Information processing apparatus

Abstract

The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, which is installed in a vehicle and manages a storage device that can be rewritten by unit, the information processing apparatus executing the following processes: collecting data from each of a plurality of applications executed in the vehicle at a collection timing; integrating the plurality of collected data into one piece of integrated data; executing a first command which is a command requesting writing of the integrated data to the storage device; and executing a second instruction which is an instruction for immediately executing writing of the integrated data into the storage device based on the first instruction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, NAND flash memory has been widely used as storage devices such as universal serial bus (USB) memory, secure drive (SD) card and flash solid state drive (SSD). Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-9457 describes the following technology: in order to effectively use the storage area of ​​the buffer memory used in the writing process to the NAND flash memory, the data to be written is merged before writing the data. Summary of the invention

[0003] However, there is an upper limit to the number of times a NAND flash memory can be written. Therefore, in an information processing device including a NAND flash memory, it is preferable to reduce the frequency of writing data to the memory.

[0004] An information processing device for achieving the above-mentioned object is an information processing device mounted on a vehicle and managing a storage device that can be rewritten in units, and performs the following processing:

[0005] collecting data from each of a plurality of applications executed in the vehicle at a collection timing;

[0006] Integrate the collected multiple data into one integrated data;

[0007] executing a command requiring writing of the integrated data into the storage device, namely, a first command; and

[0008] A second command is executed which is a command for immediately executing writing of the integration data into the storage device based on the first command.

[0009] According to the present invention, the frequency of writing data into a storage device can be reduced. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Hereinafter, features, advantages, technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like components, wherein:

[0011] Figure 1 This is a diagram used to explain a vehicle equipped with an information processing device.

[0012] Figure 2 This is a flowchart used in the description of the write process.

[0013] Figure 3 This is a flowchart used in the description of the read process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] Below, according to Figure 1 to Figure 3 One embodiment of an information processing device will be described.

[0015] Overall structure of vehicle 1

[0016] like Figure 1 As shown, the vehicle 1 includes, for example, an information processing device 10 and a power supply device 20 for supplying power to the information processing device 10. The information processing device 10 is, for example, a computer including a central processing unit (CPU) 11, a read-only memory (ROM) 12, a random access memory (RAM) 13, and a storage device 14. Various components of the information processing device 10 can communicate with each other via an internal bus 15.

[0017] ROM12 stores a plurality of programs executed in vehicle 1. Information processing device 10 implements various functions by executing each program through CPU11. The "function" mentioned here includes functions related to the driving of vehicle 1, functions of automatically updating the firmware of vehicle 1, and the like. In the following, it is assumed that ROM12 pre-stores: a program for implementing integrated application 120, which implements a data integration function; a program for implementing application 121A, which implements the first function; a program for implementing application 121B, which implements the second function; and a program for implementing application 121C, which implements the third function. Among them, the program stored in ROM12 is an example and is not limited to this. In the following description, application 121A, application 121B, and application 121C are referred to as application 121 for short without distinguishing application 121A, application 121B, and application 121C from each other.

[0018] The storage device 14 can store various programs and various data. The storage device 14 is a non-volatile memory that can electrically rewrite data in units. Specifically, the storage device 14 is implemented by a NAND flash memory. Therefore, there is an upper limit on the number of writes to the storage device 14. The number of writes to the storage device 14 is equivalent to the number of times certain data is written to the same storage unit. Therefore, "writing" certainly includes writing information to an empty storage unit, and also includes overwriting the storage content of a storage unit that has already written information.

[0019] The power supply device 20 supplies power to various devices mounted on the vehicle 1. As the power supply mode based on the power supply device 20, a normal power mode and an auxiliary power mode are prepared. For example, when the user is not present near the vehicle 1 during parking, the normal power mode is selected as the supply mode. On the other hand, when the user approaches the vehicle 1 while the normal power mode is selected, the supply mode is changed from the normal power mode to the auxiliary power mode.

[0020] The normal power mode is a mode in which power is supplied to some of the onboard devices even when the power supply of the vehicle 1 is turned off. When the normal power mode is selected as the supply mode, power is supplied from the power supply device 20 to the information processing device 10 and the safety device of the vehicle 1. On the other hand, when the auxiliary power mode is selected as the supply mode, the number of onboard devices supplied with power from the power supply device 20 increases compared to the case where the normal power mode is selected as the supply mode. The "onboard device" mentioned here includes both electronic control devices such as the information processing device 10 and onboard actuators.

[0021] About Integrated Application 120: Write Processing

[0022] The following describes the writing process of the integrated application 120. The integrated application 120 collects data to be written from each of a plurality of programs executed by the CPU 11 at a collection timing. In this example, the plurality of programs are the application 121A, the application 121B, and the application 121C.

