JP2016000613A - Control unit change-over system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a control unit change-over system capable of reliably making data transmission processing to be performed by a communication control unit coming into a sleep state or a power-off state carried out in a substitute, and not generating abnormality in a network or vehicle behavior.SOLUTION: Before a communication control unit ECU1 coming into a sleep state or a power-off state, a substitute request is sent, among candidate substitute units ECU2 to ECUm, to an ECU that is determined possible to carry out the substitute by substitute transmission propriety determination means 13. As criteria for the determination of a substitute unit by the substitute transmission propriety determination means 13 of the ECU1, substitutable processing load amount of each ECU, substitutable processing importance level, or failure determination results are used. Furthermore, by making determinations in an order considering processing importance level of each ECU during the traveling or in a halt, generations of abnormality in a network or vehicle behavior can be prevented.

Description

  The present invention relates to a control device switching system that switches control devices that communicate with a plurality of control devices mounted on a vehicle and connected via a common communication line.

  A plurality of control devices called ECUs (Electronic Control Units) are mounted on the vehicle. These control devices exchange information via a common communication line, and realize the operation of the vehicle in cooperation. These control devices are supplied with electric power from a battery, an alternator, a motor, or the like mounted on the vehicle. However, with the increase in the number of control devices mounted on the vehicle in recent years, the amount of power consumed by the control device is reduced. It has increased. When the amount of power consumption increases, the amount of power generated by an alternator or the like increases, leading to deterioration in fuel consumption of the vehicle. Therefore, power saving of the vehicle is required, and the control device is also required to cope with power saving.

  Conventionally, various methods have been taken for power saving of the control device. Mainly, a control device that does not need to be activated employs techniques such as stopping the supply of power or shifting to a sleep state. However, in a network provided with an abnormality detection device, an abnormality process may be started assuming that an abnormality has occurred in a control device that does not receive data for a predetermined time.

  In order to eliminate such an inconvenience, Patent Document 1 discloses a transmission / reception control device having a function of stopping a transmission / reception function by turning off or sleeping other control devices among a plurality of control devices connected to a network. By substituting data transmission to be performed by the controlled device whose transmission / reception is stopped by this transmission / reception control device, the abnormality detection device that detects network data abnormality does not detect the abnormality and saves the vehicle power I am trying.

JP 2013-6454 A

  As described above, in Patent Document 1, after the transmission / reception control device stops transmission / reception of the controlled device, data transmission to be transmitted by the controlled device is substituted. However, when the transmission / reception control device is out of order, when the processing load is high, or when other important processing is performed, a situation in which data transmission cannot be performed occurs and an abnormality is detected as a network error. It will be detected by the device. In addition, when the processing load of the transmission / reception control device is high or when important processing is performed, the transmission / reception control device lacks real-time performance by delegating the data transmission to be performed by the controlled device, and the vehicle operation is defective. There is a problem that occurs.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problem, and in a control device switching system including a plurality of control devices connected to a common communication line, communication control for entering a sleep state or a power-off state. It is an object of the present invention to obtain a control device switching system that can reliably perform data transmission processing to be performed by a device and that does not cause a network abnormality or a vehicle behavior abnormality.

  In the control device switching system according to the present invention, a plurality of control devices mounted on a vehicle are connected to each other via a common communication line, and the control device performs communication to transmit / receive data to / from other control devices. Data transmission / reception including a control device and a plurality of proxy candidate devices that can perform data transmission processing to be performed by the communication control device, and the communication control device stops transmission / reception of data when its own sleep processing or power-off condition is satisfied A proxy request is transmitted to an execution / stop unit, a proxy transmission availability determination unit that determines whether or not each of the proxy candidate devices can perform a data transmission process, and a proxy candidate device that performs the data transmission process. Proxy request transmission means, and when the conditions for own sleep processing or power-off are satisfied, the data transmission processing is performed based on the determination result by the proxy transmission availability determination means. After the proxy request device is transmitted to the proxy candidate device from the proxy request transmission unit, the data transmission process is stopped by the data transmission / reception execution / stop unit, and the proxy candidate device transmits the data. A proxy transmission unit that performs proxy processing is provided. When a proxy request is received from the communication control device, the proxy transmission unit performs the data transmission process.

  According to the present invention, when the sleep processing or power-off condition of the communication control device is satisfied, the proxy request is transmitted to the proxy candidate device that is determined to be proxy by the proxy transmission availability determination unit of the communication control device. Since it did in this way, the data transmission process which a communication control apparatus should perform can be substituted reliably, and it is possible to obtain the control apparatus switching system which does not generate | occur | produce abnormality in network abnormality or vehicle behavior.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the communication control apparatus and substitution candidate apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the proxyable process load amount table in the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the flow of a process in which the communication control apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention determines a real proxy apparatus from proxy candidate apparatuses. It is a figure which shows an example of the proxyable process importance degree table in the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the flow of a process in which the communication control apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention determines a real proxy apparatus from proxy candidate apparatuses. It is a figure which shows an example of the flow of a process in which the communication control apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention determines a substitution apparatus from substitution candidate apparatuses. It is a figure which shows the priority of the substitute candidate apparatus in the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the flow of a process in which the communication control apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention determines a substitution apparatus from substitution candidate apparatuses. It is a figure which shows the structure of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the substitute candidate apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the flow of a process in which the substitution apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention determines the next substitution apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the flow of a process in which the substitution apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention determines the next substitution apparatus. It is a figure which shows the other structure of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the flow of a process in which the monitoring control apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention determines the next substitution apparatus. It is a figure which shows the structure of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the communication control apparatus and substitution candidate apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the proxy possible ECU cue | queue of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the flow of a process in which the communication control apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention determines a substitution apparatus from substitution candidate apparatuses. It is a figure which shows the structure of the substitute candidate apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the table memorize | stored in the memory | storage means with which the substitute candidate apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention is provided. It is a figure which shows the structure of the substitute candidate apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 5 of this invention. It is a figure explaining the function of the data adjustment means with which the substitution candidate apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 5 of this invention is provided. It is a figure which shows the structure of the substitute candidate apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 6 of this invention. It is a figure explaining the function of the control period adjustment means with which the substitution candidate apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 6 of this invention is provided. It is a figure which shows the structure of the substitute candidate apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 7 of this invention. It is a figure explaining the function of the clock frequency adjustment means with which the substitution candidate apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 7 of this invention is provided. It is a figure which shows the structure of the substitute candidate apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 8 of this invention. It is a figure explaining the function of the data synchronization means with which the substitution candidate apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 8 of this invention is provided. It is a figure which shows the structure of the communication control apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 9 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the flow of a process when the communication control apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 9 of this invention restarts a data transmission process. It is a figure which shows the structure of the communication control apparatus and substitution candidate apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 10 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the flow of a process in which the communication control apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 10 of this invention manages the substitution of a substitution apparatus by time. It is a figure which shows the structure of the substitute candidate apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 11 of this invention. It is a figure explaining the function of the data communication period adjustment means with which the substitution candidate apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 11 of this invention is provided. It is a figure which shows the structure of the substitute candidate apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 12 of this invention. It is a figure explaining the function of the data communication period adjustment means and vehicle condition detection means with which the substitution candidate apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 12 of this invention is provided. It is a figure explaining the function of the data communication period adjustment means with which the substitution candidate apparatus of the control apparatus switching system which concerns on Embodiment 12 of this invention is provided.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
Hereinafter, a control device switching system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the control device switching system according to the first embodiment. Note that, in all the drawings shown below, the same or corresponding parts in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  In the control device switching system 100 according to the first embodiment, a plurality of control devices ECU1 to ECUn (n> 3) mounted on a vehicle are connected to each other via a network 6 that is a common communication line. is there. These control devices include a communication control device that transmits / receives data to / from other control devices, and a plurality of proxy candidate devices that can perform data transmission processing to be performed by the communication control device. In the following description, ECU 1 is a communication control device, ECU2 to ECUm (m <n) are proxy candidate devices, and a proxy device that actually performs the proxy is determined from among ECU2 to ECUm.

  Each of the substitute candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm is a control device that executes a predetermined process related to the vehicle. For example, a drive system ECU related to a motor or an engine, a safety system ECU related to an airbag, a seat or light adjustment, etc. The body system ECU related to the navigation system or the information system ECU related to the navigation device or the like. These ECUs 2 to ECUm do not abandon the original process even when the data transmission process to be performed by the ECU 1 is performed on behalf of the ECU 1, but are compatible with the original process of the ECU 1.

