JPH07135686A - Multiplex data transmitter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To constitute the system optionally by allowing the system to cope easily with any combination of types and number of slave stations without need of revision of a control table in a master station and without need of assumption of types and number of slave stations to be used in advance. CONSTITUTION:A master station (CCU) 101 receives data representing types and functions of slave stations from each of slave stations (LCU) 102-109 at the system start or the like and generates and stores a control data for each slave station based on the data and the master station (CCU) 101 uses the control table for data transmission. When the multiplex communication system is applied to an automobile or the like, the optimum system is built up by combining slave stations without revision of software and data of the master station. Furthermore, when the function of a vehicle is added or revised, it is coped with by addition of a slave station and change in the function setting only.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention, under the control of a master station,
The present invention relates to a multiplex data transmission device adapted to perform data transmission between a plurality of slave stations, and more particularly to a multiplex data transmission device suitable for data transmission in an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An automobile is equipped with a large number of devices such as lamps, switches, meters, etc., and the number thereof is increasing. Under these circumstances, if wiring is performed independently for each device, the wiring system becomes complicated and enormous. Therefore, as one of the methods for simplifying this, application of a multiplex data transmission device has been concretely studied. As a conventional technique of this kind, for example, an integrated wiring disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-251348. The system can be mentioned.

This conventional technique is based on a CCU (Centr) which is a master station.
al Control Unit, central control unit) and a plurality of LCUs (Local Control Units, terminal processing units) serving as slave stations, and these are connected by a multiplex transmission line such as an optical fiber cable to control the master station. In addition, it is configured so that data can be transmitted between a plurality of slave stations by a multiplex communication system, and the slave stations have various switches, sensors, lamps, motors, and other electrical devices installed in the automobile. Distributed in the vicinity of each of these, these are controlled by the master station,
The transmission system is shared so that multiple data transmissions can be obtained between each electric device. Therefore, in the master station, the control data consisting of predetermined serial data is based on the data taken in from each slave station. And send it to each slave station.
Then, this control data is used to control a device such as a lamp connected to the slave station after completion of reception at each slave station, while a signal from a switch or the like is serial data (input data). It is transmitted from the child station to the parent station.

Among such electric devices in a vehicle, a device that generates a signal such as a switch or a sensor is called a signal generating electric device, and a controlled electric device such as a lamp or a motor is a load type electric device. Called an electric device.

In this conventional technique, a table (control table) in which a control procedure required for each slave station (LCU) is written in advance is used, and each slave station in the master station (CCU) is used. The communication order determination, input data acquisition processing, and control data generation processing by this are performed by referring to this control table, and a control table for this is required in advance. Using a ROM (Read Only Memory) in which various control procedures are written,
This was set up in the parent station.

[0006]

In the above-mentioned prior art, due consideration is not given to the diversification of the slave stations (LCU) used, and the control procedure corresponding to each slave station necessary for processing is stored in the ROM.
Since the table stored in is used, it is difficult to divert it to another model once the system is configured, and there is a problem that the applicable functions of the car are limited when applied to the car. .

That is, when there are few types of slave stations (LCU), the characteristics and functions of all the slave stations connected to the master station (CCU) are predicted in advance, and the slave stations of all types are supported. Since it was easy to prepare a control table in which the necessary data was written, it was possible to deal with this by merely providing a ROM in the master station as a table, as in the prior art.
When the number of slave stations having different functions or different types of slave stations increases, it becomes difficult to prepare a control table in which different data is written corresponding to all of them.
Therefore, it is necessary to assume a slave station to be used in advance and construct a system with a master station equipped with a control table corresponding to it, so if the model of the slave station changes, it will not be possible to support it. However, once the system is configured, it is difficult to divert it to another model, and when it is applied to a car, the applicable functions of the car are limited.

An object of the present invention is to use a slave station (L
It is not necessary to assume the model and number of CU), and the master station (CCU) can be used for any combination of model and number of slave stations.
It can be easily handled without changing the control table in
It is an object of the present invention to provide a multiplex data transmission device capable of arbitrarily configuring a system.

