Relay device, sleep control method, and sleep control program

Abstract

This relay device is used in an in-vehicle system provided with three or more in-vehicle devices, and is provided with: a state transition unit that, when a first wake-up request is received from a first in-vehicle device among the three or more in-vehicle devices, transitions the relay device in a dormant state to a wake-up state; and a sleep control unit that selects a second in-vehicle device from among the in-vehicle devices other than the first in-vehicle device, and transmits, to the second in-vehicle device, a second wake-up request for transitioning the second in-vehicle device to the wake-up state.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a relay device, a sleep control method, and a sleep control program.

[0002] This application claims the priority based on Japanese patent application No. 2022-125479 filed on August 5, 2022, and all the disclosed contents are incorporated into this application. Background Art

[0003] Patent document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-160472) discloses the following technology. That is, an on-vehicle device includes: a communication unit that communicates with an on-vehicle device in an on-vehicle network; a detection unit that detects a new on-vehicle device that is a new on-vehicle device added to the on-vehicle network; and a sleep processing unit that sends a sleep request to the new on-vehicle device via the communication unit to shift to a sleep state in synchronization with the on-vehicle device in the on-vehicle network when the detection unit detects the new on-vehicle device.

[0004] Prior art literature

[0005] Patent Literature

[0006] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2021-160472 Summary of the invention

[0007] The relay device disclosed in the present invention is a relay device used in a vehicle-mounted system having more than three vehicle-mounted devices, and comprises: a state transfer unit, which causes the relay device in a sleep state to transfer to a wake-up state when a first wake-up request is received from a first vehicle-mounted device among the more than three vehicle-mounted devices; and a sleep control unit, which selects a second vehicle-mounted device from the vehicle-mounted devices other than the first vehicle-mounted device, and sends a second wake-up request to the second vehicle-mounted device for causing the second vehicle-mounted device to transfer to the wake-up state.

[0008] One embodiment of the present disclosure can be implemented not only as a relay device including such a characteristic processing unit but also as a semiconductor integrated circuit that implements a part or all of the relay device, or as a system including the relay device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 It is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an in-vehicle system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0010] Figure 2 This is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a relay device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0011] Figure 3This is a diagram showing an example of a frame transmitted in the in-vehicle system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0012] Figure 4 This is a diagram showing an example of an address table held by a relay device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0013] Figure 5 This is a diagram showing an example of a sequence of sleep processing in the vehicle-mounted system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0014] Figure 6 1 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence of sleep control in a vehicle-mounted system of a comparative example.

[0015] Figure 7 This is a diagram showing an example of a network table held by a relay device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0016] Figure 8 This is a diagram showing an example of a sequence of sleep control in the vehicle-mounted system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0017] Fig. 9 It is a diagram showing the configuration of Modification 1 of the vehicle-mounted system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0018] Fig.10 This is a diagram showing a network table held by a relay device in Modification 1 of the in-vehicle system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0019] Fig.11 It is a diagram showing the structure of Modification 2 of the vehicle-mounted system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] Fig.12 This is a diagram showing a network table held by a relay device in Modification 2 of the in-vehicle system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] Fig.13 It is a diagram showing the structure of Modification 3 of the vehicle-mounted system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] Fig.14 This is a diagram showing a network table held by a relay device in Modification 3 of the in-vehicle system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] A technology has been developed for reducing power consumption by performing sleep control on an in-vehicle device in an in-vehicle system.

[0024] [Problems to be Solved by the Present Disclosure]

[0025] A technology capable of improving the power saving function beyond the technology described in Patent Document 1 is desired.

[0026] The present disclosure is made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a relay device, a sleep control method, and a sleep control program capable of improving the power saving function in a vehicle-mounted system.

[0027] [Effects of the present disclosure]

[0028] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the power saving function in the vehicle-mounted system.

[0029] [Description of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure]

[0030] First, the contents of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described.

[0031] (1) The relay device of the embodiment of the present disclosure is a relay device used in a vehicle-mounted system having three or more vehicle-mounted devices, and comprises: a state transition unit, which causes the relay device in a sleep state to transition to a wake-up state when a first wake-up request is received from a first vehicle-mounted device among the three or more vehicle-mounted devices; and a sleep control unit, which selects a second vehicle-mounted device from the vehicle-mounted devices other than the first vehicle-mounted device and sends a second wake-up request to the second vehicle-mounted device for causing the second vehicle-mounted device to transition to the wake-up state.

[0032] In this way, when a wake-up request is received from the first vehicle-mounted device, the second vehicle-mounted device that is the destination of the wake-up request is selected, and the second vehicle-mounted device in the sleep state is shifted to the wake-up state, so that the sleep state of other vehicle-mounted devices that are not the communication target of the first vehicle-mounted device can be maintained, and thus the power consumption of the other vehicle-mounted devices can be suppressed. Therefore, the power saving function in the vehicle-mounted system can be improved.

[0033] (2) In the above (1), the relay device may also include: three or more communication ports, which are respectively connected to the three or more vehicle-mounted devices; and a storage unit, which stores corresponding information indicating the correspondence between the communication ports and the networks to which the vehicle-mounted devices belong, and the sleep control unit selects the second vehicle-mounted device based on the corresponding information.

[0034] With such a configuration, the second vehicle-mounted device can be easily selected from among vehicle-mounted devices other than the first vehicle-mounted device.

[0035] (3) In the above (2), the corresponding information may also represent the corresponding relationship between the communication port and the VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network), and the sleep control unit selects the vehicle-mounted device belonging to the same VLAN as the VLAN corresponding to the communication port connected to the first vehicle-mounted device as the second vehicle-mounted device based on the corresponding information.

[0036] With such a configuration, it is possible to easily select, as the second in-vehicle device, an in-vehicle device that belongs to the same network as the network to which the first in-vehicle device belongs.

[0037] (4) In the above (2), the corresponding information may also represent the corresponding relationship between the communication port and the PNC (Partial Network Cluster), and the sleep control unit selects the vehicle-mounted device belonging to the same PNC as the PNC corresponding to the communication port connected to the first vehicle-mounted device as the second vehicle-mounted device based on the corresponding information.

