Vehicle

Abstract

To improve convenience in communication between a vehicle and a communication device.SOLUTION: An intermediation unit processor executes a processing containing: transmitting a message containing a first function address and a prescribed command to a first unit in the case where the message containing the first function address and the prescribed command is received from a communication device; transmitting the message containing the first function address and the prescribed command to the first unit in the case where a message containing a second function address and the prescribed command is received from the communication device; transmitting the message containing the second function address and the prescribed command to a second unit in the case where the message containing the first function address and the prescribed command is received from the communication device; and transmitting the message containing the second function address and the prescribed command to the second unit in the case where the message containing the second function address and the prescribed command is received from the communication device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for diagnosing failures in various electronic devices provided in a vehicle by connecting an external device to the vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-167573 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Conventionally, when an external device connected to a vehicle sends a desired message to various electronic devices installed in the vehicle, the desired message may be sent to multiple electronic devices by using a functional address that can identify multiple destinations.

[0005] However, the current situation is that the type of functional address set in each electronic device may differ depending on the manufacturer. Since vehicles are equipped with electronic devices from various manufacturers, some electronic devices may not be able to distinguish that a message using a functional address is addressed to them. If a desired message is not transmitted to some electronic devices as intended in this way, it may become impossible to perform a fault diagnosis, which may reduce user convenience.

[0006] The present invention aims to improve the convenience of communication between a vehicle and a communication device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, a vehicle according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises: A vehicle to which a communication device is connected, one or more first units; one or more second units; an intermediate unit that intermediates communication between the communication device and the first unit or the second unit; Equipped with The intermediate unit is one or more intermediary unit processors; and one or more intermediary unit memories coupled to the intermediary unit processors; The intermediate unit processor includes: when receiving a message including a first functional address for the first unit and a predetermined command from the communication device, transmitting the message including the first functional address and the predetermined command to the first unit; when receiving a message including a second functional address for the second unit and the predetermined command from the communication device, transmitting a message including the first functional address and the predetermined command to the first unit; when receiving a message including the first function address and the predetermined command from the communication device, transmitting a message including the second function address and the predetermined command to the second unit; when a message including the second function address and the predetermined command is received from the communication device, transmitting a message including the second function address and the predetermined command to the second unit; Perform the process including: Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the convenience of communication between a vehicle and a communication device. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram for explaining a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a message structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a function address conversion table according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing CGW-side processing according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the first control unit side process according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the second control unit side process according to the first modified example of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The specific dimensions, materials, numerical values, etc. shown in the embodiment are merely examples for facilitating understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In this specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same functions and configurations are given the same reference numerals to avoid repeated explanations, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not shown.

[0011] 1 is a functional block diagram for explaining a vehicle 100 according to this embodiment. Note that the vehicle 100 is, for example, a hybrid vehicle equipped with an engine and a motor as driving sources.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 100 includes an intermediary unit 110, a first communication bus 120, a second communication bus 122, and a third communication bus .

[0013] The vehicle 100 also includes first control units 130 and 140. The first control units 130 and 140 are capable of bidirectional communication with the intermediate unit 110 via the first communication bus 120.

[0014] The vehicle 100 also includes second control units 150, 160, and 170. The second control units 150, 160, and 170 are capable of bidirectional communication with the intermediate unit 110 via a second communication bus 122.

[0015] The vehicle 100 also includes a first control unit 180 and a second control unit 190. The first control unit 180 and the second control unit 190 are capable of bidirectional communication with the intermediate unit 110 via a third communication bus 124.

[0016] The first control units 130, 140, 180 and the second control units 150, 160, 170, 190 are manufactured by different manufacturers. Note that the symbol CU in Fig. 1 indicates a control unit.

[0017] In this embodiment, the first control units 130, 140, 180 are able to determine that a message containing functional address A, described in more detail below, is addressed to them, whereas the first control units 130, 140, 180 are unable to determine that a message containing functional address B, described in more detail below, is addressed to them.

[0018] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the second control units 150, 160, 170, 190 are able to determine that a message containing functional address B, described in more detail below, is addressed to them. The second control units 150, 160, 170, 190 are unable to determine that a message containing functional address A, described in more detail below, is addressed to them.

[0019] That is, functional address A can be said to be a functional address for transmitting messages to the first control units 130, 140, and 180. Also, functional address B can be said to be a functional address for transmitting messages to the second control units 150, 160, 170, and 190.

