Electronic controller and method for inspecting memory

Abstract

To reduce the time necessary for a shipping inspection of a nonvolatile memory of a microcomputer of an electronic controller.SOLUTION: In an electronic controller for a vehicle having a processor and a nonvolatile memory according to an embodiment of the present invention, the nonvolatile memory has a region for storing identification data showing that the inspection of the nonvolatile memory has been completed. The processor starts the inspection of the nonvolatile memory on the condition that the identification data is not written in the region of the nonvolatile memory when the electronic controller for a vehicle is supplied with a power source, and writes the identification data into the region when the inspection is completed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic control unit mounted on a vehicle and a memory inspection method executed in the electronic control unit. [Background technology]

[0002] In electronic control devices that are mounted on vehicles and control on-board devices, a shipping inspection is performed to check various memories mounted on microcomputers before (at) shipment from a factory. As a related technique, for example, Patent Document 1 proposes a method for initializing an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), which is a type of non-volatile memory, at the time of shipment of an electronic control device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2014-222546 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the shipping inspection of such electronic control devices, all areas of the non-volatile memory are inspected. Therefore, the shipping inspection, especially the inspection of the non-volatile memory, tends to take a long time. If such shipping inspection takes a long time, it may affect production at the factory. For this reason, it is desirable to shorten the time required for shipping inspection.

[0005] Therefore, an object of one aspect of the present invention is to reduce the time required for a shipping inspection of a non-volatile memory provided in a vehicle electronic control device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In one aspect of the present invention, in an electronic control device for a vehicle having a processor and a non-volatile memory, the non-volatile memory has an area for storing identification data indicating that an inspection of the non-volatile memory has been completed, and the processor is configured to start an inspection of the non-volatile memory when power is supplied to the electronic control device for a vehicle, on condition that the identification data has not been written in the area of ​​the non-volatile memory, and to write the identification data to the area when the inspection is completed. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the time required for a shipping inspection of a non-volatile memory provided in a vehicle electronic control device. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a control system for a vehicle internal combustion engine; [Diagram 2] 11 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration related to pre-shipment processing of an EEPROM; FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of an EEPROM. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an EEPROM inspection process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described in this specification, and different embodiments and their modifications can be appropriately combined.

[0010] [1. System configuration of this embodiment] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a control system 100 for a vehicle internal combustion engine. The control system 100 includes an ECM (Engine Control Module) 200, which is a main control unit, and a VTC controller 300, which is a sub-control unit connected to the ECM 200. The VTC controller 300 is one aspect of the vehicle electronic control device according to the present invention, and is also one aspect of the vehicle electronic control device to which the inspection method according to the present invention is applied.

[0011] The ECM 200 is an electronic control device that controls actuators such as a fuel injection valve and an electronically controlled throttle valve provided in an internal combustion engine for a vehicle (not shown), and includes a microcomputer equipped with a processor and various memories. More specifically, the ECM 200 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 210, which includes a control unit, a calculation unit, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) and a ROM (Read Only Memory) (all not shown) that are built into the CPU. The ECM 200 also includes a CAN communication circuit 220 for communicating with a VTC controller 300 via a CAN (Controller Area Network) 400.

[0012] The VTC controller 300 is an electronic control device that controls a motor 510 that is a power source of a valve timing control system 500 that is an actuator provided in an internal combustion engine for a vehicle. The valve timing control system 500 is an electric valve timing control system that continuously changes the valve timing of the engine valves (intake and exhaust valves) by continuously changing the rotational phase of the camshaft relative to the crankshaft of a vehicle internal combustion engine using a motor 510.

[0013] The VTC controller 300 includes a microcomputer equipped with a processor and various memories. More specifically, the VTC controller 300 includes a CPU 310. The CPU 310 includes a control unit and an arithmetic unit (not shown), a RAM 311 built into the CPU, an EEPROM 312, and a ROM 313. The EEPROM 312 is composed of a flash memory built into the CPU that can be electrically written and erased, and is a storage area that is subject to inspection and initialization, which will be described later. The ROM 313 is a storage area that stores data that does not need to be rewritten in principle, such as a code flash. The VTC controller 300 also includes a CAN communication driver 320 for communicating with the ECM 200 via the CAN 400, a drive circuit 330 for the motor 510, and input circuits 340a and 340b for inputting a sensor signal S1 and a sensor signal S2 for detecting a rotation phase adjusted by the valve timing control system 500. Regarding the above-mentioned sensor signals S1 and S2, for example, the sensor signal S1 is a pulse signal generated at every predetermined rotation angle of the crankshaft, and the sensor signal S2 is a pulse signal generated at every predetermined rotation angle of the camshaft.