  FIG. 2 (a) shows the configuration of the communication control device ECU1, and FIG. 2 (b) shows the configuration of the proxy candidate device ECU2. Since the other proxy candidate devices ECU3 to ECUm have the same configuration as ECU2, illustration and description thereof are omitted. Note that each of the communication control device and the proxy candidate device has various functions other than those shown in FIG. 2, but here, a configuration related to a function of substituting the proxy candidate device for data transmission processing of the communication control device Only elements are shown.

  The ECU 1 includes a data transmission / reception execution / stop unit 11, a substitution request transmission unit 12, a substitution transmission availability determination unit 13, a sleep condition establishment determination unit 14, a sleep processing unit 15, and a wake processing unit 16. The data transmission / reception execution / stop unit 11 executes transmission / reception of data with the outside, and stops transmission / reception of data with the outside when the sleep state or power supply is interrupted. The conditions for the data transmission / reception execution / stop means 11 to stop data transmission / reception are transmitted from the ECU other than the ECU 1 via the network 6 as in the case of Partial Networking, in addition to the sleep process and power shutdown. This includes cases where there is a sleep request.

  The proxy request transmission unit 12 transmits a proxy request to a proxy candidate device that performs a data transmission process to be performed by itself. The proxy transmission availability determination unit 13 determines whether or not the data transmission process can be performed for each of the proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm. The sleep condition establishment determination means 14 determines whether or not its own sleep condition is established. The sleep processing unit 15 performs a process of entering a sleep state after it is determined that the sleep condition is satisfied by the sleep condition establishment determining unit 14 and data transmission / reception is stopped by the data transmission / reception execution / stop unit 11. The wake processing unit 16 performs processing for returning from sleep.

  On the other hand, the ECU 2 includes a proxy transmission unit 21 that performs a proxy of the data transmission process to be performed by the ECU 1. When the proxy request is received from the ECU 1, the proxy transmission unit 21 starts the proxy of the data transmission process.

  Next, operations of ECU1 and ECU2 to ECUm in control device switching system 100 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. When the sleep condition is established by its own timer process or the like, the ECU 1 can perform the data transmission process for each of the proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm by the proxy transmission availability determination means 13 before stopping the data transmission process. The proxy transmission permission / inhibition determination 13a is performed (determination criteria will be described later). The ECU 1 determines a proxy candidate device that performs the data transmission process on the basis of the determination result by the proxy transmission availability determination unit 13.

  When the proxy candidate device (ECU 3 in FIG. 1) to be substituted is determined, the proxy request transmission unit 12 is notified of this. Further, the ECU 1 transmits a proxy request 12 a from the proxy request transmission means 12 to the ECU 3 via the network 6. The ECU 1 that has transmitted the proxy request 12a stops data transmission and transitions to the sleep mode. The ECU 3 that has received the substitution request 12a from the ECU 1 starts substitution of data transmission processing by the substitution transmission means 21 as a substitution device.

  In the first embodiment, the proxy 1 transmission determination unit 13 of the ECU 1 uses either the current processing load amount, the processing importance level, or the failure determination result of each of the proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm as a determination criterion, It is determined whether ECU2 to ECUm are in a state where data transmission processing can be performed. Note that the determination may be performed by combining a plurality of these determination criteria.

When the proxy transmission permission determination unit 13 of the ECU 1 determines whether the proxy transmission is possible based on the current processing load amount of the ECUs 2 to ECUm, the ECU 1 includes a proxyable processing load amount table as shown in FIG. In the proxyable processing load amount table, the possible processing amount PL _th set based on the upper limit of the processing load amount is stored for each of the ECUs 2 to ECUm.

  In general, in a microcomputer (hereinafter abbreviated as “microcomputer”) mounted on an ECU, a microcomputer with a lot of interrupt processing is used with a sufficient processing load when there are no interrupts. Reach nearly%. Since the number of interrupts varies depending on each ECU, the upper limit of the processing load amount is set according to the above index while taking the number into consideration. If the design includes a margin as the upper limit of the processing load of each microcomputer, the margin may be used instead.

  The proxy transmission availability determination means 13 of the ECU 1 acquires the current processing load amount of the ECUs 2 to ECUm via the network 6 and refers to the proxyable processing load amount table to determine an ECU to be substituted. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the ECU having a high processing load from being substituted, and to prevent the original process and the substitution process of the ECU serving as the substitution apparatus from exceeding the original control cycle.

  In the control device switching system 100 according to the first embodiment, the processing flow until the proxy transmission availability determination means 13 of the ECU 1 determines a proxy device based on the processing load amounts of the ECU2 to ECUm that are proxy candidate devices. This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In all the flowcharts shown below, the same step number indicates the same process, and the description is omitted.

  First, in step 10 (S10), the ECU 1 determines whether or not the sleep condition is satisfied by the sleep condition satisfaction determination means 14. If the sleep condition is not satisfied in S10 (NO), the processing relating to the substitution is not performed. If the sleep condition is satisfied in S10 (YES), the proxy transmission availability determination unit 13 is notified, and the process proceeds to step 20 (S20).

In S20, the proxy transmission availability determination unit 13 of the ECU 1 acquires the processing load amount of the ECU 2 and compares it with the value of the proxy processing load table (FIG. 3). If the current processing load amount of ECU 2 acquired by ECU 1 does not exceed proxy processing load amount PL _th2 (60%) in the proxy processing load table (YES), proxy transmission permission determination means 13 of ECU 1 In step 30 (S30), the proxy request transmission means 12 of the ECU 1 transmits a proxy request to the ECU 2.

On the other hand, if the processing load amount of the ECU 2 exceeds the _proxyable processing load amount PL _th2 of the ECU 2 in S20 (NO), the proxy transmission availability determination means 13 of the ECU 1 determines that the ECU 2 is not proxyable, and the step Proceed to 201 (S201). In S201, the current processing load amount of the ECU 3 is acquired, and it is determined whether or not it is less than or equal to the _proxyable processing load amount PL _th3 (40%) in the _proxyable processing load table.

In S201, when the processing load amount of the ECU 3 does not exceed the allowable processing load amount PL _th3 of the ECU 3 (YES), the proxy transmission availability determination means 13 of the ECU 1 determines that the ECU 3 can perform the proxy, and step 202 (S202). ), The proxy request transmission means 12 of the ECU 1 transmits a proxy request to the ECU 3.

On the other hand, in S201, when the processing load amount of the ECU 3 exceeds the proxy possible processing load amount PL _th3 of the ECU 3 (NO), the proxy transmission availability determination means 13 of the ECU 1 determines that the ECU 3 cannot perform the proxy, The same determination is sequentially performed on the substitute candidate devices ECU4 to ECUm. Finally, in step 203 (S203), the ECU 1 transmits a proxy command to any proxy candidate device ECUm.

  Subsequently, in step 40 (S40), the ECU 1 stops transmission / reception using the data transmission / reception execution / stop unit 11, and the sleep processing unit 15 starts sleep processing. Thereafter, in step 50 (S50), the ECU determined as the proxy device starts the proxy of the data transmission process to be performed by the ECU 1 by the proxy transmission means 21.

  In addition, when the proxy transmission availability determination unit 13 of the ECU 1 determines whether the proxy is possible based on the processing importance of the ECUs 2 to ECUm, the ECU 1 includes a proxyability processing importance table as shown in FIG. In the proxyable process importance degree table, the highest value of the process importance degree PI is stored for each of the ECUs 2 to ECUm.

  The process importance is the importance of the processes executed by the ECUs 2 to ECUm. For example, when the period detection process such as a sensor value that is estimated to be almost unchanged from the previous value is being executed, the process importance is low. For example, “1” is set. Further, when a process having execution forcing such as a hardware interrupt is being executed, the process importance is high, for example, “10” is set. It is not preferable to interrupt the higher the processing importance, and it is difficult to perform other processing.

  The proxyable process importance level table stores the maximum value of the process importance level that can be substituted by each ECU, and it is determined that the proxy can be performed when the current process content is equal to or lower than the value. The proxy transmission availability determination unit 13 of the ECU 1 acquires the importance of the processing currently being executed by the ECUs 2 to ECUm via the network 6 and determines the ECU to be substituted with reference to the proxyable processing importance table. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the processing having high importance from being interrupted.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing until the proxy transmission availability determination means 13 of the ECU 1 determines a proxy device based on the processing importance of the ECUs 2 to ECUm that are proxy candidate devices in the control device switching system 100. is there. In step 21 (S21), the proxy transmission availability determination means 13 of the ECU 1 acquires the processing importance of the ECU 2, and compares it with the value of the proxy possible processing importance table (FIG. 5). If the processing importance of ECU 2 acquired by ECU 1 does not exceed proxy processing importance PI _th2 in the proxy processing importance table (YES), the proxy transmission availability determination means 13 of ECU 1 is able to proxy Determine and proceed to S30.

