Vehicle-mounted control device, control system, control method and control program

Abstract

The vehicle-mounted control device is provided with: an acquisition unit, which acquires multiple wear information about the degree of wear of each of multiple functional units installed on the vehicle; a selection unit, which selects one or more functional units based on the wear information acquired by the acquisition unit: the selected one or more functional units will perform processing to be performed by the one or more functional units; and a control unit, which performs control so that the one or more functional units selected by the selection unit perform processing.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-37445 filed on March 2, 2018, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The invention relates to a vehicle-mounted control device, a control system, a control method and a control program. Background Art

[0004] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-58412 (Patent Document 1) discloses a technique for managing the status of resources in a vehicle.

[0005] That is, in the in-vehicle system described in Patent Document 1, at the moment when an application is to be installed and started, when the remaining system resource amount indicating the remaining resource amount that can be consumed without causing the system to stop operating at that point in time is less than the application resource consumption amount indicating the resource consumption amount to be consumed by the application after the application requested for installation is installed and started, a process of stopping or deleting the application that is consuming resources at that point in time is performed until the remaining system resource amount exceeds the application resource consumption amount. Then, after the remaining system resource amount exceeds the application resource consumption amount, the application is installed and started.

[0006] Meanwhile, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-157330 (Patent Document 2) discloses a technology for collectively managing components of an operation device via a network.

[0007] That is, the component life management system described in Patent Document 2 has: a plurality of sites for detecting life characteristics of components of operating equipment; and a component life management server connected to the sites via a network and for jointly managing the life characteristics of the respective components of the sites. The component life management server includes: a receiving device for receiving life characteristic data of components of each site transmitted from the sites via the network; a remaining life prediction device for predicting the remaining component life based on the life characteristic data; a storage device for sorting the remaining component life for each site and for each component, and for storing a remaining life database; and a processing device for outputting information on the remaining component life state or replacement components based on the remaining life database.

[0008] Citation List

[0009] [Patent Document]

[0010] Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-58412

[0011] Patent Document 2: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-157330 Summary of the invention

[0012] (1) The vehicle-mounted control device of the present disclosure includes: an acquisition unit, which is configured to acquire multiple wear information about the degree of wear of each of multiple functional units installed on the vehicle; a selection unit, which is configured to select one or more functional units from the multiple functional units based on each wear information acquired by the acquisition unit: the selected one or more functional units will perform target processing that should be performed by one or more functional units among the multiple functional units; and a control unit, which is configured to perform the following control: the one or more functional units selected by the selection unit will perform the target processing.

[0013] (9) The control system of the present disclosure includes a management device and an on-vehicle control device. With respect to a plurality of vehicles, the management device acquires a plurality of pieces of wear information regarding the degree of wear of each of a plurality of functional units installed on each vehicle; estimates the degree of wear of one or more functional units in the vehicle on which the on-vehicle control device is installed based on each piece of wear information acquired; and sends estimation information indicating the estimation result to the on-vehicle control device. The on-vehicle control device: receives the estimation information sent from the management device; selects one or more functional units from a plurality of functional units in the vehicle on which the on-vehicle control device is installed based on the received estimation information: causes the selected one or more functional units to perform target processing that should be performed by one or more functional units among the plurality of functional units; and performs the following control: causes the selected one or more functional units to perform the target processing.

[0014] (11) The control method of the present disclosure is executed in a vehicle-mounted control device. The control method includes the following steps: acquiring a plurality of pieces of wear information about the degree of wear of each of a plurality of functional units mounted on a vehicle; selecting one or more functional units from the plurality of functional units based on each piece of wear information acquired: causing the selected one or more functional units to execute a target process that should be executed by one or more functional units among the plurality of functional units; and executing the following control: causing the selected one or more functional units to execute the target process.

[0015] (12) The control method of the present disclosure is performed in a control system, the control system including a management device and an on-board control device. The control method includes the following steps: with respect to a plurality of vehicles, the management device is executed to: acquire a plurality of pieces of wear information about the degree of wear of each of a plurality of functional units installed on each vehicle; based on each piece of wear information acquired, the management device is executed to: estimate the degree of wear of one or more functional units in the vehicle on which the on-board control device is installed, and the management device is executed to: send estimation information indicating the estimation result to the on-board control device; the on-board control device is executed to: receive the estimation information sent from the management device, and the on-board control device is executed to: select one or more functional units from the plurality of functional units in the vehicle on which the on-board control device is installed based on the received estimation information: cause the selected one or more functional units to perform a target process that should be performed by one or more functional units among the plurality of functional units; and the on-board control device is executed to: cause the selected one or more functional units to perform the target process.

[0016] (13) The control program of the present disclosure is used in a vehicle-mounted control device. The control program causes a computer to function as: an acquisition unit configured to acquire a plurality of pieces of wear information regarding the degree of wear of each of a plurality of functional units mounted on a vehicle; a selection unit configured to select one or more functional units from the plurality of functional units based on each piece of wear information acquired by the acquisition unit: the one or more functional units selected will be caused to execute a target process that should be executed by one or more functional units among the plurality of functional units; and a control unit configured to execute the following control: the one or more functional units selected by the selection unit will be caused to execute the target process.

[0017] One mode of the present disclosure can be implemented not only as an in-vehicle control device including such a characteristic processing unit but also as a semiconductor integrated circuit that implements a part or the entire in-vehicle control device.

[0018] One mode of the present disclosure can be implemented not only as a control system including such a characteristic processing unit but also as a program for causing a computer to execute such characteristic processing.One mode of the present disclosure can be implemented as a semiconductor integrated circuit that implements part or the entire control system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 A configuration of an in-vehicle communication system according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0020] Figure 2 The configuration of the management ECU according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0021] Figure 3is a diagram for describing an interpolation process performed by a selection unit in a management ECU according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation flow of the in-vehicle communication system according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 5 A configuration of a control system according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0024] Figure 6 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation flow of the control system according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] As the number of vehicles manufactured as EVs (electric vehicles) has increased so far, the number of electronic control units (ECUs) mounted on vehicles has increased due to the introduction of safe driving support systems, etc., and the number of in-vehicle networks has also increased, and they are becoming more complex. In such a complex in-vehicle network, multiple ECUs transmit / receive data to each other, thereby controlling the vehicle.

[0026] Additionally, techniques have been developed for managing the resources of each ECU.

[0027] [Problems to be Solved by the Present Disclosure]

[0028] In the future, due to the popularization of shared cars, the development of autonomous driving technology, etc., the operation rate of each ECU will likely increase, and a technology that can make the available time period of each ECU longer will be required.

[0029] The present disclosure is made to solve the above-mentioned problems. An object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle-mounted control device, a control system, a control method, and a control program that make the usable time period of each functional unit mounted on a vehicle longer.

[0030] [Effects of the present disclosure]

[0031] According to the present disclosure, the usable period of time of each functional unit mounted on a vehicle can be made longer.

[0032] [Description of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure]

[0033] First, the contents of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described.

[0034] (1) According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a vehicle-mounted control device includes: an acquisition unit, which is configured to acquire multiple wear information about the degree of wear of each of multiple functional units installed on the vehicle; a selection unit, which is configured to select one or more functional units from the multiple functional units based on each wear information acquired by the acquisition unit: the selected one or more functional units will perform target processing that should be performed by one or more functional units among the multiple functional units; and a control unit, which is configured to perform the following control: the one or more functional units selected by the selection unit will perform the target processing.

[0035] With this configuration, for example, a target process that should be executed by one or more functional units with a high degree of wear can be allocated to another one or more functional units. Therefore, an increase in the degree of wear of each functional unit with a high degree of wear can be suppressed. Therefore, the usable time period of each functional unit installed on the vehicle can be made longer.

[0036] (2) Preferably, the selection unit selects, as the one or more functional units to be caused to execute the target process, at least one functional unit different from the one or more functional units that should execute the target process.

[0037] With this configuration, for example, a target process that should be executed by a functional unit having a high degree of wear can be executed by another functional unit having a lower degree of wear.

[0038] (3) Preferably, the wear information includes information on the heat of the functional unit.

[0039] With this configuration in which a functional unit is selected by using information on heat that significantly affects wear of the functional unit, the degree of wear of each functional unit can be grasped more accurately, and more appropriate selection can be performed.

[0040] (4) Preferably, the wear information includes information on the number of rewrites of a memory included in the functional unit.

[0041] With this configuration, since a functional unit is selected by using information on a memory that is easily worn out among electronic components of the functional unit, the degree of wear of each functional unit can be grasped more accurately, and more appropriate selection can be performed.

[0042] (5) Preferably, the control unit further performs control of reducing a processing load of the one or more functional units selected by the selection unit.

[0043] With this configuration, for example, the processing load of each selected functional unit can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase in the degree of wear of the functional unit to which the target process is assigned.