[0009]

The above object is to receive data representing the type and function of each slave station from each slave station (LCU) in the system, and use this data to generate a control table for each slave station. This is achieved by providing a means for creating and holding in the master station (CCU).

[0010]

The above means works to enable the creation of a control table for each slave station (LCU) in the master station (CCU) when necessary such as when the data transmission system is started. That is, the master station receives data indicating the type and function of each slave station from each slave station connected to the transmission line when necessary, such as at start-up, and the characteristics of each slave station are
You can check the function and create the necessary control table.

Therefore, no matter what number of slave stations having any function are combined to form the data transmission system, the master station can handle the data transmission system as it is.
Alternatively, the LCU serving as a slave station can be standardized, and any data transmission system having different control targets can be easily configured only by using these. Furthermore, since the standardization of the multiplex communication system becomes easy, the cost merit can be sufficiently exhibited even when applied to a relatively small-scale system such as an automobile.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A multiple data transmission device according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of an automobile integrated wiring system (hereinafter, such a system is referred to as a LAN system) to which an embodiment of a multiplex data transmission apparatus according to the present invention is applied. , A plurality of LCUs 10 serving as slave stations
2 to 109 are connected by a multiplex communication line 110 and are configured to perform data transmission.

Then, for example, now, the mobile station (LCU) 10
The state of the switch 112 input to 4 is the master station (CCU) 1
01 is transmitted to the master station 101, the master station 101 uses the data to control the lamp 1 controlled by the switch 112.
Create the control data needed to operate 11. Next, the master station 101 transmits the created control data to the slave station 103, whereby the lamp 111 is operated by operating the switch 112.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a master station (CCU) 101. The master station 101 is a CPU 201 which is a central processing unit of a microcomputer (microcomputer), a ROM 202 in which control programs and data are stored, A RAM (R
and access memory) 203, a communication LSI 204 for controlling input / output of data to / from the multiplex communication line 110, and a data bus 205 connecting them.

The CPU 201 operates according to a program written in the ROM 202, and data exchanged by multiplex communication is sent to the CP by the data bus 205.
The U201 and the communication LSI 204 are exchanged, but at this time, the slave station accessed by the master station, the CCU 101, is
It is determined by the address of each LCU that is the slave station.

FIG. 3 shows a frame format of data communicated between the master station (CCU) and the slave station (LCU) in this example. First, the upper side is CCU → LCU.
As shown in, the CCU that is the master station to the L that is the slave station
When data is transmitted to the CU, it starts from SOM (Start Of Message) 301 indicating the beginning of the data, and the master station 1
The data from 01 to the slave station, that is, the command 302 used to inform the slave station of the direction of the data, etc., the address used to determine the slave station that is now the communication target (each Address unique to the slave station) 3
03, AP for detecting an error in the address data
(Address Parity) 304, output data (control data) 305 for controlling the load connected to the slave station, and EOM (End Of Message) 306 indicating the end of the data are transmitted in this order.

Therefore, first, the slave station (LCU) sends a command 3
If it is determined that the data is from the master station (CCU) 101 from 02, the address 303 sent next matches the address of the own station, and if the AP 304 determines that the above data has no error, The output data 305 following the AP 304 is fetched, and according to this output data 305, the control data 30 is transferred to the load type electric device connected to the own station.
Output 5 and activate it.

Next, the slave station (LCU) is the master station (CCU) 10
When the data from 1 is received, the input from the signal generating electric device such as a switch or a sensor connected to the local station is returned to the master station 101 accordingly. → Similar to the case of LCU, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 3 as LCU → CCU, SOM
Starting from 307, the command 308 indicating that the data is from any one of the slave stations to the master station 101, the address 309 of the own station, the AP 310, the input data 311 of the own station, and the EOM 312 are returned in this order.

By repeating the above operation sequentially while changing the address, data is transmitted to all the slave stations (LCU), and the control operation of the electric device in the automobile by the LAN system is obtained. It will be. The above operation is the same as that of the conventional LAN system.

Next, regarding the operation of one embodiment of the present invention,
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows the LAN in order to simplify the explanation of the operation of the present invention and to facilitate understanding.
An example is shown in which the number of slave stations (LCU) connected in the system is set to 7. Therefore, as described above, each of these 7 slave stations has a unique address. The master station 101 has (113 to 119), and uses this address as the address data (303, 30) described above.
Communication is performed as 9).