[0014] The ECM 200 has software functions for inputting various sensor signals, performing calculation processing, and outputting operation signals to various actuators such as the fuel injection valve, the electronically controlled throttle valve, etc. In addition, the ECM 200 calculates a target value of the rotational phase RP, which is adjusted by the valve timing control system 500, based on various sensor signals, and transmits data of the calculated target value to the VTC controller 300 via the CAN 400.

[0015] The VTC controller 300 executes a control program that detects the rotational phase RP adjusted by the valve timing control system 500 based on the sensor signals S1 and S2, and determines and outputs an operation signal for the motor 510 so that the detected value of the rotational phase RP approaches a target value. In addition, the microcomputer of the VTC controller 300 executes a program for checking and initializing the EEPROM 312 . These various programs are stored in the ROM 313, and are loaded into the RAM 311 and executed by the control unit and arithmetic unit of the CPU 310. It is also possible to store these various programs in the EEPROM 312.

[0016] 1, the VTC controller 300 includes an interface for realizing communication with an external inspection device. The interface can realize communication using a communication method such as CAN communication, Ethernet (registered trademark), FlexRay, etc.

[0017] [2. Functional configuration realized in this embodiment] 2 shows a functional configuration related to a program that inspects and initializes EEPROM 312 before (at) shipment of VTC controller 300. VTC controller 300 includes a control unit 600 whose functions are realized by execution of the program in CPU 310. Control unit 600 includes a memory inspection unit 610 and a memory initialization unit 620. In addition, the control unit receives various commands by communicating with external inspection equipment 900, while accessing data in EEPROM 312.

[0018] The memory inspection unit 610 inspects the data in the EEPROM 312. As an example, when the EEPROM 312 is configured with blocks 0 to 1023, the memory inspection unit 610 inspects the EEPROM 312 in the order of blocks 0 to 1023 by the following process. (1) Erase all data in the memory area, write "55h", and read the written data. (2) Erase all data in the memory area, write "AAh", and read the written data. (3) Erase all data in the memory area, write "FFh" to it, and then read the written data. The memory inspection unit 610 determines that each storage area is normal on a bit-by-bit basis because all reads in the processes (1) to (3) are performed normally. The memory initialization unit 620 initializes the data in the EEPROM 312 after the inspection by the memory inspection unit 610 .

[0019] Conventionally, a program for inspecting such an EEPROM would transition to a shipping inspection mode on the condition that an inspection command was received from an external inspection device. In the conventional program, the process for inspecting the EEPROM would start on the condition that an EEPROM inspection command was received from the inspection device. However, as shown in the above processes (1) to (3), EEPROM inspection consumes a lot of inspection time due to repeated erasing, writing, and reading of data. In addition, the inspection time depends in principle on the hardware attributes of the EEPROM, and it is difficult to reduce the inspection time itself while maintaining the inspection accuracy. For example, the inspection time can be reduced by reducing the inspection area, but in that case, the inspection accuracy may decrease.

[0020] Therefore, in this embodiment, when the power supply of the VTC controller 300 is turned on, that is, when the power supply to the VTC controller 300 is started, the memory inspection unit 610 starts inspection of the EEPROM 312 without waiting for the reception of an EEPROM inspection command. The flow of this process will be described in detail later.

[0021] [3. Data configuration of the EEPROM in this embodiment] Fig. 3 shows an example of the internal data structure of EEPROM 312. As shown in Fig. 2, EEPROM 312 has areas of block 0 to block 1023. Various control data used in the processing executed by VTC controller 300 is written in blocks 1 to 1021. The control data includes, for example, a control program for outputting an operation signal for motor 510 by VTC controller 300 and various data used in association with the processing of an inspection program in EEPROM 312. Although these various programs themselves are stored in ROM 313 as described above, they may also be stored in EEPROM 312.

