each part, and then supplies the power to each part. is there. The storage unit 15 is configured by a rewritable non-volatile memory element such as an EEPROM or a flash memory, or a rewritable volatile memory element such as an SRAM or DRAM with a battery. When the power is turned on, the control unit 11 reads a program and data stored in the storage unit 15 in advance to start processing, and temporarily stores various information generated in the process of the control unit 11. It is like that.

  The input unit 12 is connected with various sensors 17 for detecting, for example, vehicle speed, acceleration, engine temperature, steering angle of a steering wheel, and the like, and detection values from the sensor 17 are input as signals. The input unit 12 acquires the detection value detected by the sensor 17 and stores it in the storage unit 15, and notifies the control unit 11 of the completion of acquisition of the detection value from the sensor 17. The output unit 13 is connected to an electronic circuit (not shown) for electronically controlling various devices such as a vehicle engine or a brake, and outputs a control signal for controlling the operation of the various devices. It is. Depending on the in-vehicle communication device 10a, the input unit 12 and the output unit 13 may be provided with only one of them.

  The in-vehicle communication line 31 connected to the communication unit 16 is a bus type communication line based on the CAN protocol, and the communication unit 16 transmits / receives data by generating or detecting a CAN-based signal via the in-vehicle communication line 31. To be able to do that. The in-vehicle communication line 31 based on CAN is composed of two signal lines, and detects data by detecting an operating voltage generated between the signal lines to detect data. The state where there is no difference in voltage between the two signal lines corresponds to “1” of the digital signal, and the state where there is a difference in voltage corresponds to “0” of the digital signal. The communication unit 16 transmits data based on a digital signal by generating an operating voltage between two signal lines. The other in-vehicle communication lines 32 to 34 have the same configuration.

  The control unit 11 acquires a detection value from the sensor 17 at the input unit 12, performs a calculation based on the acquired detection value, generates a control signal, and outputs a control signal from the output unit 13. At this time, when it is necessary to share the detection value from the sensor 17 with the other in-vehicle communication devices 10b, 10c, ..., transmission data including the detection value is generated and given to the communication unit 16, and the communication unit 16 The data is transmitted to the communication line 31. The data transmitted to the other in-vehicle communication devices 10b, 10c,... Includes information indicating the detection value of the sensor 17 and an ID representing the type of data. Accordingly, the other in-vehicle communication devices 10b, 10c,... Receive the data transmitted by the in-vehicle communication device 10a, specify the ID included in the received data, determine the type of the data, and set the detected value included in the data. It is possible to perform the corresponding processing.

  On the other hand, the in-vehicle relay device 50 receives from the connection ports 521 to 524 connecting the in-vehicle communication lines 31 to 34 of the networks NW1 to NW4 and the in-vehicle communication devices 10a, 10b,. Are provided with a storage unit 53 that stores and accumulates data to be transmitted to the devices 10a, 10b,..., A power supply circuit 54 that supplies power to each unit, and a control unit 51 that controls these units. The power supply circuit 54 of the in-vehicle relay device 50 is connected to a power supply source such as an alternator or a battery mounted on the vehicle, similarly to the power supply circuit 14 of the in-vehicle communication devices 10a, 10b,. After being adjusted to a voltage or current suitable for the above, it is supplied to each part.

  The connection ports 521 to 524 of the in-vehicle relay device 50 have substantially the same functions as the communication units 16 of the in-vehicle communication devices 10a, 10b,..., And perform communication based on the CAN protocol to the in-vehicle communication lines 31 to 34. Data is transmitted / received to / from the connected in-vehicle communication devices 10a, 10b,.

  Further, the storage unit 53 is provided with four storage areas, and the four storage areas are used as the transmission queues 501 to 504. The four transmission queues 501 to 504 are associated with the networks NW1 to NW4 connected to the four connection ports 521 to 524, respectively. The control unit 51 of the in-vehicle relay device 50 previously stores a routing table having relay information in which the ID attached to the data in the internal ROM or the storage unit 53 and the destination in-vehicle communication devices 10a, 10b,. The IDs included in the data stored in the connection ports 521 to 524 are checked, the destination in-vehicle communication devices 10a, 10b,... Are identified by referring to the routing table, and the data is transmitted to the in-vehicle destination. Are stored in the transmission queues 501 to 504 associated with the networks NW1 to NW4 having the communication devices 10a, 10b.

  Each of the transmission queues 501 to 504 can accumulate a plurality of data in order. When the control unit 51 receives data at the connection ports 521 to 524, the control unit 51 stores the received data in the corresponding transmission queues 501 to 504 in the order of transmission so as to transmit the data. In this case, data is read out in order from the transmission queues 501 to 504 and given to the corresponding connection ports 521 to 524 to transmit the data. As a result, the in-vehicle communication devices 10a, 10b,... Can mutually transmit and receive data between the plurality of networks NW1, NW2,.

  The in-vehicle relay device 50 according to the present embodiment performs scheduling using IDs attached to data as priorities when data received at the connection ports 521 to 524 is accumulated in the transmission queues 501 to 504, and each network Data is stored in transmission queues 501 to 504 in the order of transmission to NW1 to NW4. As for data transmission / reception in each of the networks NW1 to NW4, in-vehicle communication lines to which the communication units 16 of the in-vehicle communication devices 10a, 10b,... And the connection ports 521 to 524 of the in-vehicle relay device 50 are connected, respectively. Each of the in-vehicle communication devices 10a, 10b,... And the in-vehicle relay device 50 is identified by monitoring the data transmitted at 31 to 34 and comparing the ID of the data to be transmitted with the ID of the data being transmitted. The data is transmitted after arbitration according to the priority of the data.