[0020] In this embodiment, a case where two first control units 130, 140 are connected to the first communication bus 120 is shown, but the number of first control units connected to the first communication bus 120 is not limited to the above example. That is, the number of first control units connected to the first communication bus 120 may be one, or may be three or more.

[0021] In addition, in this embodiment, a case is shown in which three second control units 150, 160, 170 are connected to the second communication bus 122, but the number of second control units connected to the second communication bus 122 is not limited to the above example. That is, the number of second control units connected to the second communication bus 122 may be one or two, or may be four or more.

[0022] In addition, in this embodiment, a case is shown in which one first control unit 180 and one second control unit 190 are connected to the third communication bus 124, but the number of first control units and second control units connected to the third communication bus 124 is not limited to the above example. That is, the number of first control units and second control units connected to the third communication bus 124 may be two or more. Furthermore, the number of first control units and the number of second control units connected to the third communication bus 124 may be different.

[0023] The first control units 130, 140, 180 and the second control units 150, 160, 170, 190 may be control units for various electronic devices mounted on the vehicle 100. Specifically, the first control units 130, 140, 180 and the second control units 150, 160, 170, 190 are, for example, engine control units that control an engine. The first control units 130, 140, 180 and the second control units 150, 160, 170, 190 are, for example, motor control units that control a motor. The first control units 130, 140, 180 and the second control units 150, 160, 170, 190 are, for example, battery control units that control a battery. Moreover, the first control units 130, 140, 180 and the second control units 150, 160, 170, 190 are, for example, wireless communication units that wirelessly communicate with a data center outside the vehicle 100. Moreover, the first control units 130, 140, 180 and the second control units 150, 160, 170, 190 are, for example, car navigation system control units that control a car navigation system. Moreover, the first control units 130, 140, 180 and the second control units 150, 160, 170, 190 are, for example, automatic driving control units that control automatic driving of the vehicle 100.

[0024] 1, the first control unit 130 has one or more processors 132 and one or more memories 134 connected to the processor 132. Similarly, the first control unit 140 has one or more processors 142 and one or more memories 144 connected to the processor 142. Furthermore, the first control unit 180 has one or more processors 182 and one or more memories 184 connected to the processor 182.

[0025] 1, the second control unit 150 has one or more processors 152 and one or more memories 154 connected to the processor 152. Similarly, the second control unit 160 has one or more processors 162 and one or more memories 164 connected to the processor 162. The second control unit 170 has one or more processors 172 and one or more memories 174 connected to the processor 172. The second control unit 190 has one or more processors 192 and one or more memories 194 connected to the processor 192.

[0026] The processors 132, 142, 152, 162, 172, 182, and 192 each include, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The memories 134, 144, 154, 164, 174, 184, and 194 each include, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The ROM is a storage element that stores programs and computation parameters used by the CPU. The RAM is a storage element that temporarily stores data such as variables and parameters used in processing executed by the CPU.

[0027] The memories 134, 144, 154, 164, 174, 184, 194 store, for example, information indicating the history of fault codes that have occurred in each control unit.

[0028] In this embodiment, a first communication device 200 and a second communication device 210 can be connected to the vehicle 100. The first communication device 200 and the second communication device 210 are manufactured by different manufacturers.

[0029] In the present embodiment, the first communication device 200 and the second communication device 210 are connected to the vehicle 100 by wires. However, the first communication device 200 and the second communication device 210 may be connected to the vehicle 100 by wireless. In addition, the communication among the first communication device 200, the second communication device 210, the intermediate unit 110, the first control units 130, 140, 180, and the second control units 150, 160, 170, 190 may use, for example, a CAN (Controller Area Network) protocol.

[0030] When the first communication device 200 is connected to the vehicle 100, bidirectional communication is possible between the first communication device 200 and the vehicle 100. Specifically, the first communication device 200 can perform bidirectional communication with the first control units 130, 140, 180 and the second control units 150, 160, 170, 190 via the intermediate unit 110.

[0031] Furthermore, when the second communication device 210 is connected to the vehicle 100, bidirectional communication is possible between the second communication device 210 and the vehicle 100. Specifically, the second communication device 210 can perform bidirectional communication with the first control units 130, 140, 180 and the second control units 150, 160, 170, 190 via the intermediate unit 110.

[0032] The first communication device 200 and the second communication device 210 are dedicated terminals for diagnosing failures in the first control unit and the second control unit provided in the vehicle 100. The first communication device 200 and the second communication device 210 are, for example, personal computers. FIG. 1 shows a case where the first communication device 200 is connected to the vehicle 100.

