JP2013084143A - On-vehicle communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the occurrence of faults assumed to occur when reprogramming data received from a center is written onto a target unit to update software of the target unit.SOLUTION: An on-vehicle communication device 1 writes reprogramming data onto an ECU to update software of the ECU during a period in which an IG switch is off and a drive mechanism of a vehicle is not operating. The on-vehicle communication device 1 also transmits position data indicating a current position of the vehicle to a center 9 during a period in which the reprogramming data is written onto the ECU. The on-vehicle communication device 1 further calculates power consumption required for writing the reprogramming data onto the ECU, obtains remaining battery life indicating the remaining life of a battery 15, and writes the reprogramming data onto the ECU on the condition that a value obtained by subtracting the power consumption from the remaining battery life exceeds a specified value.

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle communication device that writes reprogram data received from a center to a target device and updates software of the target device.

  Writing replog data to a target device (for example, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit), etc.) mounted on the vehicle and updating the software of the target device is performed (see Patent Documents 1 to 3). )

JP 2010-32431 A JP 2010-191786 A JP 2007-65893 A

  By the way, the target device to which the replog data is written is an ECU (for example, an engine control ECU or the like) related to the vehicle drive mechanism, and the replog data is sent to the ECU related to the vehicle drive mechanism during a period in which the vehicle drive mechanism is operating. If written, the drive mechanism of the vehicle may not operate normally, and there is a risk of hindering vehicle travel. Further, the target device to which the reprogram data is written is an ECU (for example, a security control ECU) related to security such as vehicle theft prevention. If the vehicle is stolen by the three parties, there is a risk that a security report cannot be made. Furthermore, when the amount of reprogram data received (downloaded) from the center is large and a large amount of power is consumed to receive the reprogram data, the reprogram data is received from the center during a period when the operating power of the vehicle is not being charged. , The replog data may not be received normally due to the shortage of the remaining operating power.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and the purpose of the present invention is to generate a malfunction that is expected when the reprogram data received from the center is written in the target device and the software of the target device is updated. It is an object of the present invention to provide an in-vehicle communication device that can avoid the above-mentioned problem.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the replog data for updating the software of the target device is received from the center by the replog data receiving means, the control means receives the replog data received from the center from the replog data output means. Output to the target device and write to the target device to update the software of the target device. Here, the control means determines whether or not the vehicle drive mechanism is operating, and outputs the reprogram data from the reprogram data output means to the target device during a period when the vehicle drive mechanism is not operating. Write and update the software of the target device.

  Thus, since the reprogram data is written to the target device and the software of the target device is updated during a period when the vehicle drive mechanism is not operating (non-operating period), the target device to which the reprogram data is written drives the vehicle. Even in the case of equipment related to the mechanism, it is possible to avoid the possibility that the drive mechanism of the vehicle will not operate normally, and to avoid the possibility of hindering vehicle travel.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the control means determines whether or not the target device is a device related to the drive mechanism of the vehicle, and determines that the target device is a device related to the drive mechanism of the vehicle. As a condition, it is determined whether or not the vehicle drive mechanism is operating, and during the period when the vehicle drive mechanism is not operating, the reprogram data is output from the reprogram data output means to the target device and written to the target device. Update the device software.

  Thus, only when the target device to which the reprogram data is written is a device related to the drive mechanism of the vehicle, the reprogram data is written to the target device during the period when the drive mechanism of the vehicle is not operating, and the software of the target device is written. When the target device to which the program data is written is a device that is not related to the drive mechanism of the vehicle, it is possible to prevent the period for writing the reprogram data from being limited.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the replog data for updating the software of the target device is received from the center by the replog data receiving means, the control means receives the replog data received from the center from the replog data output means. Output to the target device and write to the target device to update the software of the target device. Here, the control means outputs the replog data from the replog data output means to the target device, and the position data acquired by the position data acquisition means during the period of writing the replog data to the target device from the position data transmission means. To send to.

  Thereby, since the position data indicating the current position of the vehicle is transmitted to the center during the period in which the reprogram data is being written to the target device, the target device to which the reprogram data is written is a device related to security such as vehicle theft prevention. Even if the vehicle is stolen by a malicious third party during the period when the reprogram data is being written, the location data indicating the current location of the vehicle can be notified to the center and a security report can be made Can do.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, the control means determines whether or not the target device is a device related to security, and the reprogram data is obtained on condition that the target device is a device related to security. The position data acquired by the position data acquiring means is transmitted from the position data transmitting means to the center during the period in which the replog data is output from the replog data output means to the target device and the replog data is being written to the target device.