[0044] (6) Preferably, the control unit changes the communication frequency of the functional unit as control for reducing the processing load.

[0045] With this configuration, for example, by setting the communication frequency of the selected functional unit to be reduced, the processing load of the functional unit can be reduced.

[0046] (7) Preferably, when the selection unit does not select the functional unit, the control unit performs control to reduce a processing load of the functional unit that executes the target process.

[0047] With this configuration, even when there is no appropriate functional unit to which the target process is allocated, an increase in the degree of wear of the functional unit that executes the target process can be suppressed.

[0048] (8) Preferably, the degree of wear is a ratio of an actual use time period in a predetermined time period to an available time period of the functional unit, or a ratio of an actual number of rewrites in a predetermined time period to a rewritable number of times of a memory included in the functional unit. The wear information is information on a temperature history of the functional unit, or information on a rewritable number of times of the memory. The temperature is a temperature affected by both an ambient temperature of the functional unit and a generated heat of the functional unit. The generated heat of the functional unit includes heat generated due to operation of various resources in the functional unit, heat generated due to on / off of a power supply of the functional unit, and heat generated due to occurrence of a ripple current.

[0049] With this configuration, since a functional unit is selected by using information about heat that significantly affects the wear of the functional unit or information about memory that is easily worn among the electronic components of the functional unit, the degree of wear of each functional unit can be more accurately grasped and a more appropriate functional unit can be selected.

[0050] (9) A control system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a management device and an on-board control device. With respect to a plurality of vehicles, the management device: obtains a plurality of wear information regarding the degree of wear of each of a plurality of functional units installed on each vehicle; estimates the degree of wear of one or more functional units in the vehicle on which the on-board control device is installed based on each piece of wear information obtained; and sends estimation information indicating the estimation result to the on-board control device. The on-board control device: receives the estimation information sent from the management device; selects one or more functional units from a plurality of functional units in the vehicle on which the on-board control device is installed based on the received estimation information: causes the selected one or more functional units to perform target processing that should be performed by one or more functional units among the plurality of functional units; and performs the following control: causes the selected one or more functional units to perform the target processing.

[0051] With this configuration, for example, target processing that should be executed by one or more functional units with a high degree of wear can be allocated to another one or more functional units. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase in the degree of wear of each functional unit with a high degree of wear.

[0052] With this configuration in which the management device estimates the degree of wear of each functional unit, for example, a more accurate degree of wear can be calculated in the vehicle by using both the degree of wear estimated by the management device and the degree of wear calculated in the vehicle. Therefore, the usable time period of each functional unit installed in the vehicle can be made longer.

[0053] (10) Preferably, the control system further comprises a dealer-side server configured to maintain fault information about faults of the plurality of functional units. The dealer-side server transmits the fault information to the management device. The management device estimates the degree of wear of one or more functional units based on each piece of wear information acquired and the fault information received from the dealer-side server.

[0054] With this configuration in which the management device estimates the degree of wear of each functional unit based on the wear information and the failure information, a more accurate degree of wear can be calculated.

[0055] (11) A control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is executed in a vehicle-mounted control device. The control method includes the following steps: acquiring multiple pieces of wear information about the degree of wear of each of multiple functional units installed on a vehicle; based on each piece of wear information acquired, selecting one or more functional units from the multiple functional units: causing the selected one or more functional units to perform target processing that should be performed by one or more functional units among the multiple functional units; and performing the following control: causing the selected one or more functional units to perform the target processing.

[0056] With this method, for example, target processing that should be performed by one or more functional units with a high degree of wear is allocated to another one or more functional units. Therefore, the increase in the degree of wear of each functional unit with a high degree of wear can be suppressed. Therefore, the usable time period of each functional unit installed on the vehicle can be made longer.

[0057] (12) A control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is performed in a control system, the control system including a management device and an on-board control device. The control method includes the following steps: with respect to a plurality of vehicles, the management device is executed to: obtain a plurality of wear information about the degree of wear of each of a plurality of functional units installed on each vehicle; based on each of the acquired wear information, the management device is executed to: estimate the degree of wear of one or more functional units in the vehicle on which the on-board control device is installed, and the management device is executed to: send estimation information indicating the estimation result to the on-board control device; the on-board control device is executed to: receive the estimation information sent from the management device; and the on-board control device is executed to: select one or more functional units from a plurality of functional units in the vehicle on which the on-board control device is installed based on the received estimation information: cause the selected one or more functional units to perform a target process that should be performed by one or more functional units among the plurality of functional units; and the on-board control device is executed to: cause the selected one or more functional units to perform the target process.

[0058] With this method, for example, target processing to be executed by one or more functional units with a high degree of wear can be allocated to another one or more functional units. Therefore, the increase in the degree of wear of each functional unit with a high degree of wear can be suppressed.

[0059] With this method, in which the management device estimates the degree of wear of each functional unit, for example, a more accurate degree of wear can be calculated in the vehicle by using both the degree of wear estimated by the management device and the degree of wear calculated in the vehicle. Therefore, the usable period of each functional unit installed in the vehicle can be made longer.

[0060] (13) A control program according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is used in a vehicle-mounted control device. The control program causes a computer to function as: an acquisition unit configured to acquire a plurality of pieces of wear information regarding the degree of wear of each of a plurality of functional units mounted on a vehicle; a selection unit configured to select one or more functional units from the plurality of functional units based on each piece of wear information acquired by the acquisition unit: the selected one or more functional units will be caused to execute a target process that should be executed by one or more functional units among the plurality of functional units; and a control unit configured to execute the following control: the one or more functional units selected by the selection unit will be caused to execute the target process.

[0061] With this configuration, for example, a target process that should be executed by one or more functional units with a high degree of wear can be allocated to another one or more functional units. Therefore, an increase in the degree of wear of each functional unit with a high degree of wear can be suppressed. Therefore, the usable time period of each functional unit installed on the vehicle can be made longer.

[0062] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings, identical or corresponding components are represented by identical reference numerals, and descriptions thereof will not be repeated. At least some parts of the embodiments described below may be combined as desired.

[0063] <First Embodiment>

[0064] [Configuration and basic operations]

[0065] (In-vehicle communication system)

[0066] Figure 1 A configuration of an in-vehicle communication system according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0067] Reference Figure 1 , the vehicle communication system 301 includes: a management ECU (electronic control unit) (vehicle control device) 101, which is installed on the vehicle 10; and a plurality of ECUs (functional units) 111, which are installed on the vehicle 10. Hereinafter, the plurality of ECUs 111 in the vehicle 10 will also be referred to as an "ECU group". The plurality of ECUs 111 forming the ECU group (functional unit group) will also be referred to as "each ECU 111".

[0068] For example, the ECU group includes an off-vehicle communication device 111a, an entertainment-related device 111b, a driving control device 111c, a camera 111d, an object detection sensor 111e, a temperature sensor 111f, a battery status monitoring sensor 111g, an automatic driving ECU 111h, and the like.

[0069] For example, each ECU 111 is connected to the management ECU 101 via a CAN bus according to the CAN (Controller Area Network) (registered trademark) standard or an Ethernet (registered trademark) cable. At least one ECU 111 in the ECU group can communicate with the management ECU 101 wirelessly.

[0070] Each ECU 111 executes various processes according to instructions from the management ECU 101 , and transmits result information indicating the result of each process to the management ECU 101 .

[0071] The external vehicle communication device 111 a can perform wireless communication with a server or the like outside the vehicle 10 via a wireless base station device.

[0072] The entertainment-related device 111 b controls equipment for providing entertainment services, specifically, a display, audio equipment, and the like.

[0073] The travel control device 111c is an ECU for controlling the travel of the vehicle 10, and is, for example, an engine control device, an AT (automatic transmission) control device, an HEV (hybrid electric vehicle) control device, a brake control device, a chassis control device, a steering control device, an instrument indication control device, etc.

[0074] The camera 111 d is an imaging device that captures images of the surroundings of the vehicle 10 .

[0075] The object detection sensor 111e is, for example, a radar device using millimeter waves, and detects objects such as pedestrians and vehicles around the vehicle 10. The object detection sensor 111e includes, for example, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) used in autonomous driving.

[0076] For example, the temperature sensor 111 f detects the interior and exterior temperatures of the vehicle 10 .

[0077] For example, the battery state monitoring sensor 111 g monitors the state of charge (SOC) and the state of health (SOH) of the battery mounted on the vehicle 10 .

[0078] The automatic driving ECU 111 h acquires the detection result of the object detection sensor 111 e via the management ECU 101 , and executes control related to the automatic driving of the vehicle 10 based on the acquired detection result, for example.

