Communication system

Abstract

To prevent a decrease in user convenience.SOLUTION: An intermediary unit provided in a vehicle and intermediating communication between a communication device and a target unit includes one or more intermediary unit processors and one or more intermediary unit memories connected to the intermediary unit processors. Each of the intermediary unit processors executes processes including, when first predetermined information is received from a first target unit, transmitting the first predetermined information to the communication device, and, when second predetermined information is received from a second target unit, generating third predetermined information obtained by converting the value of a byte at a predetermined position of the second predetermined information received from the second target unit to a predetermined specific value, and transmitting the generated third predetermined information to the communication device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to communication systems. [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] When diagnosing a malfunction of the various electronic devices installed in the vehicle as described above, messages including information such as error codes are transmitted from the various electronic devices installed in the vehicle to an external device. The external device can display information such as error codes and perform malfunction diagnosis based on the messages received from the various electronic devices installed in the vehicle.

[0005] The current situation is that the effective data length of such messages varies depending on the design specifications of various electronic devices installed in the vehicle. If the effective data length of the received message cannot be accurately determined in the external device, an erroneous error code may be displayed, or a fault diagnosis may not be performed properly, which may reduce user convenience.

[0006] The present invention has an object to suppress any decrease in user convenience. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: A communication device connectable to a vehicle; a target unit provided in the vehicle, the target unit including a first target unit having an effective data length of a predetermined number of bytes and a second target unit having an effective data length less than the predetermined number of bytes; an intermediate unit provided in the vehicle and intermediates communication between the communication device and the target 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 first predetermined information is received from the first target unit, transmitting the first predetermined information to the communication device; When receiving second predetermined information from the second target unit, generating third predetermined information by converting a value of the predetermined byte of the second predetermined information received from the second target unit into a specific value that is set in advance, and transmitting the generated third predetermined information to the communication device; Perform the process including: Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress a decrease in user convenience. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram for explaining a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a setting file according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a process when a first target unit according to an embodiment of the present invention transmits a message. [Figure 4]FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a process related to a case where a second target unit according to an embodiment of the present invention transmits a message. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the intermediate unit side process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a communication device side process according to an embodiment 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] Fig. 1 is a functional block diagram for explaining a communication system 100 according to the present embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the communication system 100 includes a vehicle 200 and a communication device 300 connected to the vehicle 200. The vehicle 200 is, for example, a hybrid vehicle including an engine and a motor as driving sources.

[0012] The vehicle 200 is equipped with an intermediate unit 220, an ECU-A 230, an ECU-B 240, an ECU-C 250, an ECU-D 260, and an ECU-E 270.

[0013] The communication device 300 is a dedicated terminal such as a fault diagnosis terminal for diagnosing a fault of the vehicle 200. The communication device 300 is, for example, a personal computer. The communication device 300 is connected to the vehicle 200, and thereby bidirectional communication between the ECU-A230, the ECU-B240, the ECU-C250, the ECU-D260, and the ECU-E270 is possible via the intermediate unit 220. The communication between the communication device 300, the intermediate unit 220, the ECU-A230, the ECU-B240, the ECU-C250, the ECU-D260, and the ECU-E270 may use, for example, a CAN (Controller Area Network) protocol. Although the present embodiment shows a case where the communication device 300 is connected to the vehicle 200 by wire, the communication device 300 may be connected wirelessly.

[0014] In the following, ECU-A230, ECU-B240, ECU-C250, ECU-D260, and ECU-E270 are also collectively and abstractly referred to as "target units". These target units may be control units of various electronic devices mounted on the vehicle 200. Specifically, the target unit is, for example, an engine control unit that controls an engine. The target unit is, for example, a motor control unit that controls a motor. The target unit is, for example, a battery control unit that controls a battery. The target unit is, for example, a wireless communication unit that wirelessly communicates with a data center outside the vehicle 200. The target unit is, for example, a car navigation system control unit that controls a car navigation system. The target unit is, for example, an automatic driving control unit that controls automatic driving of the vehicle 200.