[0033] 1, the first communication device 200 includes one or more processors 202 and one or more memories 204 connected to the processor 202. The second communication device 210 includes one or more processors 212 and one or more memories 214 connected to the processor 212. The processors 202 and 212 include, for example, a CPU. The memories 204 and 214 include, for example, a ROM and a RAM.

[0034] The first communication device 200 and the second communication device 210 are capable of transmitting various messages in order to diagnose malfunctions in the first control units 130, 140, 180 and the second control units 150, 160, 170, 190 provided in the vehicle 100. The configurations of messages transmitted from the first communication device 200 and the second communication device 210 to the first control units 130, 140, 180 and the second control units 150, 160, 170, 190 provided in the vehicle 100 will be described below.

[0035] Fig. 2 is a diagram for explaining the structure of a message according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 2, the message is composed of a 3-byte address section and a 5-byte command section. Note that the data capacity of the address section and the data capacity of the command section described above are merely examples, and are not limited to the above examples.

[0036] In the address section, the address of the destination of various messages is set. The addresses set in the address section are roughly divided into physical addresses, which are addresses that specify a specific destination, and functional addresses that specify multiple destinations. In this embodiment, a case is shown in which all of the first control units 130, 140, 180 and the second control units 150, 160, 170, 190 mounted on the vehicle 100 are specified as destinations by the functional addresses. However, at least some of the first control units 130, 140, 180 and the second control units 150, 160, 170, 190 mounted on the vehicle 100 may be specified by the functional addresses.

[0037] In this embodiment, the first communication device 200 can set the functional address A in the address part of the message as a functional address that designates all the first control units 130, 140, 180 and the second control units 150, 160, 170, 190 mounted on the vehicle 100 as destinations. On the other hand, the first communication device 200 does not have a function of setting the functional address B in the address part of the message as a functional address that designates all the first control units 130, 140, 180 and the second control units 150, 160, 170, 190 mounted on the vehicle 100 as destinations. In order to equip the first communication device 200 with a function that allows both the functional address A and the functional address B to be set in the address part of the message as functional addresses, it is necessary to make a design change to the first communication device 200. Therefore, in order to avoid an increase in design costs, it is unlikely that such a design change will be made to the first communication device 200.

[0038] In addition, in this embodiment, the second communication device 210 can set the functional address B in the address part of the message as a functional address that specifies all the first control units 130, 140, 180 and the second control units 150, 160, 170, 190 mounted on the vehicle 100 as destinations. On the other hand, the second communication device 210 does not have a function of setting the functional address A in the address part of the message as a functional address that specifies all the first control units 130, 140, 180 and the second control units 150, 160, 170, 190 mounted on the vehicle 100 as destinations. In order to equip the second communication device 210 with a function that allows both the functional address A and the functional address B to be set in the address part of the message as functional addresses, it is necessary to make a design change to the second communication device 210. Therefore, in order to avoid an increase in design costs, it is unlikely that such a design change will be made to the second communication device 210.

[0039] For example, the command section contains an information deletion command that instructs the first control units 130, 140, 180 and second control units 150, 160, 170, 190 specified by the address section to delete information indicating the history of stored fault codes.

[0040] Also, for example, the command section contains an information request command that requests the first control units 130, 140, 180 and second control units 150, 160, 170, 190 specified by the address section to transmit information indicating the history of stored fault codes.

[0041] However, the contents of the commands set in the command section are not limited to these. In this embodiment, the various commands set in the command section can be identified regardless of the type of control unit.

[0042] As described above, the intermediate unit 110 intermediates communication between the first communication device 200 or the second communication device 210 and the first control units 130, 140, 180 and the second control units 150, 160, 170, 190 mounted on the vehicle 100.

[0043] 1, the intermediate unit 110 includes one or more processors 112 and one or more memories 114 connected to the processors 112. The processors 112 include, for example, a CPU. The memories 114 include, for example, a ROM and a RAM.

[0044] A functional address conversion table, which will be described in detail later, is stored in the memory 114 of the intermediate unit 110. When a functional address is set in the address portion of a message received from the first communication device 200 or the second communication device 210, the intermediate unit 110 can convert the functional address set in the address portion of the received message based on this functional address conversion table.