[0038] With such a configuration, it is possible to easily select, as the second in-vehicle device, an in-vehicle device that belongs to the same network as the network to which the first in-vehicle device belongs.

[0039] (5) In the above (2), it may also be that the corresponding information represents the correspondence between the communication port, VLAN and PNC, and the sleep control unit preferentially selects the vehicle-mounted device belonging to the same PNC as the PNC corresponding to the communication port connected to the first vehicle-mounted device as the second vehicle-mounted device compared to the vehicle-mounted device belonging to the same VLAN as the VLAN corresponding to the communication port connected to the first vehicle-mounted device.

[0040] With such a configuration, when the first vehicle-mounted device belongs to a plurality of types of networks, a vehicle-mounted device belonging to a PNC having a high priority network can be selected as the second vehicle-mounted device.

[0041] (6) The sleep control method of an embodiment of the present disclosure is a sleep control method in a relay device used in a vehicle-mounted system having more than three vehicle-mounted devices, comprising: a step of causing the relay device in a sleep state to transition to a wake-up state when a first wake-up request is received from a first vehicle-mounted device among the more than three vehicle-mounted devices; and a step of selecting a second vehicle-mounted device from the vehicle-mounted devices other than the first vehicle-mounted device and sending a second wake-up request to the second vehicle-mounted device for causing the second vehicle-mounted device to transition to the wake-up state.

[0042] In this way, when a wake-up request is received from the first vehicle-mounted device, the second vehicle-mounted device that is the destination of the wake-up request is selected, and the second vehicle-mounted device in the sleep state is shifted to the wake-up state, so that the sleep state of other vehicle-mounted devices that are not the communication target of the first vehicle-mounted device can be maintained, and thus the power consumption of the other vehicle-mounted devices can be suppressed. Therefore, the power saving function in the vehicle-mounted system can be improved.

[0043] (7) The sleep control program of the embodiment of the present disclosure is a sleep control program used in a relay device used in a vehicle-mounted system having more than three vehicle-mounted devices, and is used to enable a computer to function as a state transition unit and a sleep control unit. When the state transition unit receives a first wake-up request from a first vehicle-mounted device among the three or more vehicle-mounted devices, the relay device in a sleep state transitions to a wake-up state. The sleep control unit selects a second vehicle-mounted device from the vehicle-mounted devices other than the first vehicle-mounted device and sends a second wake-up request to the second vehicle-mounted device for transitioning the second vehicle-mounted device to the wake-up state.

[0044] In this way, when a wake-up request is received from the first vehicle-mounted device, the second vehicle-mounted device that is the destination of the wake-up request is selected, and the second vehicle-mounted device in the sleep state is shifted to the wake-up state, so that the sleep state of other vehicle-mounted devices that are not the communication target of the first vehicle-mounted device can be maintained, and thus the power consumption of the other vehicle-mounted devices can be suppressed. Therefore, the power saving function in the vehicle-mounted system can be improved.

[0045] Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described using the accompanying drawings. In addition, the same reference numerals are used for the same or corresponding parts in the drawings, and their descriptions are not repeated. In addition, at least a part of the embodiments described below may be arbitrarily combined.

[0046] [In-vehicle system]

[0047] Figure 1 It is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an in-vehicle system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0048] Reference Figure 1 The in-vehicle system 301 includes, for example, one or more relay devices 101 and three or more in-vehicle ECUs 202 .

[0049] exist Figure 1 In the example shown, the vehicle-mounted system 301 includes one relay device 101 and four vehicle-mounted ECUs 202A, 202B, 202C, and 202D. The relay device 101 and the vehicle-mounted ECU 202 constitute a vehicle-mounted network 401. The vehicle-mounted system 301 is mounted on the vehicle 1. The vehicle-mounted ECU 202 is an example of a vehicle-mounted device.

[0050] The vehicle-mounted system 301 is not limited to a structure including one relay device 101, but may include a plurality of relay devices 101. The vehicle-mounted system 301 is not limited to a structure including four vehicle-mounted ECUs 202, but may include three vehicle-mounted ECUs 202 or five or more vehicle-mounted ECUs 202.

[0051] The vehicle-mounted ECU 202 is, for example, a TCU (Telematics Communication Unit), an automatic driving ECU, a face authentication ECU, a door lock ECU, a sensor, a navigation device, a human-machine interface, a camera, and the like.

[0052] In the in-vehicle network 401 , for example, the in-vehicle ECUs 202A and 202B and the in-vehicle ECUs 202C and 202D belong to different VLANs from each other.

[0053] The ID of the VLAN to which the in-vehicle ECUs 202A and 202B belong is “10”, and the ID of the VLAN to which the in-vehicle ECUs 202C and 202D belong is “20”. In the following description, the ID of a VLAN may be referred to as “VLAN-ID”.

[0054] The relay device 101 and the vehicle ECU 202 are devices that comply with a predetermined vehicle network management method. More specifically, the relay device 101 and the vehicle ECU 202 are devices that comply with AUTOSAR (AUTomotive Open System ARchitecture) (registered trademark), which is an example of a vehicle network management method.

[0055] In the in-vehicle network 401 , the in-vehicle ECU 202 is connected to the relay device 101 via, for example, an Ethernet (registered trademark) cable 11 . Each in-vehicle ECU 202 is connected to other in-vehicle ECUs 202 via the Ethernet cable 11 and the relay device 101 .

[0056] The relay device 101 is, for example, a gateway device. The relay device 101 can perform relay processing according to, for example, layer 2 and layer 3 which is higher than layer 2.

[0057] More specifically, the relay device 101 performs relay processing of Ethernet frames (hereinafter also simply referred to as “frames”) exchanged between the vehicle-mounted ECUs 202 connected via the Ethernet cable 11 , for example, in accordance with the communication standard of Ethernet.

[0058] The relay device 101 and each in-vehicle ECU 202 generate a frame including various information described below, and transmit the frame to another in-vehicle ECU 202 or the relay device 101 .