[0015] In the following description, ECU-A230 and ECU-B240 are collectively and abstractly referred to as "first target units." Note that, in this embodiment, a case is shown in which two first target units, ECU-A230 and ECU-B240, are provided, but the number of first target units is not limited to this. In other words, the number of first target units may be any number greater than or equal to one.

[0016] In the following description, ECU-C250, ECU-D260, and ECU-E270 are collectively and abstractly referred to as "second target units." Note that, in this embodiment, a case is shown in which three second target units, ECU-C250, ECU-D260, and ECU-E270, are provided, but the number of second target units is not limited to this. In other words, the number of second target units may be any number greater than or equal to one.

[0017] In addition, although details will be described later, in this embodiment, the first target unit and the second target unit can generate a message with a data length of 3 bytes and transmit it to the communication device 300 via the intermediate unit 220. At this time, the first target unit can generate a message with an effective data length of 3 bytes and transmit it to the communication device 300 via the intermediate unit 220. In addition, the second target unit can generate a message with an effective data length of 2 bytes and transmit it to the communication device 300 via the intermediate unit 220. That is, it can be said that the effective data lengths of the messages of the first target unit and the second target unit are different. In this embodiment, the case where the data length of the message is 3 bytes has been shown, but the data length of the message may be 3 bytes or more. In addition, the data length of the message may be variable.

[0018] In this embodiment, the effective data length of the message generated by the first target unit is 2 bytes and the effective data length of the message generated by the second target unit is 3 bytes, but the present invention is not limited to this. In other words, it is sufficient that the effective data length of the message generated by the second target unit is less than the effective data length of the message generated by the first target unit.

[0019] Therefore, in this embodiment, the data length of a message and the effective data length of the message may or may not match. In this embodiment, the effective data length indicates the length of data that should be judged as valid from a predetermined position in the message. More specifically, in this embodiment, the effective data length indicates how many bytes from the most significant byte of the message are the length of data that should be judged as valid. That is, when the effective data length of a message is 3 bytes, this indicates that the most significant byte to the most significant byte of the message is the length of data that should be judged as valid. Similarly, when the effective data length of a message is 2 bytes, this indicates that the most significant byte to the most significant byte of the message is the length of data that should be judged as valid.

[0020] The intermediate unit 220 has a function of relaying communication between the communication device 300 and the target unit. The intermediate unit 220 also has a function of converting a part of a message received from the target unit and transmitting the converted message to the communication device 300.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 1, the ECU-A 230 has one or more processors 230a and one or more memories 230b connected to the processor 230a. Similarly, the ECU-B 240 has one or more processors 240a and one or more memories 240b connected to the processor 240a. The ECU-C 250 has one or more processors 250a and one or more memories 250b connected to the processor 250a. The ECU-D 260 has one or more processors 260a and one or more memories 260b connected to the processor 260a. The ECU-E 270 has one or more processors 270a and one or more memories 270b connected to the processor 270a.

[0022] The processor 230a, the processor 240a, the processor 250a, the processor 260a, and the processor 270a include, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The memory 230b, the memory 240b, the memory 250b, the memory 260b, and the memory 270b 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.

[0023] In this embodiment, the memory 230b, the memory 240b, the memory 250b, the memory 260b, and the memory 270b each store an ID for identifying a target unit and information for identifying the effective data length of a message generated in the target unit. In this embodiment, a discrimination bit is stored as information for identifying the effective data length of a message generated in the target unit.

[0024] When the value of the discrimination bit is “0”, it indicates that the effective data length of the message generated in the target unit is 2 bytes. That is, the memory 230b of the ECU-A 230 and the memory 240b of the ECU-B 240 store the discrimination bit value of “1”.

[0025] Furthermore, when the value of the discrimination bit is "1", it indicates that the effective data length of the message generated in the target unit is 3 bytes. That is, in memory 250b of ECU-C 250, memory 260b of ECU-D 260, and memory 270b of ECU-E 270, a discrimination bit value of "0" is stored.

[0026] Furthermore, the memories 230b, 240b, 250b, 260b, and 270b store information indicating the history of fault codes that have occurred in each of the target units.

