JPH1141260A - Multiple transmission system for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multiple transmission system for vehicle which can speedily and exactly set the communication address of a device to be connected on a network and can commonly utilize a function provided at a master device when it is the device connected to the network. SOLUTION: At a CD-ROM device (address fixed slave device) 17, the fixed communication address of the present device is set in a predetermined fixed address area and transmitted to the master device. At a portable telephone adapter (address varied slave device) 23, the variable communication address of the present device is set in a predetermined variable address area and transmitted to the master device. At a navigation device (master device) 11, on the other hand, the most preferential fixed communication address of the present device is set and the communication addresses received from the plural slave devices and the communication address of the present device are registered.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multiplex transmission system for a vehicle, and more particularly to a multiplex transmission system for a vehicle that connects on-vehicle information devices via a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there has been developed a system in which a traffic information providing system and various information devices are mounted on a vehicle in advance, each device is connected via a multiplex transmission network, and devices are selected and used as needed. Proposed.

On the other hand, apart from such a system, there is a system in which a user newly connects a traffic information providing system or various devices to a multiplex transmission network in a vehicle, and selects a device as necessary. Proposed.

For example, in a vehicle data communication system described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-326896, a plurality of slave devices are connected to a master device via a communication bus, and the communication addresses of the slave devices are different from each other. This has the advantage that a network can be easily constructed by setting to.

More specifically, since the rise time of each slave device differs when the power is turned on, provisional communication is performed until the slave device determines the communication address by utilizing the fact that no collision occurs in the communication address. It communicates with the master device using the address.

[0006] Further, in a conventional on-vehicle data communication system, an operation system and a display system associated therewith are configured to be shared and used between devices connected via a network.

[0007]

However, when a new slave device is connected to the network, the number of devices on the network is changed, or the length of the harness of the communication bus constituting the network is changed. As a result, when the slave device requests the master device for the communication address using the temporary communication address as described above, there is a possibility that a collision occurs in the communication address. May not operate normally.

When the number of slave devices connected via the network increases, even if the communication addresses are determined when the power is turned on, a predetermined time is required until the communication addresses of all the devices are set. I need. As a result, for example, when the operating device is connected via a network, the user has to wait until the operating device becomes operable.

Further, since the communication address of each slave device is a predetermined fixed address, a master device incorporating a center function having a display operation system has its communication address and a function corresponding to the device having the communication address in advance. Must be included. After developing the master device, to connect the new device via the network,
It is necessary to change software for controlling the master device, and there is a problem that it is difficult to substantially change the software.

[0010] The present invention has been made in view of the above,
The purpose is to be able to quickly and accurately set the communication address of the devices connected on the network,
Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular multiplex transmission system that can commonly use functions of a master device as long as the devices are connected to a network.

[0011]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
In order to solve the above problem, a slave device belonging to a first group and a slave device belonging to a second group,
A vehicular multiplex transmission system for connecting a master device controlling the plurality of slave devices via the same network and setting different communication addresses to the respective devices, wherein the slave devices belonging to the first group are: A first address setting unit that sets a fixed communication address of the own device in a predetermined fixed address area, and a first transmission unit that transmits the set fixed communication address to the master device, A slave device belonging to the second group transmits second variable address to the master device, and a second address setting means for setting a variable communication address of the slave device in a predetermined variable address area. A second transmission unit, wherein the master device is a third address setting unit that sets a highest priority fixed communication address to the own device; Communication address received from the number of slave devices, and that it has a communication address registration means for registering a communication address of its own device and gist.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the communication address registration means has an address management table for registering a communication address of each device and a function of the device corresponding to the communication address. That is the gist.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the communication address registration means has a classification table for classifying the fixed address area, the variable address area and the communication address of the master device. Make a summary.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above problems, the master device includes a display unit for displaying at least a menu screen and map information; an operation input unit for inputting operation information; Processing request analysis means for analyzing a processing request from the slave device after registering the address, wherein the slave device has a processing request for using display means or operation input means provided in the master device. The gist of the present invention is to have a processing request means for outputting

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the processing request means of the slave device, as the processing request, a drawing request to a display means provided in the master device or the operation input. The gist is to output an operation input request to the means.