[0023] Here, it is generally required that data used by each application 121 implemented in the vehicle 1 and having high importance in the control of the vehicle 1 be appropriately stored in the storage device 14 at the collection timing. Examples of data having high importance include total driving distance information, power management information, storage-related metadata, diagnostic information, etc. In addition, data having high importance is an example and is not limited to this. The collection timing is, for example, the timing when the power switch of the vehicle 1 is turned off. An example of a power switch is an ignition switch.

[0024] The integration application 120 integrates the data collected from the plurality of applications 121A, 121B, and 121C at the collection timing into one integrated data. The integration application 120 executes a first command on the integrated data. The first command is a command requesting writing of designated data to the storage device 14.

[0025] When the first instruction is executed, the specified data is written to the storage device 14. On the other hand, the data writing timing is not strictly speaking immediate. The data is written according to the specified timing. Therefore, after the write process is performed according to the specified timing, one or more data specified by the first instruction until the next write process is performed is written to the storage device 14 at the next write timing. Therefore, during the period from the time when the first instruction is executed to the actual execution of the write process, when various factors such as a momentary interruption of the power supply device 20 and an impact on the vehicle 1 occur, there is a concern that the data specified by the first instruction will not be written to the storage device 14.

[0026] In view of this, the integrated application 120 executes the second command after executing the first command. The second command is a command that causes the writing of the designated data to the storage device 14 to be immediately executed by executing the first command.

[0027] About Integrated Application 120: Readout Processing

[0028] The following describes the readout processing of the integrated application 120. Generally, data with high importance is required to be read out from the storage device 14 appropriately at the readout timing. The readout timing is, for example, the timing when the power switch of the vehicle 1 is turned on. The integrated application 120 reads out the integrated data from the storage device 14 at the readout timing. The integrated application 120 outputs each data included in the readout integrated data to the corresponding program. For example, each data collected from each application 121 includes identification information that can identify the corresponding application 121. The integrated application 120 determines the corresponding application 121 based on the identification information in each data included in the integrated data and outputs data to the determined application 121.

[0029] About writing confirmation mark

[0030] The write confirmation flag is described below. As described above, the write process to the storage device 14 is executed by the first instruction and the second instruction. As described above, there are cases where the write process fails due to various factors such as a momentary interruption of the power supply device 20 and an impact on the vehicle 1. The integrated application 120 causes the storage device 14 to store a write confirmation flag indicating whether the write process is successful. In addition, the integrated application 120 manages the information stored in the storage device 14 based on the write confirmation flag.

[0031] The integrated application 120 invalidates (OFF) the write confirmation flag at the collection timing. After executing the second instruction at the collection timing, the integrated application 120 obtains a return value indicating the execution result of the second instruction. The return value of the second instruction indicates whether the write process to the storage device 14 is successful. In the case where the obtained return value indicates that the write process to the storage device 14 fails, the integrated application 120 does not update the write confirmation flag, and the write confirmation flag remains invalid. On the other hand, in the case where the obtained return value indicates that the write process to the storage device 14 is successful, the integrated application 120 updates the write confirmation flag to be valid (ON), so that the storage device 14 stores the write confirmation flag. Through this process, the write confirmation flag indicates the execution result of the second instruction.

[0032] Regarding the first status information and the second status information

[0033] The first state information and the second state information are described below. As described above, there is a case where the writing process of data to the storage device 14 fails. Compared with the inappropriate state accompanied by failure, it is preferred that all the data stored in the storage device 14 is unified as the data before the writing process. Here, the inappropriate state accompanied by failure refers to a state in which a part of the data remains unchanged as the data before the writing process and the rest of the data is updated to the data after the writing process. That is, it is preferred that the data stored in the storage device 14 ensures the originality.

[0034] Along with this, the storage device 14 stores two pieces of information, namely, the first state information which is data before the second instruction is executed and the second state information which is data after the second instruction is executed. Specifically, the integrated application 120 stores the integrated data as the second state information in the storage device 14 along with the execution of the second instruction. At this time, if the writing process of the second state information fails, the integrated application 120 does not update the first state information but keeps it unchanged. On the other hand, if the writing process of the second state information succeeds, the integrated application 120 updates the content of the first state information through the second state information.

[0035] The integration application 120 obtains the write confirmation flag from the storage device 14 at the read timing. The integration application 120 determines whether the write process was successful at the previous collection timing based on the obtained write confirmation flag. When the write confirmation flag is invalid, since there is a possibility that the integration data as the second state information is in an inappropriate state, the integration application 120 reads the first state information. That is, the integration application 120 reads the integration data stored in the storage device 14 before the execution of the last write process. On the other hand, when the write confirmation flag is valid, the integration application 120 regards that the integration data as the second state information is properly stored and reads the second state information.

