In-vehicle communication system, in-vehicle communication server, in-vehicle communication client, and computer program

Abstract

To provide an in-vehicle communication system that can avoid an increase in communication bandwidth load and a delay in communication start time when both standards of service-oriented communication and IEEE1722 are introduced.SOLUTION: A server 1S and a client 1C are equipped with SD11, and SOME / IP_Xf6 and SOME / IP_TP9, which are application program modules conforming to SOME / IP, which is a service-oriented communication standard, in BSW 3. SOME / IP_Xf6 and SD11 have additional functions conforming to communication standards IEEE1722 and IEEE1722.1, respectively. The server 1S and the client 1C include data superposition units 6a and 11a that transmit communication packets to each other that contain information on services conforming to SOME / IP and information on services conforming to communication standards of IEEE1722 as a generic name.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a system in which one of a plurality of electronic control devices acts as a client and the other acts as a server via an in-vehicle communication network, and communication is carried out between the client and the server, an in-vehicle communication server and client in the system, and a computer program. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, due to a trend known as CASE (Connected Autonomous Shared & Service Electrification), the SOME / IP (Scalable service Oriented Middleware over IP) protocol, which is a service-oriented communication protocol, is becoming the standard for in-vehicle communication networks. SOME / IP is a standard that enables communication between ECUs (Electronic Control Units) in a vehicle using TCP / UDP (Transmission Control Protocol / User Datagram Protocol) via Ethernet (registered trademark).

[0003] Additionally, the IEEE (registered trademark) 1722 / 1722.1 protocol, a standard aimed at synchronizing data output from multiple audio / video related output devices, is expected to be introduced into in-vehicle communication networks. Patent documents 1 and 2 disclose examples of communication systems conforming to the SOME / IP protocol and IEEE 1722, respectively. Note that hereinafter, the IEEE 1722 / 1722.1 protocol may be collectively referred to as "IEEE 1722." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-149868 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-23053 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Both SOME / IP and IEEE1722 have mechanisms for dynamically determining communication partners. Therefore, if both standards were to be introduced into an in-vehicle communication network, it would be necessary to search for communication partners in each method, which would increase the load on the communication bandwidth and take a long time before actual communication could begin.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide an in-vehicle communication system that can avoid an increase in communication bandwidth load and delays in communication start time when both service-oriented communication and IEEE1722 standards are introduced, as well as an in-vehicle communication server and client in the system, and a computer program. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to the in-vehicle communication system of claim 1, one of a plurality of electronic control units (1) serves as a client (1C) and the other serves as a server (1S) via an in-vehicle communication network, and client-server communication is performed. The server and client are equipped with service-oriented communication modules (6, 9, 11) of application programs that comply with the service-oriented communication standard. The service-oriented communication modules (6, 11) are additionally equipped with functions that comply with either or both of the communication standard IEEE1722 and IEEE1722.1. The server and client are each equipped with a data superposition unit (6a, 11a) that transmits communication packets to each other, each containing information on a service that complies with the service-oriented communication standard and information on a service that collectively complies with the communication standard IEEE1722. With this configuration, when performing both service-oriented communication and communication compliant with the IEEE 1722 communication standard between a client and a server, transmission to the communication partner and reply to that transmission can be performed in a single communication packet, thereby avoiding increases in communication bandwidth load and delays in starting communication.

[0008] According to the in-vehicle communication system of claim 4, the standard of the service-oriented communication is SOME / IP (Scalable service-oriented Middleware over IP). [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the software configuration of a server and a client in an in-vehicle communication system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] This diagram shows the sequence when SOME / IP communication and IEEE1722.1 communication are performed independently between a conventional client and a server. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a communication sequence between a client and a server according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] Diagram showing the format of the service discovery message [Figure 5] Diagram showing the format of the configuration options [Figure 6] A diagram showing an example of defining IEEE1722.1 options in Type [Figure 7] A diagram showing the IEEE1722.1 data format stored in the option area [Figure 8] Diagram showing the format of the SOME / IP message header [Figure 9] A diagram showing an example of defining IEEE1722 / 1722.1 options in Massage Type [Figure 10] Diagram showing the IEEE1722 audio data format [Figure 11]FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where the data size of a communication packet exceeds the maximum value according to the second embodiment. [Figure 12] This diagram shows an example of how communication packets are divided by the TP layer of SOME / IP_TP or by IP fragmentation or segmentation processing in TcpIp. [Figure 13] A diagram showing an example of how communication packets are divided in the data superposition section of SOME / IP_Xf and SD, taking into account the transmission priority. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] (First embodiment) The in-vehicle communication system of this embodiment is a system in which one of a plurality of electronic control units, for example, ECUs, acts as a client and the other acts as a server, and client-server communication is carried out via an in-vehicle communication network. As shown in Figure 1, the software executed by the computer constituting ECU 1 is mainly composed of application programs 2 and BSW (Basic Software) 3. The application programs 2 include at least audio- and video-related applications and other applications.