  3 and 4 are schematic diagrams for explaining a method for determining the data transmission order by the in-vehicle relay device 50 of the in-vehicle communication system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, from (a) to (d). The data flow is shown in time series. Further, in the figure, the data transmitted to the in-vehicle communication devices 10g to 10i of the network NW4 is illustrated with attention paid thereto, and the data transmitted to the in-vehicle communication devices 10a to 10f of the other networks NW1 to NW3 is illustrated. It is omitted. It is assumed that the ID assigned to the data has a high priority when the numerical value is small.

  For example, first, when the in-vehicle communication device 10d of the network NW2 transmits data with ID “23” to the in-vehicle communication devices 10g to 10i of the other network NW4, the in-vehicle relay device 50 receives this data and includes it in the data The destination network and the in-vehicle communication device are specified by referring to the routing table from the ID to be stored, and the data is accumulated at the head of the transmission queue 504 corresponding to the network NW4 that is the data transmission destination (see FIG. 3A). .

  Next, if the in-vehicle communication device 10b of the network NW1 transmits the data with ID “12” to the in-vehicle communication devices 10g to 10i of the other network NW4 before the data accumulated in the transmission queue 504 is transmitted, The relay device 50 receives this data and stores the data in the transmission queue 504 corresponding to the network NW4 that is the data transmission destination. At this time, the ID of the received data is compared with the ID of the data already stored in the transmission queue 504 so that the transmission order of the data with the smaller ID comes first (in the example shown, the head of the transmission queue 504 In addition, the information is accumulated in the transmission queue 504 (see FIG. 3B).

  Next, before the two pieces of data stored in the transmission queue 504 are transmitted, the in-vehicle communication device 10b of the network NW1 continuously transmits the data with the ID “12” to the in-vehicle communication devices 10g to 10i of the other network NW4. In this case, the in-vehicle relay device 50 receives this data and accumulates the received data in the transmission queue 504 so that the transmission order of the data with the smaller ID comes first. At this time, if data with the same ID as the received data is already accumulated in the transmission queue 504, the first received data can be transmitted first (in the example shown, the second of the transmission queue 504 In addition, the data is accumulated in the transmission queue 504 (see FIG. 4C).

  Next, when other data transmission of the network NW4 is finished and the in-vehicle relay device 50 can transmit data to the in-vehicle communication devices 10g to 10i of the network NW4 using the in-vehicle communication line 34, the transmission queue 504 The data accumulated at the head is transmitted to the in-vehicle communication devices 10g to 10i (in the illustrated example, to the in-vehicle communication device 10h) (see FIG. 4D).

  That is, the in-vehicle relay device 50 provides transmission queues 501 to 504 for each of the networks NW1 to NW4 connected to the connection ports 521 to 524, and receives data from the in-vehicle communication devices 10a, 10b,. Data is sorted and stored in the order of IDs in the transmission queues 501 to 504 corresponding to the data transmission destinations. When a plurality of pieces of data having the same ID are received, they are accumulated in the order received. When data is transmitted, the data stored in the order of transmission is read for each of the transmission queues 501 to 504, and transmitted to the in-vehicle communication devices 10a, 10b,.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure at the time of data reception by the in-vehicle relay device 50 of the in-vehicle communication system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The control unit 51 of the in-vehicle relay device 50 monitors whether data is received at any of the four connection ports 521 to 524 (step S1), and receives data at any of the connection ports 521 to 524. If not (S1: NO), monitoring is continued until data is received at any of the connection ports 521 to 524. When data is received at any one of the connection ports 521 to 524 (S1: YES), the ID included in the received data is acquired (step S2), and data is referred to the routing table based on the acquired ID. Is specified (step S3).

  Next, it is checked whether or not data is accumulated in one transmission queue 501 to 504 corresponding to one of the destination networks NW1 to NW4 specified in step S3 (step S4), and one corresponding transmission queue 501 is checked. If the data is not accumulated in ˜504 (S4: NO), the received data is accumulated at the head of the corresponding one of the transmission queues 501 to 504 (step S7), and the process is terminated. If data has already been accumulated in the corresponding one of the transmission queues 501 to 504 (S4: YES), processing for determining the transmission order of the received data and the accumulated data is performed (step S5).

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure of data transmission order determination processing by the in-vehicle relay device 50 of the in-vehicle communication system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and is a process performed in step S5 of the flowchart shown in FIG. is there. In the transmission order determination process, first, data accumulated at the head of one corresponding transmission queue 501 to 504 is acquired (step S21), and the received data ID and the data ID acquired in step S21 are obtained. In comparison, it is checked whether the ID of the received data is smaller than the ID of the acquired data (step S22). If the received data ID is smaller than the acquired data ID (S22: YES), the transmission order is determined so that the received data is transmitted before the acquired data (step S23), and the transmission order determination process is performed. End and return to the process shown in FIG.

  In step S22, if the ID of the received data is equal to or greater than the acquired data ID (S22: NO), it is checked whether or not the next data is stored in the corresponding one of the transmission queues 501 to 504 (step S22). Step S24). If the next data is accumulated (S24: YES), the next data is acquired from the transmission queues 501 to 504 (step S25), the process returns to step S22, and the above processing is repeated. When the next data is not accumulated in the corresponding one of the transmission queues 501 to 504 (S24: NO), the transmission order is determined so that the received data is transmitted after the acquired data, that is, last (step S26). ), The transmission order determination process is terminated, and the process returns to the process shown in FIG.

