Vehicle control device

Abstract

To provide a technique capable of optimizing a charge time of a vehicle.SOLUTION: A vehicle includes: a battery that can be charged using an external power supply; a communication unit that can communicate various kinds of data with an external server via radio communication; and an ECU that executes various kinds of control on the basis of a previously stored control program. A vehicle control device executes processing for detecting a request for update of the control program from the external server to the ECU during charging of the buttery by the eternal power supply. The vehicle control device executes processing for prohibiting the ECU from executing the update during the charging in at least a part thereof when detecting the request for the update.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The technology disclosed in this specification relates to a vehicle control device. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a so-called OTA (On The Air) technology that receives updates for a control program of an ECU mounted on a vehicle from an external server via wireless communication. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2023-18875 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] If an OTA update occurs while the vehicle battery is being charged, the power consumption for the update increases. For example, when charging the battery to a certain target SOC, the charging time will be longer by the amount of power consumed for the update. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The vehicle control device disclosed in this specification is a vehicle control device that controls a vehicle. The vehicle includes a battery that can be charged using an external power source, a communication unit that can wirelessly communicate various data with an external server, and an ECU that executes various controls based on a pre-stored control program. The vehicle control device executes a process to detect a request from the external server to the ECU for an update of the control program while the battery is being charged by the external power source. At least in some cases when the request for update is detected, the vehicle control device executes a process to prohibit the ECU from executing the update while the battery is being charged.

[0006] The vehicle control device may be various devices. The vehicle control device may be separate from the vehicle or may be integrated with the vehicle. The vehicle control device may be, for example, a user's mobile terminal (e.g., a smartphone, a notebook PC, a wearable device), or a control device (e.g., an ECU) mounted on the vehicle.

[0007] According to the above configuration, it is possible to prohibit the ECU from executing an update during charging. By prohibiting an update during charging, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the charging time becomes longer than when an update is executed during charging. This makes it possible to optimize the charging time of the vehicle. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an OTA system 1. [Diagram 2] 11 is a flowchart illustrating the contents of an update process. [Diagram 3] 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of calculating a remaining charge time according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process of calculating a remaining charge time according to a second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] The following are additional features of the drive device disclosed in this specification:

[0010] In the process of prohibiting an ECU from performing an update, the execution of the update may be prohibited if the urgency of the update is within a predetermined low level range.

[0011] According to the above configuration, updates with a low urgency can be performed after the battery has been fully charged, thereby preventing the battery from taking a long time to charge.

[0012] When performing an update during charging, the vehicle control device may further execute a process of calculating an update power amount consumed by the vehicle due to the update and a required power amount required for the battery thereafter.The vehicle control device may further execute a process of calculating a remaining charging time required to charge the battery from an external power source with an amount of power obtained by subtracting the amount of stored power at the time when charging of the battery is started from the total amount of the update power amount and the required power amount.The vehicle control device may further execute a process of notifying a user of the calculated remaining charging time.

[0013] According to the above configuration, it is possible to notify the user of the remaining charging time required to charge the required amount of power, and it is possible to encourage the user to optimize the charging time.

[0014] The required amount of power may be the amount of power required to travel to the destination.

[0015] According to the above configuration, it is possible to optimize the charging time so that the battery is charged with the amount of power required for traveling to the destination.

[0016] When performing an update while charging, the vehicle control device may determine whether the battery can be charged at the destination. When it is determined that charging at the destination is possible, the vehicle control device may calculate the amount of power required for a one-way trip to the destination. When it is determined that charging at the destination is not possible, the vehicle control device may calculate the amount of power required for a round trip to the destination.

[0017] According to the above configuration, the required amount of power can be optimized depending on whether the battery can be charged at the destination, and it is possible to prevent the battery from running out of power on the way to and from the destination. EXAMPLES

[0018] (Configuration of OTA system 1) The OTA system 1 shown in Fig. 1 mainly includes an electric vehicle 10, an external server 100, a mobile terminal 200, and an external power source 300. Note that dotted lines in Fig. 1 represent signal lines.