[0079] Each ECU 111 transmits wear information about the degree of wear of the ECU 111 to the management ECU 101 at a set transmission cycle or aperiodically. The wear information includes at least one of: information about the heat of the ECU 111; and information about the number of rewrites R of a memory such as a flash memory included in the ECU 111, for example.

[0080] The information about the heat of the ECU 111 may be information about the heat of the ECU 111 itself, or may be information about the heat around the ECU 111. The information about the heat around the ECU 111 is, for example, information indicating a temperature measured by a temperature sensor provided near the ECU 111.

[0081] Each ECU 111 transmits resource status information indicating the resource status of the ECU 111 (specifically, the usage rate of resources such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory) to the management ECU 101 at a set transmission cycle or aperiodically.

[0082] The management ECU 101 manages the ECU group. More specifically, based on the wear information transmitted from each ECU 111, the management ECU 101 calculates the degree of wear of the corresponding ECU 111. Then, based on the calculated degree of wear of each ECU 111 and the resource status information transmitted from each ECU 111, the management ECU 101 distributes processing among the plurality of ECUs 111.

[0083] For example, the management ECU 101 distributes at least a part of a target process that should be executed by one or more ECUs 111 having a high degree of wear to another ECU 111 having a low degree of wear. Therefore, various resources can be effectively utilized, and the available time period (hereinafter, also referred to as "lifetime") of each ECU 111 can be made longer.

[0084] The management ECU 101 may allocate all target processing executed by a specific ECU 111 to another ECU 111. Alternatively, the management ECU 101 may allocate a portion of the target processing (e.g., 50% of the target processing) to another ECU 111 and may cause the specific ECU 111 to execute the remaining 50%.

[0085] Instead of managing the ECU 101 , at least one ECU 111 in the ECU group may manage the ECU group including the at least one ECU 111 .

[0086] (Management ECU)

[0087] Figure 2 The configuration of the management ECU according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0088] Reference Figure 2 The management ECU 101 includes a communication unit (acquisition unit) 21 , a selection unit 22 , a storage unit 23 , and a control unit 24 .

[0089] The communication unit 21 transmits / receives information to / from each ECU 111. The communication unit 21 relays communication between the ECUs 111. The communication unit 21 outputs the wear information, result information, and resource status information that have been transmitted from each ECU 111 to the selection unit 22.

[0090] The selection unit 22 stores the wear information, result information, and resource status information received from the communication unit 21 into the storage unit 23. The selection unit 22 calculates the degree of wear of each ECU 111 based on the corresponding wear information stored in the storage unit 23, and confirms whether there is any ECU with a high degree of wear.

[0091] The degree of wear is, for example, a ratio of an actual use time period to an available time period in a predetermined time period. The available time period of each ECU 111 is obtained by, for example, a reliability test performed by a manufacturer.

[0092] When there are one or more ECUs 111 with a high degree of wear, the selection unit 22 performs the following selection processing based on the degree of wear of each ECU 111 and the corresponding resource status information stored in the storage unit 23: select one or more other ECUs 111 from the ECU group: the selected one or more other ECUs 111 will be used to execute at least a part of the target processing that should be performed by one or more ECUs 111 with a high degree of wear.

[0093] For example, as one or more ECUs 111 to be caused to execute the target process, the selection unit 22 selects at least one functional unit ECU 111 different from the one or more ECUs 111 that should execute the target process.

[0094] The target process may be a process to be executed by one ECU 111, may be a process to be executed by a plurality of ECUs 111 in cooperation, or may be a plurality of processes to be executed respectively by a plurality of ECUs 111. Hereinafter, the ECU 111 that alternatively executes the target process will also be referred to as an "alternative ECU".

[0095] More specifically, for example, as an alternative ECU that performs the target processing that should be performed by one ECU 111i, the selection unit 22 may select another ECU 111j, or may select ECU 111i and another ECU 111k. For example, as an alternative ECU that performs the target processing that should be performed by ECU 111m and ECU 111n in cooperation, the selection unit 22 may select one ECU 111p, may select ECU 111q and ECU 111r, may select ECU 111m and ECU 111s, or may select ECU 111m, ECU 111n, and ECU 111t.

[0096] The selection unit 22 outputs selection result information indicating the selected one or more substitute ECUs 111 and the content of the target process to the control unit 24 .

[0097] Upon receiving the selection result information from the selection unit 22, the control unit 24 performs a substitution control for causing one or more substitute ECUs 111 selected by the selection unit 22 to perform the target process based on the selection result information. More specifically, as the substitution control, the control unit 24 transmits the processing order indicating the target process to each substitute ECU 111 via the communication unit 21.

[0098] Each substitute ECU 111 receives the processing order transmitted from the management ECU 101 , executes target processing according to the processing order, and transmits result information indicating the obtained result to the management ECU 101 .

[0099] The control unit 24 receives the result information transmitted from each replacement ECU 111 via the communication unit 21, and summarizes the result indicated by each piece of received result information. Hereinafter, the details of the calculation process of the wear degree performed by the selection unit 22, the details of the selection process performed by the selection unit 22, and the details of the replacement control performed by the control unit 24 are described.

[0100] (Details of the calculation process of the wear degree)

[0101] (a-1) Example 1

[0102] Here, it is assumed that the wear information is information about the heat of the ECU 111 itself, specifically, information about the temperature history of the ECU 111. For example, each ECU 111: has a thermometer that measures the temperature of the ECU 111; attaches a time stamp to the wear information indicating the measurement result obtained by the thermometer; and transmits the wear information to the management ECU 101 together with the result information and the resource status information.

[0103] The temperature indicated by the wear information is, for example, a temperature affected by both the ambient temperature of the ECU 111 and the heat generated by the ECU 111. The heat generated by the ECU 111 includes: heat generated by the operation of various resources; heat generated by turning on / off the power supply of the ECU 111; heat generated by the occurrence of ripple current, and the like.

[0104] For example, the storage unit 23 has stored therein life information indicating the life of each ECU 111. For each ECU 111, the selection unit 22 calculates the ratio of the actual use period to the life based on the corresponding wear information received from the ECU 111 via the communication unit 21 and the life information stored in the storage unit 23.

[0105] Specifically, the selection unit 22 calculates the degree of wear in a predetermined period of time for each ECU 111 using an empirical rule such as a 10° C. half-life. For example, the predetermined period of time is one minute, one hour, one day, one week, one month, or one year.

[0106] For example, it is assumed that the life of a certain ECU 111 when used at 50° C. is 10,000 hours in the life information. In addition, it is assumed that the predetermined period is one year. In this case, the selection unit 22 calculates the use period of the ECU 111 in one year, thereby calculating the degree of wear of the ECU 111.

[0107] More specifically, it is assumed that for three months from March to May, the ECU 111 is used for 50 hours per month at an average temperature of 50° C. In this case, the selection unit 22 grasps the usage status of the ECU 111 in three months based on a plurality of pieces of wear information from the ECU 111, and calculates the usage time period of the ECU 111 in three months as 150 hours (=50×3).

[0108] In addition, it is assumed that for three months from June to August, the ECU 111 is used for 50 hours per month at an average temperature of 80° C. In this case, the selection unit 22 grasps the usage status of the ECU 111 in three months based on the plurality of pieces of wear information from the ECU 111, and calculates the usage time period of the ECU 111 in three months as 1200 hours (=50×2^{(80-50) / 10}×3) under the assumption that the ECU 111 is used at 50° C.

[0109] In addition, it is assumed that for the three months from September to November, the ECU 111 is used for 50 hours per month at an average temperature of 60° C. In this case, the selection unit 22 grasps the usage status of the ECU 111 in the three months based on the plurality of pieces of wear information from the ECU 111, and calculates the usage time period of the ECU 111 in the three months as 300 hours (=50×2^{(60-50) / 10}×3) under the assumption that the ECU 111 is used at 50° C.

[0110] In addition, it is assumed that for the three months from December to February, the ECU 111 is used for 50 hours per month at an average temperature of 40° C. In this case, the selection unit 22 grasps the usage status of the ECU 111 in the three months based on the plurality of pieces of wear information from the ECU 111, and calculates the usage time period of the ECU 111 in the three months as 75 hours (=50×2^{(40-50) / 10}×3) under the assumption that the ECU 111 is used at 50° C.

[0111] Then, the selection unit 22 calculates the usage time period of the ECU 111 in one year as 1725 hours (=150+1200+300+75), and calculates the degree of wear of the ECU 111 as 17.25% (=1725 / 10000).

[0112] In the non-energized period of the vehicle communication system 301, transmission of wear information from each ECU 111 to the management ECU 101 is not performed. Therefore, the selection unit 22 interpolates the degree of wear of the ECU 111 in the non-energized period based on the pieces of wear information received in the energized period.

[0113] Figure 3 1 is a diagram for describing an interpolation process performed by a selection unit in a management ECU according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 3 In the graph shown in , the vertical axis represents temperature (° C.) and the horizontal axis represents time.