  After performing the transmission order determination process shown in FIG. 6 in step S5, the received data is stored in the corresponding transmission queues 501 to 504 so as to be in the determined transmission order (step S6). Terminate the process. Thereafter, the control unit 51 of the in-vehicle relay device 50 sequentially reads data stored in the transmission queues 501 to 504 in the order of transmission, and transmits the data to each transmission destination. The procedure shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is a procedure that assumes a case where the destination of the received data is one, but it is also possible to transmit one data to a plurality of destinations. In step S2, information related to a plurality of transmission destinations may be acquired, and the processing in steps S3 to S7 may be repeated or performed in parallel for each of a plurality of corresponding transmission queues 501 to 504.

  In the in-vehicle communication system configured as described above, connection ports for connecting the in-vehicle communication lines 31, 32,... Of the networks NW1, NW2,... To the in-vehicle relay device 50 that relays data transmission / reception between the plurality of networks NW1, NW2,. The transmission queues 501, 502... Are provided for each of 521, 522..., And the data is stored in the transmission queues 501, 502. Thus, similarly to data transmission / reception within the networks NW1, NW2,..., Data transmission / reception between the networks NW1, NW2... Can be performed based on the priority of the data. Therefore, it becomes possible for a plurality of in-vehicle communication devices 10a, 10b,... To share high-priority information earlier and more reliably, and it is possible to more reliably perform electronic control of the vehicle.

  In the present embodiment, the four networks NW1 to NW4 are connected to one in-vehicle relay device 50. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the in-vehicle relay device 50 has three or less or five or more. It is good also as a structure which connects a network. Moreover, it is good also as a structure provided with the some vehicle-mounted relay apparatus 50 in a vehicle-mounted communication system. Further, the number of in-vehicle communication devices 10a and 10b connected to the in-vehicle communication lines 31 to 34 of the networks NW1 to NW4 is not limited to the illustrated one. The in-vehicle communication line 31 is a bus-type communication line based on the CAN protocol, but is not limited to this, and may be a communication line based on another protocol such as a LAN (Local Area Network). The data transmission / reception shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

(Modification)
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of the in-vehicle communication system according to the modification of the first embodiment of the present invention. In the in-vehicle communication system shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, transmission queues 501 to 504 associated with the networks NW1 to NW4 are provided in the storage unit 53 of the in-vehicle relay device 50 and transmitted to the respective transmission queues 501 to 504. A configuration for accumulating data was adopted. In this configuration, when one piece of data is transmitted to a plurality of networks NW1 to NW4, it is necessary to duplicate the data and store it in each of the transmission queues 501 to 504. Therefore, a large storage capacity of the storage unit 53 is required. . Therefore, in the in-vehicle communication system of the modification shown in FIG. 7, a data storage area 530 for storing data is provided in the storage unit of the in-vehicle relay device 50a so that received data is stored in the order received. . In addition, transmission queues 501a to 504a are provided in association with the networks NW1 to NW4 connected to the connection ports 521 to 524. The transmission queues 501a to 504a provide pointers to data stored in the data storage area 530. It is configured to store in the order of transmission. Thereby, each of the transmission queues 501a to 504a does not need to store a copy of the data, so that the storage capacity of the storage unit 53 can be saved.

(Embodiment 2)
The in-vehicle relay device 50 of the in-vehicle communication system according to the first embodiment is configured to determine the transmission order only according to the ID of the received data, but the in-vehicle relay device 150 of the in-vehicle communication system according to the second embodiment is The transmission order is determined in consideration of the received data ID and the networks NW1 to NW4 of the data transmission source. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method of determining the data transmission order by the in-vehicle relay device 150 of the in-vehicle communication system according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and is time-series from (a) to (b). Shows the data flow. Further, in the figure, the data transmitted to the in-vehicle communication devices 10g to 10i of the network NW4 is illustrated with attention paid thereto, and the data transmitted to the in-vehicle communication devices 10a to 10f of the other networks NW1 to NW3 is illustrated. It is omitted.

  When in-vehicle relay apparatus 150 according to the second embodiment receives data from networks NW1 to NW4 connected to connection ports 521 to 524, the transmission source associated with the received connection ports 521 to 524 or networks NW1 to NW4 Information is added to the received data and accumulated in the transmission queues 501 to 504. In addition, when a plurality of data is accumulated in one transmission queue 501 to 504, the data is accumulated in the order of transmission according to the data ID (priority). The transmission order is determined so that the reception order and the transmission order are not reversed.

  For example, first, when the in-vehicle communication device 10d of the network NW2 transmits data with ID “23” to the in-vehicle communication devices 10g to 10i of the other network NW4, the in-vehicle relay device 150 receives this data and includes it in the data The destination network and the in-vehicle communication device are identified by referring to the routing table from the ID to be assigned, the number “2” associated with the network NW2 is assigned as the source information, and the network NW4 that is the data destination is supported. Data is accumulated at the head of the transmission queue 504 to be transmitted.

  Next, if the in-vehicle communication device 10a of the network NW1 transmits the data with the ID “12” to the in-vehicle communication devices 10g to 10i of the other network NW4 before the data accumulated in the transmission queue 504 is transmitted. The relay device 50 receives this data, attaches the number “1” associated with the network NW1 as transmission source information, and accumulates the data in the transmission queue 504 corresponding to the network NW4 that is the data transmission destination. At this time, the transmission source information of the received data is compared with the transmission source information of the data already stored in the transmission queue 504, and after confirming that the transmission source information is not the same, the ID of the received data and the transmission queue Compared with the ID of the data already stored in 504, the received data is transferred to the transmission queue 504 so that the transmission order of the data with the smaller ID comes first (in the illustrated example, at the head of the transmission queue 504). accumulate.