[0036] Writing process of information processing device 10

[0037] like Figure 2 As shown, the integration application 120 determines whether it is the collection timing (S100). When the integration application 120 determines that it is not the collection timing (S100: No), the integration application 120 repeats the determination process of S100 until it becomes the collection timing. When the integration application 120 determines that it is the collection timing (S100: Yes), the integration application 120 updates the write confirmation flag to invalid (S102). Next, the integration application 120 collects data from each application 121 (S104). Next, the integration application 120 integrates the collected data into one integrated data (S106).

[0038] Next, the integrated application 120 executes the first instruction for the integrated data (S108). Next, the integrated application 120 executes the second instruction (S110). Next, the integrated application 120 obtains a return value indicating the execution result of the second instruction (S112). Next, the integrated application 120 determines whether the writing process of the data to the storage device 14 is successful based on the obtained return value (S114). In the case where the integrated application 120 determines that the writing process has failed (S114; No), the integrated application 120 does not update the write confirmation flag and keeps it invalid, and ends a series of processes. In the case where the integrated application 120 determines that the writing process is successful (S114; Yes), the integrated application 120 updates the write confirmation flag to valid (S116). Next, the integrated application 120 updates the content of the first status information through the second status information (S118).

[0039] Writing process of information processing device 10

[0040] like Figure 3 As shown, the integration application 120 determines whether it is the read timing (S200). When the integration application 120 determines that it is not the read timing (S200: No), the integration application 120 repeats the determination process of S200 until it becomes the read timing. When the integration application 120 determines that it is the read timing (S200: Yes), the integration application 120 determines whether the write confirmation flag obtained from the storage device 14 is valid (S202).

[0041] When the write confirmation flag is valid (S202; Yes), the integration application 120 regards that the write process is properly performed for the integration data as the second status information, and reads the second status information (S204). When the write confirmation flag is invalid (S202; No), the integration application 120 reads the first status information (S206) because there is a possibility that the integration data as the second status information is in an inappropriate state. The integration application 120 provides each data included in the read integration data to each corresponding application 121 (S208).

[0042] Functions and effects of implementation methods

[0043] According to the above-described embodiment, the following operations and effects can be obtained.

[0044] (1) The information processing device 10 is a device that is mounted on the vehicle 1 and manages the storage device 14 that can be rewritten in units. The integration application 120 is executed in the CPU 11 of the information processing device 10. The integration application 120 collects data from each of the multiple applications 121 executed in the vehicle 1 at a collection timing. The integration application 120 integrates the collected multiple data into integrated data. The integration application 120 requests the writing of the integrated data to the storage device 14 by executing the first instruction. The integration application 120 immediately executes the writing of the integrated data to the storage device 14 based on the first instruction by executing the second instruction.

[0045] Here, when the integration application 120 does not integrate the data of each application 121, each application 121 performs a write process of data to the storage device 14 at the collection timing. In this example, the case where three applications 121 are implemented in the information processing device 10 is described. The more functions there are, the more frequently the data at the collection timing is written to the storage device 14. Therefore, when the data is not integrated, it is impossible to suppress the increase in the number of writes.

[0046] In contrast, the integration application 120 integrates a plurality of data to form one integrated data. Furthermore, in the storage device 14, only one of the integrated data integrated by the integration application 120 is written at the collection timing. Thus, the information processing apparatus 10 can reduce the execution frequency of writing data to the storage device 14 which is a NAND flash memory.

[0047] In addition, as described above, the storage device 14 is a non-volatile memory capable of electrically rewriting data in units of cells. Here, when the capacity of the data written to the cell is sufficiently smaller than the storage capacity of the cell, the storage capacity of the cell will remain. When the integration application 120 does not integrate the data of each application 121, each application 121 performs a writing process of data to each cell of the storage device 14 at the collection timing. In this case, for the storage device 14, the possibility of remaining storage capacity of the cell becomes higher than when storing integrated data.

[0048] According to the above configuration, the information processing apparatus 10 can effectively use the storage area of ​​the cell of the storage device 14 by causing the cell to store integrated data obtained by integrating data of a plurality of applications 121 .

[0049] (2) The collection timing includes the timing when the power switch of the vehicle 1 is turned off. Generally, the application 121 implemented in the information processing device 10 executes a process of writing data to the storage device 14 when the power switch is turned off. According to the above configuration, the information processing device 10 can suppress an increase in the number of times data is written to the storage device 14 at the timing when the writing process is generally performed.

[0050] (3) The integrated application 120 reads the integrated data from the storage device 14 at the read timing. The integrated application 120 provides data to each of the plurality of applications 121 based on the integrated data. The read timing includes the timing when the power switch is turned on.