[0114] Reference Figure 3 , for example, the selection unit 22 calculates the temperature of the ECU 111 in the non-energized period by linear interpolation.

[0115] Here, it is assumed that the time period from time t1 to time t2 is the non-energized time period. In this case, for example, the selection unit 22 obtains a formula of a straight line that connects the temperature Tp1 indicated by the wear information with a time stamp of time t1 and the temperature Tp2 indicated by the wear information with a time stamp of time t2. Then, using the formula of the straight line, the selection unit 22 calculates a plurality of temperatures of the ECU 111 at a plurality of corresponding timings included in the non-energized time period.

[0116] Then, based on multiple calculated temperatures corresponding to multiple timings included in the non-power-on time period and multiple temperatures corresponding to multiple timings included in the power-on time period, the selection unit 22 calculates the degree of wear of the ECU 111 in a predetermined time period including the power-on time period and the non-power-on time period.

[0117] (a-2) Example 2

[0118] The selection unit 22 can calculate the degree of wear of each ECU 111 by using a temperature determined as a specification of the ECU 111 (hereinafter, also referred to as a “temperature specification”). The temperature specification of each ECU 111 is stored in the storage unit 23, for example.

[0119] Specifically, assume that the temperature specification of the first ECU 111 is 85° C., and the actual temperature of the first ECU 111 in the predetermined period (hereinafter, also referred to as “usage temperature”) is 60° C. In this case, the selection unit 22 calculates the wear degree of the ECU 111 in the predetermined period as 70.6% (=60 / 85).

[0120] Also, for example, assume that the temperature specification of the second ECU 111 is 125° C. and the use temperature of the second ECU 111 in the predetermined period is 65° C. In this case, the selection unit 22 calculates the wear degree of the ECU 111 in the predetermined period as 52.0% (=65 / 125).

[0121] In this calculation method, during a predetermined period of time, although the temperature of the second ECU 111 is higher than that of the first ECU 111 , the value of the wear degree of the second ECU 111 is lower than that of the first ECU 111 .

[0122] As in "(a-1) Example 1", when a predetermined time period is divided into multiple time periods and the selection unit 22 calculates the usage time period of the ECU 111 in each divided time period, the usage time period in each divided time period can be multiplied by the ratio of the usage temperature of the ECU 111 in the divided time period to the temperature specification.

[0123] (a-3) Example 3

[0124] Here, it is assumed that the wear information is information about the number of rewrites R of a memory included in the corresponding ECU 111. For example, each ECU 111 counts the number of rewrites R of the memory of the ECU 111, attaches a time stamp to the wear information indicating the count value, and transmits the resulting wear information to the management ECU 101 together with the result information and the resource status information.

[0125] The life information stored in the storage unit 23 indicates the rewritable number Rmax of the memory of each of the plurality of ECUs 111. For each ECU 111, the selection unit 22 calculates the rewriting number Rt in a predetermined period based on a plurality of pieces of wear information received from the ECU 111 via the communication unit 21 in the predetermined period.

[0126] For example, the selection unit 22 subtracts the minimum value from the maximum value of the number of rewrites R indicated by each of the plurality of pieces of wear information received in the predetermined period of time, thereby calculating the actual number of rewrites Rt in the predetermined period of time.

[0127] Then, the selection unit 22 calculates the ratio of the calculated number of rewrite times Rt to the number of rewritable times Rmax indicated by the life information stored in the storage unit 23 as the degree of wear.

[0128] (Details of selected treatment and alternative controls)

[0129] (b-1) Example 1

[0130] Refer again Figure 2Here, it is assumed that there is an ECU 111 (hereinafter, also referred to as "high wear ECU 111") whose wear degree in a predetermined period of time is not less than a threshold value Th1 in the ECU group. In this case, based on the resource status information that has been transmitted from each ECU 111 and stored in the storage unit 23, the selection unit 22 selects one or more substitute ECUs 111 that will cause the selected one or more substitute ECUs 111 to execute the target processing that should be executed by the one or more high wear ECUs 111.

[0131] More specifically, for example, the selection unit 22 selects one or more ECUs 111 (hereinafter, also referred to as "low wear ECUs 111") from the ECU group as substitute ECUs 111 whose wear degree in a predetermined period is not greater than a threshold value Th2, and whose resource usage rate is not greater than a threshold value Th3. Then, the selection unit 22 outputs selection result information indicating the selected one or more substitute ECUs 111 and the content of the target process to the control unit 24.

[0132] Upon receiving the selection result information from the selection unit 22, the control unit 24 transmits the processing order for causing the target processing to be executed to each substitute ECU 111 selected by the selection unit 22 based on the selection result information. Therefore, the target processing that should be executed by one or more high wear ECUs 111 can be allocated to one or more ECUs 111 each of which is a low wear ECU 111 and has a low resource usage rate.

[0133] The control unit 24 can also perform control to reduce the processing load of each substitute ECU 111, that is, control to reduce the resource usage rate such as CPU and memory. Therefore, an increase in the degree of wear of the substitute ECU 111 can be suppressed.

[0134] For example, when the target process includes a communication process to be performed with the management ECU 101, the control unit 24 changes the communication process of the substitute ECU 111 so that the frequency of communication to be performed with the management ECU 101 is reduced. Specifically, as control for reducing the communication frequency of the substitute ECU 111 with respect to the management ECU 101, the control unit 24 performs setting so that the wear information and the result information become thinner to be transmitted, or performs setting so that the transmission cycle of the wear information and the result information is extended.

[0135] For the substitute ECU 111 , the control unit 24 can perform control to reduce the processing load of the substitute ECU 111 by performing setting so that the resolution of the display screen or the like is reduced.

[0136] (b-2) Example 2

[0137] It is assumed that there is no ECU 111 that is a low wear ECU 111 and whose resource usage rate is not greater than the threshold value Th3 in the ECU group. In addition, it is assumed that there is no ECU 111 that performs control related to the running of the vehicle 10 (hereinafter, also referred to as "running control system ECU 111") among one or more high wear ECUs 111. For example, the running control system ECU 111 is a running control device 111c or an automatic driving ECU 111h.

[0138] In this case, the selection unit 22 determines not to select any substitute ECU 111. That is, the selection unit 22 determines that the target process to be executed by one or more high wear ECUs 111 is not allocated to other ECUs 111. Then, the selection unit 22 outputs selection result information indicating the content of the determination to the control unit 24.

[0139] Upon receiving the selection result information from the selection unit 22, the control unit 24 determines not to perform alternative control of the target process according to the selection result information.

[0140] When it has been determined that the target process is not allocated to the other ECUs 111 , the selection unit 22 may output instruction information instructing to reduce the processing load of each high-wear ECU 111 to the control unit 24 .

[0141] In this case, upon receiving the instruction information from the selection unit 22, the control unit 24 performs control to reduce the processing load of each high wear ECU 111 based on the instruction information. For example, with respect to the high wear ECU 111, the control unit 24 limits the content of the target processing by making a change so that the communication frequency with the management ECU 101 is reduced or by performing a setting so that the resolution of the display screen or the like is reduced.

[0142] Therefore, each high wear ECU 111 can suppress an increase in the degree of wear by reducing the resource usage rate while executing a target process that the high wear ECU 111 should execute.

[0143] (b-3) Example 3

[0144] Here, it is assumed that there is no ECU 111 which is a low wear ECU 111 and whose resource usage rate is not greater than the threshold value Th3 in the ECU group. In addition, it is assumed that at least one of the one or more high wear ECUs 111 is a travel control system ECU 111.

[0145] In this case, for example, as an alternative ECU 111, the selection unit 22 selects one or more ECUs 111 from the ECU group: each of which is an ECU 111 other than the driving control system ECU 111 and is a high wear ECU 111, and the resource usage rate of the one or more ECUs 111 is not greater than the threshold Th3.

[0146] Then, the selection unit 22 outputs selection result information indicating the selected one or more substitute ECUs 111 and the content of the target process to the control unit 24 .

[0147] Upon receiving the selection result information from the selection unit 22 , the control unit 24 transmits a processing order for causing the target process to be executed to each substitute ECU 111 selected by the selection unit 22 based on the selection result information.

[0148] Therefore, target processing that should be executed by one or more high-wear ECUs 111 can be allocated to one or more ECUs 111 each of which is an ECU 111 other than the travel control system ECU 111 and whose resource usage rate is low.

[0149] In addition, the control unit 24 can also perform control to reduce the processing load of each substitute ECU 111 as described in (b-1).

[0150] (b-4) Example 4

[0151] Here, it is assumed that, in the ECU group, there is no ECU 111 whose resource usage rate is not greater than the threshold value Th3 , and at least one of the one or more high-wear ECUs 111 is the travel control system ECU 111 .