On the other hand, in S21, when the processing importance of the ECU 2 exceeds the _proxyable process importance PI _th2 (NO), the proxy transmission availability determination means 13 of the ECU 1 determines that the ECU 2 is not proxyable, and step 211 ( The process proceeds to S211). In S211, the process importance level of the ECU 3 is acquired, and it is determined whether or not the proxy process importance level PI _{th3 is} equal to or less than the proxy process importance level table. In S211, when the process importance level of the ECU 3 does not exceed the proxy process importance level PI _th3 of the ECU 3 (YES), the proxy transmission availability determination means 13 of the ECU 1 determines that the ECU 3 can perform the proxy, and step 212 (S212) ), The proxy request transmission means 12 of the ECU 1 transmits a proxy request to the ECU 3.

On the other hand, in S211, when the process importance of the ECU 3 exceeds the proxy process importance PI _th3 of the ECU 3 (NO), the proxy transmission availability determination means 13 of the ECU 1 determines that the ECU 3 cannot perform the proxy. The same determination is sequentially performed on the proxy candidate devices ECU4 to ECUm. Finally, in step 213 (S213), the ECU 1 transmits a proxy command to the proxy candidate device ECUm. The subsequent processing is the same as that in FIG.

  Further, FIG. 7 shows a process until the substitute transmission availability determination unit 13 of the ECU 1 determines a substitute device based on the failure determination results of the substitute candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm in the control device switching system 100 according to the first embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process. In step 22 (S22), the proxy transmission availability determination unit 13 of the ECU 1 acquires a failure determination result of the ECU 2 via the network 6. When the failure determination result of the ECU 2 is “no failure” (YES), the proxy transmission availability determination means 13 of the ECU 1 determines that the ECU 2 can perform the proxy, and proceeds to S30.

  On the other hand, when the failure determination result of the ECU 2 is “failed” in S22 (NO), the proxy transmission availability determination means 13 of the ECU 1 determines that the ECU 2 is not proxyable, and proceeds to step 221 (S221). . In S221, the failure determination result of the ECU 3 is acquired, and when this is “no failure” (YES), the proxy transmission availability determination means 13 of the ECU 1 determines that the ECU 3 can perform the proxy, and in step 222 (S222) The proxy request transmission means 12 of the ECU 1 transmits a proxy request to the ECU 3.

  On the other hand, when the failure determination result of the ECU 3 is “failed” in S221 (NO), the proxy transmission availability determination means 13 of the ECU 1 determines that the ECU 3 cannot perform the proxy, and another proxy candidate device ECU4˜ The same determination is sequentially performed on the ECU m. Finally, in step 223 (S223), the ECU 1 transmits a proxy command to any proxy candidate device ECUm. The subsequent processing is the same as that in FIG.

  Further, when the ECU 2 to the ECU m determine whether the ECU 2 to the ECU m can perform the data transmission process, the proxy transmission availability determination unit 13 refers to the processing importance level of each ECU, and the ECU having the low process importance level. The determination may be made in order. That is, priority is given to the ECU that is performing highly important processing, and the ECU that is performing the less important processing is substituted for the ECU.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of the processing importance of each ECU that is a proxy candidate device. The proxy transmission availability determination means 13 includes a table storing the processing importance of each ECU as shown in FIG. 8, and determines whether or not the proxy candidate ECUs ECU2 to ECUm are in a proxyable state. The order is determined based on the processing importance of each ECU.

  While the vehicle is traveling, the importance of processing by the safety system ECU necessary for driving related to traveling, accident prevention, and the like is increased. Here, the ECU 5 is a body system ECU related to seat adjustment, light adjustment and the like, the ECU 4 is an information system ECU related to a navigation device or smartphone cooperation, the ECU 3 is an ADAS (Advanced Driving Assistant System), a safety system ECU related to an airbag, When the ECU 2 is a drive system ECU related to a motor and an engine, the importance is in the order shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, when the vehicle is stopped, it is expected that a body-type light, a keyless entry, or the like will be used. Therefore, the importance of the ECU 5 that is a body-type ECU becomes high. That is, while the vehicle is stopped, the importance of the ECU 5 increases and the importance of the ECU 2 that is the drive system ECU decreases.

  FIG. 9 shows a flow of processing until the proxy transmission availability determination means 13 of the ECU 1 determines a proxy device based on the processing importance of the ECUs 2 to ECUm in the control device switching system 100 according to the first embodiment. It is a flowchart. In FIG. 9, it is assumed that the vehicle is running, and the processing importance of each ECU is as shown in FIG.

  In step 23 (S23), the proxy transmission availability determination means 13 of the ECU 1 determines whether or not the ECU 5 having the lowest processing importance is in a proxyable state. As the determination criteria at this time, the processing load amount, processing importance, failure determination result, and the like of the ECU 5 described above are used. If it is determined in S23 that the ECU 5 can perform the substitution (YES), the process proceeds to step 31 (S31), and the substitution request transmitting means 12 of the ECU 1 transmits a substitution request to the ECU 5.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S23 that the ECU 5 cannot perform the substitution (NO), the process proceeds to step 231 (S231), where it is determined whether or not the ECU 4 having the next lowest processing importance can be substituted. If it is determined in S231 that the ECU 4 can perform the substitution (YES), the process proceeds to step 232 (S232), and the substitution request transmitting unit 12 transmits a substitution request to the ECU 4. If it is determined in S231 that the ECU 4 cannot be substituted, the ECU 3 having the next lowest processing importance is determined in the same manner. Finally, in step 233 (S233), the ECU 1 is the most important in processing. A proxy command is transmitted to the ECU 2 having a high degree.

  As described above, the substitute transmission availability determination unit 13 performs the proxy availability determination in consideration of the processing importance of the ECUs 2 to ECUm, thereby preventing the drive system ECU and the safety system ECU having high importance during the traveling from being substituted. Thus, the operation of the vehicle can be stabilized. In addition, by changing the order of determination by the proxy transmission permission / inhibition determination unit 13 during traveling and stopping, each of the ECUs 2 to ECUm can execute a desired operation for each scene.

  As described above, according to the control device switching system 100 according to the first embodiment, before the communication control device ECU1 enters the sleep state or the power-off state, the proxy transmission is permitted from the proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm. Since the substitution request is transmitted to the ECU that is determined to be able to be substituted by the determination means 13, the data transmission process that the ECU 1 should perform can be surely substituted.

  Further, as a determination criterion when the proxy transmission permission determination unit 13 of the ECU 1 determines a proxy device from the ECUs 2 to ECUm, the proxyable process load amount, the proxyable process importance level, or the failure determination result of each ECU is used. Furthermore, by performing the determination in the order considering the processing importance of each ECU during traveling or stopping, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of an abnormality in the network 6 or an abnormality in the behavior of the vehicle.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 10 shows a configuration of a control device switching system 100A according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 11 shows the configuration of proxy candidate apparatus ECU2 in the second embodiment. Note that the configuration of the communication control device ECU1 in the second embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment, and therefore FIG.

  In control device switching system 100A, proxy candidate devices ECU2-ECUm include proxy request transmission means 22 that is a second proxy request transmission means, and proxy transmission availability determination means 23 that is a second proxy transmission availability determination means. Yes. The proxy request transmission means 22 transmits a proxy request to proxy candidate devices other than itself that proxy the data transmission process. The proxy transmission availability determination unit 23 determines whether the data transmission process can be performed for the proxy candidate apparatus other than itself and the proxy candidate apparatus other than itself.

  Operations of ECU1 and ECU2 to ECUm in control device switching system 100A according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The ECU 2 that has received the proxy request 12a from the ECU 1 in which the sleep condition is satisfied starts the proxy for the data transmission process, and then determines whether or not the proxy transmission enable / disable determination unit 23 itself can proxy the data transmission process. judge. Note that, as the determination criterion by the proxy transmission availability determination unit 23, the proxyable process load amount and proxyable process importance of each ECU are used as in the first embodiment.

  When it is determined that the device is not in a proxyable state, the proxy transmission availability determination unit 23 performs proxy availability determination 23a for a proxy candidate device (ECU 3 in this case) other than itself. When it is determined that the ECU 3 can perform the substitution, the substitution request transmitting unit 22 of the ECU 2 transmits a substitution request 22 a to the ECU 3. The ECU 3 that has received the proxy request 22a from the ECU 2 starts proxying data transmission processing as the next proxy device.

  FIG. 12 shows the processing until the proxy transmission availability determination means 23 of the proxy device ECU 2 determines the next proxy device based on the processing load amount of the other proxy candidate devices ECU3 to ECUm in the control device switching system 100A. It is a flowchart which shows a flow. In FIG. 12, the proxyable processing load amount table referred to by the proxy transmission availability determination unit 23 is the same as that in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted (see FIG. 3).