[0011] BSW3 is middleware-like software that enables application programs 2 to communicate via communication hardware 4, including the in-vehicle communication network. Each function block that makes up BSW3 is basically a software module. RTE (Runtime Environment) 5 is software that implements the virtual function bus interface of the AUTOSAR (Automotive Open System Architecture) communication standard for a specific ECU. RTE 5 provides services that enable communication between modules in application programs 2, and functions as a means for the above modules to access BSW3, including the OS (Operating System) and communication services.

[0012] SOME / IP_Xf (Transformer) 6 is software that linearizes data in the SOME / IP on-the-wire format and specifies the in-vehicle integration of client / server communication. In this embodiment, SOME / IP_Xf 6 also complies with the IEEE 1722 AVTP (Audio Video Bridging Transport Protocol). In SOME / IP_Xf 6, the functional unit that processes the compliant communication is the data superposition unit 6a. LdCom (Large Data COM) 7 realizes efficient implementation of software modules through spontaneous, aperiodic communication without the use of serialization, filtering, conversion, or local buffers.

[0013] PduR 8 is a router for PDUs (Protocol Data Units) that consist of PCIs (Protocol Control Information) and SDUs (Service Data Units). SOME / IP_TP (Transport Protocol) 9 has the function of segmenting SOME / IP packets that do not fit into a single UDP packet, and on the receiving side, it reconstructs the received SOME / IP segments.

[0014] The BswM (Basic Software Mode Manager) 10 performs vehicle mode management and part of the application mode management belonging to the BSW 3. Its role is to arbitrate mode requests from application layer software modules or other BSWs and execute processing based on the arbitration results. The SD (Service Discovery) 11 has the function of discovering services within the in-vehicle network, and for that purpose, it uses IP multicast and SOME / IP-SD messages. In this embodiment, the SD 11 is also a module that can execute ATDECC, which is the entire functionality provided by IEEE 1722.1. In the SD 11, the functional unit that performs processing related to the above-mentioned compliant communications is the data superposition unit 11a.

[0015] The SoAd (Socket Adaptor) 12 has the function of converting communications from socket-based to PDU-based, or vice versa. The TcpIp (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) 13 has the function of sending and receiving Internet Protocol data. The EthIf (Ethernet Interface) 14 is positioned below the TcpIp 13 and is an interface that performs Ethernet communications with the communications hardware 4. Note that the above configuration is common to both the client-side and server-side ECUs. In the following, the "communications standard IEEE1722" may be used as a general term that also includes the communications standard IEEE1722.1.

[0016] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Figure 2 shows a sequence assuming that communication conforming to the communication standard SOME / IP and communication conforming to the communication standard IEEE1722.1 are carried out independently between a client and a server. A client that uses a service provided by the server sends a "Find Service" message to the server to perform service discovery to search for the provided service. The server returns an "Offer Service" message to the client indicating the service to be offered.

[0017] When the client receives the "Offer Service" message, it assigns a client ID to the service being offered, and then sends a "SubscribeEventgroup" message to the server, with the assigned ID2 included in the "Configuration String."

[0018] When the server receives the "SubscribeEventgroup" message, it authenticates the message based on the contents of the options section of the message. If the authentication result is OK, the server sends a "SubscribeEventgroupAck" message to the client. This enables subsequent service data communication. This completes the process related to service discovery.

[0019] Next, communication conforming to the IEEE1722.1 communication standard takes place, with the client sending an "ENTITY_DISCOVER" message to the server. In response, the server sends an "ENTITY_AVILABLE" message to the client. Next, the client sends a "CONNECT_TX_COMMAND" to the server, and in response, the server sends a "CONNECT_TX_COMMAND response" to the client. After that, data other than audio / video related to the SOME / IP communication standard, and audio / video data related to the IEEE1722 communication standard, are sent from the server to the client.