[0152] In this case, the selection unit 22 selects an ECU 111 other than the travel control system ECU 111 (e.g., the entertainment-related device 111b) from the ECU group as the substitute ECU 111. Then, the selection unit 22 outputs selection result information indicating the selected one or more substitute ECUs 111 and the content of the target processing and instruction information instructing to reduce the processing load of each substitute ECU 111 to the control unit 24, for example.

[0153] Upon receiving the selection result information and the instruction information from the selection unit 22, the control unit 24 sends a processing order for causing the target process to be executed based on the selection result information to each substitute ECU 111 selected by the selection unit 22. In addition, the control unit 24 performs control to reduce the processing load of each substitute ECU 111 based on the instruction information.

[0154] Therefore, even in the absence of an ECU 111 whose resource usage is not greater than the threshold Th3, the target processing to be executed by one or more high-wear ECUs 111 can be allocated to one or more ECUs 111 that will not affect the driving of the vehicle 10 even if the resource usage is reduced.

[0155] [Operation process]

[0156] Each device in the vehicle communication system 301 includes a computer. An arithmetic processing unit such as a CPU in the computer reads out a program including part or all of the steps in the sequence diagram or flowchart described below from a memory (not shown) and executes the program. Programs for multiple devices can be installed from the outside. Programs for multiple devices are each distributed in a state of being stored in a storage medium.

[0157] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation flow of the in-vehicle communication system according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0158] Reference Figure 2 and Figure 4 , first, for example, each ECU 111 transmits wear information, result information, and resource status information to the management ECU 101 at a set transmission cycle (step S11 ).

[0159] Next, the selection unit 22 in the management ECU 101 receives the wear information, result information, and resource status information transmitted from each ECU 111 via the communication unit 21, and stores the information in the storage unit 23. Then, for example, when a predetermined period of time including a plurality of transmission cycles has elapsed, the selection unit 22 calculates the degree of wear of each ECU 111 in the predetermined period of time based on the plurality of pieces of wear information stored in the storage unit 23 (step S12).

[0160] Next, the selection unit 22 in the management ECU 101 confirms whether or not there is a high wear ECU 111 in the ECU group (step S13).

[0161] When there is no high wear ECU 111 (No in step S13), the selection unit 22 determines not to select any substitute ECU 111 (step S14). Then, until the next predetermined period of time has passed, the selection unit 22 repeats the reception of wear information, result information, and resource status information, and stores these information in the storage unit 23. Then, when the predetermined period of time has passed, the selection unit 22 calculates the degree of wear of each ECU 111 in the predetermined period of time (step S12).

[0162] At the same time, when there is a high wear ECU 111 ("Yes" in step S13), the selection unit 22 confirms whether there is an ECU 111 in the ECU group that is a low wear ECU 111 and whose resource usage rate is not greater than the threshold Th3 based on the resource status information sent from each ECU 111 and stored in the storage unit 23 (step S15).

[0163] Then, when there are one or more ECUs 111 each serving as a low wear ECU 111 and whose resource usage rate is not greater than the threshold value Th3 ("Yes" in step S15), the selection unit 22 selects the one or more ECUs 111 as substitute ECUs 111. Then, the selection unit 22 outputs selection result information indicating the selection result and the content of the target process to the control unit 24 (step S16).

[0164] Next, upon receiving the selection result information from the selection unit 22, the control unit 24 performs, for example, substitution control of causing each substitute ECU 111 selected by the selection unit 22 to execute target processing and control of reducing the processing load of the substitute ECU 111 based on the selection result information (step S17).

[0165] Meanwhile, when there is no ECU 111 which is a low wear ECU 111 and whose resource usage rate is not greater than the threshold Th3 (No in step S15), the selection unit 22 confirms whether the high wear ECU 111 is a travel control system ECU 111 (step S18).

[0166] Then, when one or more high wear ECUs 111 are not the travel control system ECU 111 (No in step S18), the selection unit 22 determines not to select any substitute ECU 111. Then, the selection unit 22 outputs selection result information indicating the content of the determination and instruction information instructing to reduce the processing load of each high wear ECU 111 to the control unit 24 (step S19).

[0167] Next, upon receiving the selection result information and the instruction information from the selection unit 22, the control unit 24 performs control of reducing the processing load of each high wear ECU 111 based on the selection result information and the instruction information (step S20).

[0168] Meanwhile, when at least one of the one or more high wear ECUs 111 is the driving control system ECU 111 ("Yes" in step S18), the selection unit 22 selects one or more ECUs 111 in the ECU group, each of which is an ECU 111 other than the driving control system ECU 111 and is a high wear ECU 111, and the resource usage rate of the one or more ECUs 111 is not greater than the threshold value Th3, as the substitute ECU 111. Then, the selection unit 22 outputs selection result information indicating the selection result and the content of the target processing to the control unit 24 (step S21).

[0169] Next, upon receiving the selection result information from the selection unit 22, the control unit 24 performs substitution control of causing each substitute ECU 111 selected by the selection unit 22 to execute the target process and control of reducing the processing load of each substitute ECU 111 based on the selection result information (step S22).

[0170] In step S21, for example, when there is no ECU 111 whose resource usage rate is not greater than the threshold value Th3, the selection unit 22 may select the entertainment-related device 111b or the like as the substitute ECU 111. In this case, for example, the selection unit 22 outputs selection result information indicating the selection result and instruction information instructing to reduce the processing load of one or more substitute ECUs 111 to the control unit 24.

[0171] Then, in step S22, upon receiving the selection result information and instruction information from the selection unit 22, the control unit 24 performs alternative control to cause each alternative ECU 111 selected by the selection unit 22 to perform target processing and control to reduce the processing load of each alternative ECU 111 based on the selection result information and instruction information.

[0172] In step S12, the selection unit 22 newly calculates the degree of wear of each ECU 111 in the next predetermined time period, and when the degree of wear of the ECU 111 that was a high-wear ECU 111 in the previous predetermined time period becomes less than the threshold value Th1, the selection unit 22 outputs the assigned end instruction information commanding the end of the target processing to be performed by the ECU 111 to the control unit 24.

[0173] Upon receiving the end instruction information from the selection unit 22, the control unit 24 performs control based on the end instruction information to cause the target process that has been executed by the one or more substitute ECUs 111 selected by the selection unit 22 to be executed by the one or more ECUs 111 that should execute the target process.

[0174] Meanwhile, in the future, due to the popularization of shared cars, the development of autonomous driving technology, etc., the operation rate of each ECU will likely increase, and a technology that can make the available time period of each ECU longer will be required.

[0175] Therefore, in the management ECU 101 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the communication unit 21 acquires a plurality of pieces of wear information about the degree of wear of each of the plurality of ECUs 111 mounted on the vehicle 10. Based on each piece of wear information acquired by the communication unit 21, the selection unit 22 selects one or more substitute ECUs 111 from the plurality of ECUs 111: the selected one or more substitute ECUs 111 will be caused to execute the target processing that should be executed by one or more ECUs 111 among the plurality of ECUs 111. Then, the control unit 24 performs control to cause the one or more substitute ECUs 111 selected by the selection unit 22 to execute the target processing.

[0176] With this configuration, for example, target processing that should be executed by one or more high wear ECUs 111 can be distributed to another one or more ECUs 111. Therefore, an increase in the degree of wear of each high wear ECU 111 can be suppressed.

[0177] Therefore, in the management ECU 101 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the usable period of time of each ECU 111 mounted on the vehicle 10 can be made longer.

[0178] In the management ECU 101 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure, as the one or more ECUs 111 to be caused to execute the target process, the selection unit 22 selects at least one ECU 111 different from the one or more ECUs 111 that should execute the target process.

[0179] With this configuration, for example, a target process that should be executed by the high wear ECU 111 can be executed by the low wear ECU 111 .

[0180] The wear information acquired by the communication unit 21 in the management ECU 101 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure includes information on the heat amount of the ECU 111 .

[0181] With this configuration in which the substitute ECU 111 is selected by using information on the amount of heat that significantly affects the wear of the ECU 111, the degree of wear of each ECU 111 can be grasped more accurately, and more appropriate selection can be performed.

[0182] The wear information acquired by the communication unit 21 in the management ECU 101 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure includes information on the number of rewrites R of the memory included in the ECU 111 .

[0183] With this configuration, since the replacement ECU 111 is selected by using information about the memory that is easily worn out among the electronic components of the ECU 111, the degree of wear of each ECU 111 can be grasped more accurately, and more appropriate selection can be performed.

[0184] In the management ECU 101 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the control unit 24 also performs control of reducing the processing load of the substitute ECU(s) 111 selected by the selection unit 22 .

[0185] With this configuration, for example, it is possible to reduce the processing load of each substitute ECU 111. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase in the degree of wear of the substitute ECU 111 to which the target process is allocated.