In step 11 (S11), proxy device ECU2 starts proxy of communication control device ECU1. Subsequently, in step 24 (S24), the proxy transmission availability determination unit 23 of the ECU 2 acquires its own processing load amount PL _th2 and the value does not exceed the proxy processing load amount PL _th2 of the proxy processing load table. If yes (YES), the substitution is continued.

On the other hand, if the processing load amount of the ECU 2 exceeds the proxy processing load amount in S24 (NO), the proxy transmission availability determination means 23 of the ECU 2 determines that the proxy cannot be continued, and step 241 (S241) ) In S241, the proxy transmission availability determination unit 23 of the ECU 2 acquires the processing load amount of the ECU 3, and when the value does not exceed the proxy processing load amount PL _th3 of the proxy processing load table (YES), the ECU 3 performs the proxy processing. It determines that it is possible, and notifies the proxy request transmission means 22 to that effect.

  Subsequently, in step 242 (S242), the proxy request transmission means 22 of the ECU 2 transmits a proxy request 22a to the ECU 3. Thereafter, the ECU 2 stops the substitution in step 243 (S243), and the ECU 3 starts the substitution in step 244 (S244).

On the other hand, in S241, when the processing load amount of the ECU 3 exceeds the proxy processing load amount PL _th3 (NO), the proxy transmission availability determination means 23 of the ECU 2 determines that the ECU 3 cannot perform the proxy, and another proxy The same determination is sequentially performed on candidate devices ECU4 to ECUm. Eventually, in step 245 (S245), the ECU 2 transmits a proxy command to the proxy candidate device ECUm. In step 246 (S246), the ECU 2 stops the proxy, and in step 247 (S247), the ECU m starts the proxy. To do.

  Further, FIG. 13 illustrates the process until the proxy transmission availability determination unit 23 of the proxy device ECU 2 determines the next proxy device based on the processing importance of the other proxy candidate devices ECU3 to ECUm in the control device switching system 100A. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process. Note that the proxyable process importance level table referred to by the proxy transmission availability determination unit 23 in FIG. 13 is the same as that in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted (see FIG. 6).

In step 25 (S25), the ECU 2 that has started substituting the ECU 1 in S11 obtains its own processing importance PI _th2 in step 25 (S25), and the value is substituted in the proxy processing importance level table. If the possible process importance PI _th2 is not exceeded (YES), the proxy transmission is continued as it is.

On the other hand, in S25, when the process importance of ECU2 exceeds the processable process importance (NO), proxy transmission availability determination means 23 of ECU2 determines that the proxy transmission cannot be continued, and step 251 ( The process proceeds to S251). In S251, the proxy transmission availability determination unit 23 of the ECU 2 acquires the processing importance of the ECU 3, and when the value does not exceed the proxy processing importance PI _th3 of the proxy processing importance table (YES), the ECU 3 It is determined that the proxy is possible, and the proxy request transmission unit 22 is notified of that.

On the other hand, if the processing importance of the ECU 3 exceeds the _proxyable processing importance PI _th3 in S251 (NO), the proxy transmission availability determination unit 23 of the ECU 2 determines that the ECU 3 is not proxyable. Subsequent S252 to S257 are the same as S242 to S247 in FIG.

  FIG. 14 shows another configuration of the control device switching system according to the second embodiment. In the control device switching system 100B shown in FIG. 14, at least one of the substitute candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm (ECUm in FIG. 14) is used as a monitoring control device, and the communication control device ECU1 and the substitution candidate device ECU2 are used by this monitoring control device. -A failure of the ECU (m-1) is detected.

  The monitoring and control apparatus includes at least a failure determination unit, a proxy transmission continuation determination unit, and a third proxy request transmission unit (all not shown). The failure determination means determines whether or not the ECU 1 and ECU2 to ECU (m-1) have failed (denoted by 23b in FIG. 14). The proxy transmission continuation determination unit determines whether or not the proxy candidate device (ECU 2 in FIG. 14) that is performing the data transmission process can be continued based on the determination result of the failure determination unit. The third proxy request transmission means transmits a proxy request 22b for data transmission processing to the proxy candidate device (ECU 3 in FIG. 14) determined as having no failure by the failure determination means.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing until the next proxy device is determined based on the failure determination result by the monitoring control device ECUm in the control device switching system 100B. In step 26 (S26), the failure determination means of the monitoring control device ECUm determines whether or not there is a failure in the substitute device ECU2, and if it is determined that there is no failure (YES), the substitute transmission continuation determination means of the ECUm is substituted by the ECU2. The ECU 2 continues the proxy transmission as it is.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S26 that the ECU 2 has a failure (NO), the proxy transmission continuation determination unit of the ECU m determines that the proxy cannot be continued by the ECU 2, and the process proceeds to step 261 (S261). In S261, when the failure determination unit of ECUm determines whether or not there is a failure in ECU3 and determines that there is no failure (YES), in step 262 (S262), the third substitute request transmission unit of ECUm sends The proxy request 22b is transmitted. Thereafter, the ECU 2 stops the substitution at step 263 (S243), and the ECU 3 starts the substitution at step 264 (S264).

  On the other hand, when it is determined in S261 that the ECU 3 has a failure (NO), the ECU m sequentially performs the same failure determination on the next substitute candidate devices ECU4 to ECU (m-1). Finally, in step 265 (S265), the ECU m transmits a proxy command to the proxy candidate device ECU (m-1). In step 266 (S266), the ECU 2 stops the proxy, and in step 267 (S267). ECU (m-1) starts substitution.

  According to the control device switching system 100A according to the second embodiment, in addition to the same effects as those of the first embodiment, each of the proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm sets the proxy request transmission means 22 and the proxy transmission availability determination means 23. Therefore, when the substitution device cannot continue the substitution of the data transmission process, the next substitution device can be determined without going through the ECU 1 in the sleep state, and the reliability of the system is improved. To do. Furthermore, by providing a monitoring control device ECUm and detecting a failure of the ECU2 to ECU (m-1), it is possible to detect a failure of the substitute device at an early stage and to substitute a substitute candidate device having the failure. Can be prevented.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
FIG. 16 shows the configuration of a control device switching system 100C according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. FIG. 17 (a) shows the configuration of the communication control device ECU1, and FIG. 17 (b) shows the configuration of the proxy candidate device ECU2. Since the other proxy candidate devices ECU3 to ECUm have the same configuration as ECU2, illustration and description thereof are omitted.

  The communication control unit ECU1 according to the third embodiment includes a data transmission / reception execution / stop unit 11, a substitute request transmission unit 12, a sleep condition establishment determination unit 14, a sleep processing unit 15, and a wake processing unit 16. Moreover, the temporary storage apparatus 7 (FIG. 18) which accumulate | stores temporarily the determination result by 23 A of substitute request | requirement transmission transmitted from ECU2-ECUm is provided. On the other hand, the proxy transmission availability determination unit 13 provided in the ECU 1 in the first and second embodiments is not provided.

  The proxy request transmitting means 12 transmits a temporary proxy request to all the proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm all at once before the ECU 1 stops the data transmission processing, and also performs a proxy transmission candidate device that performs the data transmission processing (FIG. 16). Then, this proxy request is transmitted to the ECU 2).

  Further, proxy candidate apparatus ECU2 in the present third embodiment includes proxy transmission means 21, proxy request transmission means 22A that is a third proxy request transmission means, and proxy transmission propriety determination that is a third proxy transmission permission determination means. Means 23A are provided. The proxy transmission availability determination unit 23 </ b> A determines whether or not the proxy transmission permission determination unit 23 </ b> A is in a state where it can proxy the data transmission process when receiving a temporary proxy request from the ECU 1. The proxy request transmission unit 22A transmits a proxy request to proxy candidate devices other than itself that proxy the data transmission process. The proxy transmission unit 21 performs a data transmission processing proxy when receiving the proxy request from the ECU 1.

  Operations of ECU1 and ECU2 to ECUm in control device switching system 100C according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. When the sleep condition is established by its own timer process or the like, the ECU 1 transmits the temporary proxy request 12a to all the proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm all at once by the proxy request transmitting unit 12 before stopping the data transmission process. To do.

  The ECUs 2 to ECUm that have received the provisional proxy request 12a from the ECU 1 determine whether or not the proxy transmission enable / disable determining unit 23A can perform the data transmission process, and if it is determined that the proxy can be used, The determination result 23c is transmitted to the ECU 1. Note that, as the determination criterion by the proxy transmission availability determination unit 23A, the proxyable process load amount and proxyable process importance of each ECU are used as in the first embodiment. The ECU 1 stores the determination results transmitted from the ECUs 2 to ECUm in the temporary storage device 7.