  Thereby, only when the target device to which the reprogram data is written is a device related to security, the position data indicating the current position of the vehicle can be transmitted to the center during the period in which the reprogram data is being written to the target device. In the case where the target device to which the reprogram data is written is a device not related to security, it is possible to prevent unnecessary transmission of position data to the center.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the replog data for updating the software of the target device is received from the center by the replog data receiving means, the control means receives the replog data received from the center from the replog data output means. Output to the target device and write to the target device to update the software of the target device. Here, the control means determines whether or not the operating power supply of the vehicle is being charged, and causes the reprogram data receiving means to receive reprogram data from the center during a period when the operating power supply of the vehicle is being charged.

  As a result, the reprogram data is received from the center during the period when the vehicle's operating power supply is being charged, so the amount of reprogram data received from the center is large, and a large amount of power is required to receive the reprogram data. Even when consuming the power, it is possible to avoid the possibility that the reprogram data cannot be normally received due to the shortage of the remaining amount of operating power.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the control means calculates the power consumption required to write the replog data received from the center by the replog data receiving means to the target device, and determines the remaining amount of operating power of the vehicle. If the value obtained by subtracting the power consumption from the remaining amount exceeds the specified value, the reprogram data is output from the reprogram data output means to the target device and written to the target device, and the target device software is installed. Update. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the remaining amount of the operating power of the vehicle from being exhausted during the writing of the reprogram data, and the reprogram data can be appropriately written.

Functional block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention Sequence diagram (1) Sequence diagram (2) Figure showing the display screen

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the overall configuration of an in-vehicle communication device mounted on a vehicle. The in-vehicle communication device 1 includes a control unit 2 (corresponding to control means), a wireless communication unit 3 (corresponding to reprogram data receiving means and position data transmitting means), a GPS receiving unit 4 (corresponding to position data acquiring means), The signal input unit 5, the storage unit 6, the vehicle LAN interface (IF) unit 7 (corresponding to the replog data output means), and the power supply control unit 8 are configured.

  The control unit 2 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, an I / O, and the like, and controls the overall operation (data management operation, communication operation, etc.) of the in-vehicle communication device 1 by executing a control program. The wireless communication unit 3 connects a wide area communication line (such as a mobile communication line or a fixed communication line) with the center 9. The center 9 has a function of managing the reprogram data in association with the target ECU (Electronic Control Unit) to which the reprogram data is to be written, and needs to be distributed to the in-vehicle communication device 1. When there is certain reprogram data, a wide area communication line is connected to the wireless communication unit 3 of the in-vehicle communication device 1 that is the distribution target of the reprogram data, and the reprogram data notification is transmitted to the in-vehicle communication device 1 that is the distribution target. When receiving the reprogram data request from the in-vehicle communication device 1 to be distributed, the re-program data and the target ECU are distributed to the in-vehicle communication device 1 to be distributed.

  Note that replog data is data including programs, parameters, and the like for updating a program (software) stored in a target ECU such as an engine control ECU or a meter control ECU. For example, it is used for the purpose of correcting a program when there is a defect in the existing program, adding a new function to the existing program, or changing an existing parameter value. In particular, when there is a problem with the program in the ECU for the vehicle, there is a possibility that there is an adverse effect in maintaining safety, so there is a need to update the program promptly.

  The GPS receiver 4 receives a plurality of GPS satellite signals transmitted from a plurality of GPS satellites (not shown) orbiting the sky, extracts various parameters from the received GPS satellite signals, and performs calculations. Thus, the current position of the in-vehicle communication device 1 (current position of the vehicle) is acquired as position data. The signal input unit 5 inputs an ACC signal from an ACC (accessory) switch and inputs an IG signal from an IG (ignition) switch. The control unit 2 determines on / off of the ACC switch by determining on / off of the ACC signal input to the signal input unit 5 from the ACC switch, and turns on / off the IG signal input to the signal input unit 5 from the IG switch. By determining, ON / OFF of the IG switch is determined.

  The storage unit 6 has a storage area for storing various data, and has a storage area for storing the correspondence between the reprogram data received from the center 9 to the wireless communication unit 3 and the target ECU. The vehicle LAN interface unit 7 is connected to the various ECUs 11 to 14 through the vehicle LAN 10 mounted on the vehicle, and performs data communication with the various ECUs 11 to 14. Here, a case where the various ECUs 11 to 14 are an engine control ECU 11, a battery monitoring ECU 12, a navigation control ECU 13, and a door lock control ECU 14 is illustrated. The power supply control unit 8 supplies power supplied from a battery 15 (corresponding to an operating power supply) mounted on the vehicle to each functional block as operating power. The battery 15 is configured to be rechargeable when an IG switch is turned on, and an alternator (not shown) converts the power obtained from the engine through the belt into electric power to generate electric power.