[0022] Moreover, blocks 1022 and 1023 of the EEPROM 312 are areas in which inspected identification data, which is information indicating that inspection of the EEPROM 312 has been completed, is written. More specifically, inspected identification data 1 is written in block 1022, and inspected identification data 2 is written in block 1023 as a redundant configuration in which searched identification data 1 is multifaceted. The reason for providing such a redundant configuration is that even if data loss occurs in any of the inspected identification data due to data corruption or the like, it is possible to normally determine whether or not the EEPROM 312 has already been inspected based on the other inspected identification data.

[0023] [4. EEPROM Inspection Process in This Embodiment] 4 is a flowchart showing a process executed by the CPU 310 of the VTC controller 300 before (at the time of) shipping of the VTC controller 300. The process is started when the VTC controller 300 is supplied with power.

[0024] In step 1001 (denoted as S1001 in the figure, and so on below), the memory inspection unit 610 judges whether or not control data (including initial values) has been written in the EEPROM 312. If no control data has been written, the process proceeds to step 1002 (Yes), and if control data has been written, the process ends (No). The reason for making the judgment in step 1001 is as follows. That is, the inspection of the EEPROM 312 should be performed only once before shipment. Here, the case where control data is written in the EEPROM 312 is when an initial value is written in the initialization process after the inspection of the EEPROM 312 before shipment. The other case is when control data is written when the VTC controller 300 is operated in the market after shipment. In either of these cases, the inspection of the EEPROM 312 has already been completed. Therefore, when control data is written in the EEPROM 312, the memory inspection unit 610 judges that the inspection of the EEPROM 312 has already been performed, and avoids performing a duplicate inspection.

[0025] In step 1002, the memory inspection unit 610 judges whether or not there is any inspected identification data written in the EEPROM 312. If there is no inspected identification data written, the process proceeds to step 1003 (Yes), and if there is inspected identification data written, the process ends (No). The reason for making the determination in step 1002 is as follows. That is, as described above, the inspection of the EEPROM 312 should be performed only once before the shipment of the VTC controller 300. Therefore, when the inspected identification data is written, that is, when the inspection of the EEPROM 312 has already been completed, the memory inspection unit 610 avoids inspecting the EEPROM 312 redundantly. Here, the inspected identification data in the EEPROM 312 of this embodiment has a redundant configuration of inspected identification data 1 and inspected identification data 2, as described above. Therefore, even if any one of the inspected identification data has not been written, if the other inspected identification data has been written, the memory inspection unit 610 determines that the inspected identification data has been written.

[0026] In step 1003, the memory inspection unit 610 starts inspection of the EEPROM 312. The detailed process of the inspection is as described above. In this embodiment, the judgments in steps 1001 and 1002 are set as the start conditions of the inspection, and the reception of an inspection command from the inspection equipment 900 is not set as the start condition of the inspection. In step 1004, the memory inspection unit 610 judges whether or not the inspection of the EEPROM 312 is completed. If the inspection of the EEPROM 312 is completed, the process proceeds to step 1005 (Yes), and if the inspection of the EEPROM 312 is not completed, the process waits and makes this judgment again (No).

[0027] In step 1005, the memory inspection unit 610 writes the inspected identification data to the EEPROM 312. At this time, the memory inspection unit 610 writes the inspected identification data 1 to the block 1023 of the EEPROM 312 and the inspected identification data 2 to the block 1022 in order to make the inspected identification data redundant as described above. As an existing function, when the inspection of the EEPROM 312 is completed, the VTC controller 300 notifies the inspection device 900 that the inspection has been completed. At this time, it may be determined whether the inspection has been completed based on whether the inspection-completed identification data has been written.

[0028] In step 1006, the memory initialization unit 620 judges whether or not an initialization command for the EEPROM 312 has been received from the external inspection equipment 900. If an initialization command has been received, the process proceeds to step 1007 (Yes), and if an initialization command has not been received, the process waits and makes this judgment again (No). In step 1007, the memory initialization unit 620 initializes the data in the EEPROM 312 and writes the initial values.