[0016]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a slave device belonging to the first group sets its own fixed communication address in a predetermined fixed address area, and sets this fixed communication address. Send to master device. Also, the slave devices belonging to the second group set their own variable communication addresses in a predetermined variable address area and transmit the variable communication addresses to the master device. On the other hand, the master device sets the highest priority fixed communication address in its own device and registers the communication address received from a plurality of slave devices and the communication address of its own device, so a different communication address is set for each device. can do. In particular, by giving the highest priority fixed communication address to the master device even when the network is reconfigured, even when the system is powered on or when new information equipment is connected to the network, Network reconfiguration can be performed promptly. Also,
By allocating a fixed communication address to an information device mounted on a vehicle in advance, a function of performing variable allocation is not required, and costs can be reduced. On the other hand, the communication address of the own device can be promptly registered in the master device, and subsequent communication can be performed promptly. Furthermore, when newly connecting an information device that is unlikely to be mounted on a vehicle such as a mobile phone in advance, by assigning a communication address when connecting to a network, a special communication address such as a dip switch can be set. No need for input means
It can be easily and reliably connected and used.

According to the present invention, the communication address registration means of the master device has an address management table for registering the communication address of each device and the function of the device corresponding to the communication address. By preparing, the communication address of each device can be registered in association with the function.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a classification table for classifying the fixed address area, the variable address area and the communication address of the master device is prepared in the communication address registration means of the master device. Thus, it is possible to determine whether the registered slave device on the network has a fixed communication address or a variable communication address, and determines whether the device has been mounted on the vehicle in advance or is a device connected later. I can judge.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the master device is provided with a display means for displaying at least a menu screen and map information, and an operation input means for inputting operation information. After that, the processing request from the slave device is analyzed. On the other hand, the slave device outputs a processing request for using the display means or the operation input means provided in the master device. Therefore, if the device is connected to a network, the display device or the operation device of the master device is used. The input means can be commonly used.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the processing request means of the slave device, as the processing request, a drawing request to the display means provided in the master device, or
By outputting an operation input request to the operation input means,
If the device is connected to the network, the image can be drawn on the display means of the master device. Further, the operation information input from the operation input means can be used in the slave device.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a vehicular multiplex transmission system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the multiplex transmission system 1 for a vehicle shown in FIG. 1, a navigation device 11 is used as a master device, and a display device 13 and an operation input device 15 are connected to the navigation device 11. In addition, the communication bus 25
Is connected to a CD-ROM device 17 for storing map data used by the navigation device 11, an audio device 19 for playing back cassette tapes, and a mobile phone adapter 23 for connecting a mobile phone 21. As shown in the figure, the CD-ROM device 17 and the audio device 19 are fixed address type slave devices having fixed communication addresses.
Is an address variable type slave device whose communication address can be set variably.

Next, FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the basic configuration of each device shown in FIG. For example, the navigation device 11 shown in FIG. 1 has a basic configuration 31 shown in FIG.
have. In FIG. 2, the CPU 33
5 is an arithmetic processing unit that controls the entire apparatus based on a control program and control data stored in the control unit 5. ROM
Reference numeral 35 denotes a nonvolatile memory for storing a control program and various data. The RAM 37 is used as a communication buffer or the like during communication processing. The multiplex communication IC 39 is an integrated circuit for communicating with each device via the communication bus 25. The communication driver 41 is a driver that converts a signal level between the multiplex communication IC 39 and the communication bus 25. The drawing circuit 43 is a drawing circuit for drawing a menu screen, map information, and the like. Switch input circuit 45
Is an input circuit for connecting an operation system switch.

In the above-described basic configuration, the case where the ROM 35 or the RAM 37 is used has been described. However, the same function can be realized by using a flash type memory which can be electrically rewritten in block units. it can. In addition, in order for each device connected to the network to exchange information with another device via the communication bus 25, multiplex communication connected via the internal bus 47 in accordance with an initialization program stored in the ROM 35. IC
The communication address is initialized to 39.

Each of the devices such as the CD-ROM device 17, the audio device 19, and the portable telephone adapter 23 shown in FIG. 1 has the same basic configuration as the basic configuration 31 shown in FIG. 2 except for the drawing circuit 43 and the switch input circuit 45. CD-RO
It has a configuration to which an M drive mechanism, an audio mechanism, and the like are added. Next, the navigation device 11 (master device) and the CD will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.
A series of processes performed by the ROM device 17 (fixed address slave device), the audio device 19 (fixed address slave device), and the like will be described.

In the case of the management processing in the navigation device 11, first, in FIG.
Then, the hardware of the own device is initialized. in this case,
Drawing circuit 43 and operation input device 1 used for navigation
5 is initialized. Next, as initialization of the multiplex communication IC 39, the communication address “255” of the own device stored in the ROM 35 in advance is read and set in the multiplex communication IC 39. Since the navigation device 11 has a function as a master device, a management address “255” is allocated as shown in the classification table shown in FIG.