  Next, when the in-vehicle communication device 10b of the network NW1 transmits the data with the ID “24” to the in-vehicle communication devices 10g to 10i of the other network NW4 before the two data accumulated in the transmission queue 504 are transmitted. The in-vehicle relay device 50 receives this data, attaches the number “1” associated with the network NW1 as transmission source information, and accumulates the data in the transmission queue 504 corresponding to the network NW4 that is the data transmission destination. . At this time, the data that has the same transmission source information from the already accumulated data and the last received data is searched, the ID is compared for the data whose transmission order is later than this data, and the transmission order of the data with the smaller ID The received data is accumulated in the transmission queue 504 so as to be first (in the illustrated example, at the end of the transmission queue 504). A state in which the above three data are received is shown in FIG.

  Next, when the in-vehicle communication device 10c in the network NW2 transmits the data having the ID “11” to the in-vehicle communication devices 10g to 10i in the other network NW4 before the three data accumulated in the transmission queue 504 are transmitted. The in-vehicle relay device 150 receives this data, attaches the number “2” associated with the network NW1 as transmission source information, and stores the data in the transmission queue 504 corresponding to the network NW4 that is the data transmission destination. . At this time, the source information is the same from the data already stored, and the last received data, that is, the second data from the head is searched, and the data whose transmission order is later than this data, that is, the third data The IDs of the data are compared, and the received data is accumulated third from the top so that the transmission order of the data with the smaller ID comes first (see FIG. 8B).

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing at the time of data reception by the in-vehicle relay device 150 of the in-vehicle communication system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The control unit 51 of the in-vehicle relay device 150 monitors whether data is received at any of the four connection ports 521 to 524 (step S41), and receives data at any of the connection ports 521 to 524. If not (S41: NO), monitoring is continued until data is received at any of the connection ports 521 to 524. When data is received at any of the connection ports 521 to 524 (S41: YES), the transmission source information associated with the received connection ports 521 to 524 or the networks NW1 to NW4 is added to the received data (step). S42) Further, an ID included in the received data is acquired (step S43), and a data transmission destination is specified with reference to the routing table based on the acquired ID (step S44).

  Next, it is checked whether or not data is stored in one transmission queue 501 to 504 corresponding to one of the destination networks NW1 to NW4 specified in step S44 (step S45), and one corresponding transmission queue 501 is checked. When data is not accumulated in .about.504 (S45: NO), the received data is accumulated at the head of one corresponding transmission queue 501.about.504 (step S48), and the process is terminated. If data has already been accumulated in the corresponding one of the transmission queues 501 to 504 (S45: YES), processing for determining the transmission order of the received data and the accumulated data is performed (step S46).

  FIG.10 and FIG.11 is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the determination process of the transmission order of the data by the vehicle-mounted relay apparatus 150 of the vehicle-mounted communication system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention, In step S46 of the flowchart shown in FIG. This is the process to be performed. In the transmission order determination process, first, the transmission source information of the data stored in the corresponding one of the transmission queues 501 to 504 is checked to determine whether the same transmission source information data as the received data is stored. (Step S61) When the data of the same transmission source information is accumulated (S61: YES), the data with the last transmission order is searched for among the same data of the transmission source information (Step S62). Further, it is checked whether or not the transmission source information is different and the data in the next transmission order of the data searched in step S62 is accumulated (step S63). If the data is not accumulated (S63: NO), reception is performed. The transmission order of the received data is determined at the end of the data in the corresponding transmission queue 501 to 504 (step S64), the transmission order determination process is terminated, and the process returns to the process shown in FIG.

  If data in the next transmission order is accumulated in step S63 (S63: YES), data in the next transmission order of the searched data is acquired (step S65), and the process proceeds to step S67. If the data of the same source information as the data transmitted in step S61 is not accumulated (S61: NO), the top data of the corresponding one of the transmission queues 501 to 504 is acquired (step S66). Proceed to step S67.

  Next, the received data ID is compared with the data ID acquired in step S65 or S66 to check whether the received data ID is smaller than the acquired data ID (step S67). When the received data ID is smaller than the acquired data ID (S67: YES), the transmission order is determined so that the received data is transmitted before the acquired data (step S68), and the transmission order determination processing is performed. Then, the process returns to the process shown in FIG.

  In step S67, if the received data ID is equal to or greater than the acquired data ID (S67: NO), it is checked whether or not the next data is stored in the corresponding one of the transmission queues 501 to 504 (step S67). Step S69). When the next data is accumulated (S69: YES), the next data is acquired from the transmission queues 501 to 504 (step S70), the process returns to step S67, and the above processing is repeated. If the next data is not stored in the corresponding one of the transmission queues 501 to 504 (S69: NO), the transmission order is determined so that the received data is transmitted after the acquired data, that is, last (step S71). ), The transmission order determination process is terminated, and the process returns to the process shown in FIG.

  After performing the transmission order determination process shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 in step S46, the received data is accumulated in the corresponding transmission queues 501 to 504 so as to be in the determined transmission order (step S47). Ends the process when receiving data. Thereafter, the control unit 51 of the in-vehicle relay device 150 sequentially reads data stored in the transmission queues 501 to 504 in the transmission order, and transmits the data to each transmission destination.

  In the in-vehicle communication system according to the second embodiment having the above configuration, the transmission order is determined in consideration of not only the ID (priority) of the data received by the in-vehicle relay device 150 but also the networks NW1 to NW4 that are the data transmission sources. By adopting the determined configuration, it is possible to transmit and receive data between the networks NW1 to NW4 while maintaining the order of arbitration within the networks NW1 to NW4. As in the modification of the first embodiment, the transmission queues 501 to 504 may store pointers to received data.

  In addition, since the other structure of the vehicle-mounted communication system which concerns on Embodiment 2 is the same as that of the vehicle-mounted communication system which concerns on Embodiment 1, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to a corresponding location and description is abbreviate | omitted.