  The ECU 1 determines a proxy candidate device to perform the data transmission process on the basis of the determination result 23c transmitted from the ECUs 2 to ECUm (ECU2 in FIG. 16), and sends the proxy request 12b from the proxy request transmission means 12 to the ECU2. Send. The proxy transmission means 21 of the ECU 2 receives the proxy request 12b from the ECU 1 and starts a proxy for data transmission processing.

  The temporary storage device 7 uses a proxyable ECU queue as shown in FIG. The substitutable ECU queue is a list in which the substitutable ECUs 2 to ECUm register their own identification information. The proxyable ECU queue may be shared not only by the ECU 1 but also by the ECUs 2 to ECUm. Thereby, in the control device switching system 100A according to the second embodiment, the proxyable ECU queue can be used when the proxy device determines the next proxy device.

  The proxyable ECU queue is a priority-added queue that accumulates proxy candidate devices that are determined to be proxyable as a result of the determination by the proxy transmission availability determination unit 23A in order of increasing processing importance. In FIG. 18, the processing importance is low in the order of ECU2, ECU4,. The proxy request transmission means 12 of the ECU 1 transmits the proxy request 12b in the order in which they are stored in the proxy possible ECU queue. In this way, the ECU having the low process importance is stored in the queue, and the proxy request 12b is transmitted in that order, so that the ECU having the low process importance is selected as the proxy device, and the process having the high importance is performed. The possibility of using the ECU as a substitute device is reduced.

  FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing in which the ECU 1 determines a substitute device from the ECUs 2 to ECUm in the control device switching system 100C according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. First, in S10, when the sleep condition of the ECU 1 is satisfied (YES), in step 32 (S32), the proxy request transmission unit 12 of the ECU 1 transmits the temporary proxy request 12a to the ECUs 2 to ECUm all at once.

  Subsequently, in step 33 (S33), the ECUs 2 to ECUm that have received the provisional substitution request 12a determine whether or not the substitution is possible by their substitution transmission availability determination means 23A, and it is determined that substitution is possible. The ECU registers its own identification number in the proxyable ECU queue. In step 34 (S34), the ECU 1 refers to the proxyable ECU queue and determines whether or not there is accumulation in the queue.

  If there is an accumulation in S34 (YES), the process proceeds to step 35 (S35), and the substitution request transmission means 12 of the ECU 1 transmits the substitution request 12b to the ECU 2 that is first accumulated in the substitution possible ECU queue, The sleep processing means 15 is notified and sleep is started. Subsequently, in step 36 (S36), the ECU 2 starts substitution, and proceeds to step 37 (S37). On the other hand, if there is no accumulation in S34 (NO), the process proceeds to step 341 (S341), waits until there is accumulation, and if there is no accumulation more than 10 times (YES), it is not assumed that there is no ECU to substitute. .

  In S <b> 37, the ECU 2 serving as the proxy device determines whether or not the proxy transmission possibility determination unit 23 </ b> A is in a proxyable state, and if it is determined that proxy is possible (YES), the proxy is continued as it is. . On the other hand, when it is determined that substitution is not possible (NO), the process proceeds to step 38 (S38), and the substitution possible ECU queue is referred to.

  In S38, when there is accumulation in the queue (YES), the substitution request transmission means 22A of the ECU 2 transmits a substitution request to the ECU 4 accumulated in the substitution possible ECU queue. Subsequently, in step 39 (S39), the ECU 4 that has received the proxy request starts the proxy, and the ECU 2 stops the proxy. On the other hand, when there is no accumulation in S38 (NO), S37 and S38 are repeated, and it waits for a proxyable ECU to register in the queue.

  In FIG. 19, in S341, the number of times the queue is confirmed is set to 10 times. However, when the ECU 1 sleep condition is satisfied and the real-time property of the microcomputer is within the guaranteed time, the queue is checked after the 11th time. Confirmation can be performed. Further, in the third embodiment, the proxyable ECU queue is a priority-added queue that accumulates in ascending order of processing importance of the ECU. However, a queue that accumulates in the order of registration may be used.

  According to the third embodiment, before the communication control device ECU1 enters the sleep state or the power-off state, the temporary substitution request 12a is transmitted to all the substitution candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm all at once, and the substitution transmission propriety determination is made. Since the proxy request 12b is transmitted to the proxy candidate device that is determined to be proxyable by the means 23A, the data transmission processing to be performed by the communication control device can be performed reliably.

  Moreover, it is not necessary to mount a special proxy transmission permission / non-permission determining unit in the ECU 1 and the number of processes by the ECU 1 can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the time for entering the sleep state after the sleep condition is established. Further, as the temporary storage device 7 for storing the substitute determination result by each of the ECUs 2 to ECUm, the priority queue that accumulates in order from the ECU having the lowest process importance is used so that the ECU that performs the process having the higher importance performs the substitute device. And the possibility of giving an abnormality to the operation of the vehicle is reduced.

Embodiment 4 FIG.
FIG. 20 shows a configuration of proxy candidate apparatus ECU2 in the fourth embodiment of the present invention. Since the other proxy candidate devices ECU3 to ECUm have the same configuration as ECU2, illustration and description thereof are omitted. Note that the configuration of the communication control unit ECU1 in the fourth embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment, so FIG.

  The proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm in the fourth embodiment include a storage device 24 that is storage means for accumulating data received from the communication control device ECU1 at a predetermined time and its own internal variable, and proxy candidates at the predetermined time. A proxy data deriving unit 25 is provided for deriving transmission data when the proxy candidate device performs the data transmission process by comparing the internal variable of the device with the received data.

  The storage device 24 stores data until the communication control device ECU1 stops transmission / reception due to sleep. Data stored in the storage device 24 is data received from the ECU 1 and data of internal variables such as global variables held by the ECU 1 at that time. The period etc. to store are determined from the margin of the processing load of each of the proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm. The substitute data deriving unit 25 derives the correlation between the history of the received data of the corresponding ECU 1 and the global variable from the data stored in the storage device 24, and determines the transmission data that it substitutes according to this correlation. Thereby, the transmission data substituted by the substitution candidate device is adapted to the data transmitted by the ECU 1.

  FIG. 21 is a table stored in the storage device 24 of the proxy device ECU 3, where (a) is data received from the normal ECU 1 and the internal variable B of the ECU 3 at that time, and (b) is transmitted by the ECU 3 during proxy. The data and the internal variable B of the ECU 3 at that time are shown. Normally, the ECU 3 stores data received from the ECU 1 at a predetermined time (ECU 1 signal A) and the internal variable B of the ECU 3 at that time, and creates a table of the signal A corresponding to the variable B. At the time of substitution, substitution data deriving means 25 derives transmission data (ECU3 signal A) to be transmitted from the substitution apparatus based on the received data from ECU 1 and its own internal variable at that time.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 21A, at time t1, the signal of ECU1 is A1 and variable B of ECU3 is B1, and at time t2, the signal of ECU1 is A2, and variable B of ECU3 is B2, time At t3, the signal of the ECU 1 is A3, the variable B of the ECU 3 is B3. Here, when the signal A of the ECU 1 and the variable B of the ECU 3 are in a one-to-one relationship, the data signal transmitted by the ECU 3 at the time of substitution is as shown in FIG. That is, when the variable B of the ECU 3 is B3 at the time tn, the transmission data signal represented by the ECU 3 is A3. When the variable B of the ECU 3 is B1 at the time tn + 1, the transmission data signal represented by the ECU 3 is represented. Becomes A1.

  In the example shown in FIG. 21, the case where there is a one-to-one relationship between the history of the output data of the ECU 1 corresponding to the data to be output by the ECU 3 and the internal variables of the ECU at that time has been described as an example. The data derivation method by the proxy data derivation means 25 is not limited to this, and any means that can correlate both data may be used. For example, when the value of the signal A with respect to the variable B is sequentially different, a method of averaging the value of the signal A corresponding to a certain variable B1 or a statistical method may be used.

  According to the fourth embodiment, the proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm include the proxy data deriving unit 25, so that the proxy device can output a value close to the data that the communication control device ECU1 should originally transmit, When other ECUs receive the data, the data fluctuates within a predetermined range, so that it is difficult to detect a network abnormality. Moreover, when there exists ECU which performs processes, such as a calculation, using this data, the influence which it has on those calculation results can be made small.

Embodiment 5 FIG.
FIG. 22 shows a configuration of proxy candidate apparatus ECU2 in the fifth embodiment of the present invention. Since the other proxy candidate devices ECU3 to ECUm have the same configuration as ECU2, illustration and description thereof are omitted. Note that the configuration of the communication control unit ECU1 in the fifth embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment, and therefore FIG.