  The in-vehicle communication device 1 operates in the normal operation mode (wake-up mode) when the IG switch is off, and the power supplied from the battery 15 to the power supply control unit 8 is supplied as operating power to all functional blocks. On the other hand, when the IG switch is off, it operates in the low power consumption operation mode (sleep mode), which consumes less power than the normal operation mode, and the power supplied from the battery 15 to the power control unit 8 is limited. The power is supplied to the functional blocks (such as the wireless communication unit 3 and the GPS receiving unit 4) as operating power. That is, the in-vehicle communication device 1 periodically acquires the current position of the vehicle as position data by the GPS receiving unit 4 even when the IG switch is off, and the acquired position data is transmitted from the wireless communication unit 3 to the center 9. Send regularly to.

  Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, a case will be described in which the in-vehicle communication device 1 receives a replog data notification transmitted from the center 9 when the ACC switch is on and the IG switch is on. A case will be described in which the target ECU into which the reprogram data is written is the engine control ECU 11 (corresponding to the target device) related to the drive mechanism of the vehicle, that is, the software of the engine control ECU 11 is updated.

  When there is reprogram data that needs to be distributed to the in-vehicle communication device 1, the center 9 connects a wide-area communication line with the wireless communication unit 3 of the in-vehicle communication device 1 that is the distribution target of the reprogram data. The data notification is transmitted to the in-vehicle communication device 1 that is the distribution target. In the in-vehicle communication device 1, when the control unit 2 receives the replog data notification transmitted from the center 9 by the wireless communication unit 3, the ACC switch is on and the IG switch is on, that is, the battery 15 can be charged. On the condition that the state is a state, the replog data request is transmitted from the wireless communication unit 3 to the center 9, and reception of the replog data from the center 9 and the target ECU is awaited.

  When the center 9 receives the reprogram data request transmitted from the in-vehicle communication device 1, the center 9 transmits to the in-vehicle communication device 1 the reprogram data and the target ECU that can identify the ECU that writes the reprogram data. In the in-vehicle communication device 1, when the control unit 2 receives the replog data and the target ECU transmitted from the center 9 by the wireless communication unit 3, the control unit 2 stores the received replog data and the target ECU in the storage unit 6. Based on the data amount of the received replog data, the time required to write the replog data to the ECU and the power consumption are calculated (step S1).

  Next, the control unit 2 determines whether or not the ACC switch has changed from on to off (step S2), and determines that the ACC switch has changed from on to off (“YES” in step S2), the IG It is determined whether or not the switch has changed from on to off (step S3). If it is determined that the IG switch has changed from on to off (step S3), a display command notification is output from the vehicle LANIF unit 7 to the navigation control ECU 13. To do.

  When the navigation control ECU 13 inputs the display command notification output from the in-vehicle communication device 1 in this manner, as shown in FIG. 4, the navigation control ECU 13 gives the user (driver) the time required to write the reprogram data to the ECU. At the same time, an update inquiry display screen 21 for inquiring whether or not to update the software is displayed on a display device (not shown), and the user waits for an operation to select whether or not to update the software. The navigation control ECU 13 has pressed either the “update” button 21a or the “do not update” button 21b on the update inquiry screen 21 and has selected whether to update or not update the software. If it determines, the user operation result which can specify the content which the user selected can be outputted to in-vehicle communication machine 1.

  In the vehicle-mounted communication device 1, when the user operation result output from the navigation control ECU 13 is input by the vehicle LANIF unit 7, the control unit 2 determines which content the user has selected (step S4). When the control unit 2 determines that the content selected by the user is to update the software in response to the user pressing the “Update” button 21a on the update inquiry screen 21 (step S4). "YES"), it is determined whether or not all doors are locked (locked) based on the door lock notification input from the door lock control ECU 14 to the vehicle LANIF unit 7 (step S5). When control unit 2 determines that all doors are locked (“YES” in step S5), it outputs a battery remaining amount request from vehicle LANIF unit 7 to battery monitoring ECU 12.