(Embodiment 3)
The in-vehicle relay device 150 of the in-vehicle communication system according to the second embodiment is configured to determine the transmission order in consideration of the received data ID and the networks NW1 to NW4 that are the data transmission sources. The in-vehicle relay device 250 of the in-vehicle communication system according to the configuration is configured to determine the transmission order in consideration of the received in-vehicle communication devices 10a, 10b,. When the in-vehicle relay device 250 according to the third embodiment receives data from the networks NW1 to NW4 connected to the connection ports 521 to 524, the in-vehicle relay device 250 is associated with the in-vehicle communication devices 10a, 10b,. The transmission source information is added to the reception data and accumulated in the transmission queues 501 to 504. In addition, when a plurality of data is accumulated in one transmission queue 501 to 504, the data is accumulated in the order of transmission according to the data ID (priority). The transmission order is determined so that the reception order and the transmission order are not reversed.

  At this time, in order to determine which in-vehicle communication device 10a, 10b... Is the transmission source, the in-vehicle relay device 250 stores in advance a transmission source table having correspondence information between the data ID and the transmission source. The transmission source is specified by referring to the transmission source table based on the received data ID. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a transmission source table. In the in-vehicle communication system according to the third embodiment, one or more IDs are assigned to data to be transmitted for each of the in-vehicle communication devices 10a, 10b,..., And the in-vehicle relay device 250 determines the transmission source from the received data ID. The in-vehicle communication devices 10a, 10b, etc. can be uniquely identified. In the transmission source table of the in-vehicle relay device 250, an ID attached to data to be transmitted / received is associated with a number uniquely assigned to the in-vehicle communication devices 10a, 10b,. I remember. In the illustrated example, when the numbers 1 to 9 are respectively assigned to the nine in-vehicle communication devices 10a to 10i of the in-vehicle communication system, the data with IDs “12” and “24” has the number “2”. The in-vehicle communication device 10b is the transmission source, and the data with IDs “16” and “23” indicates that the in-vehicle communication device 10d with the number “4” is the transmission source.

  FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method of determining the data transmission order by the in-vehicle relay device 250 of the in-vehicle communication system according to the third embodiment of the present invention, and is time-series from (a) to (b). Shows the data flow. Further, in the figure, the data transmitted to the in-vehicle communication devices 10g to 10i of the network NW4 is illustrated with attention paid thereto, and the data transmitted to the in-vehicle communication devices 10a to 10f of the other networks NW1 to NW3 is illustrated. It is omitted.

  For example, first, when the in-vehicle communication device 10d in the network NW2 transmits data with ID “23” to the in-vehicle communication devices 10g to 10i in the other network NW4, the in-vehicle relay device 250 receives this data and includes it in the data The number “4” associated with the in-vehicle communication device 10d as the transmission source is acquired from the ID to be stored and the transmission source table stored in advance. The in-vehicle relay device 250 adds the number “4” as the transmission source information to the received data, and accumulates the data at the head of the transmission queue 504 corresponding to the network NW4 that is the data transmission destination.

  Next, if the in-vehicle communication device 10b of the network NW1 transmits the data with ID “12” to the in-vehicle communication devices 10g to 10i of the other network NW4 before the data accumulated in the transmission queue 504 is transmitted, The relay device 250 receives this data, and acquires “2” of the number associated with the in-vehicle communication device 10b of the transmission source based on the ID included in the data and the transmission source table stored in advance. The in-vehicle relay device 250 adds the number “2” as the transmission source information to the received data, and accumulates the data in the transmission queue 504 corresponding to the network NW4 that is the data transmission destination. At this time, the transmission source information of the received data is compared with the transmission source information of the data already stored in the transmission queue 504, and after confirming that the transmission source information is not the same, the ID of the received data and the transmission queue Compared with the ID of the data already stored in 504, the received data is transferred to the transmission queue 504 so that the transmission order of the data with the smaller ID comes first (in the illustrated example, at the head of the transmission queue 504). accumulate.

  Next, when the in-vehicle communication device 10b of the network NW1 transmits the data with the ID “24” to the in-vehicle communication devices 10g to 10i of the other network NW4 before the two data accumulated in the transmission queue 504 are transmitted. The in-vehicle relay device 250 receives this data, and acquires “2” of the number associated with the in-vehicle communication device 10b of the transmission source based on the ID included in the data and the transmission source table stored in advance. The in-vehicle relay device 250 adds the number “2” as the transmission source information to the received data, and accumulates the data in the transmission queue 504 corresponding to the network NW4 that is the data transmission destination. At this time, the data that has the same transmission source information from the already accumulated data and the last received data is searched, the ID is compared for the data whose transmission order is later than this data, and the transmission order of the data with the smaller ID The received data is accumulated in the transmission queue 504 so as to be first (in the illustrated example, at the end of the transmission queue 504). FIG. 13A shows a state where the above three data are received.

  Next, when the in-vehicle communication device 10d in the network NW2 transmits the data with ID “16” to the in-vehicle communication devices 10g to 10i in the other network NW4 before the three data accumulated in the transmission queue 504 are transmitted. The in-vehicle relay device 250 receives this data, and acquires “4” of the number associated with the in-vehicle communication device 10d as the transmission source based on the ID included in the data and the transmission source table stored in advance. The in-vehicle relay device 250 adds the number “4” as the transmission source information to the received data, and accumulates the data in the transmission queue 504 corresponding to the network NW4 that is the data transmission destination. At this time, the source information is the same from the data already stored, and the last received data, that is, the second data from the head is searched, and the data whose transmission order is later than this data, that is, the third data The IDs of the data are compared, and the received data is accumulated third from the top so that the transmission order of the data with the smaller ID comes first (see FIG. 13B).

