JP2019053405A - Vehicle control device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a novel vehicle control device in which restrictions on the number of switchable operation modes are suppressed and in which setting of an operation mode can be performed even when information or a signal that can specify the operation mode is not given.SOLUTION: A vehicle control device mounted in a vehicle includes a plurality of communication ports. In this vehicle control device, when activated, the communication port to which a communication signal is input is determined among the plurality of communication ports by processes of S120 and S130. Then, by processes of S140 to S160, the operation mode of the vehicle control device is set to, among the plurality of operation modes, the operation mode determined corresponding to the communication port determined by the processes of S120 and S130.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present disclosure relates to a vehicle control device.

The following Patent Documents 1 and 2 describe a vehicle control device that can be used for a plurality of types of vehicles having the same configuration but different equipment.
The control device described in Patent Document 1 is configured to determine whether or not a backup battery is attached, and to set the operation mode to one of two types of operation modes according to the determination result. Has been.

  In the control device described in Patent Document 2, information that can specify the type of vehicle on which the control device is mounted is input, and the operation mode is any of a plurality of operation modes according to the determination result of the information. It is configured to be set. Information that can specify the type of vehicle can be said to be information that can specify the operation mode of the control device.

  Patent Document 3 below describes a vehicle control device that has the same configuration but is mounted in the same vehicle, and each of the two can operate as a master and a slave. Has been.

  The control device described in Patent Document 3 includes a first port and a second port. When information transmitted to the main bus is input from the first port, the control device operates as a master and When the slave recognition signal is output from the port and the slave recognition signal is input from the first port, the slave operates. For this reason, of the two ports of the control device operated as the master, the first port is connected to the main bus, and the second port is connected to the first port of the control device operated as the slave. The

  The technologies described in Patent Documents 1 to 3 are all technologies for causing the control device having the same configuration to perform different operations, reducing the number of types of control devices to be produced (ie, the number of product numbers), This technology can reduce the manufacturing management cost of the control device.

Japanese Patent No. 5177586 Japanese Patent No. 5024096 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-54367

However, the technique of Patent Document 1 has a restriction that the operation mode of the control device can be switched only in two ways.
In the technique of Patent Document 2, it is necessary to provide a vehicle with a mechanism for giving information that can specify an operation mode to the control device, and the control device needs to perform processing for determining the content of the given information.

  In the technique of Patent Document 3 as well, the operation mode of the control device can be switched only in two ways, and the control device selects the operation mode and the contents of information or signals input from the first port. It is necessary to perform a process for determining.

  Therefore, the present disclosure provides a new vehicle control in which the restriction on the number of switchable operation modes is suppressed, and the operation modes can be set without giving information or signals that can specify the operation modes. Providing equipment.

The vehicle control device of the present disclosure includes a plurality of communication ports (P1 to P3), a determination unit (31, S120, S130), and a setting unit (32, S140 to S160).
The determination unit determines a communication port to which a communication signal is input from among the plurality of communication ports. The setting unit sets the operation mode of the vehicle control device to an operation mode determined corresponding to the communication port determined by the determination unit among the plurality of operation modes.

  According to the vehicle control device having such a configuration, the operation mode changes depending on the communication port that has received the communication signal among the plurality of communication ports. Therefore, even if information or a signal that can specify the operation mode is not given, the operation mode can be switched by changing the communication port used for communication. Further, the number of operation modes to be switched can be increased according to the number of communication ports. Therefore, the restriction on the number of operation modes that can be switched is suppressed.

  In addition, the code | symbol in the parenthesis described in this column and a claim shows the correspondence with the specific means as described in embodiment mentioned later as one aspect, Comprising: The technical scope of this indication is shown. It is not limited.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle-mounted communication system in which the vehicle control apparatus of the 1st embodiment was used. It is a flowchart of the mode setting process performed with the vehicle control apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the other vehicle-mounted communication system in which the vehicle control apparatus of the 1st embodiment was used. It is a flowchart of the mode setting process performed with the control apparatus for vehicles of 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the monitoring process performed with the vehicle control apparatus of 2nd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.
[1. First Embodiment]
[1-1. Constitution]
The in-vehicle communication system 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes three electronic control units (hereinafter referred to as ECUs) 11a to 11c. ECU is an abbreviation for “Electronic Control Unit”.