[0059] In addition, the vehicle-mounted system 301 is not limited to a structure that performs frame relay processing according to the Ethernet communication standard. For example, it may also be a structure that performs frame relay processing according to communication standards such as CAN (Controller Area Network), CAN FD (CAN with Flexible Data Rate), FlexRay (registered trademark), MOST (Media Oriented System Transport) (registered trademark), and LIN (Local Interconnect Network).

[0060] [Relay device]

[0061] Figure 2 This is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a relay device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0062] Reference Figure 2 The relay device 101 includes a communication port 51 , a switch unit 52 , a processing unit 53 and a storage unit 54 .

[0063] One or both of the switch unit 52 and the processing unit 53 are implemented by, for example, a processing circuit including one or more processors. The storage unit 54 is, for example, a nonvolatile memory included in the processing circuit. The processing unit 53 includes a determination unit 61 , a state transfer unit 62 , and a sleep control unit 63 .

[0064] More specifically, the relay device 101 includes three or more communication ports 51, and the three or more communication ports 51 are respectively connected to three or more vehicle-mounted ECUs 202. The communication port 51 is, for example, a terminal to which the Ethernet cable 11 can be connected.

[0065] exist Figure 2 In the example shown, the relay device 101 includes four communication ports 51 , 51A, 51B, 51C, and 51D. In the relay device 101 , the vehicle-mounted ECUs 202A, 202B, 202C, and 202D are connected to the communication ports 51A, 51B, 51C, and 51D via Ethernet cables 11 , respectively.

[0066] The switch unit 52 includes, for example, a plurality of terminals (not shown) respectively connected to the plurality of communication ports 51. A unique port number is allocated to each terminal.

[0067] Here, the port numbers of the terminals connected to the communication ports 51A, 51B, 51C, and 51D are #1, #2, #3, and #4, respectively.

[0068] The switch unit 52 relays frames transmitted and received between the vehicle-mounted ECUs 202. More specifically, when the switch unit 52 receives a frame destined for another vehicle-mounted ECU 202 from a vehicle-mounted ECU 202 via the communication port 51, the switch unit 52 transmits the received frame to the destination vehicle-mounted ECU 202.

[0069] When receiving a frame addressed to the relay device 101 from the in-vehicle ECU 202 via the communication port 51 , the switch unit 52 outputs the received frame to the processing unit 53 .

[0070] Furthermore, the switch unit 52 transmits the frame received from the processing unit 53 to the in-vehicle ECU 202 of the destination through the communication port 51 .

[0071] Figure 3 This is a diagram showing an example of a frame transmitted in the in-vehicle system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0072] Reference Figure 3 , a frame has fields for address, tag, type, and payload.

[0073] In the address field, for example, the destination MAC address and the source MAC address are stored. In the tag field, for example, the VLAN ID is stored. In the payload field, the destination IP address and various information are stored.

[0074] Here, the MAC addresses of the vehicle-mounted ECUs 202A, 202B, 202C, and 202D are “MAC-A”, “MAC-B”, “MAC-C”, and “MAC-D”, respectively.

[0075] Refer again Figure 2 The storage unit 54 stores a MAC address table (hereinafter also referred to as “address table M”) indicating the correspondence between the MAC addresses of the vehicle-mounted ECU 202 and the communication port 51 .

[0076] Figure 4 This is a diagram showing an example of an address table held by a relay device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0077] Reference Figure 4 In address table M, MAC address "MAC-A" is associated with port number "#1" of communication port 51A, MAC address "MAC-B" is associated with port number "#2" of communication port 51B, MAC address "MAC-C" is associated with port number "#3" of communication port 51C, and MAC address "MAC-D" is associated with port number "#4" of communication port 51D.

[0078] (Sleep state and wake-up state)

[0079] The relay device 101 and the vehicle-mounted ECU 202 transition from the awake state to the sleep state, and vice versa. The relay device 101 and the vehicle-mounted ECU 202 communicate with other devices in the vehicle-mounted system 301 in the awake state, and stop communicating with other devices in the vehicle-mounted system 301 in the sleep state. Here, the sleep state refers to a state in which power consumption is less than that in the awake state due to the cessation of a part of the function of the device, the cessation of power supply to the device, or the reduction of the clock frequency in the device.

[0080] For example, a sleep condition, which is a condition for transitioning to a sleep state, and an awake condition, which is a condition for transitioning to an awake state, are preset in each of the relay device 101 and the in-vehicle ECU 202 .

[0081] For example, the sleep condition is that the vehicle 1 is ignition-off and the vehicle 1 is parked, etc. Also, for example, the wake-up condition is that the vehicle 1 is ignition-on and the vehicle 1 starts traveling, etc.

[0082] Figure 5 This is a diagram showing an example of a sequence of sleep processing in the vehicle-mounted system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 5 The “device A” and “device B” shown are the relay device 101 or the in-vehicle ECU 202 .

[0083] Reference Figure 5 First, in the awake state, device A and device B send frames storing NM (Network Management) messages according to AUTOSAR to each device in the vehicle system 301 (steps S51 and S52). Specifically, device A and device B broadcast frames storing NM messages in payload to each device for life and death monitoring (steps S53 and S54).

[0084] Next, when the sleep condition of the device A is satisfied in the awake state (step S55 ), the device A stops sending the NM message (step S56 ).

[0085] In addition, when the sleep condition of the device B is satisfied in the awake state (step S57 ), the device B stops sending the NM message (step S58 ).

[0086] Next, when no NM message is received from other devices in the vehicle-mounted system 301 from the time when the transmission of the NM message is stopped until a predetermined time has passed, the devices A and B transition to the sleep state (step S59 ).

[0087] By switching the states of the devices A and B from the awake state to the sleep state using the NM message in this way, the power consumption of the devices A and B can be reduced.

[0088] In addition, when the wake-up condition of the device A and the device B is satisfied in the sleep state (step S59), the device A and the device B transition to the wake-up state and start to send the NM message regularly. In addition, when the device A and the device B receive a wake-up request from another device in the vehicle-mounted system 301 in the sleep state (step S59), the device A and the device B transition to the wake-up state.