[0186] In the management ECU 101 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the control unit 24 changes the communication frequency of the substitute ECU 111 as control to reduce the processing load.

[0187] With this configuration, for example, by setting the communication frequency of the substitute ECU 111 to be reduced, the processing load of the substitute ECU 111 can be reduced.

[0188] In the management ECU 101 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure, when the selection unit 22 does not select the substitute ECU 111, the control unit 24 performs control of reducing the processing load of the high wear ECU 111 that executes the target process.

[0189] With this configuration, even when there is no appropriate ECU 111 to which the target process is assigned, it is possible to suppress an increase in the degree of wear of the high-wear ECU 111 that executes the target process.

[0190] In the management ECU 101 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the degree of wear is a ratio of an actual use time period in a predetermined time period to an available time period of the ECU 111, or a ratio of an actual number of rewrites in a predetermined time period to a rewritable number of times of a memory included in the ECU 111. Wear information is information on a temperature history of the ECU 111, or information on the rewritable number of times of the memory. The temperature is a temperature affected by both an ambient temperature of the ECU 111 and a generated heat of the ECU 111. The generated heat of the ECU 111 includes heat generated due to operations of various resources in the ECU 111, heat generated due to on / off of a power supply of the ECU 111, and heat generated due to occurrence of a ripple current.

[0191] With this configuration, since a replacement ECU 111 is selected by using information about heat that significantly affects the wear of ECU 111 or information about memory that is susceptible to wear among the electronic components of ECU 111, the degree of wear of each ECU 111 can be more accurately grasped, and a more appropriate replacement ECU 111 can be selected.

[0192] In the control method to be executed in the management ECU 101 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure, first, the communication unit 21 acquires wear information about the degree of wear of each of the plurality of ECUs 111 mounted on the vehicle 10. Next, based on each piece of wear information acquired by the communication unit 21, the selection unit 22 selects one or more substitute ECUs 111 from the ECU group consisting of the plurality of ECUs 111: the selected one or more substitute ECUs 111 will be caused to execute the target processing that should be executed by at least one ECU 111 in the ECU group. Then, the control unit 24 performs the following substitute control: the one or more substitute ECUs 111 selected by the selection unit 22 are caused to execute the target processing.

[0193] With this method, for example, target processing that should be executed by one or more high-wear ECUs 111 can be distributed to another one or more ECUs 111. Therefore, an increase in the degree of wear of each high-wear ECU 111 can be suppressed.

[0194] Therefore, in the control method executed in the management ECU 101 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the usable period of time of each ECU 111 mounted on the vehicle 10 can be made longer.

[0195] Next, another embodiment of the present disclosure is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings, the same or corresponding components are represented by the same reference numerals, and their description will not be repeated.

[0196] <Second Embodiment>

[0197] In the above-described first embodiment, the management ECU 101 mounted on the vehicle 10 calculates the degree of wear of each ECU 111, and performs a selection process of a substitute ECU 111 based on the calculated degree of wear of each ECU 111. In contrast, in the second embodiment, the management server (management device) 121 estimates the degree of wear of each ECU 111 mounted on the vehicle 11, and the management ECU 101 in the vehicle 11 performs a selection process of a substitute ECU 111 based on the estimation result by the management server 121. This configuration is the same as that of the in-vehicle communication system 301 according to the first embodiment except for the contents described below.

[0198] [Configuration and basic operations]

[0199] Figure 5 A configuration of a control system according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0200] Reference Figure 5 The control system 302 includes one or more vehicles 11, a management server 121, a dealer-side server 131, and a wireless base station device 161. Figure 5 , two vehicles 11 are shown as an example.

[0201] like Figure 1 As in the vehicle 10 shown in FIG. 1 , the vehicle 11 according to the second embodiment includes a management ECU 101 and a plurality of ECUs 111. Figure 2 As shown in , the management ECU 101 includes a communication unit 21 , a selection unit 22 , a storage unit 23 , and a control unit 24 .

[0202] The selection unit 22 communicates with the communication unit 21, Figure 1 The vehicle exterior communication device 111 a and the wireless base station device 161 shown in FIG. 1 transmit a plurality of pieces of wear information respectively received from a plurality of ECUs 111 to the management server 121 .

[0203] The dealer-side server 131 maintains failure information about failures of the plurality of ECUs 111. For example, the failure information indicates a correspondence between the type of ECU 111, the manufacturing date of the ECU 111, the life of the ECU 111, and the number of ECUs 111 that have failed among the plurality of ECUs 111 manufactured on the manufacturing date.

[0204] For example, the dealer-side server 131 periodically or aperiodically updates the fault information, and transmits the updated fault information to the management server 121 via the wireless base station device 161 .

[0205] Management server 121 estimates the degree of wear of each of the plurality of ECUs 111 in each vehicle 11 based on pieces of wear information received from each vehicle 11 via wireless base station device 161 and failure information received from dealer-side server 131 via wireless base station device 161 .

[0206] Specifically, for example, the wear information from the vehicle 11 indicates the type, manufacturing date, etc. of each ECU 111. Referring to the type and manufacturing date of each of the plurality of ECUs 111 respectively indicated by the plurality of pieces of wear information received from the vehicle 11 and the above-mentioned correspondence indicated by the failure information, the management server 121 estimates a time period until the probability of a failure becoming not less than a predetermined value as an available time period.

[0207] The management server 121 calculates the usage time period of each ECU 111 based on the corresponding wear information, and calculates the ratio of the usage time period to the estimated available time period for each ECU 111 , thereby estimating the degree of wear of each ECU 111 .

[0208] Then, the management server 121 transmits estimation information indicating the estimated degree of wear of each ECU 111 and the type, manufacturing date, etc. of each ECU 111 to the one or more vehicles 11 and the dealer-side server 131 via the wireless base station device 161 .

[0209] The selection unit 22 in the vehicle 11 receives the estimation information transmitted from the management server 121 via the wireless base station device 161, the external communication device 111a, and the communication unit 21. Then, based on the received estimation information, the selection unit 22 selects one or more replacement ECUs 111 from the ECU group in the vehicle 11 to cause them to execute the target process.

[0210] More specifically, based on the received estimation information, the selection unit 22 calculates the degree of wear of each ECU 111 in the vehicle 11. For example, for each ECU 111, the selection unit 22 assigns a weight to the degree of wear calculated by using the method described in (a-1) or the method described in (a-2) and the degree of wear indicated by the received estimation information, and performs addition thereto. Thus, the selection unit 22 calculates the degree of wear of each ECU 111 reflecting the contents of the estimation information.

[0211] Then, based on the calculated wear degree of each ECU 111 and the corresponding resource status information stored in the storage unit 23 , the selection unit 22 performs selection processing of a substitute ECU 111 .

[0212] The selection unit 22 may not necessarily perform calculation of the degree of wear of each ECU 111. In this case, for example, the selection unit 22 determines the magnitude of the degree of wear of each ECU 111 by using the estimation information received from the management server 121, and performs selection processing of the substitute ECU 111.

[0213] The dealer-side server 131 receives the estimation information transmitted from the management server 121 via the wireless base station device 161 , and determines whether the degree of wear of each ECU 111 estimated by the management server 121 is valid based on the received estimation information.

[0214] For example, the dealer-side server 131 specifies one or more ECUs 111 that are highly likely to fail, based on the failure information maintained by the dealer-side server 131 and the type, manufacturing date, etc. of each ECU 111 indicated by the estimation information received from the management server 121. In addition, the dealer-side server 131 confirms the corresponding wear degree indicated by the estimation information, thereby determining whether the wear degree of each ECU 111 estimated by the management server 121 is valid.

[0215] Then, for example, the dealer-side server 131 transmits determination result information indicating a valid determination result to the management server 121 via the wireless base station device 161 .

[0216] When the vehicle 11 breaks down, the dealer-side server 131 may use the estimation information and the validity determination result received from the management server 121 in estimating the cause of the breakdown of the vehicle 11 .

[0217] [Operation process]

[0218] Figure 6 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation flow of the control system according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0219] Reference Figure 5 and Figure 6 First, the management ECU 101 in the vehicle 11 periodically or aperiodically transmits the wear information of each ECU 111 to the management server 121 via the off-vehicle communication device 111a and the wireless base station device 161 (step S31).

[0220] Next, for example, each time the dealer-side server 131 updates the failure information held therein, the dealer-side server 131 transmits the updated failure information to the management server 121 via the wireless base station device 161 (step S32).

[0221] Next, based on the pieces of wear information received from the vehicle 11 and the failure information received from the dealer-side server 131 , the management server 121 estimates the degree of wear of each ECU 111 in the vehicle 11 (step S33 ).