  As described above, when data transmitted by the same in-vehicle communication devices 10a, 10b,... Is received, the order of reception is given priority regardless of the ID attached to the data received by the in-vehicle relay device 250. , The other in-vehicle communication devices 10a, 10b,... Receive data transmitted in time series via the in-vehicle relay device 250 without breaking the time series. be able to. In addition, since the flowchart about the reception process of the data which the vehicle-mounted relay apparatus 250 of the vehicle-mounted communication system which concerns on Embodiment 3 performs is the same as the flowchart of the reception process which the vehicle-mounted relay apparatus 150 of Embodiment 2 shows, illustration and Description is omitted. In the in-vehicle relay device 250 according to the third embodiment, when the transmission source information is added in step S42 in FIG. 9, the transmission source table shown in FIG. 12 is referred to and the in-vehicle communication devices 10a, 10b,. The associated number may be added as transmission source information.

  In addition, since the other structure of the vehicle-mounted communication system which concerns on Embodiment 3 is the same as that of the vehicle-mounted communication system which concerns on Embodiment 1, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to a corresponding location and description is abbreviate | omitted.

(Embodiment 4)
The in-vehicle relay device 150 of the in-vehicle communication system according to the second embodiment is configured to determine the transmission order in consideration of the data transmission source networks NW1 to NW4 together with the received data ID. The vehicle-mounted relay device 250 of the vehicle-mounted communication system is configured to determine the transmission order in consideration of the received data ID and the vehicle-mounted communication devices 10a, 10b,. The in-vehicle relay device 350 of the in-vehicle communication system is configured to determine the transmission order in consideration of the data reception time together with the received data ID. FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method of determining the data transmission order by the in-vehicle relay device 350 of the in-vehicle communication system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, and is time-series from (a) to (b). Shows the data flow. Further, in the figure, the data transmitted to the in-vehicle communication devices 10g to 10i of the network NW4 is illustrated with attention paid thereto, and the data transmitted to the in-vehicle communication devices 10a to 10f of the other networks NW1 to NW3 is illustrated. It is omitted.

  When in-vehicle relay device 350 according to the fourth embodiment receives data from networks NW1 to NW4 connected to connection ports 521 to 524, it attaches a reception time such as a reception start time or a reception completion time to the received data. The transmission queues 501 to 504 are accumulated. In addition, when a plurality of data is stored in one transmission queue 501 to 504, the data is stored in the order of transmission according to the data ID (priority). For data larger than 300 μs), the order of reception is prioritized, and the transmission order is determined so that the reception order and the transmission order are not reversed.

  For example, first, the in-vehicle communication device 10d of the network NW2 transmits the data with ID “23” to the in-vehicle communication devices 10g to 10i of the other network NW4, and the in-vehicle relay device 350 receives this data at the time of 900 μs. In this case, the in-vehicle relay device 350 adds “900” as the reception time to the received data, and accumulates the data at the head of the transmission queue 504 corresponding to the network NW4 that is the data transmission destination.

  Next, before the data stored in the transmission queue 504 is transmitted, the in-vehicle communication device 10b of the network NW1 transmits the data with the ID “12” to the in-vehicle communication devices 10g to 10i of the other network NW4, and the in-vehicle relay When the device 350 receives this data at the time of 1100 μs, the in-vehicle relay device 350 attaches “1100” as the reception time to the received data, and starts the transmission queue 504 corresponding to the network NW4 that is the data transmission destination. Accumulate data. At this time, after confirming that the data received 300 μs or more before 1100 μs of the reception time is not accumulated in the transmission queue 504, the received data ID and the data ID already accumulated in the transmission queue 504 are obtained. In comparison, the received data is accumulated in the transmission queue 504 so that the transmission order of the data with the smaller ID comes first (in the illustrated example, at the head of the transmission queue 504).

  Next, before the two pieces of data stored in the transmission queue 504 are transmitted, the in-vehicle communication device 10b of the network NW1 transmits the data with the ID “24” to the in-vehicle communication devices 10g to 10i of the other network NW4. When the in-vehicle relay device 350 receives this data at the time of 1300 μs, the in-vehicle relay device 350 attaches “1300” as the reception time to the received data, and the transmission queue 504 corresponding to the network NW4 that is the data transmission destination. Accumulate data at the beginning of. At this time, since the data received 300 μs or more before 1100 μs of the reception time is accumulated in the transmission queue 504, the received data is transmitted after this data (at the end of the transmission queue 504 in the illustrated example). Accumulate in queue 504. A state in which the above three data are received is shown in FIG.

  Next, before the three pieces of data stored in the transmission queue 504 are transmitted, the in-vehicle communication device 10d of the network NW2 transmits the data having the ID “16” to the in-vehicle communication devices 10g to 10i of the other network NW4. When the in-vehicle relay device 350 receives this data at the time of 1500 μs, the in-vehicle relay device 350 adds “1500” as the reception time to the received data, and the transmission queue 504 corresponding to the network NW4 that is the data transmission destination. Accumulate data at the beginning of. At this time, since the data received 300 μs or more before 1500 μs of the reception time is accumulated in the second of the transmission queue 504, the ID is compared for the data whose transmission order is later than this data, that is, the third data, The received data is accumulated third from the beginning so that the transmission order of the data with the smaller ID comes first (see FIG. 14B).

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing at the time of data reception by the in-vehicle relay device 350 of the in-vehicle communication system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The control unit 51 of the in-vehicle relay device 350 monitors whether data is received at any of the four connection ports 521 to 524 (step S81), and receives data at any of the connection ports 521 to 524. If not (S81: NO), monitoring is continued until data is received at any of the connection ports 521 to 524. When data is received at any of the connection ports 521 to 524 (S81: YES), information related to the received time is added to the data (step S82), and an ID included in the received data is acquired. At the same time (step S83), the destination of data is specified with reference to the routing table based on the acquired ID (step S84).