In this embodiment, the address $ 01
The slave station (LCU) 123 is used for controlling a power seat (a seat whose position and posture can be electrically changed) of a car. Motor to move) 124 is connected,
A sheet operation request from another child station is the parent station (CCU) 101.
To the slave station 123 and the master station 101 drives the seat motor 124 accordingly (control data).
The power seat is activated by sending the. Therefore, hereinafter, the child station of the address $ 01 is referred to as a sheet child station. It is assumed that this power seat is a power seat that can only be operated manually.

By the way, the above is the operation in the case of the manually operated power seat, but in this embodiment, the slave station
By changing the setting of the (LCU) 123 and changing to the slave station (LCU) 125, the signal from the sensor 122 indicating the position of the seat can be taken in. Therefore, the seat motor 1
It becomes possible to grasp the current position of the seat by 24, and as a result, it becomes possible to automatically operate the seat position when getting on and off the vehicle (automatic evacuation, automatic return operation). In this case also, it is called a sheet slave station.

Next, FIG. 5 shows L according to an embodiment of the present invention.
This shows a reset processing routine executed when the CPU 201 in the master station (CCU) 101 is activated when the AN system is powered on. First, the processing 500 is the CPU.
In the initialization processing of 201, the data register of the input / output port is initialized to "0", and it is determined whether to use the input port or the output port according to the purpose of use. RAM
Processing for rewriting all the data of 203 to "0" is performed.
This is because the data in the RAM 203 when the power is turned on is unpredictable and is therefore initialized.

In process 510, the data sent from the slave station (LCU) by communication is coded to indicate which part of the vehicle the slave station is connected to (hereinafter abbreviated as "Gr code") and its code. It is a processing routine for decoding into a code indicating what kind of function the station has (hereinafter abbreviated as a function code).

The process 520 is a data table (control table) indicating the access order to the slave station (LCU) based on the data decoded by the above process 510, and the input data of the slave station obtained from the slave station by communication. The RAM 203 is an input table for storing data and an output table for storing output data to the slave station.
This is a processing routine created in the following, which will be abbreviated as link time control hereinafter.

The process 530 communicates with the slave station (LCU) according to the control table created by the process 510 described above, stores the input data from the slave station in the input table described above, and outputs the data of the output table. Is a processing routine for transmitting to the slave station. The process 540 is a process of calculating the output data to the slave station (LCU) according to the data stored in the input table by the process 530 and storing it in the output table. Then, these processing 530 and processing 540 are configured by an infinite loop,
This functions as a LAN system.

Next, FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the determination processing of the slave station (LCU) executed in the processing 510. First, the processing 511 is the table shown in FIG. 8 (hereinafter abbreviated as table 1). Data is used as an address to access the slave station.
It is written in advance in 202 and describes the addresses of all the slave stations that may be connected to the LAN system.

Next, in process 512, the following process is performed. That is, when the slave station (LCU) accessed by the above processing 511 is connected to the system, there is reply data from the slave station. If there is reply data, the next processing 513 is executed. If not, the process returns to the process 511 after the process 517, and the slave station is accessed using the next data shown in Table 1 as an address.

Then, there is reply data here, and processing 5
After proceeding to step 13, the address register in the communication LSI 203 is read. This address register is a register for storing the data of the address part in the above-mentioned communication data frame, and is composed of a 10-bit register as shown in FIG. 10. Here, the address data is 6 bits out of 10 bits. The Gr code is 2 bits, and the function code is 2 bits.

Next, in process 514, 6-bit address data is decoded from the above-mentioned address register. Then, the decoded data is stored in the RAM.
The data is saved in a buffer (hereinafter abbreviated as ADRBUF) provided in 203. Next, in process 515, 2
The Gr code for bits is decoded and saved in a buffer (hereinafter abbreviated as GBUF) provided in the RAM 203. Similarly, in the process 516, the 2-bit function code is decoded and saved in the buffer (hereinafter abbreviated as FBUF) provided in the RAM 203.