  The proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm in the fifth embodiment include unnecessary data determination means (not shown) for determining data that is not required to be transmitted at a predetermined time, and unnecessary data determination when the proxy candidate device performs a data transmission process. And a data adjustment means 26 for thinning out the transmission data and adjusting the content of the transmission data based on the determination result by the means.

  FIG. 23 is a time chart showing changes of the ECU 1 before and after the sleep condition is established, regarding the data transmission processing of the communication control unit ECU1 and the substitute device ECU3. In FIG. 23, the horizontal axis indicates time, and the time t1 indicates when the sleep condition of the ECU 1 is established. “Transmission 1” is a data transmission process for ECUs other than ECU1, “Transmission 2” is a data transmission process for ECU1, and “Transmission 3” is a data transmission process for ECUs other than ECU3.

  When the sleep condition of the ECU 1 is established at the time t1, the unnecessary data determining means of the ECU 3 that has received the proxy request and becomes the proxy device does not need the data transmission process toward the ECU 1, “Transmission 2” in FIG. Is determined. The data adjustment unit 26 of the ECU 3 receives the substitution request from the ECU 1 and then stops the “transmission 2” based on the determination result by the unnecessary data determination unit, thereby reducing the “transmission 1” that the ECU 1 should perform originally. Assign to.

  Due to the transmission data reduction and assignment function by the data adjusting means 26, the amount of data that the ECU2 to ECUm receives from the ECU1 (the amount of data to be transmitted by the proxy device) is transmitted from the ECU2 to the ECUm toward the ECU1. If the amount of data is less than or equal to the amount of data, the amount of data to be transmitted when the ECUs 2 to ECUm become proxy devices before and after the ECU 1 goes to sleep is unchanged or decreased.

  According to the fifth embodiment, the proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm include the data adjusting unit 26, so that the data transmission process of the communication control device ECU1 can be performed without affecting the control cycle of the proxy device. Is possible. As a result, an increase in the processing load of the proxy device can be suppressed, and a situation where the processing load of the proxy device does not fall within a predetermined control cycle and the real-time property of the system is lost can be prevented.

Embodiment 6 FIG.
FIG. 24 shows a configuration of proxy candidate apparatus ECU2 in the sixth embodiment of the present invention. Since the other proxy candidate devices ECU3 to ECUm have the same configuration as ECU2, illustration and description thereof are omitted. Note that the configuration of the communication control unit ECU1 in the sixth embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment, and therefore FIG. 2A is used.

  The proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm in the sixth embodiment are provided with a control cycle adjusting unit 27 that adjusts its own control cycle, and when receiving a proxy request from the ECU 1, the control cycle adjusting unit 27 sets its own control cycle. It will be longer than normal.

  FIG. 25 is a time chart showing changes of the ECU 1 before and after the sleep condition is established, regarding the data transmission processing of the communication control unit ECU1 and the substitute device ECU3. In FIG. 25, the horizontal axis indicates time, and the time t1 indicates when the sleep condition of the ECU 1 is established. “Transmission 1” is a data transmission process for an ECU other than the ECU 1, and “Transmission 3” is a data transmission process for an ECU other than the ECU 3. Here, the transmission process is a data transmission process assigned as a substitute device for the ECU 1. is there.

  When the sleep condition of the ECU 1 is established at time t1, the control cycle adjusting means 27 of the ECU 3 that has received the proxy request and becomes the proxy device changes its own control cycle to a processing cycle 2 longer than the normal processing cycle 1. . At that time, the control cycle 2 is set so that the data transmission process to be performed by the ECU 1 can be performed in addition to the normal calculation process of the ECU 3. Accordingly, even when the ECU 1 performs the data transmission process that should be originally performed, the process can be completed within the control cycle 2.

  According to the sixth embodiment, since the proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm include the control cycle adjusting means 27, the control cycle can be lengthened when the proxy device becomes a proxy device. It is possible to complete the arithmetic processing that should be originally performed within the period and the data transmission processing as the substitute device. In addition, when there is a margin in the processing load, the idle time within the control cycle is increased by increasing the control cycle, so that power consumption can be reduced.

Embodiment 7 FIG.
FIG. 26 shows a configuration of proxy candidate apparatus ECU2 in the seventh embodiment of the present invention. Since the other proxy candidate devices ECU3 to ECUm have the same configuration as ECU2, illustration and description thereof are omitted. Note that the configuration of the communication control unit ECU1 in the seventh embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment, and therefore FIG. 2A is used.

  The proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm in the seventh embodiment include clock frequency adjusting means 28 that adjusts the operation clock frequency of the substitute candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm when detecting that the ECU 1 enters the sleep state. The proxy candidate device, when receiving a proxy request from the ECU 1, causes the clock frequency adjusting unit 28 to reduce its own clock frequency from the normal time.

  FIG. 27 is a time chart showing changes before and after the sleep condition of ECU 1 is established, regarding the data transmission process of proxy device ECU 3. In FIG. 27, the horizontal axis indicates time, and the time t1 indicates when the sleep condition of the ECU 1 is established. “Transmission 3” is a data transmission process for ECUs other than the ECU 3, and here is a data transmission process assigned as a substitute device for the ECU 1.

  When the sleep condition of the ECU 1 is established at the time t1, the clock frequency adjusting means 28 of the ECU 3 that has received the proxy request and becomes the proxy device makes the clock frequency lower than the normal time, for example, by half, before the time t1. By reducing the clock frequency, the time required for processing increases. When the clock frequency of the ECU 3 is lowered, the clock frequency is set within the normal processing cycle 1 so that the data transmission processing to be performed by the ECU 1 can be performed in addition to the normal arithmetic processing of the ECU 3.

  According to the seventh embodiment, the proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm include the clock frequency adjusting means 28, so that when the proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm become the proxy device, the power consumption increases due to the reduction of the idle time. The power consumption can be reduced by the reduction, and the increase in the overall power consumption can be suppressed.

Embodiment 8 FIG.
FIG. 28 shows a configuration of proxy candidate apparatus ECU2 in the eighth embodiment of the present invention. Since the other proxy candidate devices ECU3 to ECUm have the same configuration as ECU2, illustration and description thereof are omitted. Note that the configuration of the communication control unit ECU1 in the eighth embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment, and therefore FIG. 2A is used.

  The proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm in the eighth embodiment are provided with the data synchronization means 29, and can start the data transmission process in the next data transmission control cycle when the proxy request is received from the ECU1.

  FIG. 29 is a time chart showing changes in the data transmission / reception signals of the communication control device ECU1 and the proxy device ECU3 before and after the sleep condition of the ECU1 is established. In FIG. 29, the horizontal axis indicates time, and the time t1 indicates when the sleep condition of the ECU 1 is established.

  When the sleep condition of the ECU 1 is established at the time t1, the ECU 3 receives the substitution request at the reception cycle (s1) at the time t2 after the t1. The data synchronization means 29 of the ECU 3 that has become a proxy device by receiving the proxy request starts the proxy at the transmission cycle (s2) at time t3 immediately after the reception cycle (s1). That is, after receiving the proxy request, data transmission processing is performed as a proxy for the ECU 1 in the first transmission cycle.

  According to the eighth embodiment, since the proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm include the data synchronization means 29, it is possible to shorten the time from the stop of the communication of the communication control device to the start of the proxy by the proxy device. Can be prevented.

Embodiment 9 FIG.
FIG. 30 shows the configuration of communication control unit ECU1 in the ninth embodiment of the present invention. Further, the configuration of proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm in the ninth embodiment is the same as that in the eighth embodiment, and thus illustration and description thereof are omitted.

  The communication control unit ECU1 according to the ninth embodiment includes a proxy stop request transmission unit 17 that causes the proxy device to stop the data transmission process. When the ECU 1 returns from the sleep state and resumes the data transmission process, the substitution stop request transmission unit 17 transmits a substitution stop request to the substitution device. The proxy device that has received the proxy stop request stops the data transmission process.

  FIG. 31 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when the ECU 1 of the control device switching system according to the ninth embodiment stops the proxy device ECU 3 from performing the proxy. In step 12 (S12), if the ECU 1 in the sleep state is released from the sleep state and the condition for enabling the data transmission process is satisfied (YES), the process proceeds to step 121 (S121), and the substitute stop request transmission means of the ECU 1 17 transmits a proxy stop request to the proxy transmission means 21 of the ECU 3.

  Subsequently, in step 122 (S122), the ECU 1 resumes data transmission / reception by the data transmission / reception execution / stop unit 11, and in step 123 (S123), the proxy transmission unit 21 of the ECU 3 performs proxy in response to the proxy stop request. Stop data transmission.

  According to the ninth embodiment, the communication control device ECU1 includes the substitution stop request transmission unit 17, whereby the substitution by the substitution device can be stopped when the ECU1 resumes the data transmission process, and the ECU1 transmits. It is possible to prevent the proxy device from overwriting data.