[0089] (Judgment Department)

[0090] Refer again Figure 2 , the determination unit 61 in the relay device 101 determines whether the sleep condition of the relay device 101 is satisfied and whether the wake-up condition of the relay device 101 is satisfied.

[0091] More specifically, the determination unit 61 monitors the state of the vehicle 1 and performs determination processing based on the monitoring result to determine whether the sleep condition of the relay device 101 is satisfied and whether the wake-up condition of the relay device 101 is satisfied. The determination unit 61 performs determination processing periodically and notifies the state transition unit 62 of the determination result.

[0092] (State transfer section)

[0093] The state transition unit 62 causes the relay device 101 to transition to the sleep state. Also, the state transition unit 62 causes the relay device 101 to transition to the awake state.

[0094] Here, the switch unit 52 includes a plurality of communication circuits corresponding to the plurality of communication ports 51. When the relay device 101 is in a sleep state, all communication circuits in the switch unit 52 stop operating. When the relay device 101 is in an awake state, at least one of the plurality of communication circuits in the switch unit 52 operates. Hereinafter, the state in which the communication circuit of the switch unit 52 stops operating is also referred to as an "off state", and the state in which the communication circuit operates is referred to as an "on state".

[0095] More specifically, when the relay device 101 is in the awake state and receives a notification from the determination unit 61 indicating that the sleep condition is satisfied, the state transition unit 62 transitions the relay device 101 to the sleep state.

[0096] When the relay device 101 is in the sleep state and receives a notification from the determination unit 61 indicating that the wakeup condition is satisfied, the state transition unit 62 causes the relay device 101 to transition to the awake state.

[0097] In addition, when a wake-up request is received from the vehicle-mounted ECU 202 via the communication port 51 and the switch unit 52, the state transition unit 62 transitions the relay device 101 in the sleep state to the wake-up state. Hereinafter, the wake-up request sent by the vehicle-mounted ECU 202 to the relay device 101 is also referred to as "wake-up request R1". The wake-up request R1 is an example of the first wake-up request. In addition, the description of "first" does not mean a priority order.

[0098] More specifically, the vehicle-mounted ECU 202 sends a wakeup request R1 to the relay device 101 directly connected via the Ethernet cable 11. As an example, the wakeup request R1 is a high-level pulse signal. For example, the vehicle-mounted ECU 202 sends the high-level pulse signal to the relay device 101 in accordance with the OPEN Alliance standard.

[0099] When receiving the wakeup request R1 from the vehicle-mounted ECU 202 via the communication port 51 , the switch unit 52 outputs a reception notification indicating the content of the reception of the wakeup request R1 and the port number of the communication port 51 that received the wakeup request R1 to the state transition unit 62 and the sleep control unit 63 .

[0100] The state transition unit 62 receives the reception notification from the switch unit 52 and transitions the relay device 101 from the sleep state to the awake state. More specifically, the state transition unit 62 transitions the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port 51 that has received the awake request R1 from the disconnected state to the connected state.

[0101] Then, the relay device 101 and the in-vehicle ECU 202 establish a communication connection with each other by exchanging frames including various information.

[0102] (Sleep control unit)

[0103] The sleep control unit 63 performs control to shift the in-vehicle ECU 202 to the awake state.

[0104] In more detail, for example, when the vehicle-mounted ECU 202 is in the sleep state, the sleep control unit 63 sends a wake-up request such as a high-level pulse signal to the vehicle-mounted ECU 202 as the wake-up target via the switch unit 52 and the communication port 51. When the wake-up request is received, the vehicle-mounted ECU 202 transitions to the wake-up state. Hereinafter, the wake-up request sent by the relay device 101 to the vehicle-mounted ECU 202 is also referred to as "wake-up request R2". The wake-up request R2 is an example of the second wake-up request. In addition, the description of "second" does not mean a priority order.

[0105] [Explanation of the topic]

[0106] In addition, in the vehicle-mounted system 301 including the relay device 101 and three or more vehicle-mounted ECUs 202, it is considered that the relay device 101 and each vehicle-mounted ECU 202 are in a sleep state. In this case, when a certain vehicle-mounted ECU 202 transitions to an awake state due to the need to communicate with other vehicle-mounted ECUs 202, the vehicle-mounted ECU 202 sends a wake-up request R1 to the relay device 101. Here, an example is described in which the vehicle-mounted ECU 202A transitions to an awake state and sends a wake-up request R1 to the relay device 101 in order to communicate with the vehicle-mounted ECU 202B.

[0107] The relay device 101 receives the wake-up request R1 and transitions to the awake state. However, the wake-up request R1 is a high-level pulse signal, and therefore does not include information indicating the communication partner of the onboard ECU 202A. Therefore, even if the relay device 101 receives the wake-up request R1, it cannot determine which onboard ECU 202B, 202C, and 202D other than the onboard ECU 202A should be transitioned to the awake state. The following describes the details of such a subject.

[0108] Figure 6 1 is a diagram showing an example of the timing of sleep control in a vehicle-mounted system of a comparative example. The vehicle-mounted system of the comparative example described below is different from the vehicle-mounted system of the embodiment of the present disclosure in that the above-mentioned problem occurs in sleep control. In addition, in the comparative example described below, the vehicle, the vehicle-mounted system, and each device in the vehicle-mounted system are marked with the same figure numerals as the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0109] Here, consider the following example: the comparative example vehicle-mounted system 301 is a system mounted on vehicle 1 capable of unlocking door locks through facial recognition, the vehicle-mounted ECU 202A is an ECU for facial recognition, the vehicle-mounted ECU 202B is an ECU for door locks, and when vehicle 1 is parked, the relay device 101 and each vehicle-mounted ECU 202 are in a sleep state.

[0110] Reference Figure 6 First, when the relay device 101 and the vehicle-mounted ECUs 202A, 202B, 202C, and 202D are in a sleep state (step S1), the vehicle-mounted ECU 202A transitions to an awake state. Here, the vehicle-mounted ECU 202A needs to request the vehicle-mounted ECU 202B to release the door lock because the facial authentication is successful, and thus transitions to an awake state (step S2).