[0027] 1, the intermediate unit 220 has one or more processors 220a and one or more memories 220b connected to the processor 220a. The processor 220a includes, for example, a CPU. The memory 220b includes, for example, a ROM and a RAM. 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.

[0028] In this embodiment, a setting file is stored in the memory 220b. Fig. 2 is a diagram for explaining a setting file according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 2, the setting file stores an ID and a discrimination bit for each type of target unit.

[0029] Although the details will be described later, when the intermediate unit 220 receives a message from a target unit, the intermediate unit switches the process to be executed on the received message based on the value of the discrimination bit of the target unit.

[0030] The intermediate unit 220 may build and update the setting file based on the value of the discrimination bit stored in the memory of the target unit. For example, when a predetermined timing such as engine start arrives, the intermediate unit 220 may build and update the setting file based on the value of the discrimination bit stored in the memory of each target unit mounted on the vehicle 200.

[0031] 1, the communication device 300 has one or more processors 300a and one or more memories 300b connected to the processor 300a. The processor 300a includes, for example, a CPU. The memory 300b includes, for example, a ROM and a RAM. The communication device 300 also has a display unit 300c that performs a predetermined display based on various messages received from the target unit. The display unit 300c is configured with a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, or the like.

[0032] As described above, in this embodiment, regardless of the length of the effective data of the message, the message itself generated by the target unit is composed of 3 bytes. For example, in the case shown in FIG. 3 described later, the meaningful value "00" is set in the third byte of the message generated by the ECU-A230. On the other hand, in the case shown in FIG. 4 described later, the meaningless value "00" is set in the third byte of the message generated by the ECU-C250. Therefore, if the communication device 300 cannot determine the effective data length of the received message, the error code displayed on the display unit 300c may be incorrect, or the fault diagnosis may not be performed normally, which may reduce the convenience for the user. Therefore, in this embodiment, the communication device 300 accurately determines the effective data length of the received message, thereby suppressing the risk of the error code displayed on the display unit 300c being incorrect or the fault diagnosis not being performed normally, thereby improving the convenience for the user.

[0033] 3 is a diagram for explaining a process when a first target unit according to an embodiment of the present invention transmits a message. In the following, a case where a message is transmitted from ECU-A230 to communication device 300 via intermediate unit 220 as an example of the first target unit will be explained.

[0034] When the ECU-A 230 receives an information request command requesting transmission of information indicating the fault code history from the communication device 300, the ECU-A 230 generates a 3-byte message including the fault code history based on the contents stored in the memory 230b. This message includes 3-byte information indicating the fault code history. The effective data length of the information indicating the fault code history is set to 3 bytes. Note that header information indicating the ID of the target unit that is the transmission source may be added to the 3-byte message. In this case, for example, 1-byte header information and the 3-byte message are generated and transmitted to the communication device 300 via the intermediate unit 220.

[0035] The ECU-A 230 transmits the generated message to the intermediate unit 220. When the intermediate unit 220 receives a message from the ECU-A 230, it refers to the configuration file and checks the discrimination bit of the ECU-A 230. That is, the intermediate unit 220 checks the effective data length of the message based on the target unit that is the sender of the message. In this embodiment, since the value of the discrimination bit of the ECU-A 230 is set to "1", the intermediate unit 220 recognizes that the effective data length of the message received from the ECU-A 230 is 3 bytes.

[0036] The intermediate unit 220 then transmits the received message to the communication device 300 without making any changes to its content.

[0037] The communication device 300 checks the value of the third byte of the message received from the intermediate unit 220. Then, the communication device 300 judges whether or not a specific value is set as the value of the third byte of the message. In this embodiment, a case where "FF" is used as the specific value is shown, but the specific value is not limited to this. In the case shown in FIG. 3, a value of "00" is set in the third byte of the message. Therefore, the communication device 300 judges that a specific value is not set in the third byte of the message, and that a valid value is set in the third byte of the message. Then, the communication device 300 displays the received 3-byte fault code on the display unit 300c.

[0038] 4 is a diagram for explaining a process when a second target unit according to an embodiment of the present invention transmits a message. In the following, a case where a message is transmitted from ECU-C 250 to communication device 300 via intermediate unit 220 as an example of the second target unit will be explained.