Embodiment 10 FIG.
FIG. 32A shows the configuration of communication control unit ECU1 in the tenth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 32B shows the configuration of proxy candidate unit ECU2. Since the other proxy candidate devices ECU3 to ECUm have the same configuration as ECU2, illustration and description thereof are omitted.

  The communication control unit ECU1 in the tenth embodiment includes a wake timer setting unit 18 and a timer interrupt wake unit 19 as functions for managing the substitution of the substitution device by time. In addition, the proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm include a wake timer count unit 30 that is a restart time measurement unit.

  The wake timer setting means 18 mounted on the ECU 1 sets the value of the wake timer, which is the restart time from when the ECU 1 starts sleep until the data transmission process can be resumed, according to the sleep condition. For example, a time required for rewriting the ROM of the microcomputer is set in the wake timer. At the time of ROM rewriting, the transmission / reception processing of the microcomputer stops for a certain period of time. However, since the time required for rewriting can be predicted, when the predicted time is set by the wake timer setting means 18, it can be restored as soon as the rewriting is completed.

  The timer interrupt wake unit 19 restarts the data transmission process of the ECU 1 after a predetermined restart time set by the wake timer setting unit 18. The ECU 1 transmits the proxy request and the restart time to the proxy candidate device. After the restart time set by the wake timer setting unit 18 elapses, the ECU 1 wakes up by the timer interrupt wake unit 19 and restarts the data transmission process. Note that the timer interrupt wake means 19 is performed by an interrupt by, for example, an externally mounted timer interrupt hardware.

  On the other hand, the proxy device receives the proxy request and starts proxying the data transmission process. At the same time, the proxy device measures time by the wake timer count unit 30 and stops the proxy of the data transmission process after a predetermined restart time. The wake timer counting means 30 is mounted on the proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm, starts counting up after the proxy device receives the proxy request, and stops the proxy when counting to the value set by the wake timer setting means 18 .

FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing in which the ECU 1 of the control device switching system according to the tenth embodiment manages the substitution of the substitution device ECU 3 by time. In S10, the ECU 1 determines whether or not the sleep condition is satisfied by the sleep condition establishment determining means 14, and if the sleep condition is satisfied (YES), the process proceeds to step 101 (S101), and the wake timer setting means is established. 18 sets a wake timer value WT _th3 suitable for the sleep condition. The wake timer setting unit 18 notifies the proxy request transmission unit 12 that the setting has been completed. In S10, if the sleep condition is not satisfied, the process related to the substitution is not performed.

Subsequently, in step 102 (S102), the substitute request transmitting unit 12 transmits the substitute request and the wake timer value to the ECU 3 serving as a substitute device. In step 102 (S103), the ECU 1 starts time counting until wake-up by the time counting function of the timer interrupt wake means 19, and the ECU 3 starts substitution. Subsequently, at step 104 (S104), the ECU 3 that has started the proxy counts up to the set value of the wake timer WT _th3 by the wake timer count means 30.

In S104, if the wake timer count value <WT _th3 (YES), the count-up is continued as it is, and if the wake timer count value ≧ WT _th3 (NO), the process proceeds to step 105 (S105). In S <b> 105, the ECU 3 stops the substitution by the substitution transmission unit 21. In synchronism with this, the ECU 1 wakes up by the timer interrupt wake means 19 and resumes the data transmission process.

  The value set by the wake timer setting means 18 is a time obtained by adding the time until the ECU 3 receives the proxy request and the time from when the ECU 1 stops the data transmission process due to the start of sleep to when it is restarted. By doing so, the time lag between the restart of transmission of the ECU 1 and the proxy stop of the ECU 3 can be reduced.

  According to the tenth embodiment, the communication control device ECU1 includes the wake timer setting unit 18 and the timer interrupt wake unit 19, and the proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm include the wake timer count unit 30, so that the ECU 1 cancels sleep. However, when restarting the data transmission process, it is not necessary to transmit a proxy stop request to the proxy device, and the normal data transmission process can be restarted immediately.

Embodiment 11 FIG.
FIG. 34 shows a configuration of proxy candidate apparatus ECU2 in the eleventh embodiment of the present invention. Since the other proxy candidate devices ECU3 to ECUm have the same configuration as ECU2, illustration and description thereof are omitted. In addition, since the structure of communication control apparatus ECU1 in this Embodiment 11 is the same as that of the said Embodiment 1, FIG. 2 (a) is diverted.

  The proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm in the eleventh embodiment are provided with data communication cycle adjusting means 31 for adjusting their own data transmission cycle, and when receiving a proxy request from the communication control device ECU1, the data communication cycle adjusting means 31. Thus, the data transmission cycle is made shorter than usual.

  A method for adjusting the data transmission cycle will be described. When it is assumed that the transmission cycle of the communication control device ECU1 and the substitute device is the same 200 msec, and the transmission timing of the substitute device is 50 msec later than the transmission timing of the ECU1, it is necessary to make the send timing of the substitute device 50 msec earlier than normal. is there. In order to speed up by 50 msec, it is necessary to set the transmission cycle to 150 msec or less, and the transmission cycle may be multiplied by 150/200 = 0.75. However, the method for adjusting the data transmission cycle is not limited to this.

  FIG. 35 is a time chart showing changes before and after the sleep condition of ECU 1 is established with respect to data transmission / reception signals of communication control device ECU 1 and proxy device ECU 3. 35A is an NG example in which the cycle adjustment by the data communication cycle adjusting unit 31 is not performed, and FIG. 35B is an OK example in which the cycle adjustment by the data communication cycle adjusting unit 31 is performed. In FIG. 35, the horizontal axis indicates time, and time t1 indicates when the sleep condition of the ECU 1 is established.

  In FIG. 35 (a), when the sleep condition of the ECU 1 is established at time t1, the ECU 3 receives the proxy request at the reception cycle (s1) after time t1. Since the ECU 3 that has become the proxy device by receiving the proxy request is a normal cycle, the ECU 3 performs data transmission including data transmission processing as a proxy of the ECU 1 in the next transmission cycle (s2) at time t4. In this case, it becomes later than the time t3 of the original transmission cycle (s3) of the ECU 1, and a delay time (Δt) occurs.

  As in this example, depending on the data transmission cycle offset between the ECU 1 and the ECU 3, the ECU 3 cannot transmit data at the time t3 when the ECU 1 should originally transmit data. is there.

  On the other hand, in FIG. 35 (b), the surrogate device ECU3 that has received the surrogate request in the reception cycle (s1) after the time t1 when the sleep condition of the ECU1 is established at the time t1, The transmission cycle is set to, for example, a half cycle shorter than the normal time. Thereby, data transmission including data transmission processing as a substitute for the ECU 1 can be performed in the next transmission cycle (s2) at time t2, and the time t3 of the original transmission cycle (s3) of the ECU 1 is in time.

  According to the eleventh embodiment, the proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm include the data communication cycle adjusting means 31, so that the timing of the data transmission processing by the proxy device is in time for the time originally transmitted by the communication control device ECU1. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a network abnormality.

Embodiment 12 FIG.
FIG. 36 shows a configuration of proxy candidate apparatus ECU2 in the twelfth embodiment of the present invention. Since the other proxy candidate devices ECU3 to ECUm have the same configuration as ECU2, illustration and description thereof are omitted. Note that the configuration of the communication control unit ECU1 in the twelfth embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment, and therefore FIG.

  In addition to the data communication cycle adjusting means 31 described in the eleventh embodiment, the proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm in the twelfth embodiment are further adapted to the vehicle situation predicted to stop the data transmission process by the communication control device ECU1. The vehicle situation detection means 32 for detecting the vehicle surrounding situation is provided. When the vehicle situation detection unit 32 detects a vehicle situation in which the ECU 1 is predicted to stop the data transmission process, the ECU 2 to the ECU m make the data transmission cycle shorter than the normal time by the data communication cycle adjustment unit 31. Is.

  A vehicle situation detected by the vehicle situation detection means 32 will be described. For example, in the case of a chassis system ECU or the like that enters the sleep state while the ECU 1 is idling, the vehicle state detection means 32 detects the deceleration of the vehicle speed that appears before the idling state is entered. Further, in the case of a body system ECU or the like that enters the sleep state while the ECU 1 is traveling, the vehicle state detection means 32 detects an increase in the vehicle speed that appears before the vehicle stops from the stopped state.