[0029] [5. Effects and Modifications of the Present Embodiment] According to this embodiment, when power is supplied to the VTC controller 300, inspection of the EEPROM 312 is started without waiting for an inspection command for the EEPROM 312 to be received by an external inspection device. Here, in this embodiment, when the inspection of the EEPROM 312 is completed, the inspected identification data is written. On the other hand, the inspection of the EEPROM 312 is started on the condition that the inspected identification data has not been written. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the time until the inspection is completed while maintaining the inspection accuracy and avoiding duplicate inspection of the EEPROM 312. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the overall time required for the shipping process of the VTC controller 300.

[0030] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a condition is that no control data has been written when starting inspection of the EEPROM 312. This makes it possible to prevent the control data from being overwritten with inspection data or reinitialized due to an erroneous inspection being performed after the VTC controller 300 is released to the market.

[0031] Furthermore, in this embodiment, two blocks of areas for writing inspected identification data are provided, and inspected identification data is written to both blocks, respectively, to provide a redundant configuration. Therefore, even if one piece of inspected identification data is corrupted for some reason, it is possible to determine whether or not the inspection has been completed based on the other inspected identification data. Note that in this embodiment, the number of redundant configurations of inspected identification data is two, but this number is arbitrary. Furthermore, the redundant configuration itself is not essential, and the object of the present invention can be achieved by writing a single piece of inspected identification data.

[0032] Incidentally, like the inspection, the initialization of the data in the EEPROM 312 may be performed without the condition of receiving an initialization command from the inspection device 900. In this case, when the inspection of the EEPROM 312 is completed, the initialization is also performed immediately afterwards. By doing so, it is possible to further shorten the time required for the shipping process of the VTC controller 300.

[0033] In addition, although the present embodiment has been described with reference to an example of a VTC controller, the present invention is not limited to being applicable to a VTC controller, and can be applied to a variety of electronic control devices mounted on a vehicle. Furthermore, although the present embodiment has been described with reference to an example of inspecting an EEPROM as one form of nonvolatile memory, the present invention can also be applied to other types of nonvolatile memory. Furthermore, although the present embodiment has been described with reference to an example of a nonvolatile memory built into a CPU, the present invention is not limited to being applicable to such a nonvolatile memory built into a CPU, and can naturally also be applied to a nonvolatile memory attached to the outside of a CPU.

[0034] [others] The above-described embodiments of the present invention are merely some of the possible implementations within the technical scope of the present invention, and are disclosed as examples of the present invention, and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention. Furthermore, the functional and physical configurations in each embodiment are not limited to the above-described aspects, and for example, each function or physical resource can be integrated and implemented, or conversely, can be further distributed and implemented, and further, some of the configurations can be added, deleted, or replaced with other configurations. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 300...VTC controller, 310...CPU, 311...RAM, 312...ROM (EEPROM), 500...valve timing control system, 600...control unit, 610...memory inspection unit, 620...memory initialization unit, 900...inspection equipment

Claims

1. A vehicle electronic control device including a processor and a non-volatile memory, the non-volatile memory includes an area for storing identification data indicating that an inspection of the non-volatile memory has been completed; The processor is configured to start an inspection of the non-volatile memory when power is supplied to the vehicle electronic control device, on condition that the identification data is not written in the area of ​​the non-volatile memory, and to write the identification data to the area when the inspection is completed. Electronic control device for vehicles.

2. The electronic control device for a vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to start checking the non-volatile memory on the further condition that no control data used for processing executed in the electronic control device for a vehicle is written to the non-volatile memory.

3. the non-volatile memory includes a plurality of areas for storing the identification data; 3 . The electronic control device for a vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to write the identification data to each of the plurality of areas when the inspection of the non-volatile memory is completed.

4. 3. The electronic control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the processor further continuously initializes the non-volatile memory when the checking of the non-volatile memory is completed.

5. A vehicle electronic control device includes a processor and a nonvolatile memory, the nonvolatile memory having an area for storing identification data indicating that an inspection of the nonvolatile memory has been completed, the processor comprising: when power is supplied to the vehicle electronic control device, an inspection of the non-volatile memory is started on the condition that the identification data is not written in the area of ​​the non-volatile memory; when the inspection is completed, writing the identification data to the area. Memory testing methods.

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