[0019] The electric vehicle 10 mainly comprises a battery 11, a power converter 12, a motor 13 for driving, an ECU 14, a voltage sensor 20, a current sensor 21, a charger 24, a charging socket 23, a data communication device 26, a navigation device 40, and a panel 50. The battery 11 is a rechargeable secondary battery, specifically a lithium ion battery. The power converter 12 converts DC power of the battery 11 into driving power (AC power) for the motor 13. The power converter 12 supplies the driving power to the motor 13.

[0020] The electric vehicle 10 can receive power from an external power source 300 via the charging socket 23 and the charger 24. A charging cable 301 is connected to the main body of the external power source 300. The charging cable 301 is provided with a connector 302 at its tip. When the connector 302 is connected (plugged in) to the charging socket 23, the electric vehicle 10 enters a plugged-in state. This allows the battery 11 to be plugged in and charged.

[0021] The ECU 14 includes a CPU 15 and a memory 16. The memory 16 stores a control program 17. In reality, there are a plurality of control programs 17 corresponding to the respective functions. However, in this specification, the ECU 14 is described as a single control program 17. The CPU 15 executes a control program 17 stored in the memory 16, whereby various controls in the ECU 14 are carried out.

[0022] The current sensor 21 measures the charge / discharge current of the battery 11 and transmits the measurement data to the ECU 14. The voltage sensor 20 measures the voltage of the battery 11 and transmits the measurement data to the ECU 14. The ECU 14 can obtain the SOC (State Of Charge) of the battery 11 using the charge / discharge current and the open circuit voltage (OCV) of the battery 11.

[0023] The data communication device 26 communicates various data with the external server 100 via wireless communication 27. The data communication device 26 also communicates various data with the mobile terminal 200 via short-range wireless communication 28. One example of the short-range wireless communication 28 is Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0024] The navigation device 40 includes a CPU 41 and map data 42. The navigation device 40 can identify the position of the electric vehicle 10 by using a GPS signal. The navigation device 40 is configured to perform a route search to find a travel route (for example, the shortest route) from the current position of the electric vehicle 10 to the destination, and to display on a panel 50 the travel route found by the route search.

[0025] The external server 100 is a server for causing each vehicle to execute an update by OTA. The external server 100 is communicably connected to each vehicle via wireless communication 27. The external server 100 includes a CPU 101 and a memory 102. An update program 110 is stored in the memory 102. The update program 110 is a program used for updating the control program 17 stored in each vehicle. The update program 110 is registered in the memory 102 every time an update occurs to the control program 17. The external server 100 transmits an update notification to each vehicle via wireless communication 27 every time a new update program 110 is stored.

[0026] The update notification is information for requesting an update to the control program 17 stored in each vehicle. The update notification also includes a priority flag. The priority flag is information indicating the level of urgency of the update. The level of urgency may be, for example, two levels, "high" and "low", or may have multiple levels, such as three or more levels. The level of urgency can be determined in advance by the update manager or the user. For example, the update manager may appropriately determine the level of urgency depending on the content of the update. The user may also instruct the external server 100 to increase the urgency of an update for a function that the user wants to use.

[0027] The mobile terminal 200 is a device carried by a user of the electric vehicle 10. The mobile terminal 200 may be various devices. For example, the mobile terminal 200 may be a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a notebook PC, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch), etc. In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the mobile terminal 200 is a smartphone.

[0028] The mobile terminal 200 mainly includes a CPU 201, a memory 202, and a touch panel 203. The memory 202 mainly stores a schedule application 211, a map application 212, and an update application 213. The schedule application 211 is an application that manages the user's schedule. For example, the user can register a travel schedule (destination, departure time, arrival time, etc.) in the schedule application 211 in advance. The map application 212 is an application that navigates a route to a destination in conjunction with a GPS. The map application 212 can also search for the installation location of the external power supply 300. The update application 213 is an application that executes an update process of a control program. Specific contents of the update process will be described later.

[0029] (Update process) The contents of the update process will be described using the flowchart of FIG. 2. In this embodiment, the case where the mobile terminal 200 is a vehicle control device will be described. That is, the case where the mobile terminal 200 executes the update process will be described. Specifically, the update process is executed by the CPU 201 reading the update application 213 from the memory 202 and executing it. The flow of FIG. 2 may be executed at any time while the mobile terminal 200 is communicably connected to the electric vehicle 10 by the short-range wireless communication 28. In the following, "step 10" will be abbreviated as "S10".