Then, in process 517, the table 1
It is judged whether or not the last data of the above is accessed, and if it is not the last data, the process returns to the processing 511 and the above processing is repeated.

Next, FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the link-time processing to be executed in processing 520. First, in processing 521, the Gr code saved in GBUF is searched. Since the first address $ 01 is the sheet slave station 123, the sheet Gr is present in the next process 522.

Therefore, at this time, the function code is retrieved in the next process 523, and then in process 524, it is determined whether or not the automatic operation function is present. and now,
Here, as described above, since the slave station 123 capable of only manual operation is connected, there is no automatic operation function, and the process proceeds to step 527, where the figure based on the address data saved in ADRBUF is displayed. The control table shown in FIG. 9 (a) is created, and then, in step 528, the input / output table for the slave station corresponding to the address data of the ADRBUF shown in FIG. 9 (b) is created.

On the other hand, in FIG. 4, the slave station (LCU) 123
The case where the setting is changed from the slave station to the slave station (LCU) 125 will be described. When the setting of the slave station (LCU) is changed as described above, the Gr code and the function code are changed from the address 313 in FIG. 10 to the address 314. Therefore, after searching the Gr code in the process 523, it is determined in the process 524 that the automatic operation function is present. As a result, in the process 525, the address of the sheet slave station 125 is extracted from the ADRBUF, and in the process 526,
The control table is created so that the data becomes the data once in three times.

Here, to the sheet slave unit (LCU),
High-speed (high-frequency) access of once every three times,
The reason why the control table is constructed is as follows. That is, by changing the setting of the sheet slave station 123 to the slave station 125 having the automatic operation function, the sheet position signal 121 is input, so that the sheet slave station 125 generates a pulse which is a position signal. This is because it is necessary to have access that is fast enough not to overlook.

Next, in process 527, as in the case where the automatic operation function is not provided, from ADRBUF, the sheet slave station
Addresses other than (LCU) are written in the control table, and in step 528, the input / output table is created as described above.

FIG. 8 shows a table used in the determination of the connected slave station (LCU) in the process 510, which is the data written in the ROM 202 as described above. , The maximum number of connectable slave stations is simply written, and in this example, the maximum number is 255.

Next, referring to FIG. 9, in process 520, RA
9A and 9B show respective tables created in the M203, where FIG. 9A shows a control table before exchanging a slave station (LCU), and FIG. 9C shows a slave station. The state of the control table created after exchanging (LCU) is shown. Here, as described above, the address of the sheet slave unit (LCU) is configured to come out once every three times, and the actual address also changes from $ 01 to $ 21. You can see that it has been changed. On the other hand, FIG. 9B shows an input table and an output table.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of the address area in the frame format of the data transferred by communication. In this embodiment, the address data (303 in FIG. 3) is 6 bits, and The Gr code and the function code each have 2 bits.

Next, FIG. 11 shows a slave station in this embodiment.
(LCU) is a block diagram showing details of input port 20
6 and output port 207, and address setting port 20
8, the input port 206 is connected to a switch, which is an electric device of signal generation type among electric devices in a vehicle, and the output port 207 is connected to a load type electric device such as a motor and a lamp. The switch 220 for setting an address unique to the slave station is connected to the address setting port 208. It should be noted that these points are the same as in the conventional technique.

However, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, a Gr code setting port 209 and a function code setting port 210 are further provided, and these also have switches 230 and 240 for data setting. Connected,
Each is different from the prior art in that the Gr code and the function code for this slave station can be set.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, when the LAN system is constructed as shown in FIG. 1 or 4, the LCU shown in FIG. 11 is used as each slave station and For the LCU, if the switch 112 sets an address unique to the slave station and operates the switches 230 and 240 according to the installation position and function to set the Gr code and the function code of the slave station, all the same LCU will be obtained. By using the LAN system, it is possible to easily construct a LAN system with a slave station having a desired function.

Further, according to this embodiment, the switches 230 and 240 are also used when changing the function required for the slave station, that is, the type and the number of electric devices connected thereto.
Since it can be easily dealt with by simply changing the settings of the Gr code and the function code by, it is easy to divert it to other models even after the system is configured. Even when it is applied to automobiles, the applicable automobile functions are limited. There is absolutely no fear of being applied to any vehicle.