[0045] As described above, in this embodiment, the first control units 130, 140, and 180 are capable of determining that a message including functional address A is addressed to them, but are unable to determine that a message including functional address B is addressed to them. Also, the second control units 150, 160, 170, and 190 are capable of determining that a message including functional address B is addressed to them, but are unable to determine that a message including functional address A is addressed to them. That is, the current situation is that control units manufactured by different manufacturers have different functional addresses that enable them to determine that a message is addressed to them.

[0046] As described above, in this embodiment, the first communication device 200 can set functional address A in the address portion of a message as a functional address, but cannot set functional address B in the address portion of a message. Also, the second communication device 210 can set functional address B in the address portion of a message as a functional address, but cannot set functional address A in the address portion of a message. That is, communication devices manufactured by different manufacturers currently have different functional addresses that can be set in the address portion of a message.

[0047] As described above, control units manufactured by different manufacturers may be mounted on the vehicle 100, and communication devices manufactured by different manufacturers may be connected to the vehicle 100. Therefore, when a message using a functional address is transmitted from a communication device to the vehicle 100, the message may not be transmitted to some control units as intended, which may reduce user convenience.

[0048] Therefore, in this embodiment, the intermediate unit 110 performs conversion of the functional address set in the address portion of the message according to the type of the destination control unit or communication bus. This makes it possible to transmit a message transmitted from the communication device to the vehicle 100 to all control units as intended, thereby improving user convenience.

[0049] Fig. 3 is a diagram for explaining a functional address conversion table according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 3, in the functional address conversion table, functional addresses converted for each type of destination communication bus are set according to the type of functional address set in the address part of a received message.

[0050] According to Figure 3, when a message with functional address A set in the address section is received, a message with functional address A set in the address section is sent to all control units connected to the first communication bus 120.

[0051] Furthermore, according to FIG. 3, when a message with functional address A set in the address section is received, a message with functional address B set in the address section is transmitted to all control units connected to the second communication bus 122.

[0052] 3, when a message with the functional address A set in the address section is received, a message with the functional address A set in the address section and a message with the functional address B set in the address section are transmitted to all control units connected to the third communication bus 124. Specifically, for example, a message with the functional address A set in the address section may be transmitted to all control units connected to the third communication bus 124, and then a message with the functional address B set in the address section may be transmitted to all control units connected to the third communication bus 124. However, the order of transmitting the messages is not limited to the above example. For example, a message with the functional address B set in the address section may be transmitted to all control units connected to the third communication bus 124, and then a message with the functional address A set in the address section may be transmitted to all control units connected to the third communication bus 124.

[0053] Furthermore, according to FIG. 3, when a message with functional address B set in the address section is received, a message with functional address A set in the address section is transmitted to all control units connected to the first communication bus 120.

[0054] Furthermore, according to FIG. 3, when a message with functional address B set in the address section is received, a message with functional address B set in the address section is transmitted to all control units connected to the second communication bus 122.

[0055] Furthermore, according to FIG. 3, when a message with functional address B set in the address section is received, a message with functional address A set in the address section and a message with functional address B set in the address section are transmitted to all control units connected to the third communication bus 124.

[0056] Moreover, according to FIG. 3, when a message with functional address X set in the address section is received, a message with functional address A set in the address section is transmitted to all control units connected to the first communication bus 120.

[0057] Furthermore, according to FIG. 3, when a message with functional address X set in the address section is received, a message with functional address B set in the address section is transmitted to all control units connected to the second communication bus 122.

[0058] Furthermore, according to FIG. 3, when a message with functional address X set in the address section is received, a message with functional address A set in the address section and a message with functional address B set in the address section are transmitted to all control units connected to the third communication bus 124.

[0059] In this embodiment, the various commands set in the command section are not subjected to conversion processing, as is performed on the functional addresses.

[0060] As described above, the intermediate unit 110 can convert the functional address set in the address portion of the received message and transmit a message including the converted functional address to each control unit or each communication bus. This makes it possible to transmit a message transmitted from the communication device to the vehicle 100 to all control units as intended. In addition, there is no need to make design changes to each control unit or each communication device, making it possible to suppress an increase in design costs.

[0061] 3 is an example, and is not limited to the above example. For example, if the vehicle 100 is provided with a fourth communication bus (not shown), the conversion mode of the function address is set according to the type of the control unit connected to the communication bus.

[0062] When a physical address is set in the address section of a message received from the first communication device 200 or the second communication device 210, the intermediate unit 110 executes a predetermined relay process without executing the above conversion process on the address section of the received message. An example of the specific process executed in the vehicle 100 will be described below.