[0111] Next, the in-vehicle ECU 202A transmits a wakeup request R1 to the relay device 101 (step S3 ).

[0112] Next, the relay device 101 receives the wakeup request R1 from the vehicle-mounted ECU 202A and transitions to the awake state. More specifically, the state transition unit 62 in the relay device 101 transitions the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port 51A that received the wakeup request R1 from the disconnected state to the connected state (step S4).

[0113] Next, the relay device 101 and the in-vehicle ECU 202A establish a communication connection with each other by exchanging various information (step S5 ).

[0114] Next, the state transition unit 62 in the relay device 101 transitions the communication circuits corresponding to the communication ports 51B, 51C, and 51D other than the communication port 51A from the disconnected state to the connected state. Thus, even if the relay device 101 in the vehicle-mounted system 301 of the comparative example establishes a communication connection with the vehicle-mounted ECU 202A, the information indicating the communication target of the vehicle-mounted ECU 202A is not included in the wakeup request R1, and therefore the communication target of the vehicle-mounted ECU 202A cannot be determined (step S6).

[0115] Next, the relay device 101 transmits the wakeup request R2 to the in-vehicle ECUs 202B, 202C, and 202D (steps S7 and S8 ).

[0116] Next, the in-vehicle ECUs 202B, 202C, and 202D receive the wakeup request R2 from the relay device 101 and transition to the awake state (steps S9 and S10 ).

[0117] Next, the relay device 101 and the in-vehicle ECUs 202B, 202C, and 202D exchange various information to establish communication connections with each other (step S11 ).

[0118] Next, the onboard ECUs 202A and 202B communicate with each other. For example, when the relay device 101 receives a frame with the onboard ECU 202B as the destination from the onboard ECU 202A, it refers to the address table M and determines "#2" as the port number corresponding to the frame. Then, the relay device 101 sends the received frame from the communication port 51B corresponding to the determined port number "#2" to the onboard ECU 202B of the destination (step S12).

[0119] In addition, when the on-vehicle ECU 202C and 202D that are not the communication targets of the on-vehicle ECU 202A do not communicate with other on-vehicle ECUs 202 after transitioning to the awake state (step S10), the on-vehicle ECU 202C and 202D stop sending the NM message when their own sleep condition is satisfied. Furthermore, when the on-vehicle ECU 202C and 202D do not receive the NM message from other devices in the on-vehicle system 301 during the period from when the sending of the NM message is stopped until a predetermined time has passed, the on-vehicle ECU 202C and 202D transition to the sleep state (step S13).

[0120] Thus, in the vehicle-mounted system 301 of the comparative example, when the relay device 101 receives the wake-up request from the vehicle-mounted ECU 202A, it causes the other vehicle-mounted ECUs 202B, 202C, and 202D in the sleep state to shift to the wake-up state. Therefore, in the vehicle-mounted system 301 of the comparative example, the vehicle-mounted ECUs 202C and 202D that are not the communication targets of the vehicle-mounted ECU 202A shift to the wake-up state, thereby consuming excess power.

[0121] On the other hand, the relay device 101 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure solves such a problem by the following configuration and operation.

[0122] [Relay device]

[0123] Refer again Figure 2 The storage unit 54 stores a table (hereinafter also referred to as a “network table T”) indicating the correspondence between the communication port 51 and the network to which the vehicle-mounted ECU 202 belongs. The network table T is an example of correspondence information.

[0124] Figure 7 This is a diagram showing an example of a network table held by a relay device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0125] Reference Figure 7 The network table T1 indicates the correspondence between the communication port 51 and the VLAN. More specifically, the network table T1 indicates the correspondence between the port number of the communication port 51 and the VLAN-ID of the vehicle-mounted ECU 202 .

[0126] As mentioned above, in Figure 1 In the example shown, the VLAN-ID of the vehicle-mounted ECUs 202A and 202B is "10", and the VLAN-ID of the vehicle-mounted ECUs 202C and 202D is "20". Therefore, in the network table T1, the VLAN-ID "10" is associated with the port numbers "#1" and "#2", and the VLAN-ID "20" is associated with the port numbers "#3" and "#4".

[0127] Hereinafter, the process of the relay device 101 causing only the onboard ECU 202B to shift to the awake state when the onboard ECU 202A shifts to the awake state for communication with the onboard ECU 202B will be described. The onboard ECU 202A is an example of a first onboard device, and the onboard ECU 202B is an example of a second onboard device.

[0128] Reference Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 7When the sleep control unit 63 receives the wakeup request R1 from the onboard ECU 202A and its own relay device 101 shifts to the awake state, the sleep control unit 63 selects a destination for sending the wakeup request R2 from among the onboard ECUs 202B, 202C, and 202D other than the onboard ECU 202A based on the network table T1.

[0129] Here, the sleep control unit 63 selects the in-vehicle ECU 202B that belongs to the same VLAN as the VLAN corresponding to the communication port 51A connected to the in-vehicle ECU 202A, based on the network table T1.

[0130] More specifically, the sleep control unit 63 determines that the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port 51 having the port number indicated by the reception notification received from the switch unit 52 is transferred from the disconnected state to the connected state. Here, the switch unit 52 notifies the sleep control unit 63 of the port number "#1" of the communication port 51A that has received the wake-up request R1, and the sleep control unit 63 determines that the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port 51A is transferred to the connected state.

[0131] Then, the sleep control unit 63 refers to the network table T1, determines "10" as the same VLAN-ID as the VLAN-ID corresponding to the port number "#1" notified from the switch unit 52, and determines "#2" as another port number corresponding to the VLAN-ID "10". As a result, the sleep control unit 63 determines the vehicle-mounted ECU 202B connected to the communication port 51B of the port number "#2" as the communication object of the vehicle-mounted ECU 202A. That is, the sleep control unit 63 selects the vehicle-mounted ECU 202B from the vehicle-mounted ECUs 202B, 202C, and 202D as the destination of the wake-up request R2. Then, the sleep control unit 63 causes the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port 51B to transition from the disconnected state to the connected state.

[0132] The sleep control unit 63 transmits a wakeup request R2 for causing the in-vehicle ECU 202B to shift to the awake state to the in-vehicle ECU 202B.