[0020] In contrast to this, the communication sequence of this embodiment is as shown in Fig. 3. Although it appears that only communication is related to service discovery by SOME / IP as shown in Fig. 2, the communication packets transferred between the client 21 and the server 1S in this communication also contain information compliant with the communication standard IEEE1722.

[0021] Figure 4 shows the format of the service discovery message shown in the document "SOME / IP Service Discovery Protocol Specification P26 Figure 7.2." The option area (Option Array) in this format stores information related to the IEEE 1722.1 communication standard.

[0022] Figure 5 shows the configuration options shown in Figure 7.5 on page 30, and details of the "Length of Option array" and "Option Array" shown in Figure 4. The "Length of Option array" has 16 bits for Length, 8 bits for Type, and 8 bits for Reserved, with the "Option Array" being optional for each Type. For example, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, options for the IEEE 1722.1 communication standard are newly defined as Types, and data related to the IEEE 1722.1 communication standard is stored in the option area (Option Array). The data format shown in Figure 7 is shown in the document "IEEE 1722.1-2021 P48 Figure 61 - ADPDU format."

[0023] Figure 8 shows the SOME / IP message header format, and is shown in the document "SOME / IP Protocol Specification P20 Figure 4.1 - SOME / IP Massage format." The Massage Type of this format defines the communication standard IEEE1722 / 1722.1, as shown in Figure 9, and stores, for example, audio data related to the communication standard IEEE1722 in the payload area, as shown in Figure 10. Figure 10 is shown in the document "IEEE1722-2016 P49 Figure 25 - AAF common AVTPDU format."

[0024] Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, after the communication process for service discovery is completed, both the data communication other than audio / video and the audio / video data communication are performed in accordance with SOME / IP.

[0025] As described above, according to this embodiment, when communication conforming to the communication standard SOME / IP and communication conforming to the communication standard IEEE1722 is performed between the client 1C and the server 1S, transmission to the communication partner and reply to that transmission can be performed in one communication packet. Therefore, an increase in communication bandwidth load and a delay in communication start time can be avoided.

[0026] In addition, the data superposition unit 11a stores information about services that comply with the communication standard IEEE1722 in the option area of ​​a response message that complies with the communication standard SOME / IP, so that information related to IEEE1722 can be transferred using the option area.

[0027] Furthermore, after performing communication processing for service discovery, the data superimposing unit 6a performs communication compliant with the communication standard IEEE1722 over communication compliant with the communication standard SOME / IP. At this time, the data for communication compliant with the communication standard IEEE1722 is stored in the payload area of ​​the header in the SOME / IP communication. In this way, by utilizing the payload area, communication between the client 1C and the server 1S can be consistently performed in communication compliant with SOME / IP. This makes it possible to reduce the amount of communication between the client 1C and the server 1S.

[0028] (Second embodiment) In the following, the same parts as in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and their explanations are omitted, and only the differences will be explained. As in the first embodiment, storing data conforming to the IEEE 1722 communication standard in a packet for SOME / IP communication naturally increases the data size. In Ethernet, the maximum data size that can be communicated at one time is set to 1500 bytes as the MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11, if the data size of a communication packet exceeds the MTU, the communication packet must be divided. The second embodiment shows processing to handle such a case.

[0029] One possible solution is to leave it to the TP layer in SOME / IP_TP9 or IP fragmentation or segmentation in TcpIp13 to divide the communication packet so that the data size is less than the maximum value. In this case, if IEEE1722.1 format data is placed at the end of the packet, as shown in Figure 12, the packet will be divided as it goes along, for example, the first packet will contain the first half of the data, the second packet the second half of the data, and so on.

[0030] Another possible approach is to have the data superimposing unit 6a of the SOME / IP_Xf6 divide the communication packets by the SOME / IP_TP9 after taking into account the transmission priority, or to have the data superimposing unit 11a of the SD11 divide the communication packets after taking into account the transmission priority. In this case, as shown in Figure 13, for example, the first packet contains only the header and data in the IEEE1722.1 format, and the second packet contains the header and optional data for service discovery in SOME / IP communication. The packet division format shown in Figure 13 is an example, but by appropriately dividing the communication packets according to the priority considered by the user, user convenience can be improved.