[0063] First, the intermediary unit side processing executed in the intermediary unit 110 will be described. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the intermediary unit side processing according to one embodiment of the present invention. The intermediary unit side processing is executed, for example, when an operator connects the first communication device 200 or the second communication device 210 to the vehicle 100. Note that various processes including the processes described below may be executed by the processor 112 of the intermediary unit 110. In detail, the various processes are executed by the processor 112 executing a program stored in the memory 114 of the intermediary unit 110.

[0064] 4, the mediation unit 110 determines whether or not a message has been received from the first communication device 200 or the second communication device 210 (S100-1). If a message has been received (YES in S100-1), the mediation unit 110 proceeds to step S100-3, which will be described later. If a message has not been received (NO in S100-1), the mediation unit 110 ends the mediation unit-side process.

[0065] The mediation unit 110 determines whether or not a functional address is set in the address portion of the received message (S100-3). If a functional address is not set in the address portion of the received message (NO in S100-3), that is, if a physical address is set in the address portion of the received message, the mediation unit 110 proceeds to step S100-5. If a functional address is set in the address portion of the received message (YES in S100-3), the mediation unit 110 proceeds to step S100-7.

[0066] The intermediate unit 110 executes a relay process to relay the received message (S100-5), and ends the intermediate unit side process. Specifically, for example, the intermediate unit 110 transmits the received message to a control unit specified by a physical address set in the address portion of the received message, or to a communication bus to which the control unit is connected.

[0067] The intermediate unit 110 sets a predetermined initial value to the communication bus counter stored in the memory 114 (S100-7). The value of the communication bus counter set here is to be decremented in step S100-15, which will be described later. The initial value set is set to the same value as the total number of communication buses possessed by the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, since the vehicle 100 has the first communication bus 120, the second communication bus 122, and the third communication bus 124, the initial value of the communication bus counter is set to "3".

[0068] The intermediate unit 110 sets the communication bus to be the communication target based on the value of the communication bus counter (S100-9). Specifically, when the value of the communication bus counter is "3", the third communication bus 124 is set as the communication target. When the value of the communication bus counter is "2", the second communication bus 122 is set as the communication target. When the value of the communication bus counter is "1", the first communication bus 120 is set as the communication target.

[0069] The intermediate unit 110 executes a functional address conversion process (S100-11). Specifically, the intermediate unit 110 converts the functional address based on the functional address set in the address section of the message received in step S100-1, the type of the communication bus of the communication target set in step S100-9, and the functional address conversion table shown in Fig. 3. For example, when the functional address A is set in the address section of the received message and the second communication bus 122 is set as the communication target, the intermediate unit 110 refers to the functional address conversion table shown in Fig. 3 and sets the functional address B as a result of the functional address conversion process.

[0070] The intermediate unit 110 executes a message transmission process (S100-13). Specifically, the intermediate unit 110 first generates a message in which the functional address set in the address portion of the message received in step S100-1 is replaced with the functional address obtained by the functional address conversion process in step S100-11. Then, the intermediate unit 110 transmits the generated message to the communication bus set in step S100-9 as the communication target.

[0071] In this embodiment, the various commands set in the command section can be identified regardless of the type of control unit. That is, in this embodiment, the various commands set in the command section are not subjected to conversion processing such as that performed on the function address. However, in the case where the various commands set in the command section are distinguished depending on the type of control unit, in addition to the conversion of the function address described above, the various commands set in the command section may be subjected to conversion processing such as that performed on the function address.

[0072] The intermediate unit 110 decrements the value of the communication bus counter (S100-15).

[0073] The intermediate unit 110 judges whether or not the value of the communication bus counter has become "0" as a result of the processing of step S100-15 (S100-17). If the value of the communication bus counter has become "0" (YES in S100-17), the intermediate unit 110 ends the processing on the intermediate unit side. If the value of the communication bus counter is not "0" (NO in S100-17), the intermediate unit 110 moves the processing to step S100-9 and repeatedly executes the processing from step S100-9 to step S100-17 until the value of the communication bus counter becomes "0".

[0074] Next, a first control unit side process executed in the first control units 130, 140, 180 will be described. Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the first control unit side process according to one embodiment of the present invention. Various processes including the processes described below can be executed by the respective processors 132, 142, 182 of the first control units 130, 140, 180. In detail, the various processes are executed by the respective processors 132, 142, 182 executing programs stored in the respective memories 134, 144, 184 of the first control units 130, 140, 180.