[0039] When the ECU-C250 receives an information request command requesting transmission of information indicating the fault code history from the communication device 300, the ECU-C250 generates a message including the fault code history based on the contents stored in the memory 250b. As described above, the effective data length of the message generated by the ECU-C250, which is the second target unit, is 2 bytes. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the ECU-C250 sets the value of the information indicating the fault code history in the upper 2 bytes, and sets a meaningless value, here "00", as a padding value in the lower byte, i.e., the third byte.

[0040] The ECU-C250 transmits the generated message to the intermediate unit 220. When the intermediate unit 220 receives a message from the ECU-C250, it refers to the configuration file and checks the discrimination bit of the ECU-C250. That is, the intermediate unit 220 checks the effective data length that can be set by the target unit that is the sender of the message. In this embodiment, since the value of the discrimination bit of the ECU-C250 is set to "0", the intermediate unit 220 recognizes that the effective data length of the message received from the ECU-C250 is 2 bytes.

[0041] Then, the mediation unit 220 executes a message generation process to generate a message in which the value of the third byte of the received message is converted to “FF.” The mediation unit 220 transmits the message in which the value of the third byte generated by the message generation process is converted to “FF” to the communication device 300.

[0042] The communication device 300 checks the value of the third byte of the message received from the intermediate unit 220. Then, the communication device 300 judges whether or not a specific value is set as the value of the third byte of the message. In the case shown in FIG. 4, the value of "FF" is set in the third byte of the message. Therefore, the communication device 300 judges that a specific value is set in the third byte of the message, and that a meaningless value is set in the third byte of the message. Then, the communication device 300 displays the value of the upper two bytes of the received message as a failure code on the display unit 300c.

[0043] In this manner, when the intermediate unit 220 receives a message from the second target unit, it converts the value of the third byte of the received message into a specific value, and transmits the message containing the specific value in the third byte to the communication device 300. This enables the communication device 300 to determine that the valid data length is two bytes when the value of the third byte of the received message is "FF", and to determine that the valid data length is three bytes when the value of the third byte of the received message is other than "FF".

[0044] Therefore, the communication device 300 can accurately determine the effective data length of the received message simply by referring to the value of the third byte of the received message. This makes it possible to prevent the communication device 300 from erroneously recognizing meaningless data (such as the padding value described above) contained in the received message as meaningful data. It is also possible to prevent the communication device 300 from displaying an incorrect error code on the display unit 300c or from being unable to properly perform a fault diagnosis, thereby reducing user convenience.

[0045] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, there is no need to provide the communication device 300 with a database or the like for checking the effective data length of a message. Therefore, it is possible to accurately determine the effective data length by simply checking a predetermined byte of a message received by the communication device 300 without requiring a major design change to the communication device 300. This makes it possible to suppress the risk of an increase in design costs. The process executed by the communication system 100 will be described below.

[0046] First, the mediation unit side process executed in the mediation unit 220 will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the mediation unit side process according to an embodiment of the present invention. Note that various processes including the processes described below can be executed by the processor 220a of the mediation unit 220. In detail, the various processes are executed by the processor 220a executing a program stored in the memory 220b of the mediation unit 220. Note that, as an example, the mediation unit side process when a message is transmitted from the target unit to the communication device 300 via the mediation unit 220 will be described below. Also, the mediation unit side process is executed repeatedly.

[0047] 5, the intermediate unit 220 determines whether or not a message has been received from the target unit (S100-1). If a message has not been received from the target unit (NO in S100-1), the intermediate unit 220 ends the intermediate unit-side process.

[0048] When a message is received from a target unit (YES in S100-1), the intermediate unit 220 checks the configuration file stored in the memory 220b. Specifically, the intermediate unit checks the value of the discrimination bit corresponding to the target unit that is the source of the message. For example, if the target unit that is the source of the message is ECU-A230, the intermediate unit 220 refers to the configuration file and confirms that the discrimination bit value is "1". Also, if the target unit that is the source of the message is ECU-C250, the intermediate unit 220 refers to the configuration file and confirms that the discrimination bit value is "0".