[0133] More specifically, the sleep control unit 63 transmits the wakeup request R2 to the in-vehicle ECU 202B via the switch unit 52 and the communication port 51B.

[0134] The in-vehicle ECU 202B receives the wakeup request R2 from the relay device 101 and shifts to the awake state.

[0135] When the in-vehicle ECU 202B shifts to the awake state, the relay device 101 and the in-vehicle ECU 202B establish a communication connection with each other by exchanging various information.

[0136] After the communication connection between the relay device 101 and the on-vehicle ECU 202B is established, the on-vehicle ECU 202A transmits a frame addressed to the on-vehicle ECU 202B to the relay device 101 regularly or irregularly.

[0137] When receiving a frame addressed to the vehicle-mounted ECU 202B, that is, a frame including the destination MAC address "MAC-B", the switch unit 52 in the relay device 101 refers to Figure 4 The address table M shown in FIG. 1 determines "#2" as the port number corresponding to the MAC address "MAC-B". Then, the relay device 101 transmits a frame addressed to the vehicle-mounted ECU 202B from the communication port 51B. Thus, the vehicle-mounted ECU 202A can communicate with the vehicle-mounted ECU 202B via the relay device 101.

[0138] For example, when the connection relationship between the relay device 101 and each vehicle-mounted ECU 202 in the vehicle-mounted network 401 is fixed, the relay device 101 stores the pre-made network table T1 in the storage unit 54. Alternatively, the relay device 101 may obtain the VLAN-ID stored in the field of the tag of the frame received from each vehicle-mounted ECU 202, and create the network table T1 based on the obtained VLAN-ID and the port number of the communication port 51 that received the frame.

[0139] In addition, the sleep control unit 63 is not limited to the configuration of selecting the onboard ECU 202B as the destination of the wake-up request R2 from among the onboard ECUs 202B, 202C, and 202D other than the onboard ECU 202A based on the network table T1. The sleep control unit 63 may select a part of the onboard ECUs 202B, 202C, and 202D other than the onboard ECU 202A, that is, a plurality of onboard ECUs 202.

[0140] [Flow of Action]

[0141] Figure 8 This is a diagram showing an example of a sequence of sleep control in the vehicle-mounted system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0142] Reference Figure 8 First, when the relay device 101 and the in-vehicle ECUs 202A, 202B, 202C, and 202D are in the sleep state (step S101 ), the in-vehicle ECU 202A shifts to the awake state (step S102 ).

[0143] Next, the in-vehicle ECU 202A transmits a wakeup request R1 to the relay device 101 (step S103 ).

[0144] Next, the relay device 101 receives the wakeup request R1 from the vehicle-mounted ECU 202A and transitions to the awake state. More specifically, the state transition unit 62 in the relay device 101 transitions the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port 51A that received the wakeup request R1 from the disconnected state to the connected state (step S104 ).

[0145] Next, the relay device 101 and the in-vehicle ECU 202A establish a communication connection with each other by exchanging various information (step S105 ).

[0146] Next, the relay device 101 refers to the network table T1 in the storage unit 54, and selects the onboard ECU 202B from the onboard ECUs 202B, 202C, and 202D other than the onboard ECU 202A as the destination of the wakeup request R2. Specifically, as described above, the sleep control unit 63 in the relay device 101 selects the onboard ECU 202B that belongs to the same VLAN as the VLAN corresponding to the communication port 51A connected to the onboard ECU 202A from the onboard ECUs 202B, 202C, and 202D based on the network table T1. Then, the sleep control unit 63 causes the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port 51B connected to the onboard ECU 202B to shift to the on-state (step S106).

[0147] Next, the relay device 101 transmits the wakeup request R2 to the in-vehicle ECU 202B (step S107 ).

[0148] Next, the in-vehicle ECU 202B receives the wakeup request R2 from the relay device 101 and shifts to the awake state (step S108 ).

[0149] Next, the relay device 101 and the in-vehicle ECU 202B establish a communication connection with each other by exchanging various information (step S109 ).

[0150] Next, the onboard ECUs 202A and 202B communicate with each other. For example, when the relay device 101 receives a frame with the onboard ECU 202B as the destination from the onboard ECU 202A, it refers to the address table M and determines "#2" as the port number corresponding to the frame. Then, the relay device 101 sends the received frame from the communication port 51B corresponding to the determined port number "#2" to the onboard ECU 202B of the destination (step S110).

[0151] In addition, Figure 8In the case where the onboard ECU 202A is transferred to the awake state, one of the onboard ECUs 202C and 202D may be in the sleep state and the other in the awake state. In this case, the relay device 101 does not transfer the onboard ECU 202 in the sleep state to the awake state, thereby suppressing the power consumption of the onboard ECU 202.

[0152] <Modification 1>

[0153] Fig. 9 It is a diagram showing the configuration of Modification 1 of the vehicle-mounted system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0154] Reference Fig. 9 In the first modification, the VLAN-ID of each vehicle-mounted ECU 202 is "10". Thus, in the first modification, the VLAN-ID of each vehicle-mounted ECU 202 is the same.

[0155] In the first modification, the vehicle-mounted ECU 202 forms a PN (Partial Network) specified by AUTOSAR. Specifically, the plurality of vehicle-mounted ECUs 202 form a PNC, which is an example of a network, in accordance with AUTOSAR. Fig. 9 In the example shown, the onboard ECUs 202A and 202B and the onboard ECUs 202C and 202D belong to different PNCs. The onboard ECU 202 selects a communication partner from among the onboard ECUs 202 belonging to the same PNC.

[0156] In the following description, the PN information, which is the ID of the PNC to which the onboard ECUs 202A and 202B belong, is "1", and the PN information of the onboard ECUs 202C and 202D is "2." The PN information is stored in, for example, an NM message.

[0157] Fig.10 This is a diagram showing a network table held by a relay device in Modification 1 of the in-vehicle system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0158] Reference Figure 2 and Fig.10 The storage unit 54 stores a network table T2 indicating the correspondence between the communication port 51 and the PNC. More specifically, the network table T2 indicates the correspondence between the port number of the communication port 51 and the PN information of the vehicle-mounted ECU 202 .