  FIG. 37 is a time chart showing changes before and after the sleep condition of ECU 1 is established with respect to the data transmission / reception signals of communication control device ECU 1 and proxy device ECU 3. In FIG. 37, the horizontal axis indicates time, and time t1 indicates when the sleep condition of the ECU 1 is established. The ECU 3 receives data for predicting the sleep of the ECU 1 from the vehicle state detection means 32 in the data reception cycle (s0) at time t0. The ECU 3 that has received the sleep prediction data causes the data communication cycle adjusting unit 31 to set the data reception and data transmission cycle to, for example, a 1/2 cycle shorter than the normal time.

  Thereby, the substitution request of ECU1 can be received and the substitution can be started at the reception cycle (s1) which is earlier than the normal cycle. Furthermore, data transmission including data transmission processing as a substitute for the ECU 1 can be performed in the next transmission cycle (s2) at time t2, and the time t3 of the original transmission cycle (s3) of the ECU 1 is in time.

  Further, the data communication cycle adjusting means 31 can not only shorten the data communication cycle but also lengthen it. The data communication cycle adjusting means 31 restores the data transmission cycle, which is shorter than normal, after the proxy candidate device starts proxying the data transmission process.

  FIG. 38 is a time chart showing changes before and after the sleep condition of ECU 1 is established with respect to the data transmission / reception signals of communication control device ECU 1 and proxy device ECU 3. In FIG. 38, the horizontal axis indicates time, and time t1 indicates when the sleep condition of the ECU 1 is established. The ECU 3 that receives the substitution request from the ECU 1 at the reception cycle (s1) and starts the substitution uses the data communication cycle adjustment unit 31 to set the data transmission cycle to ½ of the normal cycle. Thereafter, at time t5 when the predetermined number of data transmission cycles have elapsed, the data transmission cycle is returned to the normal cycle.

  When the ECU 3 makes the data transmission cycle shorter than the normal cycle by the data communication cycle adjusting means 31, if the state continues even after the substitution is started, the load of data transmission / reception of the ECU 3 increases, and overall The processing load increases. By returning the data transmission cycle after a predetermined cycle, it is possible to suppress an increase in the processing load on the ECU 3 when performing proxy transmission.

  According to the twelfth embodiment, the proxy candidate devices ECU2 to ECUm are provided with the data communication cycle adjusting means 31 and the vehicle status detecting means 32, so that the data transmission process is started as a proxy device after receiving the proxy request. The network time can be further shortened, and the occurrence of a network abnormality can be prevented. It should be noted that the present invention can be freely combined with each other within the scope of the invention, and each embodiment can be appropriately modified or omitted.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used as a control device switching system that switches control devices that perform communication with respect to a plurality of control devices that are mounted on a vehicle and connected via a common communication line.

1 ECU (communication control device), 2, 3, 4, 5 ECU (substitute candidate device),
6 network, 7 temporary storage device, 11 data transmission / reception execution / stop means,
12 proxy request transmission means, 13 proxy transmission availability determination means,
14 sleep condition establishment determination means, 15 sleep processing means, 16 wake processing means, 17 proxy stop request transmission means, 18 wake timer setting means,
19 timer interrupt wake means, 21 proxy transmission means,
22, 22A proxy request transmission means, 23, 23A proxy transmission availability determination means,
24 storage device, 25 proxy data deriving means, 26 data adjusting means,
27 control cycle adjusting means, 28 clock frequency adjusting means, 29 data synchronizing means,
30 wake timer counting means, 31 data communication cycle adjusting means,
32 vehicle status detection means,
100, 100A, 100B, 100C, control device switching system

Claims (15)

A plurality of control devices mounted on a vehicle are connected to each other via a common communication line, and the control device transmits / receives data to / from the control devices other than itself, and the communication control device Including a plurality of proxy candidate devices that can perform the data transmission processing to be performed by
The communication control device is in a state in which data transmission / reception execution / stop means for stopping transmission / reception of data when a condition for its sleep processing or power-off is satisfied, and the data transmission processing can be performed for each of the proxy candidate devices. A proxy transmission availability determination unit that determines whether or not and a proxy request transmission unit that transmits a proxy request to the proxy candidate device that performs the data transmission process, and when a condition for own sleep processing or power shutdown is satisfied Determining the proxy candidate device to perform the data transmission processing based on the determination result by the proxy transmission availability determination unit, and transmitting the proxy request from the proxy request transmission unit to the proxy candidate device, and then the data The data transmission process is stopped by the transmission / reception execution / stop unit,
The proxy candidate device includes a proxy transmission unit that performs the proxy of the data transmission process, and the proxy transmission unit performs the data transmission process when a proxy request is received from the communication control device. Control device switching system.   The proxy transmission availability determination unit determines whether or not the proxy candidate device is in a state in which the data transmission process can be proxy based on a processing load amount of the proxy candidate device. Control device switching system.   2. The proxy transmission availability determination unit according to claim 1, wherein the proxy candidate device determines whether or not the proxy candidate device can perform the data transmission processing based on a processing importance level of the proxy candidate device. Control device switching system.   The proxy transmission availability determination unit determines whether the proxy candidate device is in a state in which the data transmission process can be performed based on a failure determination result of the proxy candidate device. Control device switching system.   The proxy transmission availability determination means refers to the processing importance of each of the proxy candidate devices when determining whether the proxy candidate device is in a state capable of performing the data transmission processing, and the processing importance is low. The control device switching system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the determination is performed in order from the proxy candidate device. The proxy candidate device determines whether or not the data transmission process can be performed for the proxy candidate device other than itself and the proxy candidate device other than itself based on the processing importance of the proxy candidate device. And a second proxy request transmitting means for transmitting a proxy request to the proxy candidate device other than itself that proxy the data transmission process,
If the proxy candidate device that has started proxying the data transmission process determines that the second proxy transmission enable / disable determining unit itself is not in a state capable of proxying the data transmission process, the second proxy transmission device A proxy request is transmitted from the second proxy request transmitting unit to the proxy candidate device other than itself determined to be in a state in which the data transmission process can be proxyed by a transmission permission determination unit. The control device switching system according to claim 1. The control device includes a monitoring control device that detects a failure of the communication control device and the proxy candidate device,
The monitoring control device determines whether failure of the communication control device and the proxy candidate device is possible and whether or not the proxy candidate device that performs the data transmission process can continue proxying. A proxy transmission continuation determining means for determining based on the determination result of the failure determining means; and a proxy request for the data transmission process to be transmitted to the proxy candidate apparatus determined to have no failure by the failure determining means. 2. The control device switching system according to claim 1, further comprising:   The proxy candidate device compares the received data with storage means for accumulating received data from the communication control device at a predetermined time and the internal variable of the proxy candidate device at the predetermined time. 2. The control device switching system according to claim 1, further comprising proxy data deriving means for deriving transmission data when performing the data transmission process.   The proxy candidate device includes unnecessary data determination means for determining data that is not required to be transmitted at a predetermined time, and transmission data based on a determination result by the unnecessary data determination means when the proxy candidate device performs the data transmission process. 2. The control device switching system according to claim 1, further comprising data adjustment means for thinning out.   The proxy candidate device includes a control cycle adjustment unit that adjusts its own control cycle, and when the proxy request is received from the communication control device, the control cycle adjustment unit causes the control cycle adjustment unit to make its control cycle longer than normal. The control device switching system according to claim 1.   The proxy candidate device includes a clock frequency adjusting unit that adjusts its own operation clock frequency, and when receiving a proxy request from the communication control device, the clock frequency adjusting unit causes the clock frequency adjusting unit to change its own clock frequency from a normal time. The control device switching system according to claim 1, wherein the control device switching system is lowered. The communication control device includes timer interrupt wake means for resuming the data transmission processing after a predetermined resumption time after stopping the data transmission processing, and when the data transmission processing is stopped, The proxy request and the resume time are transmitted, and after the resume time has elapsed, the data transmission process is resumed by the timer interrupt wake means,
The proxy candidate device includes a restart time measuring unit that counts a restart time, receives the proxy request, starts the data transmission processing proxy, and simultaneously measures the time by the restart time measuring unit, and after the predetermined restart time, 2. The control device switching system according to claim 1, wherein the substitution of the data transmission processing is stopped.   The proxy candidate device includes a data communication cycle adjustment unit that adjusts its own data transmission / reception cycle, and when the proxy request is received from the communication control device, the data communication cycle adjustment unit sets the data transmission cycle to be higher than normal. 2. The control device switching system according to claim 1, wherein the control device switching system is shortened.   The proxy candidate device includes vehicle status detection means for detecting a vehicle status predicted to stop the data transmission process by the communication control device, and when the vehicle status is detected by the vehicle status detection means, 14. The control device switching system according to claim 13, wherein the data transmission cycle is shortened by the data communication cycle adjusting means compared to the normal time.   15. The data communication cycle adjustment unit according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the proxy candidate device restores the data transmission cycle that is shorter than normal after the proxy candidate device starts proxying the data transmission process. The control device switching system described.

Images