  The ECUs 11a to 11c have the same hardware configuration. And the program built in ECU11a-11c is also the same. For this reason, the product numbers of the ECUs 11a to 11c are the same. However, the ECUs 11a to 11c perform different operations when the operation modes are set to different operation modes.

  In the following description, when the ECUs 11a to 11c are not distinguished from each other, "11" is used as a symbol of the ECUs 11a to 11c. The program is also called software. Software is an abbreviation for software. Further, the operation mode of the ECU 11 is also simply referred to as a mode.

  The ECU 11 includes a CPU 21, a ROM 22 that stores software executed by the CPU 21, a RAM 23, and three communication ports P1 to P3. Each function of the ECU 11 is realized by the CPU 21 executing software in the ROM 22 corresponding to a non-transitional tangible recording medium. Further, by executing the software in the ROM 22, a method corresponding to the software is executed.

The mode of the ECU 11 is set to any one of modes 1 to 3. The ROM 22 stores software SF1 to SF3 corresponding to each of the modes 1 to 3.
When the CPU 21 executes the software SF1, the mode of the ECU 11 becomes mode 1. When the CPU 21 executes the software SF2, the mode of the ECU 11 becomes mode 2. When the CPU 21 executes the software SF3, the mode of the ECU 11 becomes mode 3. That is, the mode of the ECU 11 is set to any one of the modes 1 to 3 when the software executed by the CPU 21 is switched to any one of the software SF1 to SF3.

  The ROM 22 also stores mode setting software executed to set the mode of the ECU 11. This mode setting software is executed when the ECU 11 is activated. ECU11 is provided with the discriminating part 31, the setting part 32, and the transfer part 33 as a functional part implement | achieved when CPU21 runs mode setting software.

The determination unit 31 determines a communication port to which a communication signal is input from among the communication ports P1 to P3.
The setting unit 32 sets the mode of the ECU 11 to a mode determined corresponding to the communication port determined by the determination unit 31 among the modes 1 to 3. Specifically, the setting unit 32 sets software executed by the CPU 21 corresponding to the communication port determined by the determination unit 31 among the software SF1 to SF3 (hereinafter, execution target software). Switch to. When any one of 1 to 3 is “n”, in the present embodiment, the communication port Pn is associated with the mode n and the software SFn.

  The transfer unit 33 outputs, for example, data received from the communication port P1 among the communication ports P1 to P3 from the communication ports P2 and P3 other than the communication port P1. In this example, the communication port P1 corresponds to a specific communication port.

  Note that some or all of the determination unit 31, the setting unit 32, and the transfer unit 33 may be realized using one or a plurality of hardware. For example, when each of the units 31 to 33 is realized by an electronic circuit that is hardware, the electronic circuit may be realized by a digital circuit including a large number of logic circuits, an analog circuit, or a combination thereof.

[1-2. processing]
When the vehicle power supply is turned on and the ECU 11 is activated, the CPU 11 executes the mode setting software in FIG. 2 by the CPU 21 executing the above-described mode setting software. The mode setting process in FIG. 2 is a process as the determination unit 31 and the setting unit 32.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the CPU 21 is activated by turning on the vehicle power supply and starts the mode setting process, in S110, the CPU 21 determines whether or not a message is received from any of the communication ports P1 to P3. If it is determined that has been received, the process proceeds to S120. The message corresponds to a communication signal.

  In S120, the CPU 21 determines whether or not the communication port from which the message is received, that is, the communication port to which the communication signal is input (hereinafter referred to as a reception port) is the communication port P1, and the reception port is the communication port P1. If it is determined that, the process proceeds to S140.

  In S140, the CPU 21 switches the software to be executed to the software SF1 by switching the software execution destination address to the start address of the software SF1 associated with the communication port P1. By the process of S140, the mode of the ECU 11 is set to mode 1. Then, the CPU 21 thereafter ends the mode setting process. In this case, when the CPU 21 executes the software SF1, the ECU 11 operates in mode 1.