[0049] Based on the result of the check in step S100-3, the mediation unit 220 determines whether the value of the discrimination bit is "1" (S100-5). If the discrimination bit value is not "1" (NO in S100-5), that is, if the discrimination bit value is "0", the mediation unit 220 proceeds to step S100-7. If the discrimination bit value is "1" (YES in S100-5), the mediation unit 220 proceeds to step S100-11.

[0050] The intermediate unit 220 executes a message generation process to generate a message in which the value of the third byte of the received message is converted to a specific value (S100-7). The intermediate unit 220 executes a message transmission process to transmit the message in which the value of the third byte generated in step S100-7 is converted to a specific value to the communication device 300 (S100-9), and ends the intermediate unit-side process.

[0051] Furthermore, the intermediate unit 220 executes a message relay process for transmitting the received message to the communication device 300 without making any changes to the contents of the message (S100-11), and ends the intermediate unit-side process.

[0052] Next, the communication device side processing executed in the communication device 300 will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the communication device side processing according to an embodiment of the present invention. Note that various processes including the processes described below can be executed by the processor 300a of the communication device 300. In detail, the various processes are executed by the processor 300a executing a program stored in the memory 300b of the communication device 300. Note that, as an example, the communication device side processing when a message is transmitted from a target unit to the communication device 300 via the intermediate unit 220 will be described below.

[0053] 6, the communication device 300 determines whether or not a message has been received from the target unit via the intermediate unit 220 (S200-1). If a message has not been received from the target unit via the intermediate unit 220 (NO in S200-1), the communication device 300 ends the communication device-side process.

[0054] When a message is received from the target unit via the intermediate unit 220 (YES in S200-1), the communication device 300 determines whether the value of the third byte of the message is "FF" (S200-3).

[0055] If the value of the third byte of the message is "FF" (YES in S200-3), communication device 300 proceeds to step S200-5. Communication device 300 executes a 2-byte message display process to display the value of the upper 2 bytes of the received message on display unit 300c (S200-5), and ends the communication device-side process. In other words, the 2-byte message display process displays only the value of the upper 2 bytes of the received message, and does not display the value of the third byte.

[0056] If the value of the third byte of the message is not "FF" (NO in S200-3), the communication device 300 proceeds to step S200-7. The communication device 300 executes a 3-byte message display process to display all values ​​from the first byte to the third byte of the received message on the display unit 300c (S200-7), and ends the communication device process.

[0057] As described above, the communication system 100 according to this embodiment includes the communication device 300 connectable to the vehicle 200 . The communication system 100 also includes target units provided in the vehicle 200, including a first target unit (e.g., ECU-A 230, ECU-B 240) having an effective data length of a predetermined number of bytes (e.g., 3 bytes), and a second target unit (e.g., ECU-C 250, ECU-D 260, ECU-E 270) having an effective data length of less than a predetermined number of bytes (e.g., 2 bytes). The communication system 100 also includes an intermediate unit 220 that is provided in the vehicle 200 and intermediates communication between the communication device 300 and target units (for example, ECU-A 230, ECU-B 240, ECU-C 250, ECU-D 260, and ECU-E 270). The mediation unit 220 includes one or more mediation unit processors (eg, processor 220a) and one or more mediation unit memories (eg, memory 220b) coupled to the mediation unit processors (eg, processor 220a). When the intermediate unit processor (e.g., processor 220a) receives first specified information (e.g., a message in which the first byte is set to "C0", the second byte is set to "14", and the third byte is set to "00") from the first target unit (e.g., ECU-A230), the intermediate unit processor executes processing that includes transmitting the first specified information to the communication device 300 (in the above embodiment, as an example, step S100-11). When the intermediate unit processor (e.g., processor 220a) receives second specified information (e.g., a message in which the first byte is set to "92", the second byte is set to "34", and the third byte is set to "00") from a second target unit (e.g., ECU-C250), the intermediate unit processor executes processing including generating third specified information (e.g., a message in which the first byte is set to "92", the second byte is set to "34", and the third byte is set to "FF") by converting the value of the specified byte (e.g., the third byte) of the second specified information received from the second target unit to a predetermined specific value (e.g., "FF"), and transmitting the generated third specified information to communication device 300 (in the above embodiment, as an example, steps S100-7 and S100-9).