When the communication address is 255 as in the classification table shown in FIG. 8, it corresponds to the management address of the master device. Also, if the communication address is 1 to 10
In the case of 0, it corresponds to the fixed address area of the fixed address type slave device. Further, when the communication address is 101 to 254, it corresponds to the variable address area of the address variable slave device.

Further, since asynchronous communication is performed in the multiplex communication IC 39, the CPU 33 is set to interrupt processing and initialized, and a communication task performed thereafter is set as interrupt processing. Next, in step S120, a communication permission is given to the multiplex communication IC 39, and the initialization processing ends.
After completing the initialization process, in step S130, execution of navigation function software installed as an application of the apparatus is started. In the present embodiment, the application is executed as a loop process for simplicity. However, the application is actually divided into an operation process and a process by updating own vehicle position information as in the communication process. It becomes.

In the case of address fixing processing in the CD-ROM device 17 and the audio device 19, FIG.
In (b), in step S210, the hardware of the own device is initialized. In this case, similarly to step S110, the multiplex communication IC 39 is initialized and the ROM 3 is initialized.
5 is read in advance and set in the multiplex communication IC 39. In addition, CD-RO
Since the M device 17 and the audio device 19 have a function as a fixed address type slave device, fixed addresses “1” and “2” are assigned as shown in FIG.

Since asynchronous communication is performed in the multiplex communication IC 39, the CPU 33 is set to interrupt processing and initialized, and a communication task performed thereafter is set as interrupt processing. Next, in step S220, a communication permission is given to the multiplex communication IC 39, and the initialization processing ends.

Next, in step S230, the fixed communication address of the own device is registered in the master device. That is, the fixed communication address set in the multiplex communication IC 39 is transmitted to the master device via the communication bus 25. After the initialization process is completed, in step S240, execution of software installed as an application of the own device is started.

Next, the portable telephone adapter 23 (address-variable slave device) will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
Will be described. In the case of the address variable processing in the mobile phone adapter 23, FIG.
In (a), in step S310, the hardware of the own device is initialized.

Here, in the detailed flowchart shown in FIG. 4B, in step S313, the communication address is once set to "254". If the communication address is "2
In the case of "54", it corresponds to the variable address area of the variable address slave device as shown in FIG. Next, in step S314, the multiplex communication IC 39 is set to participate in the network in the live state using this communication address. Next, in step S315, it is determined whether the set communication address is the same as another device. If the communication address overlaps with another device, the process proceeds to step S316. On the other hand, if the communication address does not overlap with another device, the process proceeds to step S317.

In step S316, since the communication address is the same as another device, a value obtained by subtracting "1" from this communication address is set as a new communication address, and the process returns to step S314. On the other hand, in step S317,
Since the communication address does not overlap with other devices, the current communication address is used as the communication address of the own device and the multiplex communication IC is used.
Set to 39. As shown in FIG. 1, in the device having the function of the variable address slave device, only the mobile phone adapter 23 is connected to the current system, so that the communication address is set to “254”.

As described above, a communication address that has not been used is acquired, and is set as the communication address of its own device so as to be within the range of the variable communication address stored in the RAM 37. Avoid duplication.

Next, returning to FIG.
Since asynchronous communication is performed in C39, the CPU 33 is set to interrupt processing and initialized, and a communication task performed thereafter is set as interrupt processing. Next, step S
At 320, a communication permission is given to the multiplex communication IC 39, and the initialization processing ends. In step S330, the variable communication address of the own device is transmitted to the master device and registered. Next, after completing the initialization processing, in step S340, execution of software installed as an application of the own apparatus is started.

Although the procedure of the initialization process in each device has been described above, various settings are required when actually performing the initialization process on each device by configuring a network. Also, since the communication address is set using the token passing method, it is possible to participate in the network in a live state. In addition, as the multiplex communication IC 39 for such a use, for example, US STANDARD MAI
ARCNET protocol I from CROSYSTEMS
C, COM20020B is known, and a network of such a form can be constructed. Since the detailed initialization setting method of the multiplex communication IC is described in the instruction manual of the company, the description thereof is omitted.

Next, the communication processing after the initialization processing in the master device is completed will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In the initialization process, the interrupt process has been described. However, the flowchart shown in FIG. 5 is a procedure that is performed after the interrupt process related to the communication is completed, and particularly shows a process that is called when transmission / reception is necessary. It is.

First, the processing after the initialization of each device is completed will be described. In the following, for convenience, description will be made using functional names such as a master device, a fixed address type slave device, and an address variable type slave device, which are names representing characteristic portions of the present invention. In FIGS. 3 and 4, the registration processing of the communication address to the master device by the fixed address type slave device and the variable address type slave device has been described. On the other hand, the communication process of the master device is a reception process.