  If the CPU 21 determines in S120 that the reception port is not the communication port P1, the CPU 21 proceeds to S130 and determines whether the reception port is the communication port P2. If the CPU 21 determines in S130 that the reception port is the communication port P2, the CPU 21 proceeds to S150.

  In S150, the CPU 21 switches the software to be executed to the software SF2 by switching the software execution destination address to the top address of the software SF2 associated with the communication port P2. By the process of S150, the mode of the ECU 11 is set to mode 2. Then, the CPU 21 thereafter ends the mode setting process. In this case, when the CPU 21 executes the software SF2, the ECU 11 operates in mode 2.

If the CPU 21 determines in S130 that the reception port is not the communication port P2, the CPU 21 determines that the reception port is the communication port P3 and proceeds to S160.
In S160, the CPU 21 switches the software to be executed to the software SF3 by switching the software execution destination address to the top address of the software SF3 associated with the communication port P3. By the process of S160, the mode of the ECU 11 is set to mode 3. Then, the CPU 21 thereafter ends the mode setting process. In this case, when the CPU 21 executes the software SF3, the ECU 11 operates in mode 3.

In the mode setting process of FIG. 2, S120 and S130 correspond to the process as the determination unit 31, and S140 to S160 correspond to the process as the setting unit 32.
[1-3. Configuration example of communication system]
Assume that the ECU 11 configured as described above is connected as shown in FIG.

  That is, in the in-vehicle communication system 10 shown in FIG. 1, the communication port P1 of the ECU 11a is connected to the main bus 20, the communication port P2 of the ECU 11a and the communication port P2 of the ECU 11b are connected, and communication between the communication port P3 of the ECU 11a and the ECU 11c. Port P3 is connected. The communication protocol of the main bus 20 is CAN, for example. The communication protocol of the main bus 20 may be LIN, Flex-Ray, Ethernet, or the like. CAN, LIN, Flex-Ray, and Ethernet are registered trademarks.

  If the vehicle power is turned on and an ECU (not shown) other than the ECUs 11a to 11c transmits a message to the main bus 20, the message is first input to the communication port P1 of the ECU 11a. When the message is directed to the ECU 11b, the function of the transfer unit 33 in the ECU 11a is input from the communication port P2 of the ECU 11a to the communication port P2 of the ECU 11b, and the mode of the ECU 11b becomes mode 2. When the message is directed to the ECU 11c, the message is input from the communication port P3 of the ECU 11a to the communication port P3 of the ECU 11c, and the mode of the ECU 11c is set to mode 3.

  In the in-vehicle communication system 10 of FIG. 1, for example, the ECU 11b in the mode 2 controls the camera 42 as an example of hardware connected to the ECU 11b, and communicates image data captured by the camera 42. It transmits to ECU11a from port P2.

  In addition, the ECU 11c in the mode 3 also controls the camera 43, which is an example of hardware connected to the ECU 11c, and transmits image data captured by the camera 43 from the communication port P3 to the ECU 11a.

  Then, the ECU 11a in the mode 1 receives the image data transmitted from the ECU 11b from the communication port P2, and receives the image data transmitted from the ECU 11c from the communication port P3. Further, the ECU 11a controls the camera 41, which is an example of hardware connected to the ECU 11a, and acquires image data photographed by the camera 41. Then, the ECU 11a transmits the image data captured by the camera 41 and the image data received from the ECUs 11b and 13 to the main bus 20 from the communication port P1.

  The image data transmitted from the ECU 11a to the main bus 20 is used by another host processing ECU connected to the main bus 20 to perform, for example, automatic operation. Since the cameras 41 to 43 have different mounting positions in the vehicle, the control contents regarding the shooting are also different. In the in-vehicle communication system 10 of FIG. 1, the ECU 11a functions as a master and the ECUs 11b and 11c function as slaves with respect to sending image data to the host processing ECU.