  When the control unit 2 determines that the content selected by the user is not to update the software in response to the user pressing the “don't update” button 21 b on the update inquiry screen 21 (Step S 2). In S4, “NO”), the subsequent processing is not performed. In addition, when the control unit 2 determines that a certain time has elapsed without pressing any of the “update” button 21 a and the “do not update” button 21 b on the update inquiry screen 21, No further processing is performed.

  When the battery monitoring ECU 12 inputs the battery remaining amount request output from the in-vehicle communication device 1 in this way, the battery monitoring ECU 12 detects the remaining amount of the battery 15 that is the remaining amount of the battery 15 at that time, and the detected remaining battery amount is detected. An identifiable battery remaining amount detection result is output to the in-vehicle communication device 1. In the in-vehicle communication device 1, when the battery remaining amount detection result output from the battery monitoring ECU 12 is input by the vehicle LANIF unit 7, the control unit 2 calculates a value obtained by subtracting the previously calculated power consumption from the remaining battery amount. Then, the calculated value is compared with the specified value, and it is determined whether or not the value obtained by subtracting the power consumption from the battery remaining amount exceeds the specified value (step S6). When control unit 2 determines that the value obtained by subtracting the power consumption from the remaining battery amount exceeds the specified value (“YES” in step S6), it sends a write start request from vehicle LANIF unit 7 to engine control ECU 11. Output to.

  When the engine control ECU 11 inputs the write start request output from the in-vehicle communication device 1 in this manner, the engine control ECU 11 outputs a write permission response to the in-vehicle communication device 1 in a state in which writing of replog data is permitted. In the in-vehicle communication device 1, when the control unit 2 inputs the write permission response output from the engine control ECU 11 through the vehicle LANIF unit 7, the controller 2 reads out the reprogram data stored in the storage unit 6 and reads out the engine from the vehicle LANIF unit 7. The output to the control ECU 11 is started, and the writing of the reprogram data to the engine control ECU 11 is started. Then, when the writing of the replog data to the engine control ECU 11 is finished, the control unit 2 determines whether or not the writing of the replog data to the engine control ECU 11 is normally finished (step S7), and the engine control ECU 11 of the replog data is finished. When it is determined that the writing to the data has been normally completed (“YES” in step S7), a writing completion notification is transmitted from the wireless communication unit 3 to the center 9.

  In the above description, the target ECU to which the reprogram data is written is the engine control ECU 11 related to the drive mechanism of the vehicle and the software of the engine control ECU 11 is updated. However, the target ECU to which the reprogram data is written is the vehicle theft. This is also the case when the security control ECU is related to security such as prevention, and the software of the security control ECU is updated.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the in-vehicle communication device 1, the reprogram data is written in the ECU and the software of the ECU is updated in a period in which the IG switch is off and the vehicle drive mechanism is not operating. Therefore, even when the reprogram data is written to the engine control ECU 11 related to the vehicle drive mechanism, it is possible to avoid the possibility that the vehicle drive mechanism will not operate normally. The risk of coming can be avoided in advance.

  Further, since the position data indicating the current position of the vehicle is transmitted to the center 9 during the period in which the reprogram data is being written to the ECU, the reprogram data is written to the security control ECU related to security such as vehicle theft prevention. Even if the vehicle is stolen by a malicious third party while writing the reprogram data to the security control ECU, the center 9 can be notified of the position data indicating the current position of the vehicle, It can be performed.

  Further, since the reprogram data is received from the center 9 while the battery 15 is being charged, the data amount of the reprogram data received from the center 9 is great, and a large amount of power is required to receive the reprogram data. Even when consumed, it is possible to avoid the possibility that the reprogram data cannot be normally received due to the shortage of the remaining amount of the battery 15.

  Furthermore, the power consumption required to write the reprogram data to the ECU is calculated, the battery remaining amount that is the remaining amount of the battery 15 is obtained, and the value obtained by subtracting the power consumption from the remaining battery amount exceeds the specified value. Since the replog data is written to the ECU on the condition of the above, it is possible to prevent the remaining battery level from being exhausted during the writing of the replog data, and the replog data can be written appropriately.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified or expanded as follows.
The ECU to which the reprogram data is to be written is not limited to the engine control ECU 11 related to the vehicle drive mechanism and the security control ECU related to security such as vehicle theft prevention, but the body control ECU, transmission ECU, air conditioner control ECU, meter control Another ECU such as an ECU may be used.
An ACC signal or an IG signal may be input through the vehicle LAN 10.
When it is determined whether the target ECU to which the reprogram data is written is an ECU related to the drive mechanism of the vehicle, and the target ECU to which the reprogram data is written is an ECU related to the drive mechanism of the vehicle, the vehicle When the drive mechanism of the vehicle is not operating, the replog data is written to the target ECU. On the other hand, when it is determined that the target ECU to which the replog data is written is an ECU not related to the vehicle drive mechanism, the vehicle drive mechanism is operating. The reprogram data may be written in the target ECU without being limited to the period. In that case, for example, it may be determined for each ECU whether or not the vehicle manufacturer is an ECU related to the drive mechanism of the vehicle, and the determination result may be registered in the in-vehicle communication device.