[0051] Generally, the application 121 implemented in the information processing apparatus 10 executes a process of reading data from the storage device 14 when the power switch is turned on. At this time, if each application 121 performs a data reading process, the waiting time of the reading process may be prolonged.

[0052] According to the above configuration, the information processing apparatus 10 can efficiently perform the readout process at the timing when the readout process is generally performed by reading out the integrated data from the storage device 14 at one time.

[0053] (4) The storage device 14 stores first status information indicating the status of the storage device 14 before the second instruction is executed and second status information indicating the status of the storage device 14 after the second instruction is executed. When the integration application 120 reads the integration data from the storage device 14, it obtains the write confirmation flag. When the write confirmation flag indicates the success of the second instruction, the integration application 120 reads the second status information. When the write confirmation flag indicates the failure of the second instruction, the integration application 120 reads the first status information. According to the above configuration, the information processing device 10 can ensure the originality of the data stored in the storage device 14 even when the write process fails.

[0054] The above-mentioned embodiments can be modified as follows. In addition, the above-mentioned embodiments and the following other examples can be combined with each other within the scope of no technical contradiction.

[0055] In the above description, the case where the collection timing is when the power switch is turned off and the readout timing is when the power switch is turned on is described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The collection timing and the readout timing may be other timings.

[0056] As described above, the power supply mode of the power supply device 20 is prepared as a normal power supply mode and an auxiliary power supply mode. For the power supply device 20, when the user approaches the periphery of the vehicle 1, it switches from the normal power supply mode to the auxiliary power supply mode, and when the user leaves the periphery of the vehicle 1, it switches from the auxiliary power supply mode to the normal power supply mode.

[0057] The collection timing may be the timing of switching from the auxiliary power mode to the normal power mode, or the timing of switching from the normal power mode to the auxiliary power mode. Generally, the application 121 implemented in the information processing device 10 executes a process of writing data to the storage device 14 when the voltage supply source is changed. According to the above configuration, the information processing device 10 can suppress the increase in the number of times data is written to the storage device 14 at the timing of the general write process.

[0058] Furthermore, a vehicle that has a normal power mode and an auxiliary power mode as power supply modes from power supply device 20 does not need to include a physical power switch of the vehicle such as an ignition device.

[0059] The vehicle may not be a vehicle that has an auxiliary power supply mode prepared as a mode in which electric power is supplied from the power supply device 20 .

[0060] In the above description, the case where the vehicle 1 has one information processing device 10 is described, but the invention is not limited thereto. The vehicle 1 may have a plurality of information processing devices 10. In this case, the plurality of information processing devices 10 are connected via in-vehicle communication such as a controller area network (CAN), a local interconnect network (LIN), or FlexRay. Furthermore, the integration application 120 collects data from the applications 121 implemented in other information processing devices 10 via in-vehicle communication, and writes the integrated data obtained by integrating the collected data into the storage device 14.

[0061] The data collected by the integration application 120 at the collection timing may include not only highly important data but also other data.

[0062] The applications 121 other than the integrated application 120 stored in the ROM 12 may be plural applications 121 , and may be two or four or more applications 121 .

Claims

1. An information processing device, wherein: The storage device is installed in the vehicle and can be rewritten in units. The information processing device performs the following processing: collecting data from each of a plurality of applications executed in the vehicle at a collection timing; Integrate the collected data into one integrated data; executing a command requiring writing of the integrated data into the storage device, namely, a first command; as well as A second command is executed which is a command for immediately executing writing of the integrated data to the storage device based on the first command.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein: The collection timing includes a timing at which a power switch of the vehicle is turned off.

3. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein: As the power supply mode, the normal power mode and auxiliary power mode are prepared. When the auxiliary power supply mode is selected as the supply mode, the number of vehicle-mounted devices supplied with power from the power supply increases compared to when the normal power supply mode is selected as the supply mode. If the user approaches the periphery of the vehicle, the normal power mode is switched to the auxiliary power mode, and if the user moves away from the periphery of the vehicle, the auxiliary power mode is switched to the normal power mode. The collection timing includes a timing of switching from the auxiliary power supply mode to the normal power supply mode.

4. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein: Perform the following processing: reading out the integrated data from the storage device at a readout timing; and The data is provided to each of the plurality of applications based on the integrated data.

5. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein: The storage device stores first status information indicating a status of the storage device before the second instruction is executed and second status information indicating a status of the storage device after the second instruction is executed, The information processing device performs the following processing: When reading the integrated data from the storage device, obtaining the execution result of the second instruction; and The second status information is read when the execution result indicates success of the second instruction, and the first status information is read when the execution result indicates failure of the second instruction.

Images