  Further, for example, in the in-vehicle communication system 10 of FIG. 1, each of the ECUs 11 a to 11 c controls the hardware connected to the ECUs 11 a to 11 c based on information from other ECUs connected to the main bus 20. It may be. That is, each of the ECUs 11a to 11c may function as a master regarding control of hardware connected to the ECUs 11a to 11c. In this case, the communication data between the other ECUs and the ECUs 11b and 11c may be relayed by the ECU 11a by the mode 11 ECU 11a also functioning as a gateway. What is necessary is just to determine the content of each mode 1-3 according to the role and function in the vehicle-mounted communication system 10 of ECU11a-11c.

On the other hand, the ECU 11 can be connected as shown in FIG.
That is, in the in-vehicle communication system 40 of another example shown in FIG. 3, the communication port P1 of the ECU 11a, the communication port P2 of the ECU 11b, and the communication port P3 of the ECU 11c are connected to the main bus 20.

  For this reason, if the vehicle power supply is turned on and an ECU (not shown) other than the ECUs 11a to 11c transmits a message to the main bus 20, the message is transmitted to the communication port P1 of the ECU 11a, the communication port P2 of the ECU 11b, and the ECU 11c. To the communication port P3. For this reason, the mode of the ECU 11a is mode 1, the mode of the ECU 11b is mode 2, and the mode of the ECU 11c is mode 3.

  In the in-vehicle communication system 40 of FIG. 3, for example, the ECU 11 a in the mode 1 communicates with the ECUs 11 b and 11 c or other ECUs via the main bus 20, and uses the information obtained by communication, The example meter 51 is controlled.

  Further, the ECU 11b in the mode 2 communicates with the ECUs 11a, 11c or other ECUs via the main bus 20, and controls the light 52, which is an example of hardware, using information obtained through the communication.

  Further, the ECU 11c in the mode 3 communicates with the ECUs 11a, 11b or other ECUs via the main bus 20, and controls the power window 53 which is an example of hardware using information obtained by the communication. .

That is, in the in-vehicle communication system 40 of FIG. 3, each of the ECUs 11a to 11c functions as a master with respect to control of hardware connected to the ECUs 11a to 11c.
Further, for example, in the in-vehicle communication system 40 of FIG. 3, the hardware connected to each of the ECUs 11a to 11c is hardware for realizing a predetermined same function in the vehicle, like the cameras 41 to 43 in FIG. May be. And regarding control of each hardware, ECU11a may function as a master which gives a control command to ECU11b, 11c, and ECU11b, 11c may function as a slave which operate | moves based on the control command from a master.

  As shown in FIG. 3, if only a network topology in which each of the ECUs 11 a to 11 c is connected to the main bus 20, that is, a bus type topology is assumed, the transfer unit 33 may not be provided in the ECU 11. good.

[1-4. effect]
According to ECU11 of 1st Embodiment explained in full detail above, there exist the following effects.
(1a) Among the plurality of communication ports P1 to P3, the operation mode changes depending on the communication port that has received the communication signal. Therefore, even if information or a signal that can specify the operation mode is not given, the operation mode can be switched by changing the communication port used for communication. In the above-described embodiment, the number of communication ports and the number of modes of the ECU 11 are 3, but the number of communication ports and the number of operation modes may be 2 or 4 or more. And by increasing the number of communication ports, the number of operation modes to be switched can be increased. Therefore, the restriction on the number of operation modes that can be switched is suppressed.

  (1b) Since the ECU 11 includes the transfer unit 33 described above, the network topology is not limited to a bus topology as shown in FIG. 3, but as shown in FIG. A star topology to which the ECU 11 is connected can also be realized.

[2. Second Embodiment]
[2-1. Difference from the first embodiment]
Since the basic configuration of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, differences will be described below. Note that the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment indicate the same configuration, and the preceding description is referred to.

In the ECU 11 of the second embodiment, compared to the first embodiment, the CPU 21 performs the mode setting process of FIG. 4 instead of the mode setting process of FIG.
Further, the CPU 21 performs the monitoring process of FIG. 5 by any of the software SF1 to SF3 executed in each mode 1 to 3. The monitoring processing software of FIG. 5 is included in each of the software SF1 to SF3. Moreover, the monitoring process of FIG. 5 is performed at regular intervals, for example.