[0030] In S10, the CPU 201 of the mobile terminal 200 checks whether or not there is an update notification. The CPU 201 monitors whether or not the electric vehicle 10 has received an update notification from the external server 100 via short-range wireless communication 28. If the update notification has not been received (S10: NO), the process waits, and if the update notification has been received (S10: YES), the process proceeds to S20.

[0031] In S20, the CPU 201 determines whether the battery 11 of the electric vehicle 10 is being charged. Various methods of determination may be used. For example, the CPU 201 may inquire of the ECU 14 about the charging status via the short-range wireless communication .

[0032] If it is determined in S20 that charging is not in progress (S20: NO), the process proceeds to S110. In S110, the CPU 201 executes an update. Specifically, the CPU 201 transmits an update instruction to the ECU 14 via short-range wireless communication 28. The ECU 14 that receives the update instruction receives the update program 110 from the external server 100 via wireless communication 27. The ECU 14 then executes the received update program 110, thereby updating the control program 17. Then, the process returns to S10.

[0033] On the other hand, if it is determined in S20 that charging is in progress (S20: YES), the process proceeds to S30. In S30, the CPU 201 checks the contents of the priority flag included in the update notification. Specifically, the CPU 201 receives the update notification from the ECU 14 via the short-range wireless communication 28. Then, the CPU 201 reads the priority flag in the update notification.

[0034] In S40, the CPU 201 judges whether the urgency of the update is high. If the urgency level of the priority flag is higher than a predetermined low level range, the CPU 201 judges that the urgency is high. If the urgency level of the priority flag is within a predetermined low level range, the CPU 201 judges that the urgency is not high.

[0035] If it is determined in S40 that the urgency is high (S40: YES), the process proceeds to S50. In S50, the CPU 201 performs a process of calculating the remaining charging time. An example of the subroutine process performed in S50 is shown in FIG.

[0036] In S210, the CPU 201 calculates the update power amount. The update power amount is the amount of power consumed by the electric vehicle 10 due to the update. Various methods can be used to calculate the update power amount. For example, the update power amount may be calculated based on an estimated current amount and an estimated processing time in the update process. The estimated processing time may be estimated from the data size of the update program. Also, for example, the update power amount may be set to a predetermined value.

[0037] In S220, the CPU 201 calculates the required amount of power. The required amount of power is the amount of power that is required to be stored in the battery 11 after charging is completed. Various methods can be used to calculate the required amount of power. For example, the required amount of power may be calculated based on the amount of power required to travel to the destination.

[0038] The amount of power required to travel to the destination can be calculated by various methods. For example, the update application 213 may be linked to the schedule application 211 or the map application 212. The update application 213 can read out the destination from the travel schedule registered in the schedule application 211. The update application 213 can also calculate the travel distance to the read out destination by using the map application 212. This allows the update application 213 to automatically calculate the amount of power required to travel to the destination.

[0039] In S230, the CPU 201 calculates the remaining charging time. The remaining charging time is the time required to charge the battery 11 from the external power source 300 with the minimum charging energy, which is the minimum amount of energy required for charging. The minimum charging energy is obtained by subtracting the amount of energy stored at the time when charging of the battery 11 is started from the total amount of the update energy and the required energy. In other words, in order to travel to the destination, it is necessary to charge the battery 11 for a charging time equal to or longer than the remaining charging time. Then, the process proceeds to S60 (FIG. 2).

[0040] In S60, the CPU 201 notifies the user of the calculated remaining charging time. Various notification methods can be used. For example, the remaining charging time may be displayed on the touch panel 203 of the mobile terminal 200. Also, for example, the remaining charging time may be displayed on the panel 50 of the electric vehicle 10 via the short-range wireless communication 28. Various display contents may be used. For example, information such as "Because an emergency software update is being performed, it will take XX minutes to charge to XX%" may be displayed. Then, regardless of whether charging is completed or not, the process proceeds to S110 and the update is performed. After the update is completed, the process returns to S10. Note that the contents of S110 have already been explained, and therefore will not be explained here.