[0222] Next, the management server 121 transmits estimation information indicating the estimated degree of wear of each ECU 111 to the vehicle 11 and the dealer-side server 131 via the wireless base station device 161 (step S34 ).

[0223] Next, based on the estimation information received from the management server 121, the dealer-side server 131 determines whether the degree of wear of each ECU 111 estimated by the management server 121 is valid (step S35). Then, the dealer-side server 131 transmits determination result information indicating the determination result to the management server 121 via the wireless base station device 161 (step S36).

[0224] At the same time, if Figure 4 As in step S12 shown in FIG. 1 , based on the estimation information received from the management server 121, the selection unit 22 in the vehicle 11 calculates the degree of wear of each ECU 111 in the vehicle 11 (step S37), and then performs the same Figure 4 The operations are similar to those shown in .

[0225] The other configuration and operation are the same as those of the in-vehicle communication system 301 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure, and thus a detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

[0226] As described above, in the control system 302 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure, with respect to a plurality of vehicles 11, the management server 121: acquires a plurality of pieces of wear information on the degree of wear of each of the plurality of ECUs 111 mounted on each vehicle 11; estimates the degree of wear of one or more ECUs 111 in the vehicle 11 on which the management ECU 101 is mounted, based on each piece of wear information acquired; and transmits estimation information indicating the estimation result to the management ECU 101. Then, the management ECU 101: receives the estimation information transmitted from the management server 121; selects, based on the received estimation information, one or more substitute ECUs 111 from the plurality of ECUs 111 in the vehicle 11 on which the management ECU 101 is mounted, which will cause the selected one or more substitute ECUs 111 to execute a target process that should be executed by one or more ECUs 111 among the plurality of ECUs 111; and performs substitute control in which the selected one or more substitute ECUs 111 are caused to execute the target process.

[0227] With this configuration, for example, target processing that should be executed by one or more high wear ECUs 111 can be distributed to another one or more substitute ECUs 111. Therefore, an increase in the degree of wear of each high wear ECU 111 can be suppressed.

[0228] With the configuration in which the management server 121 estimates the degree of wear of each ECU 111 , for example, a more accurate degree of wear can be calculated in the vehicle 11 by using both the degree of wear estimated by the management server 121 and the degree of wear calculated in the vehicle 11 .

[0229] Therefore, in the control system 302 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure, the usable time period of each ECU 111 mounted on the vehicle 11 can be made longer.

[0230] In the control system 302 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure, the dealer-side server 131 maintains failure information about failures of a plurality of ECUs 111. The dealer-side server 131 transmits the failure information to the management server 121. The management server 121 estimates the degree of wear of one or more ECUs 111 based on each piece of wear information acquired and the failure information received from the dealer-side server 131.

[0231] With this configuration in which the management server 121 estimates the degree of wear of each ECU 111 based on the wear information and the failure information, a more accurate degree of wear can be calculated.

[0232] In the control method to be executed in the control system 302 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure, first, with respect to a plurality of vehicles 11, the management server 121 acquires a plurality of pieces of wear information on the degree of wear of each of a plurality of ECUs 111 mounted on each vehicle 11. Next, based on each piece of wear information acquired, the management server 121 estimates the degree of wear of one or more ECUs 111 in the vehicle 11 on which the management ECU 101 is mounted, and transmits estimation information indicating the estimation result to the management ECU 101. Next, the management ECU 101: receives the estimation information transmitted from the management server 121; and based on the received estimation information, selects one or more substitute ECUs 111 from the plurality of ECUs 111 in the vehicle 11 on which the management ECU 101 is mounted: will cause the selected one or more substitute ECUs 111 to execute a target process that should be executed by one or more ECUs 111 among the plurality of ECUs 111. Then, the management ECU 101 executes a substitute control that causes the selected one or more substitute ECUs 111 to execute the target process.

[0233] With this method, for example, target processing that should be executed by one or more high wear ECUs 111 can be distributed to another one or more substitute ECUs 111. Therefore, an increase in the degree of wear of each high wear ECU 111 can be suppressed.

[0234] With this method in which the management server 121 estimates the degree of wear of each ECU 111 , for example, a more accurate degree of wear can be calculated in the vehicle 11 by using both the degree of wear estimated by the management server 121 and the degree of wear calculated in the vehicle 11 .

[0235] Therefore, in the control method executed in the control system 302 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure, the usable time period of each ECU 111 mounted on the vehicle 11 can be made longer.

[0236] It is also possible to appropriately combine the features of the in-vehicle communication system 301 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure and the features of the control system 302 of the second embodiment.

[0237] The disclosed embodiments are merely illustrative in all aspects and should not be considered restrictive.The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the scope of the claims rather than the above description, and is intended to include meanings equivalent to the scope of the claims and all modifications within the scope.

[0238] Reference numerals list

[0239] 10.11 Vehicles

[0240] 21 Communication unit (acquisition unit)

[0241] 22 Select Unit

[0242] 23 Storage Unit

[0243] 24 Control Unit

[0244] 101 Management ECU (on-board control unit)

[0245] 111 ECU (functional unit)

[0246] 111a External vehicle communication device

[0247] 111b Entertainment related devices

[0248] 111c Travel Controls

[0249] 111d Camera

[0250] 111e Object Detection Sensor

[0251] 111f Temperature Sensor

[0252] 111g Battery Status Monitoring Sensor

[0253] 111h Autonomous Driving ECU

[0254] 121 Management Server (Management Device)

[0255] 131 Dealer Server

[0256] 161 Wireless base station device

[0257] 301 Vehicle Communication System

[0258] 302 Control System

Claims

1. A vehicle-mounted control device, comprising: an acquisition unit configured to acquire a plurality of pieces of wear information regarding a degree of wear of each of a plurality of functional units mounted on the vehicle; a selection unit configured to select one or more first function units from the plurality of function units based on each piece of the wear information acquired by the acquisition unit: to cause the selected one or more first function units to perform a target process that should be performed by one or more second function units among the plurality of function units; as well as a control unit configured to perform the following control: causing the one or more first function units selected by the selection unit to perform the target process, The selection unit is further configured to: Determine whether there is a high-wear functional unit among the multiple functional units, wherein the high-wear functional unit refers to a functional unit whose wear degree in a predetermined time period is not less than a first threshold; When there is a high-wear functional unit, determining whether there is a functional unit that is a low-wear functional unit and whose resource usage rate is not greater than a third threshold, wherein the low-wear functional unit refers to a functional unit whose wear degree in a predetermined time period is not greater than a second threshold; When there is no functional unit that is a low-wear functional unit and whose resource usage rate is not greater than a third threshold, determining whether the high-wear functional unit is a driving control system functional unit; as well as When the high wear function unit is a driving control system function unit, a high wear function unit other than the driving control system function unit whose resource usage rate is not greater than a third threshold value is selected from the plurality of function units to execute a target process that should be executed by the driving control system function unit, or When there is no function unit whose resource usage rate is not greater than the third threshold, a function unit other than the travel control system function unit is selected from the plurality of function units to execute a target process that should be executed by the travel control system function unit.

2. The vehicle-mounted control device according to claim 1, wherein: The wear information includes information about the thermal state of the functional unit.

3. The vehicle-mounted control device according to claim 1, wherein: The wear information includes information about the number of rewrites of a memory included in the functional unit.

4. The vehicle-mounted control device according to claim 2, wherein: The wear information includes information about the number of rewrites of a memory included in the functional unit.

5. The vehicle-mounted control device according to claim 1, wherein: The control unit also performs control of reducing a processing load of the one or more first functional units selected by the selection unit.

6. The vehicle-mounted control device according to claim 2, wherein: The control unit also performs control of reducing a processing load of the one or more first functional units selected by the selection unit.

7. The vehicle-mounted control device according to claim 3, wherein: The control unit also performs control of reducing a processing load of the one or more first functional units selected by the selection unit.

8. The vehicle-mounted control device according to claim 4, wherein: The control unit also performs control of reducing a processing load of the one or more first functional units selected by the selection unit.

9. The vehicle-mounted control device according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein: The control unit changes a communication frequency of the first functional unit as the control to reduce the processing load.

10. The vehicle-mounted control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: When the selection unit does not select a functional unit, the control unit performs control to reduce a processing load of the second functional unit that executes the target process.

11. The vehicle-mounted control device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein: The wear degree is a ratio of an actual use time period in a predetermined time period to an available time period of the functional unit, or a ratio of an actual number of rewrites in a predetermined time period to an available number of rewrites of a memory included in the functional unit, The wear information is information on the temperature history of the functional unit, or information on the number of rewritable times of the memory, The temperature is a temperature affected by both the ambient temperature of the functional unit and the generated heat of the functional unit, and The generated heat of the functional unit includes heat generated due to operations of various resources in the functional unit, heat generated due to on / off of a power supply of the functional unit, and heat generated due to occurrence of a ripple current.