[2-2. Mode setting process]
Compared with the mode setting process of FIG. 2, the mode setting process of FIG. 4 includes S131 to S133.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the CPU 21 determines in S120 that the reception port is the communication port P1, the process proceeds to S131.
In S131, the CPU 21 saves mode 1 information indicating that the set mode is mode 1, and saves the start address of the software SF1 corresponding to mode 1.

  More specifically, the RAM 23 has addresses AD1 to AD3 associated with the modes 1 to 3 and a head address storage area for storing any of the head addresses of the software SF1 to SF3. ing. Further, when the CPU 21 is activated, in other words, at the start of the mode setting process, the stored values of the addresses AD1 to AD3 and the head address storage area are cleared to initial values (for example, 0). In S131, the CPU 21 writes the value N1 indicating the mode 1 as the mode 1 information to the address AD1 corresponding to the mode 1 among the addresses AD1 to AD3 of the RAM 23. Further, the CPU 21 writes the start address of the software SF 1 in the start address storage area of the RAM 23.

  Then, after performing the process of S131, the CPU 21 proceeds to S140 and sets the mode of the ECU 11 to mode 1 by switching the software to be executed to the software SF1.

If the CPU 21 determines in S130 that the reception port is the communication port P2, the CPU 21 proceeds to S132.
In S132, the CPU 21 stores mode 2 information indicating that the set mode is mode 2, and stores the start address of the software SF2 corresponding to mode 2. Specifically, the CPU 21 writes the value N2 indicating the mode 2 as the mode 2 information to the address AD2 corresponding to the mode 2 among the addresses AD1 to AD3 of the RAM 23. Further, the CPU 21 writes the start address of the software SF 2 in the start address storage area of the RAM 23.

  Then, after performing the process of S132, the CPU 21 proceeds to S150 and sets the mode of the ECU 11 to mode 2 by switching the software to be executed to the software SF2.

If the CPU 21 determines in S130 that the reception port is not the communication port P2, that is, if the CPU 21 determines that the reception port is the communication port P3, the process proceeds to S133.
In S133, the CPU 21 stores mode 3 information indicating that the set mode is mode 3, and stores the start address of the software SF3 corresponding to mode 3. Specifically, the CPU 21 writes the value N3 indicating the mode 3 as the mode 3 information to the address AD3 corresponding to the mode 3 among the addresses AD1 to AD3 of the RAM 23. Further, the CPU 21 writes the start address of the software SF 3 in the start address storage area of the RAM 23.

  Then, after performing the process of S133, the CPU 21 proceeds to S160 and sets the mode of the ECU 11 to mode 3 by switching the software to be executed to the software SF3.

[2-3. Monitoring process]
CPU21 performs the monitoring process of FIG. 5 for every fixed time, for example by executing the software contained in each software SF1-SF3. Here, it is assumed that the monitoring process of FIG. 5 has been performed by executing the software SFn. “N” is any one of 1 to 3.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when starting the monitoring process, the CPU 21 reads a stored value from the address ADn of the RAM in S210. In the next S220, the CPU 21 determines whether or not the value read from the address ADn in S210 is the value Nn as the mode n information. If the read value is the value Nn, the monitoring process is terminated. To do.

  If the CPU 21 determines in S220 that the value read from the address ADn in S210 is not the value Nn, the software currently being executed corresponds to the mode set in the mode setting process of FIG. It determines with it not being software (henceforth execution target software), and progresses to S230. The execution target software is software corresponding to the communication port determined to have received the communication signal in the mode setting process of FIG. 4 and corresponds to the execution target program.

  In S230, the CPU 21 switches the software to be executed to the execution target software by causing the execution destination address of the software to jump to the address stored in the head address storage area of the RAM 23.

  That is, the software SFn in each mode n periodically determines whether or not the stored value of the address ADn in the RAM 23 is the value Nn indicating the mode n, and determines that the stored value of the address ADn is not the value Nn. The software execution is restarted from the head address stored in the head address storage area.

[2-4. Action]
For example, it is assumed that the software to be executed is changed from the software SF1 to the software SF2 due to the influence of noise or the like even though the mode is set to the mode 1 in the mode setting process of FIG.