[0041] On the other hand, if it is determined in S40 that the urgency is not high (S40: NO), the process proceeds to S70. In S70, the CPU 201 prohibits the ECU 14 from executing the update during charging. This prohibition process can be performed by various methods. In this embodiment, the prohibition process is performed by waiting for the transmission of the update instruction to the ECU 14 until the update start time arrives (S100: YES).

[0042] In S80, the CPU 201 reserves the update start time. The update start time can be any time after charging is completed. This is because there is no problem in deferring an update that is not highly urgent. It is preferable to reserve the update start time during a time period when the user is not using the electric vehicle 10 or during the next or subsequent charging.

[0043] The update start time can be reserved by various methods. It may be automatically reserved by the update application 213. For example, the update application 213 may read out the non-use time period of the electric vehicle 10 from a schedule registered in the schedule application 211. Then, the update start time may be set within the non-use time period. This allows the update to be performed during the time when the electric vehicle 10 is not being used. Also, for example, the update application 213 may read out the parking position of the electric vehicle 10 during the non-use time period of the electric vehicle 10 from the schedule application 211, and may read out the presence or absence of the external power source 300 at the parking position from the map application 212. Then, the update start time may be set within the time period when the vehicle is stopped for a long time at a parking position where the external power source 300 is present. This allows the update to be performed when there is sufficient charging time, so that full charging is possible even if the update power amount is consumed.

[0044] In S90, the CPU 201 determines whether the current charging has been completed. This determination can be made, for example, based on the charging status transmitted from the ECU 14 via the short-range wireless communication 28. If the charging has not been completed (S90: NO), the process waits, and if the charging has been completed (S90: YES), the process proceeds to S100.

[0045] In S100, the CPU 201 determines whether the reserved update start time has arrived. If it has not arrived yet (S100: NO), the process waits, and if it has arrived (S100: YES), the process proceeds to S110. The update is executed in S110. After the update is completed, the process returns to S10.

[0046] (effect) The problem will be described. Since software updates by OTA occur irregularly, there are cases where an update by OTA occurs while the battery 11 of the electric vehicle 10 is being charged. In this case, the power consumption due to the update increases. Then, for example, when charging the battery 11 to a predetermined target SOC, the charging time is extended by the amount of power consumption of the update. There is a risk that an unexpected extension of the charging time may cause a disadvantage to the user. Therefore, in the technology of this specification, when an update by OTA occurs while the battery 11 is being charged, it is possible to determine the urgency of the update (S40). Then, when the urgency is not high (S40: NO), it is possible to prohibit the execution of the update during charging (S70). That is, the timing of starting the update can be optimized according to the urgency. This makes it possible to prevent a situation in which the charging time becomes longer than when the update is executed during charging.

[0047] The technology in this specification can calculate the remaining charging time, which is the minimum required charging time, based on the updated power amount and the required power amount required to travel to the destination (S230). The calculated remaining charging time can then be notified to the user (S60). This makes it possible to encourage the user to optimize the charging time. (For example, if in a hurry, leave immediately after the remaining charging time has elapsed, or if there is time, charge for a longer period than the remaining charging time, etc.). EXAMPLES

[0048] In the second embodiment, a second aspect of the remaining charge time calculation process (S50) will be described. In the second embodiment, only the differences from the first embodiment will be described. Fig. 4 shows an example of the subroutine process performed in S50 in the second embodiment.

[0049] In S310, the CPU 201 calculates the update power amount. The content of S310 is the same as S210 described above, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0050] In S315, the CPU 201 determines whether or not the battery can be charged at the destination. This determination can be performed by various methods. For example, the update application 213 may be linked to the schedule application 211 and the map application 212. The update application 213 can read out the departure time, the destination, the duration at the destination, and the like from the travel schedule registered in the schedule application 211. The update application 213 can also obtain the travel distance to the read destination and the presence or absence of the external power source 300 at the destination, using the map application 212. The update application 213 can determine that charging at the destination is possible when the external power source 300 exists at the destination and the duration at the destination is equal to or longer than a predetermined time.

[0051] In S315, if it is determined that charging at the destination is possible (S315: YES), the process proceeds to S320. In S320, the CPU 201 calculates the required amount of power based on the amount of power required for one-way travel to the destination. The amount of power required for the return journey is calculated because charging at the destination is possible. The process then proceeds to S330.