[0075] In this embodiment, the first control unit side process is executed by a timer interrupt that occurs at a predetermined time interval. In the following, the first control unit side process executed in the first control unit 130 will be described as an example.

[0076] 5, the first control unit 130 judges whether or not a message has been received from the first communication device 200 or the second communication device 210 via the intermediate unit 110 (S200-1). As a result, if a message has not been received (NO in S200-1), the first control unit 130 ends the first control unit-side processing. If a message has been received (YES in S200-1), the first control unit 130 moves the processing to step S200-3.

[0077] The first control unit 130 judges whether or not a physical address indicating itself is set in the address part of the received message (S200-3). As a result, if a physical address indicating itself is set in the address part of the received message (YES in S200-3), the first control unit 130 moves the process to step S200-7 described later. On the other hand, if a physical address indicating itself is not set in the address part of the received message (NO in S200-3), the first control unit 130 moves the process to step S200-5.

[0078] The first control unit 130 judges whether or not the functional address A is set in the address portion of the received message (S200-5). As a result, if the functional address A is set (YES in S200-5), the first control unit 130 moves the process to step S200-7 described later. On the other hand, if the functional address A is not set (NO in S200-5), the first control unit 130 ends the first control unit side process.

[0079] The first control unit 130 analyzes the command set in the command portion of the received message (S200-7).

[0080] The first control unit 130 executes a process according to the result of the analysis in step S200-7 (S200-9), and ends the first control unit side process. For example, if an information deletion command is set in the command portion of the received message, the first control unit 130 executes a process to delete information indicating the history of the fault code stored in the memory 134.

[0081] Next, the second control unit side processing executed in the second control units 150, 160, 170, 190 will be described. Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the second control unit side processing according to one embodiment of the present invention. Various processing including the processing described below can be executed by the respective processors 152, 162, 172, 192 of the second control units 150, 160, 170, 190. In detail, the various processing is executed by the respective processors 152, 162, 172, 192 executing the programs stored in the respective memories 154, 164, 174, 194 of the second control units 150, 160, 170, 190.

[0082] In this embodiment, the second control unit side process is executed by a timer interrupt that occurs at a predetermined time interval. In the following, the second control unit side process executed in the second control unit 150 will be described as an example.

[0083] 6, the second control unit 150 judges whether or not a message has been received from the first communication device 200 or the second communication device 210 via the intermediate unit 110 (S300-1). As a result, if a message has not been received (NO in S300-1), the second control unit 150 ends the second control unit side processing. If a message has been received (YES in S300-1), the second control unit 150 moves the processing to step S300-3.

[0084] The second control unit 150 judges whether or not a physical address indicating itself is set in the address part of the received message (S300-3). As a result, if a physical address indicating itself is set in the address part of the received message (YES in S300-3), the second control unit 150 moves the process to step S300-7 described later. On the other hand, if a physical address indicating itself is not set in the address part of the received message (NO in S300-3), the second control unit 150 moves the process to step S300-5.

[0085] The second control unit 150 judges whether or not the functional address B is set in the address portion of the received message (S300-5). As a result, if the functional address B is set (YES in S300-5), the second control unit 150 moves the process to step S300-7 described later. On the other hand, if the functional address B is not set (NO in S300-5), the second control unit 150 ends the second control unit side process.

[0086] The second control unit 150 analyzes the command set in the command portion of the received message (S300-7).

[0087] The second control unit 150 executes a process according to the result of the analysis in step S300-7 (S300-9), and ends the second control unit side process. For example, if an information deletion command is set in the command portion of the received message, the second control unit 150 executes a process to delete information indicating the history of the fault code stored in the memory 154.