  In this case, the value N1 is written to the address AD1 of the RAM 23 by the process of S131 of FIG. 4, but the stored values of the addresses AD2 and AD3 of the RAM 23 are the initial values (for example, 0). Then, the head address of the software SF1 is written in the head address storage area of the RAM 23.

  If the software executed by the CPU 21 is changed from the software SF1 to the software SF2, the CPU 21 reads the value from the address AD2 of the RAM 23 in S210 of FIG. 5 by executing the software SF2.

  Since the value read in S210 is an initial value (for example, 0) and is not at least the value N2, it is determined as “NO” in S220 of FIG. For this reason, the execution destination address of the software is switched to the start address of the software SF1 stored in the start address storage area of the RAM 23 by the process of S230 of FIG. Therefore, the software to be executed is returned to the mode 1 software SF1.

[2-5. effect]
According to ECU11 of 2nd Embodiment explained in full detail above, there exists an effect similar to 1st Embodiment, Furthermore, it can suppress that unintended software continues being performed by influences, such as noise.

  Of S210 to S230 in FIG. 5, S210 and S220 correspond to steps of determination processing for determining whether or not the software being executed is execution target software (ie, execution target program). Also, S230 corresponds to a return process step for switching the software to be executed to the execution target software.

[3. Other Embodiments]
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this indication was described, this indication is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and can carry out various modifications.

  In the above-described in-vehicle communication systems 10 and 40, a plurality of ECUs mounted on the same vehicle perform different operations. However, the ECUs 11 of the above embodiments are mounted on different types of vehicles and perform different operations. It can also be configured to. For example, among the three types of vehicles, the ECU 11 mounted on the first type vehicle has the communication port P1 connected to the main bus 20, and the ECU 11 mounted on the second type vehicle has the communication port P2 on the main bus. The ECU 11 mounted on the third type of vehicle connected to 20 can also be used such that the communication port P3 is connected to the main bus 20.

  In addition, a plurality of functions of one constituent element in the above-described embodiment may be realized by a plurality of constituent elements, or one function of one constituent element may be realized by a plurality of constituent elements. Further, a plurality of functions possessed by a plurality of constituent elements may be realized by one constituent element, or a single function realized by a plurality of constituent elements may be realized by one constituent element. Moreover, you may abbreviate | omit a part of structure of the said embodiment. Further, at least a part of the configuration of the above embodiment may be added to or replaced with the configuration of the other embodiment. In addition, all the aspects included in the technical idea specified from the wording described in the claims are embodiments of the present disclosure.

  In addition to the ECU described above, a system including the ECU as a constituent element, a program for causing a computer to function as the ECU, a non-transitory actual recording medium such as a semiconductor memory storing the program, and a mode setting method for the ECU The present disclosure can also be realized in various forms.

  11a to 11c ... ECU, P1 to P3 ... communication port, 31 ... discriminating unit, 32 ... setting unit

Claims (3)

A vehicle control device mounted on a vehicle,
A plurality of communication ports (P1 to P3);
A discriminator (31, S120, S130) configured to discriminate a communication port to which a communication signal is input among the plurality of communication ports;
A setting unit (32, S140) configured to set the operation mode of the vehicle control device to an operation mode determined corresponding to the communication port determined by the determination unit among the plurality of operation modes. To S160),
Vehicle control device. The vehicle control device according to claim 1,
A transfer unit (33) configured to output data received from a specific communication port among the plurality of communication ports from a communication port other than the specific communication port;
Vehicle control device. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 or 2,
A plurality of programs (SF1 to SF3) corresponding to each of the plurality of operation modes;
The operation mode of the vehicle control device is set by switching a program to be executed to any one of the plurality of programs,
The setting unit switches the program to be executed to an execution target program that is a program determined corresponding to the communication port determined by the determination unit among the plurality of programs, thereby controlling the vehicle The apparatus is configured to set the operation mode of the apparatus to an operation mode determined corresponding to the communication port determined by the determination unit,
Each of the plurality of programs includes
Steps (S210 and S220) of determination processing for determining whether or not the program being executed is the execution target program;
A step (S230) of a return process for switching the program to be executed to the execution target program when the determination process determines that the program being executed is not the execution target program;
Vehicle control device.

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