[0159] In the network table T2, PN information "1" is associated with port numbers "#1" and "#2", and PN information "2" is associated with port numbers "#3" and "#4". In addition, the network table T2 may also show the VLAN-ID corresponding to each port number, i.e., VLAN-ID "10".

[0160] The sleep control unit 63 selects the on-vehicle ECU 202B belonging to the same PNC as the PNC corresponding to the communication port 51A connected to the on-vehicle ECU 202A from among the on-vehicle ECUs 202B, 202C, and 202D based on the network table T2.

[0161] More specifically, the sleep control unit 63 refers to the network table T2, determines "1" as the same PN information as the PN information corresponding to the port number "#1" notified from the switch unit 52, and determines "#2" as another port number corresponding to the PN information "1". As a result, the sleep control unit 63 determines the vehicle-mounted ECU 202B connected to the communication port 51B of the port number "#2" as the communication partner of the vehicle-mounted ECU 202A. That is, the sleep control unit 63 selects the vehicle-mounted ECU 202B from among the vehicle-mounted ECUs 202B, 202C, and 202D as the destination of the wake-up request R2.

[0162] For example, when the connection relationship between the relay device 101 and each vehicle-mounted ECU 202 in the vehicle-mounted network 401 is fixed, the relay device 101 stores the pre-made network table T2 in the storage unit 54. In addition, the relay device 101 may obtain the PN information stored in the NM message received from each vehicle-mounted ECU 202, and create the network table T2 based on the obtained PN information and the port number of the communication port 51 that received the NM message.

[0163] <Modification 2>

[0164] Fig.11 It is a diagram showing the structure of Modification 2 of the vehicle-mounted system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0165] Reference Fig.11 , in variant 2, with Figure 1 In the illustrated in-vehicle system 301, the in-vehicle ECUs 202A and 202B and the in-vehicle ECUs 202C and 202D belong to different VLANs. In the second modification, similar to the first modification, the in-vehicle ECUs 202A and 202B and the in-vehicle ECUs 202C and 202D belong to different PNCs.

[0166] Fig.12 This is a diagram showing a network table held by a relay device in Modification 2 of the in-vehicle system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0167] Reference Figure 2 and Fig.12The storage unit 54 stores a network table T3 indicating the correspondence between the communication port 51, VLAN, and PNC. More specifically, the network table T3 indicates the correspondence between the port number of the communication port 51, the VLAN-ID of the vehicle-mounted ECU 202, and the PN information of the vehicle-mounted ECU 202. In the network table T3, the PN information of each vehicle-mounted ECU 202 belonging to the same VLAN is the same.

[0168] More specifically, in the network table T3, VLAN-ID "10" and PN information "1" are associated with port numbers "#1" and "#2", and VLAN-ID "20" and PN information "2" are associated with port numbers "#3" and "#4".

[0169] The sleep control unit 63 preferentially selects the onboard ECU 202 belonging to the same PNC as the communication port 51A, rather than the onboard ECU 202 belonging to the same VLAN as the VLAN corresponding to the communication port 51A connected to the onboard ECU 202A, based on the network table T3.

[0170] More specifically, the sleep control unit 63 refers to the network table T3, determines "1" as the same PN information as the PN information corresponding to the port number "#1" notified from the switch unit 52, and determines "#2" as another port number corresponding to the PN information "1". As a result, the sleep control unit 63 determines the vehicle-mounted ECU 202B connected to the communication port 51B of the port number "#2" as the communication partner of the vehicle-mounted ECU 202A. That is, the sleep control unit 63 selects the vehicle-mounted ECU 202B from among the vehicle-mounted ECUs 202B, 202C, and 202D as the destination of the wake-up request R2.

[0171] <Variation 3>

[0172] Fig.13 It is a diagram showing the structure of Modification 3 of the vehicle-mounted system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0173] Reference Fig.13 In the third variant, the vehicle-mounted ECUs 202A and 202C and the vehicle-mounted ECUs 202B and 202D belong to different VLANs. Fig.13 In the example shown, the VLAN-ID of the vehicle-mounted ECUs 202A and 202C is "10", and the VLAN-ID of the vehicle-mounted ECUs 202B and 202D is "20". In Modification 3, similarly to Modifications 1 and 2, the vehicle-mounted ECUs 202A and 202B and the vehicle-mounted ECUs 202C and 202D belong to different PNCs.

[0174] Fig.14This is a diagram showing a network table held by a relay device in Modification 3 of the in-vehicle system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0175] Reference Figure 2 and Fig.14 The storage unit 54 stores a network table T4 indicating the correspondence between the communication port 51, VLAN, and PNC. More specifically, the network table T4 indicates the correspondence between the port number of the communication port 51, the VLAN-ID of the vehicle-mounted ECU 202, and the PN information of the vehicle-mounted ECU 202. In the network table T4, the PN information of each vehicle-mounted ECU 202 belonging to the same VLAN is different from each other.

[0176] In more detail, in network table T4, VLAN-ID "10" and PN information "1" are associated with port number "#1", VLAN-ID "20" and PN information "1" are associated with port number "#2", VLAN-ID "10" and PN information "2" are associated with port number "#3", and VLAN-ID "20" and PN information "2" are associated with port number "#4".

[0177] The sleep control unit 63 preferentially selects the onboard ECU 202C belonging to the same PNC as the communication port 51A over the onboard ECU 202B belonging to the same VLAN as the VLAN corresponding to the communication port 51A connected to the onboard ECU 202A based on the network table T4.

[0178] More specifically, the sleep control unit 63 refers to the network table T4, determines "10" as the same VLAN-ID as the VLAN-ID corresponding to the port number "#1" notified from the switch unit 52, and determines "#2" as another port number corresponding to the VLAN-ID "10". In addition, the sleep control unit 63 refers to the network table T4, determines "1" as the same PN information as the PN information corresponding to the port number "#1" notified from the switch unit 52, and determines "#3" as another port number corresponding to the PN information "1".