[0088] As described above, the vehicle 100 according to this embodiment is a vehicle 100 to which a communication device (for example, the first communication device 200 and the processor 202) is connected. The vehicle 100 includes one or more first units (eg, first control units 130, 140, 180). The vehicle 100 includes one or more second units (eg, second control units 150, 160, 170, 190). The vehicle 100 is equipped with an intermediate unit 110 that intermediates communication between a communication device (e.g., a first communication device 200, a second communication device 210) and a first unit (e.g., a first control unit 130, 140, 180) or a second unit (e.g., a second control unit 150, 160, 170, 190). The mediation unit 110 includes one or more mediation unit processors (processor 112) and one or more mediation unit memories (memories 114) coupled to the mediation unit processors (processor 112). When the intermediate unit processor (processor 112) receives a message including a first functional address (e.g., functional address A) for a first unit (e.g., first control unit 130, 140, 180) and a specified command (e.g., information deletion command) from a communication device (e.g., first communication device 200), the intermediate unit processor performs processing including sending a message including the first functional address (e.g., functional address A) and the specified command (e.g., information deletion command) to the first unit (e.g., first control unit 130, 140, 180) (in the above embodiment, as an example, step S100, FIG. 3). When the intermediate unit processor (processor 112) receives a message including a second functional address (e.g., functional address B) for a second unit (e.g., second control unit 150, 160, 170, 190) and a specified command (e.g., information deletion command) from a communication device (e.g., second communication device 210), the intermediate unit processor executes processing including sending a message including a first functional address (e.g., functional address A) and the specified command (e.g., information deletion command) to the first unit (e.g., first control unit 130, 140, 180) (in the above embodiment, as an example, step S100, FIG. 3). When the intermediate unit processor (processor 112) receives a message including a first functional address (e.g., functional address A) and a specified command (e.g., an information deletion command) from a communication device (e.g., the first communication device 200), the intermediate unit processor executes processing including sending a message including a second functional address (e.g., functional address B) and a specified command (e.g., an information deletion command) to a second unit (e.g., the second control unit 150, 160, 170, 190) (in the above embodiment, as an example, step S100, FIG. 3). When the intermediate unit processor (processor 112) receives a message including a second functional address (e.g., functional address B) and a specified command (e.g., an information deletion command) from a communication device (e.g., the second communication device 210), the intermediate unit processor executes processing including sending the message including the second functional address (e.g., functional address B) and the specified command (e.g., an information deletion command) to the second unit (e.g., the second control unit 150, 160, 170, 190) (in the above embodiment, as an example, step S100, FIG. 3).

[0089] In the vehicle 100 of this embodiment, even if the vehicle is equipped with control units made by different manufacturers, a message sent from the communication device to the vehicle 100 can be transmitted to all control units as intended, thereby improving user convenience.

[0090] The vehicle 100 may also include a first communication bus 120 to which one or more first units (eg, first control units 130, 140) are connected. The vehicle 100 may also include a second communication bus 122 to which one or more second units (eg, second control units 150, 160, 170) are connected. In addition, when the intermediate unit processor (processor 112) receives a message including a first functional address (e.g., functional address A) and a specified command (e.g., an information deletion command) from a communication device (e.g., the first communication device 200), the intermediate unit processor (processor 112) may execute processing that includes sending the message including the first functional address (e.g., functional address A) and the specified command (e.g., an information deletion command) to the first communication bus 120 (in the above embodiment, as an example, step S100, FIG. 3). In addition, when the intermediate unit processor (processor 112) receives a message including a second functional address (e.g., functional address B) and a specified command (e.g., an information deletion command) from a communication device (e.g., the second communication device 210), the intermediate unit processor may execute processing that includes sending a message including a first functional address (e.g., functional address A) and a specified command (e.g., an information deletion command) to the first communication bus 120 (in the above embodiment, as an example, step S100, FIG. 3). In addition, when the intermediate unit processor (processor 112) receives a message including a first functional address (e.g., functional address A) and a specified command (e.g., an information deletion command) from a communication device (e.g., the first communication device 200), the intermediate unit processor may execute processing that includes sending a message including a second functional address (e.g., functional address B) and a specified command (e.g., an information deletion command) to the second communication bus 122 (in the above embodiment, as an example, step S100, FIG. 3). In addition, when the intermediate unit processor (processor 112) receives a message including a second functional address (e.g., functional address B) and a specified command (e.g., an information deletion command) from a communication device (e.g., the second communication device 210), the intermediate unit processor may execute processing that includes sending a message including the second functional address (e.g., functional address B) and a specified command (e.g., an information deletion command) to the second communication bus 122 (in the above embodiment, as an example, step S100, FIG. 3). In this way, by switching the messages to be sent for each type of communication bus, it is possible to suppress the risk of an increase in communication volume and the risk of communication delays occurring.