Therefore, in step S610, it is first determined whether this call is a transmission process. In the case of transmission processing, the process proceeds to step S670. On the other hand, if it is not a transmission process, that is, if it is a reception process, the process proceeds to step S620. In step S620, it is determined that the reception process has been performed, so that the reception data is read from the reception buffer prepared in the multiplex communication IC 39, and then step S630 is performed.
Then, a command analysis process for analyzing the contents of the received data is performed.

Here, as shown in FIG. 6, for example, a communication protocol for registering a communication address in each device in the master device starts with a set-node-address command, and then, as a delimiter, "." Is added, and then the function name of the own device and the communication address of the own device are sequentially described, whereby a format of a variable-length text format considering generalization and expandability can be prepared.

On the other hand, the master device performs a command analysis process by interpreting the syntax of such a text string. In this embodiment, the details of the communication protocol will not be described. Next, in step S640, it is determined whether an address registration command has been received as a result of the command analysis processing. If it is an address registration command, the process proceeds to step S650. On the other hand, if it is not an address registration command, the process proceeds to step S660.

Next, in step S650, when an address registration command is received, as shown in FIG.
The functional name is associated with the communication address of the device, and the RAM 3
7 in the address management table. On the other hand, in step S660, if the received command is not an address registration command, syntax analysis of a text string is performed as analysis processing of a processing request command by the master device. This processing will be described later.

In the case of transmission processing, step S67
At 0, data transfer to the transmission buffer prepared in the multiplex communication IC 39 is performed. Next, step S680
Then, the transmission data is sequentially read from the transmission buffer in the multiplex communication IC 39, and the data is transmitted from the multiplex communication IC 39 to each device via the communication bus 25.

In this way, as shown in FIG. 7, by providing an address management table for registering a fixed communication address, a variable communication address, and a communication address of the master device in the master device, connection is established via the network. The communication address and function of each device can be registered. In this way, a network composed of a master device having a fixed communication address of the highest priority fixedly assigned in advance and a fixed address slave device having a fixed communication address mapped to an area previously assigned as a fixed system Finish the basic setting of. As described above, since the fixed communication address is determined in advance,
An initialization process for performing communication in a short time can be executed, and even when the address variable type slave device does not participate in the network, communication is possible because the token circulates. As a result, the navigation device 11 and the CD
-Data communication between the ROM device 17 and the audio device 19 can be quickly started.

Also, after the communication is established, the address variable type slave device can use the drawing function and the operation input function provided in the master device.
Next, the processing content of step S660 shown in FIG.
The analysis and execution of the processing request command other than the communication address registration will be described in detail. Here, FIG. 9 shows an example of a text format of a drawing command and an operation command.
As described above, the description is made using the variable-length text format. These commands are sent from each device via the network to the navigation device 1.
1 is sent.

As shown in FIG. 9, the drawing commands include a command (draw-i) for drawing image data (icon) prepared in advance on the screen at designated coordinates.
con) and a command to draw a line at the specified coordinates (d
draw-line) and a command (draw-circle) for drawing a circle having a designated diameter at designated coordinates.

The operation input commands include a physical push button switch input command (input-switch) for designating a number and an input command (input-switch) for inputting the state of a pointing switch.
point).

Next, with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 10, the detailed processing content of the processing request command in step S660 shown in FIG. 5 will be described. This processing is performed in the master device. First, step S8
In 10, it is determined whether or not the processing request command is a drawing command in accordance with the text format shown in FIG. If the determination result is a drawing command, the process proceeds to step S820. On the other hand, if the result of this determination is not a drawing command, the flow advances to step S840.

Next, in step S820, it is determined whether or not the drawing command is an icon drawing command. If this determination result is an icon drawing command, the process advances to step S830 without any restriction. On the other hand, if the result of this determination is not an icon drawing command, step S85
Go to 0. Next, in step S830, in the case of an icon drawing command, this command is executed and the process ends.
More specifically, as shown in FIG.
o. By preparing a table in which an icon number is associated with an actual data address and drawing by designating the icon number, as shown in FIG. Is displayed at a predetermined position on the screen.

For example, when “drew-icon. 1.100.100” is executed as an icon drawing command, the display is as shown in FIG. on the other hand,
In step S850, since the command is not an icon drawing command but a free drawing command, the address management table corresponding to the communication address of each device set at the time of the initialization processing shown in FIG. 7 and the master device shown in FIG. 8 are stored in advance. Based on the classification table of the communication addresses of the respective devices, it is determined whether the request source device requesting free drawing is a fixed address type slave device or an address variable type slave device. In the case of the fixed address type slave device, the process proceeds to step S830 without any restriction, and the command is executed. On the other hand, in the case of the variable address slave device, the process proceeds to step S860.