  It is determined whether or not the target ECU to which the reprogram data is written is an ECU related to security such as vehicle theft prevention, and it is determined that the target ECU to which the reprogram data is written is an ECU related to security such as vehicle theft prevention In this case, the position data indicating the current position of the vehicle is transmitted to the center during the period in which the program data is being written to the target ECU, while the target ECU to which the reprogram data is written is an ECU not related to security such as vehicle theft prevention. If it is determined that there is, the position data indicating the current position of the vehicle may not be transmitted to the center during the period in which the program data is being written to the target ECU. In this case, for example, it may be determined for each ECU whether or not the vehicle manufacturer is an ECU related to security, and the determination result may be registered in the in-vehicle communication device.

  In the drawings, 1 is an in-vehicle communication device, 2 is a control unit (control unit), 3 is a wireless communication unit (replog data receiving unit, position data transmitting unit), 4 is a GPS receiving unit (position data acquiring unit), and 7 is a vehicle. A LAN interface unit (replog data output means), 11 is an engine control ECU (target device), and 15 is a battery (operating power supply).

Claims (6)

Reprogram data receiving means for receiving reprogram data for updating the software of the target device from the center;
Reprogram data output means for outputting reprogram data to the target device;
Control means for updating the software of the target device by writing the reprogram data received from the center by the replog data receiving unit from the replog data output unit to the target device and writing it to the target device,
The control means determines whether or not the vehicle drive mechanism is in operation, and outputs replog data from the replog data output means to the target device during a period when the vehicle drive mechanism is not in operation. An in-vehicle communication device characterized by writing and updating software of the target device. In the in-vehicle communication device according to claim 1,
The control means determines whether or not the target device is a device related to a vehicle drive mechanism, and on the condition that the target device is a device related to a vehicle drive mechanism, the vehicle drive mechanism is It is determined whether or not the vehicle is operating, and during the period when the vehicle drive mechanism is not operating, the replog data is output from the replog data output means to the target device and written to the target device to update the software of the target device An in-vehicle communication device characterized by Reprogram data receiving means for receiving reprogram data for updating the software of the target device from the center;
Reprogram data output means for outputting reprogram data to the target device;
Control means for outputting the replog data received by the replog data receiving means from the center from the replog data output means to the target device and writing to the target device to update the software of the target device;
Position data acquisition means for acquiring position data indicating the current position of the vehicle;
Position data transmission means for transmitting the position data acquired by the position data acquisition means to the center,
The control means causes the replog data to be output from the replog data output means to the target device, and the position data acquired by the position data acquisition means during the period during which the replog data is being written to the target device. An in-vehicle communication device characterized by transmitting from a means to a center. In the in-vehicle communication device according to claim 3,
The control means determines whether or not the target device is a device related to security, and on the condition that the target device is a device related to security, the reprogram data is output from the reprogram data output unit to the target device. An in-vehicle communication device characterized in that the position data acquired by the position data acquiring means is transmitted from the position data transmitting means to the center during a period when the replog data is being written to the target device. Reprogram data receiving means for receiving reprogram data for updating the software of the target device from the center;
Reprogram data output means for outputting reprogram data to the target device;
Control means for updating the software of the target device by writing the reprogram data received from the center by the replog data receiving unit from the replog data output unit to the target device and writing it to the target device,
The control means determines whether or not the vehicle operating power supply is being charged, and causes the reprogram data receiving means to receive reprogram data from a center during a period when the vehicle operating power supply is being charged. Communication machine. The in-vehicle communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The control means calculates power consumption required to write the replog data received from the center by the replog data receiving means to the target device, obtains the remaining amount of operating power of the vehicle, and calculates the remaining power from the remaining amount. On condition that the value obtained by subtracting the power consumption exceeds a specified value, the reprogram data is output from the reprogram data output means to the target device, written to the target device, and the software of the target device is updated. An in-vehicle communication device.

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