[0058] In the communication system 100 of this embodiment, the communication device 300 can accurately determine the valid data length by simply checking a predetermined byte of the received message. This makes it possible to suppress the risk of an error code being displayed on the display unit 300c being incorrect, or of failure diagnosis being unable to be performed normally, resulting in a decrease in user convenience.

[0059] The communications device 300 may also include one or more communications device processors (e.g., processor 300a) and one or more communications device memories (e.g., memory 300b) coupled to the communications device processors (e.g., processor 300a). In addition, when the communication device processor (e.g., processor 300a) receives first specified information (e.g., a message in which the first byte is set to "C0", the second byte is set to "14", and the third byte is set to "00") from a target unit (e.g., ECU-A 230) via the intermediate unit 220, the communication device processor may execute a process that includes executing a specified process (e.g., a process of displaying an error code on display unit 300c) based on the received first specified information (in the above embodiment, as an example, S200-7). In addition, when the communications device processor (e.g., processor 300a) receives third specified information (e.g., a message in which the first byte is set to "92", the second byte is set to "34", and the third byte is set to "FF") in which the value of a specified byte (e.g., the third byte) is a specific value (e.g., "FF") from the target unit (e.g., ECU-C 250) via the intermediate unit 220, the communications device processor (e.g., processor 300a) may execute processing that includes not subjecting the specified byte (e.g., the third byte) to a specified processing (e.g., processing to display an error code on display unit 300c) (S200-5 is an example in the above embodiment).

[0060] In this way, communication device 300 can accurately determine the effective data length of a message without providing communication device 300 with a database or the like for checking the effective data length of a message. Therefore, error codes can be accurately displayed on display unit 300c without requiring major design changes to communication device 300. This makes it possible to prevent the error code displayed on display unit 300c from being incorrect, or to prevent fault diagnosis from being performed normally, thereby reducing the risk of reduced user convenience.

[0061] 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.

[0062] In the above embodiment, the vehicle 200 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).

[0063] The series of processes performed by the communication system 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, for example, in a non-transitory recording medium provided inside or outside each device. The programs are then read out, for example, directly from the non-transitory recording medium or written once in a non-transitory storage element (for example, a ROM) and then read out to a transitory storage medium (for example, a RAM) and executed by a processor such as a CPU.

[0064] Also, according to the above embodiment, it is possible to provide a program for executing the processing of each function of the above communication system 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]

[0065] 100 Communication Systems 200 vehicles 220 Intermediary Unit 220a Processor (Intermediate Unit Processor) 220b Memory (Intermediate Unit Memory) 230 ECU-A (first target unit) 240 ECU-B (first target unit) 250 ECU-C (second target unit) 260 ECU-D (second target unit) 270 ECU-E (second target unit) 300 Communication Equipment 300a Processor (communication device processor) 300b Memory (communication device memory)

Claims

1. A communication device connectable to a vehicle; a target unit provided in the vehicle, the target unit including a first target unit having an effective data length of a predetermined number of bytes and a second target unit having an effective data length of less than the predetermined number of bytes; an intermediate unit provided in the vehicle and intermediates communication between the communication device and the target 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 first predetermined information is received from the first target unit, transmitting the first predetermined information to the communication device; when receiving second predetermined information from the second target unit, generating third predetermined information by converting a value of the predetermined byte of the second predetermined information received from the second target unit into a specific value that is set in advance, and transmitting the generated third predetermined information to the communication device; A communication system that performs a process including the steps of:

2. The communication device includes: one or more communication device processors; and one or more communication device memories coupled to the communication device processors; The communications device processor further comprises: When the first predetermined information is received from the target unit via the intermediate unit, a predetermined process is executed based on the received first predetermined information; When the third predetermined information, in which the value of the predetermined byte is the specific value, is received from the target unit via the intermediate unit, the predetermined byte is not subjected to the predetermined process. The communication system of claim 1 , which performs a process including:

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