As described above, the master device is provided with the classification table for classifying the fixed address area, the variable address area, and the communication address of the master device. An address or a variable communication address can be determined.

In step S860, the request source device is notified that a command that cannot be used by the master device has been received. Here, the operation command processing will be described. As shown in FIG. 13, the operation input device 15 includes push-button switches SW1 to SW7 and pointing switches that operate up, down, left, and right.

Returning to FIG. 10, if the judgment in step S810 is not a drawing command, step S810
Proceeding to 840, operation command analysis is started. In step S840, it is determined whether the command is a push button switch command. If the command is a push button switch command, the process proceeds to step S830 without any restriction. If the command is not a push button switch command, step S850 is performed.
Proceed to.

Here, in step S830, the command is executed and the processing ends. On the other hand, in step S850, similarly to the determination of the drawing command, in the case of a command request from the fixed address slave device, the process proceeds to step S830 to execute the command. On the other hand, in the case of the variable address slave device, the request source device is notified that the command request has not been accepted.

As described above, the master device includes at least the display device 1 for displaying the menu screen and the map information.
3 and an operation input device 15 for inputting operation information are prepared, and after registering a communication address, a processing request from a slave device is analyzed. On the other hand, since the slave device outputs a processing request for using the display device 13 or the operation input device 15 provided in the master device, if the device is connected to the network, the display device of the master device is used. 13 or the operation input device 15 can be commonly used.

The slave device is connected to the network by outputting a drawing request to the display device 13 provided in the master device or an operation input request to the operation input device 15 as a processing request of the slave device. For example, the image can be drawn on the display device 13 of the master device. Further, the operation information input from the operation input device 15 can be used by the slave device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a multiplex transmission system for a vehicle 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a basic configuration of each device constituting the multiplex transmission system for a vehicle 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart (a) illustrating a management process of a master device and a flowchart (b) illustrating an address fixing process of a fixed address slave device.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are a flowchart (a) showing an address variable process of the variable address slave device and a flowchart (b) showing a detailed process thereof.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the master device.

FIG. 6 is a communication protocol for registering a communication address in a master device.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a management table for managing functions and communication addresses of each device registered in a master device.

FIG. 8 is a classification table of communication addresses on a network stored in a master device in advance.

FIG. 9 is a processing request protocol transmitted from a slave device to a master device.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for processing a processing request transmitted from a connection device to a master device.

11A is a table showing an actual data address corresponding to an icon number, and FIG. 11B is an image diagram corresponding to an icon number.

FIG. 12 is a display example of an icon representing a result of executing a drawing command.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an operation input device.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 11 navigation device (master device) 17 CD-ROM device (fixed address slave device) 23 mobile phone adapter 23 (address variable slave device)

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Won Ricardo Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., 2 Takaracho, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A slave device belonging to a first group and a slave device belonging to a second group, and a master device controlling the plurality of slave devices are connected via the same network, and are different from each other. A multiplex transmission system for a vehicle for setting a communication address, wherein the slave device belonging to the first group comprises: first address setting means for setting a fixed communication address of the own device within a predetermined fixed address area; A first transmitting unit for transmitting the set fixed communication address to the master device, wherein the slave device belonging to the second group includes a variable communication address of its own device within a predetermined variable address area. Address setting means for setting the variable communication address, and second transmission means for transmitting the set variable communication address to the master device. A third address setting means for setting a highest priority fixed communication address to the own device; and a communication address registration for registering a communication address received from a plurality of slave devices and a communication address of the own device. Means for multiplex transmission for vehicles. 2. The multiplexing system according to claim 1, wherein said communication address registration means has an address management table for registering a communication address of each device and a function of the device corresponding to the communication address. Transmission system. 3. The multiplex transmission system for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said communication address registering means has a classification table for classifying said fixed address area, variable address area and communication address of a master device. . 4. The master device comprises: display means for displaying at least a menu screen and map information; operation input means for inputting operation information; and a processing request from the slave device after registering the communication address. The slave device has a processing request means for outputting a processing request for using display means or operation input means provided in the master device. The multiplex transmission system for a vehicle according to claim 1. 5. The processing request unit of the slave device outputs a drawing request to a display unit provided in the master device or an operation input request to the operation input unit as the processing request. The multiplex transmission system for a vehicle according to claim 4.