[0091] The vehicle 100 may also include a third communication bus 124 to which one or more first units (e.g., first control unit 180) and one or more second units (e.g., second control unit 190) are connected. In addition, when the intermediate unit processor (processor 112) receives a message including a first functional address (e.g., functional address A) and a specified command (e.g., an information deletion command) from a communication device (e.g., the first communication device 200), it may execute processing that includes transmitting a message including the first functional address (e.g., functional address A) and the specified command (e.g., an information deletion command) and a message including the second functional address (e.g., functional address B) and the specified command (e.g., an information deletion command) to the third communication bus 124 (in the above embodiment, as an example, step S100, FIG. 3). In addition, when the intermediate unit processor (processor 112) receives a message including a second functional address (e.g., functional address B) and a specified command (e.g., an information deletion command) from a communication device (e.g., the second communication device 210), it may execute processing that includes transmitting a message including the first functional address (e.g., functional address A) and the specified command (e.g., an information deletion command) and a message including the second functional address (e.g., functional address B) and the specified command (e.g., an information deletion command) to the third communication bus 124 (in the above embodiment, as an example, step S100, FIG. 3). In this way, it is possible to send an appropriate message according to the type of communication bus, thereby improving user convenience while suppressing the risk of an increase in communication volume.

[0092] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the attached drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can think of various modified or altered examples within the scope of the claims, and it is understood that such examples also naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

[0093] In the above embodiment, the vehicle 100 is a hybrid vehicle, but the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can be applied to various vehicle types, such as gasoline vehicles, electric vehicles (EVs), plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), and non-plug-in hybrid vehicles (hybrid vehicles).

[0094] The series of processes performed by the vehicle 100 according to the above embodiment may be realized using any of software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. The programs constituting the software are stored in advance in, for example, a non-transitory storage medium provided inside or outside each device. The programs are then read from, for example, the non-transitory storage medium (for example, a ROM) to a transitory storage medium (for example, a RAM) and executed by a processor such as a CPU.

[0095] Furthermore, according to the above embodiment, it is possible to provide a program for executing the processing of each function of the vehicle 100. Furthermore, it is also possible to provide a non-transitory recording medium in which the program is stored and which is readable by a computer. The non-transitory recording medium may be, for example, a disk-type recording medium such as an optical disk, a magnetic disk, or a magneto-optical disk, or may be a semiconductor memory such as a flash memory or a USB memory. [Explanation of symbols]

[0096] 100 vehicles 110 Intermediary Unit 112 Processor (Intermediate Unit Processor) 114 Memory (Intermediate Unit Memory) 120 1st Communication Bus 122 Second communication bus 124 3rd Communication Bus 130 First control unit (First unit) 140 First control unit (First unit) 150 Second control unit (Second unit) 160 Second control unit (Second unit) 170 Second control unit (Second unit) 180 First control unit (First unit) 190 Second control unit (Second unit) 200 First communication device (communication device) 210 Second communication device (communication device)

Claims

1. A vehicle to which a communication device is connected, One or more first units; one or more second units; an intermediate unit that intermediates communication between the communication device and the first unit or the second unit; Equipped with The intermediate unit is one or more mediation unit processors; and one or more mediation unit memories coupled to said mediation unit processors; The intermediate unit processor includes: when receiving a message including a first functional address for the first unit and a predetermined command from the communication device, transmitting the message including the first functional address and the predetermined command to the first unit; when receiving a message including a second functional address for the second unit and the predetermined command from the communication device, transmitting a message including the first functional address and the predetermined command to the first unit; when a message including the first function address and the predetermined command is received from the communication device, transmitting a message including the second function address and the predetermined command to the second unit; when a message including the second function address and the predetermined command is received from the communication device, transmitting a message including the second function address and the predetermined command to the second unit; A vehicle that performs processing including.

2. a first communication bus to which one or more of the first units are connected; a second communication bus to which one or more of the second units are connected; Equipped with The intermediate unit processor includes: when a message including the first functional address and the predetermined command is received from the communication device, transmitting a message including the first functional address and the predetermined command to the first communication bus; when a message including the second functional address and the predetermined command is received from the communication device, transmitting a message including the first functional address and the predetermined command to the first communication bus; when a message including the first functional address and the predetermined command is received from the communication device, transmitting a message including the second functional address and the predetermined command to the second communication bus; when a message including the second functional address and the predetermined command is received from the communication device, transmitting a message including the second functional address and the predetermined command to the second communication bus; The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the vehicle performs a process including:

3. a third communication bus to which one or more of the first units and one or more of the second units are connected; Equipped with The intermediate unit processor includes: when receiving a message including the first functional address and the predetermined command from the communication device, transmitting a message including the first functional address and the predetermined command and a message including the second functional address and the predetermined command to the third communication bus; when receiving a message including the second functional address and the predetermined command from the communication device, transmitting a message including the first functional address and the predetermined command and a message including the second functional address and the predetermined command to the third communication bus; The vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, which executes a process including the steps of:

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