  Next, it is checked whether or not data is accumulated in one transmission queue 501 to 504 corresponding to one of the destination networks NW1 to NW4 specified in step S84 (step S85), and one corresponding transmission queue 501 is checked. If the data is not accumulated in ˜504 (S85: NO), the received data is accumulated at the head of the corresponding one of the transmission queues 501 to 504 (step S88), and the process is terminated. If data has already been accumulated in the corresponding one of the transmission queues 501 to 504 (S85: YES), processing for determining the transmission order of the received data and the accumulated data is performed (step S86).

  FIGS. 16 and 17 are flowcharts showing a procedure of data transmission order determination processing by the in-vehicle relay device 350 of the in-vehicle communication system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In step S86 of the flowchart shown in FIG. This is the process to be performed. In the transmission order determination process, first, the difference between the reception time of the received data and the reception time of the stored data is checked from the last data in the transmission order stored in the corresponding one of the transmission queues 501 to 504. Then, data for which this difference is outside a predetermined time set in advance as a threshold is searched (step S101), and it is checked whether there is corresponding data (step S102). When data corresponding to one corresponding transmission queue 501 to 504 is accumulated (S102: YES), data to be transmitted next to data corresponding to one corresponding transmission queue 501 to 504 is further accumulated. It is checked whether or not (step S103). If the data to be transmitted next to the corresponding data is not accumulated (S103: NO), the transmission order of the received data is determined at the end of the data in the corresponding one of the transmission queues 501 to 504 (step S104) and transmitted. The order determination process ends, and the process returns to the process shown in FIG.

  In step S103, when data to be transmitted next is accumulated (S103: YES), data to be transmitted next to the corresponding data is acquired (step S105), and the process proceeds to step S107. If the corresponding data is not accumulated in step S102 (S102: NO), the top data of the corresponding one of the transmission queues 501 to 504 is acquired (step S106), and the process proceeds to step S107.

  Next, the received data ID is compared with the data ID acquired in step S105 or S106 to check whether the received data ID is smaller than the acquired data ID (step S107). When the received data ID is smaller than the acquired data ID (S107: YES), the transmission order is determined so that the received data is transmitted before the acquired data (step S108), and the transmission order determination processing is performed. Then, the process returns to the process shown in FIG.

  In step S107, if the received data ID is equal to or greater than the acquired data ID (S107: NO), it is checked whether or not the next data is stored in the corresponding one of the transmission queues 501 to 504 (step S107: NO). Step S109). When the next data is accumulated (S109: YES), the next data is acquired from the transmission queues 501 to 504 (step S110), the process returns to step S107, and the above processing is repeated. When the next data is not accumulated in the corresponding one of the transmission queues 501 to 504 (S109: NO), the transmission order is determined so that the received data is transmitted after the acquired data, that is, the last (step S111). ), The transmission order determination process is terminated, and the process returns to the process shown in FIG.

  After performing the transmission order determination process shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 in step S86, the received data is accumulated in the corresponding one transmission queue 501 to 504 so as to be in the determined transmission order (step S87). Ends the process when receiving data. Thereafter, the control unit 51 of the in-vehicle relay device 350 sequentially reads the data stored in the transmission queues 501 to 504 in the transmission order, and transmits the data to each transmission destination.

  In the in-vehicle communication system according to Embodiment 4 having the above configuration, the transmission order is determined in consideration of not only the ID (priority) of the data received by the in-vehicle relay device 350 but also the time at which the data is received. As a result, even when the in-vehicle relay device 350 continuously receives high priority data, it is possible to prevent a state in which low priority data cannot be transmitted from being maintained for a long time. . In the present embodiment, the information related to the reception time is added to the data in units of μs. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the information related to the reception time is added in larger units or smaller units. Alternatively, it may be determined according to the speed or frequency of data transmitted and received in the in-vehicle communication system. Further, similarly to the modification of the first embodiment, the transmission queues 501 to 504 may store pointers to received data.

  In addition, since the other structure of the vehicle-mounted communication system which concerns on Embodiment 4 is the same as that of the structure of the vehicle-mounted communication system which concerns on Embodiment 1, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to a corresponding location and description is abbreviate | omitted.

It is a schematic diagram which shows one structural example of the vehicle-mounted communication system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle-mounted communication apparatus and vehicle-mounted relay apparatus of the vehicle-mounted communication system which concern on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the determination method of the transmission order of the data by the vehicle-mounted relay apparatus of the vehicle-mounted communication system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the determination method of the transmission order of the data by the vehicle-mounted relay apparatus of the vehicle-mounted communication system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process at the time of the data reception by the vehicle-mounted relay apparatus of the vehicle-mounted communication system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the determination process of the transmission order of the data by the vehicle-mounted relay apparatus of the vehicle-mounted communication system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows one structural example of the vehicle-mounted communication system which concerns on the modification of Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the determination method of the transmission order of the data by the vehicle-mounted relay apparatus of the vehicle-mounted communication system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process at the time of the data reception by the vehicle-mounted relay apparatus of the vehicle-mounted communication system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the determination process of the transmission order of the data by the vehicle-mounted relay apparatus of the vehicle-mounted communication system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the determination process of the transmission order of the data by the vehicle-mounted relay apparatus of the vehicle-mounted communication system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of a transmission source table. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the determination method of the transmission order of the data by the vehicle-mounted relay apparatus of the vehicle-mounted communication system which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the determination method of the transmission order of the data by the vehicle-mounted relay apparatus of the vehicle-mounted communication system which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process at the time of the data reception by the vehicle-mounted relay apparatus of the vehicle-mounted communication system which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the determination process of the transmission order of the data by the vehicle-mounted relay apparatus of the vehicle-mounted communication system which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the determination process of the transmission order of the data by the vehicle-mounted relay apparatus of the vehicle-mounted communication system which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of 1 structure of the conventional vehicle-mounted communication system. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the data transmission of the conventional vehicle-mounted communication system.