In the embodiment of FIG. 11, the switch 22
0, 230, 240 are provided, and by these switches,
It is configured to set an address, a Gr code, and a function code, respectively, and as a result, there is an advantage that these settings are easy and can be changed, but these settings are mostly In this case, it is only necessary at the time of first system configuration, so it may be configured by connecting jumper wires between terminals. In this case, no switch is required and cost reduction can be obtained. Become.

By the way, in the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the Gr code and the function code are set in the address area in the communication data frame, but there is no particular reason for this, and in the present invention, Anyway, it suffices if the connected slave station can be discriminated by the master station.
The r code and the function code may be inserted anywhere in the data frame shown in FIG.

Therefore, for example, FIG. 12 shows an embodiment in which a Gr code and a function code are set in the data area.
6 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6, this embodiment is a determination processing routine of the slave station (LCU) connected to the system in the processing of FIG.
It is a modification of 0). In this case, as can be easily understood from the structure of the communication frame in FIG. 3, since data is first transmitted from the address data, the address is first saved in the embodiment of FIG.
Next, the data is saved.

That is, in FIG. 12, first, the process 6 is performed.
In 01, the same processing as the processing 511 described above is performed. In the next process 602 as well, the same determination as in process 512 is performed, and when there is a response from the slave station (LCU), process 603.
At, the address data is fetched and saved in ADRBUF. Next, in process 604, G is input from the input / output data.
The r code and the function code are decoded and each is saved.

[0048]

According to the present invention, a master station that centrally controls a system receives data from a slave station connected in the system and creates a control table necessary for data transmission. Therefore, even if you configure the data transmission system by combining any number of slave stations with any function, you do not need to change the software and data of the master station, and only use the combination of slave stations. You can build a system.

Next, according to the present invention, when a function such as a vehicle is added or changed, it is only necessary to add a slave station and change the function setting, and the master station can handle the change as it is. CCU and LCU serving as a slave station can be standardized, and any data transmission system having a different control target can be easily configured only by using these.

Further, according to the present invention, even when the function required for the slave station, that is, the type and the number of electric devices connected to the slave station are changed, the LCU serving as the slave station is not changed and only the LCU is changed. Since it can be easily handled by changing the code settings, it can be easily used for other models even after the system is configured, and there is no risk that the applicable automobile functions will be limited even when applied to automobiles. , Can be easily applied to any car.

Further, since the standardization of the multiplex communication system becomes easy, the cost merit can be sufficiently exhibited even when applied to a relatively small-scale system such as an automobile.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a data transmission system to which an embodiment of a multiplex data transmission device according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an internal block diagram showing an embodiment of a central control unit serving as a master station in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a data format according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a specific embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a reset processing routine in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a slave station determination processing routine in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a link processing routine in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a data table for discriminating connected slave stations in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of various tables created by a master station in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a format of transmission data according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an internal block diagram showing an embodiment of a slave station according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing another example of the slave station determination processing routine in the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 master station (CCU) 102-109 slave station (LCU) 110 multiplex communication line 201 CPU 203 RAM 204 CCU communication LSI 303, 309 address

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Mitsuru Konai 2477 Kashima Yatsu Kashima, Katsuta City, Ibaraki Prefecture 3 Hitachi Automotive Engineering Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A master station and a plurality of slave stations are coupled by a multiplex transmission system, the master station performs arithmetic processing based on input information obtained by accessing the slave station, and the plurality of slave stations. In the integrated wiring system of the method of transmitting data between the two, in the master station, from each slave station in the system,
A means for receiving data indicating the type and function of the slave station itself, creating a control table for each slave station from this data and holding the control table is provided, and the arithmetic processing is executed using this control table. A multiple data transmission device characterized by the above. 2. The multiplex data transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data indicating the type and function of the slave station itself can be arbitrarily set in the slave station. 3. In the invention of claim 1 or 2,
A multiplex data transmission device, wherein the slave station is a slave station for data transmission necessary for controlling an electric device of an automobile.