[0179] Then, the sleep control unit 63 preferentially selects the onboard ECU 202C connected to the communication port 51C with the port number “#3” as the destination of the wakeup request R2 over the onboard ECU 202B connected to the communication port 51B with the port number “#2”.

[0180] The network table T is not limited to the above-mentioned network tables T1, T2, T3, and T4. The network table T may be a table showing the correspondence between the port numbers of the physical ports, that is, the port numbers of the communication ports 51 and the numbers of the logical ports.

[0181] For example, when the same logical port is assigned to the communication port 51A connected to the on-board ECU 202A and the communication port 51B connected to the on-board ECU 202B and a wake-up request R1 is sent from the on-board ECU 202A to the relay device 101, the sleep control unit 63 in the relay device 101 selects the on-board ECU 202B as the destination for sending the wake-up request R2 from the on-board ECUs 202B, 202C, and 202D other than the on-board ECU 202A.

[0182] The above embodiments should be considered in all respects as illustrative rather than restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims rather than the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims.

[0183] Each process (function) of the above-mentioned embodiment is implemented by a processing circuit including one or more processors. In addition to the above-mentioned one or more processors, the above-mentioned processing circuit may also be composed of an integrated circuit that combines one or more memories, various analog circuits, and various digital circuits. The above-mentioned one or more memories store programs (commands) that enable the above-mentioned one or more processors to perform the above-mentioned processes. The above-mentioned one or more processors can perform the above-mentioned processes according to the above-mentioned programs read from the above-mentioned one or more memories, or according to logic circuits designed to perform the above-mentioned processes in advance. The above-mentioned processor can be a CPU (Central Processing Unit: Central Processing Unit), GPU (Graphics Processing Unit: Graphics Processing Unit), DSP (Digital Signal Processor: Digital Signal Processor), FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array: Field Programmable Gate Array) and ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit: Application Specific Integrated Circuit) and other various processors suitable for computer control. In addition, the above-mentioned multiple processors that are physically separated can also cooperate with each other to perform the above-mentioned processes. For example, the processors installed on physically separated computers may cooperate with each other via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), and the Internet to perform the above-mentioned processing. The program may be installed into the memory from an external server device via the network, or may be circulated in a state stored in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disk Read Only Memory), and a semiconductor memory, and installed into the memory from the recording medium.

[0184] The above description includes the following additional features.

[0185] [Note 1]

[0186] A relay device is a relay device used in a vehicle-mounted system having three or more vehicle-mounted devices, wherein:

[0187] The relay device comprises a processing circuit,

[0188] The processing circuit causes the relay device in the sleep state to shift to the wake-up state when receiving a first wake-up request from a first onboard device among the three or more onboard devices.

[0189] A second onboard device is selected from the onboard devices other than the first onboard device, and a second wakeup request for causing the second onboard device to shift to the awake state is transmitted to the second onboard device.

[0190] Description of symbols

[0191] 1 Vehicle

[0192] 11 Ethernet cable

[0193] 51, 51A, 51B, 51C, 51D communication ports

[0194] 52 Switch

[0195] 53 Processing Department

[0196] 54 Storage

[0197] 61 Judgment Department

[0198] 62 State Transition Section

[0199] 63 Sleep control unit

[0200] 101 Relay Device

[0201] 202, 202A, 202B, 202C, 202D Vehicle ECU

[0202] 301 In-vehicle system

[0203] 401 In-vehicle network.

Claims

1. A relay device used in a vehicle-mounted system having three or more vehicle-mounted devices, wherein: have: a state transition unit that, when receiving a first wakeup request from a first on-vehicle device among the three or more on-vehicle devices, causes the relay device in the sleep state to transition to the wakeup state; as well as The sleep control unit selects a second onboard device from among the onboard devices other than the first onboard device, and transmits a second wakeup request for causing the second onboard device to shift to the awake state to the second onboard device.

2. The relay device according to claim 1, The relay device also includes: Three or more communication ports, respectively connected to the three or more vehicle-mounted devices; and a storage unit storing correspondence information indicating a correspondence relationship between the communication port and the network to which the vehicle-mounted device belongs, The sleep control unit selects the second vehicle-mounted device based on the corresponding information.

3. The relay device according to claim 2, The corresponding information indicates the corresponding relationship between the communication port and the VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network). The sleep control unit selects, as the second in-vehicle device, the in-vehicle device that belongs to the same VLAN as the VLAN corresponding to the communication port connected to the first in-vehicle device, based on the correspondence information.

4. The relay device according to claim 2, The corresponding information indicates the corresponding relationship between the communication port and the PNC (Partial Network Cluster). The sleep control unit selects, as the second in-vehicle device, the in-vehicle device that belongs to the same PNC as the PNC corresponding to the communication port connected to the first in-vehicle device, based on the correspondence information.

5. The relay device according to claim 2, The corresponding information indicates the corresponding relationship between the communication port, VLAN and PNC, The sleep control unit preferentially selects the vehicle-mounted device belonging to the same PNC as the PNC corresponding to the communication port connected to the first vehicle-mounted device as the second vehicle-mounted device, compared to the vehicle-mounted device belonging to the same VLAN as the VLAN corresponding to the communication port connected to the first vehicle-mounted device.

6. A sleep control method in a relay device used in an on-vehicle system having three or more on-vehicle devices, wherein: include: When a first wake-up request is received from a first on-vehicle device among the three or more on-vehicle devices, the relay device in the sleep state is shifted to the wake-up state; as well as A step of selecting a second onboard device from among the onboard devices other than the first onboard device, and transmitting a second wakeup request for causing the second onboard device to shift to the awake state to the second onboard device.

7. A sleep control program used in a relay device used in an in-vehicle system having three or more in-vehicle devices, wherein: It is used to make the computer function as a state transition unit and a sleep control unit. The state transition unit transitions the relay device in the sleep state to the awake state when receiving a first wakeup request from a first onboard device among the three or more onboard devices. The sleep control unit selects a second onboard device from among the onboard devices other than the first onboard device, and transmits a second wakeup request for causing the second onboard device to shift to the awake state to the second onboard device.

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