Explanation of symbols

10a to 10i In-vehicle communication device 11 Control unit 16 Communication unit 17 Sensor 31 to 34 In-vehicle communication line 50, 50a, 150, 250, 350 In-vehicle relay device 51 Control unit (reception unit, transmission unit, determination unit)
53 Storage unit (accumulation means)
501 to 504 Transmission queue 501a to 504a Transmission queue 521 to 524 Connection port (connection unit)
530 Data storage area NW1-NW4 network

Claims (15)

A plurality of connection units connected to a network to which one or a plurality of in-vehicle communication devices are connected; a receiving unit for receiving data transmitted by one in-vehicle communication device of the network connected to the one connection unit; and the receiving unit In a vehicle-mounted relay device comprising a transmission means for transmitting the received data to another vehicle-mounted communication device connected to another connection unit,
The data transmitted by the in-vehicle communication device includes information related to priority,
Storage means for storing the data received by the receiving means in association with a transmission destination network to which the in-vehicle communication device of the transmission destination of the data is connected;
Determining means for determining the transmission order of the plurality of data received by the receiving means according to the priority of the data;
The in-vehicle relay device, wherein the transmission unit transmits data stored in the storage unit according to a transmission order determined by the determination unit for each destination network. The storage means stores data in a queue in the order of transmission determined by the determination means;
The in-vehicle relay device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit acquires data from the queue and transmits the data. The determining means transmits the plurality of data received from the in-vehicle communication device connected to the same network by the receiving means, in the order received by the receiving means, regardless of the priority of the data. The in-vehicle relay device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the transmission order is determined by the transmission order. The determining means determines the transmission order so that the plurality of data received by the receiving means from the same in-vehicle communication device is transmitted by the transmitting means in the order received by the receiving means regardless of the priority of the data. The in-vehicle relay device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the in-vehicle relay device is configured as described above. The storage means is configured to store the data received by the receiving means with information relating to the reception time of the data,
When the difference between the reception time of the one data received by the reception means and the reception time of the other data received previously exceeds a predetermined threshold, the determination means determines the one data and the other data The in-vehicle relay device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the transmission order is determined so that the other data is transmitted first regardless of the priority of the data. A plurality of networks each connected with one or a plurality of in-vehicle communication devices, a plurality of connection units connected to the networks, and a reception for receiving data transmitted by one in-vehicle communication device connected to the one connection unit In-vehicle communication system comprising: means, and an in-vehicle relay device having a transmission means for transmitting data received by the receiving means to another in-vehicle communication device connected to another connection unit,
The in-vehicle communication device is configured to transmit data including information related to priority,
The in-vehicle relay device is
Storage means for storing the data received by the receiving means in association with a transmission destination network to which the in-vehicle communication device of the transmission destination of the data is connected;
Determining means for determining the transmission order of the plurality of data received by the receiving means according to the priority of the data;
The in-vehicle communication system, wherein the transmission unit transmits data stored in the storage unit according to a transmission order determined by the determination unit for each destination network. The in-vehicle relay device is
The storage means stores data in a queue in the order of transmission determined by the determination means;
The in-vehicle communication system according to claim 6, wherein the transmission means acquires data from the queue and transmits the data. The in-vehicle relay device is
A plurality of data received by the determining means from the in-vehicle communication device connected to the same network as the receiving means are transmitted by the transmitting means in the order received by the receiving means regardless of the priority of the data. 8. The in-vehicle communication system according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the transmission order is determined by the transmission order. The in-vehicle relay device is
The determination means determines the transmission order so that the transmission means transmits a plurality of data received by the reception means from the same in-vehicle communication device, regardless of the priority of the data, in the order received by the reception means. The in-vehicle communication system according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: The in-vehicle relay device is
The storage means stores the data received by the receiving means with information relating to the reception time of the data;
When the difference between the reception time of the one data received by the reception means and the reception time of the other data received previously exceeds a predetermined threshold, the determination means determines that the one data and the other data The in-vehicle communication system according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the order of transmission is determined so that the other data is transmitted first, regardless of the priority. In the in-vehicle relay device including a plurality of connection units connected to a network to which one or a plurality of in-vehicle communication devices are connected, the data transmitted by one in-vehicle communication device of the network connected to the one connection unit is received, In the in-vehicle communication method of transmitting the received data to other in-vehicle communication devices connected to other connection units,
The data transmitted by the in-vehicle communication device includes information related to priority,
The received data is stored in association with the destination network to which the in-vehicle communication device that is the destination of the data is connected,
The transmission order of the plurality of received data is determined according to the priority of the data,
A vehicle-mounted communication method characterized by transmitting data stored in the storage means according to a determined transmission order for each destination network. Accumulate data as a queue in the determined transmission order,
The in-vehicle communication method according to claim 11, wherein data is acquired from the queue and transmitted. The transmission order is determined so that a plurality of data received from an in-vehicle communication device connected to the same network is transmitted in the order received, regardless of the priority of the data. 12. The in-vehicle communication method according to 12. The vehicle order according to claim 11 or 12, wherein a plurality of data received from the same vehicle-mounted communication device determine a transmission order so as to be transmitted in the order of reception regardless of the priority of the data. Communication method. The received data is added with information related to the reception time of the data and accumulated,
If the difference between the reception time of the received one data and the reception time of the other previously received data exceeds a predetermined threshold, the other data is not related to the priority of the one data and the other data. The in-vehicle communication method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the transmission order is determined so as to transmit the data first.

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