[0052] On the other hand, if it is determined in S315 that charging at the destination is not possible (S315: NO), the process proceeds to S325. In S325, the CPU 201 calculates the required amount of power based on the amount of power required for traveling to and from the destination. This is because the amount of power required for the outbound and return journeys needs to be charged at the current time. Then, the process proceeds to S330.

[0053] In S330, the CPU 201 calculates the remaining charging time. The content of S330 is the same as S230 described above, so the description will be omitted. Then, the process proceeds to S60 (FIG. 2).

[0054] In S60, the CPU 201 notifies the user of the calculated remaining charge time. At this time, if the departure time is known, the amount of charge when charging until the departure time may also be notified. For example, information such as "At least XX minutes of charging is required. Charge can be up to XX%. If additional charging is performed for XX minutes until the departure time, charge can be up to XX%." may be displayed. The amount of charge may be presented as a percentage of SOC or as a cruising distance.

[0055] Although the embodiments have been described in detail above, these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and changes to the specific examples exemplified above. The technical elements described in this specification or drawings exhibit technical utility alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. In addition, the technology exemplified in this specification or drawings achieves multiple objectives simultaneously, and achieving one of the objectives itself has technical utility.

[0056] (Modification) The vehicle control device that executes the update process is not limited to the mobile terminal 200 and may be various. For example, the external server 100 may be a vehicle control device. In this case, the CPU 101 of the external server 100 reads the update application from the memory 102 and executes it to execute the update process. In addition, for example, the ECU 14 of the electric vehicle 10 itself may function as a vehicle control device. In this case, the CPU 15 of the ECU 14 reads the update application from the memory 16 and executes it to execute the update process.

[0057] In S40, the method of determining the urgency of the update is not limited to the method using a flag, and various methods may be used, such as a method of inquiring the external server 100 about the urgency.

[0058] The method of executing the prohibition process in S70 is not limited to the method using the update start time. For example, S80 may be skipped, and in response to the completion of charging in S90, the process may proceed to S110 and immediately execute the update. Also, for example, in S70, an instruction to wait for a predetermined time before updating may be sent to the ECU 14.

[0059] The method of connection between the mobile terminal 200 and the electric vehicle 10 is not limited to a method via short-range wireless communication 28. For example, a wired connection may be used.

[0060] Instead of the map application 212 provided in the mobile terminal 200, the navigation device 40 mounted on the electric vehicle 10 may be used. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 1: OTA system 10: Electric vehicle 11: Battery 14: ECU 15: CPU 16: Memory 17: Control program 26: Data communication device 100: External server 200: Mobile terminal 201: CPU 202: Memory 213: Update application 300: External power supply

Claims

1. A vehicle control device that controls a vehicle, The vehicle is a battery that is rechargeable using an external power source; A communication unit capable of wirelessly communicating various data with an external server; An ECU that executes various controls based on a control program stored in advance; It is equipped with The vehicle control device includes: detecting a request for updating the control program from the external server to the ECU while the battery is being charged by the external power source; a process of prohibiting the ECU from executing the update during charging at least in part of the time when the update request is detected; A vehicle control device that executes the above.

2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , wherein the process of prohibiting the ECU from executing the update prohibits the execution of the update when an urgency of the update is within a predetermined low level range.

3. The vehicle control device includes: A process of calculating an amount of update power consumed by the vehicle due to the update and an amount of power required by the battery after the update is performed during charging; calculating a remaining charging time required to charge the battery from the external power source with an amount of power obtained by subtracting an amount of stored power at a time point when charging of the battery is started from a total amount of the update amount of power and the required amount of power; a process of notifying a user of the calculated remaining charging time; The vehicle control device according to claim 2 , further comprising:

4. The vehicle control device according to claim 3 , wherein the required amount of power is an amount of power required for traveling to a destination.

5. The vehicle control device includes: determining whether the battery can be charged at the destination when the update is performed during charging; If it is determined that charging is possible at the destination, the required amount of power for a one-way trip to the destination is calculated; When it is determined that charging at the destination is impossible, the required amount of power for a round trip to the destination is calculated. The vehicle control device according to claim 4.

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