12. The vehicle-mounted control device according to claim 9, wherein: The wear degree is a ratio of an actual use time period in a predetermined time period to an available time period of the functional unit, or a ratio of an actual number of rewrites in a predetermined time period to an available number of rewrites of a memory included in the functional unit, The wear information is information on the temperature history of the functional unit, or information on the number of rewritable times of the memory, The temperature is a temperature affected by both the ambient temperature of the functional unit and the generated heat of the functional unit, and The generated heat of the functional unit includes heat generated due to operations of various resources in the functional unit, heat generated due to on / off of a power supply of the functional unit, and heat generated due to occurrence of a ripple current.

13. The vehicle-mounted control device according to claim 10, wherein: The wear degree is a ratio of an actual use time period in a predetermined time period to an available time period of the functional unit, or a ratio of an actual number of rewrites in a predetermined time period to an available number of rewrites of a memory included in the functional unit, The wear information is information on the temperature history of the functional unit, or information on the number of rewritable times of the memory, The temperature is a temperature affected by both the ambient temperature of the functional unit and the generated heat of the functional unit, and The generated heat of the functional unit includes heat generated due to operations of various resources in the functional unit, heat generated due to on / off of a power supply of the functional unit, and heat generated due to occurrence of a ripple current.

14. A control system comprising: Management devices; as well as A vehicle-mounted control device, wherein With respect to a plurality of vehicles, the management device: acquiring a plurality of pieces of wear information regarding a degree of wear of each of a plurality of functional units mounted on each of the vehicles, estimating the degree of wear of one or more of the functional units in the vehicle on which the onboard control device is mounted based on each piece of the acquired wear information, and sending estimation information indicating the estimation result to the onboard control device, and The vehicle-mounted control device: receiving the estimation information sent from the management device, selecting one or more first functional units from among the plurality of functional units in the vehicle on which the onboard control device is mounted based on the received estimation information: causing the selected one or more first functional units to perform target processing that should be performed by one or more second functional units among the plurality of functional units, and executing the following control: causing the selected one or more first functional units to execute the target process, The vehicle-mounted control device further comprises: Determine whether there is a high-wear functional unit among the multiple functional units, wherein the high-wear functional unit refers to a functional unit whose wear degree in a predetermined time period is not less than a first threshold; When there is a high-wear functional unit, determining whether there is a functional unit that is a low-wear functional unit and whose resource usage rate is not greater than a third threshold, wherein the low-wear functional unit refers to a functional unit whose wear degree in a predetermined time period is not greater than a second threshold; When there is no functional unit that is a low-wear functional unit and whose resource usage rate is not greater than a third threshold, determining whether the high-wear functional unit is a driving control system functional unit; When the high wear function unit is a driving control system function unit, a high wear function unit other than the driving control system function unit whose resource usage rate is not greater than a third threshold value is selected from the plurality of function units to execute a target process that should be executed by the driving control system function unit, or When there is no function unit whose resource usage rate is not greater than the third threshold, a function unit other than the travel control system function unit is selected from the plurality of function units to execute a target process that should be executed by the travel control system function unit.

15. The control system according to claim 14, wherein: The control system further includes a dealer-side server configured to maintain fault information regarding faults of the plurality of functional units. The dealer-side server sends the fault information to the management device, and Based on each piece of the acquired wear information and the fault information received from the dealer-side server, the management device estimates the wear degree of the one or more functional units.

16. A control method executed in a vehicle-mounted control device, the control method comprising the following steps: acquiring a plurality of pieces of wear information regarding a degree of wear of each of a plurality of functional units mounted on a vehicle; Based on each piece of the acquired wear information, one or more first functional units are selected from the plurality of functional units: the selected one or more first functional units are caused to perform target processing that should be performed by one or more second functional units among the plurality of functional units; as well as executing the following control: causing the selected one or more first functional units to execute the target process, Wherein, based on each piece of the acquired wear information, one or more first functional units are selected from the plurality of functional units: the selected one or more first functional units are caused to perform target processing that should be performed by one or more second functional units among the plurality of functional units, including: Determine whether there is a high-wear functional unit among the multiple functional units, wherein the high-wear functional unit refers to a functional unit whose wear degree in a predetermined time period is not less than a first threshold; When there is a high-wear functional unit, determining whether there is a functional unit that is a low-wear functional unit and whose resource usage rate is not greater than a third threshold, wherein the low-wear functional unit refers to a functional unit whose wear degree in a predetermined time period is not greater than a second threshold; When there is no functional unit that is a low-wear functional unit and whose resource usage rate is not greater than a third threshold, determining whether the high-wear functional unit is a driving control system functional unit; When the high wear function unit is a driving control system function unit, a high wear function unit other than the driving control system function unit whose resource usage rate is not greater than a third threshold value is selected from the plurality of function units to execute a target process that should be executed by the driving control system function unit, or When there is no function unit whose resource usage rate is not greater than the third threshold, a function unit other than the travel control system function unit is selected from the plurality of function units to execute a target process that should be executed by the travel control system function unit.

17. A control method executed in a control system, the control system comprising a management device and a vehicle-mounted control device, the control method comprising the following steps: With respect to a plurality of vehicles, the management device performs: acquiring a plurality of pieces of wear information regarding a degree of wear of each of a plurality of functional units mounted on each of the vehicles; Based on each piece of the acquired wear information, executing, by the management device: estimating the degree of wear of one or more of the functional units in the vehicle on which the onboard control device is mounted, and executing, by the management device: sending estimation information indicating the estimation result to the onboard control device; performing, by the on-vehicle control device: receiving the estimation information transmitted from the management device, and performing, by the on-vehicle control device: selecting one or more first functional units from the plurality of functional units in the vehicle on which the on-vehicle control device is mounted based on the received estimation information: causing the selected one or more first functional units to execute target processing that should be executed by one or more second functional units among the plurality of functional units; as well as The vehicle-mounted control device performs the following control: causing the selected one or more first functional units to execute the target processing, The method includes: selecting one or more first functional units from the plurality of functional units in the vehicle on which the vehicle-mounted control device is installed based on the received estimation information; and causing the selected one or more first functional units to perform target processing that should be performed by one or more second functional units among the plurality of functional units. Determine whether there is a high-wear functional unit among the multiple functional units, wherein the high-wear functional unit refers to a functional unit whose wear degree in a predetermined time period is not less than a first threshold; When there is a high-wear functional unit, determining whether there is a functional unit that is a low-wear functional unit and whose resource usage rate is not greater than a third threshold, wherein the low-wear functional unit refers to a functional unit whose wear degree in a predetermined time period is not greater than a second threshold; When there is no functional unit that is a low-wear functional unit and whose resource usage rate is not greater than a third threshold, determining whether the high-wear functional unit is a driving control system functional unit; When the high wear function unit is a driving control system function unit, a high wear function unit other than the driving control system function unit whose resource usage rate is not greater than a third threshold value is selected from the plurality of function units to execute a target process that should be executed by the driving control system function unit, or When there is no function unit whose resource usage rate is not greater than the third threshold, a function unit other than the travel control system function unit is selected from the plurality of function units to execute a target process that should be executed by the travel control system function unit.

18. A computer-readable storage medium storing a control program used in a vehicle-mounted control device, the control program causing a computer to function as: an acquisition unit configured to acquire a plurality of pieces of wear information regarding a degree of wear of each of a plurality of functional units mounted on the vehicle; a selection unit configured to select one or more first function units from the plurality of function units based on each piece of the wear information acquired by the acquisition unit: to cause the selected one or more first function units to perform a target process that should be performed by one or more second function units among the plurality of function units; as well as a control unit configured to perform the following control: causing the one or more first function units selected by the selection unit to perform the target process, The selection unit is further configured to: Determine whether there is a high-wear functional unit among the multiple functional units, wherein the high-wear functional unit refers to a functional unit whose wear degree in a predetermined time period is not less than a first threshold; When there is a high-wear functional unit, determining whether there is a functional unit that is a low-wear functional unit and whose resource usage rate is not greater than a third threshold, wherein the low-wear functional unit refers to a functional unit whose wear degree in a predetermined time period is not greater than a second threshold; When there is no functional unit that is a low-wear functional unit and whose resource usage rate is not greater than a third threshold, determining whether the high-wear functional unit is a driving control system functional unit; When the high wear function unit is a driving control system function unit, a high wear function unit other than the driving control system function unit whose resource usage rate is not greater than a third threshold value is selected from the plurality of function units to execute a target process that should be executed by the driving control system function unit, or When there is no function unit whose resource usage rate is not greater than the third threshold, a function unit other than the travel control system function unit is selected from the plurality of function units to execute a target process that should be executed by the travel control system function unit.

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