[0031] In addition to the inventions described in the claims, this case also includes the following inventions: [1] In a system in which one of a plurality of electronic control units (1) serves as a client (1C) and the other serves as a server (1S) via an in-vehicle communication network, communication is performed between the client and the server, The server and the client are equipped with service-oriented communication modules (6, 9, 11) of application programs that comply with service-oriented communication standards; The service-oriented communication module (6, 11) has added thereto a function conforming to either or both of the communication standards IEEE1722 and IEEE1722.1, If either or both of the communication standards IEEE1722 and IEEE1722.1 are collectively referred to as the communication standard IEEE1722, The server and the client are each provided with a data superposition unit (6a, 11a) that transmits communication packets to each other, the communication packets storing information on services that comply with the service-oriented communication standard and information on services that comply with the communication standard IEEE1722. [2] The server of a system in which one of a plurality of electronic control units (1) serves as a client (1C) and the other serves as a server (1S) via an in-vehicle communication network to perform client-server communication, The server is equipped with a service-oriented communication module (6, 9, 11) of an application program that complies with the service-oriented communication standard; The service-oriented communication module (6, 11) has added thereto a function conforming to either or both of the communication standards IEEE1722 and IEEE1722.1, If either or both of the communication standards IEEE1722 and IEEE1722.1 are collectively referred to as the communication standard IEEE1722, An in-vehicle communication server including a data superposition unit (6a, 11a) that transmits communication packets that store information on services that comply with the service-oriented communication standard and information on services that comply with the communication standard IEEE1722. [3] A client of a system in which one of a plurality of electronic control units (1) serves as a client (1C) and another serves as a server (1S) via an in-vehicle communication network to perform client-server communication, The client is equipped with a service-oriented communication module (6, 9, 11) of an application program that complies with the service-oriented communication standard; The service-oriented communication module (6, 11) has added thereto a function conforming to either or both of the communication standards IEEE1722 and IEEE1722.1, If either or both of the communication standards IEEE1722 and IEEE1722.1 are collectively referred to as the communication standard IEEE1722, The in-vehicle communication client includes a data superposition unit (6a, 11a) that transmits a communication packet that stores information on a service that complies with the service-oriented communication standard and information on a service that complies with the communication standard IEEE1722. [4] The in-vehicle communication system according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the standard of the service-oriented communication is SOME / IP (Scalable service Oriented Middleware over IP). [5] The in-vehicle communication system according to any one of claims [1] to [4], wherein the data superposition unit stores information about a service conforming to the communication standard IEEE1722 in an option area of ​​a response message conforming to the service-oriented communication standard. [6] The in-vehicle communication system according to any one of [1] to [5], wherein the data superposition unit performs communication conforming to the communication standard IEEE1722 over the service-oriented communication after making a response conforming to the standard of the service-oriented communication. [7] The in-vehicle communication system according to [6], wherein the data superimposing unit stores the data of the communication conforming to the communication standard IEEE1722 in a payload area of ​​a header in the service-oriented communication. [8] When the data superimposing unit determines that the data size of the communication packet will exceed a maximum value due to storing data conforming to the communication standard IEEE1722, it divides the communication packet; [7] An in-vehicle communication system according to [7], wherein the communication data with the higher priority is stored in the communication packet to be sent first to the destination, taking into consideration the priorities of the service-oriented communication and the communication conforming to the communication standard IEEE1722 at that time. [9] In a system in which one of a plurality of electronic control units (1) serves as a client (1C) and the other serves as a server (1S) via an in-vehicle communication network, and communication is performed between the client and the server, the program is executed by a computer mounted on each of the server and the client, The server and the client are equipped with service-oriented communication modules (6, 9, 11) of application programs that comply with service-oriented communication standards; The service-oriented communication module (6, 11) has added thereto a function conforming to either or both of the communication standards IEEE1722 and IEEE1722.1, If either or both of the communication standards IEEE1722 and IEEE1722.1 are collectively referred to as the communication standard IEEE1722, A computer program that stores information about services that comply with the service-oriented communication standard and information about services that comply with the communication standard IEEE1722 in communication packets transferred between the server and the client.

[0032] (Other embodiments) The standard for service-oriented communication is not limited to SOME / IP, but may also be, for example, DDS (Data Distribution Service). DDS is also a service-oriented communication standard similar to SOME / IP, and is divided into a process for communication as service discovery and a process for data communication, so it can be applied in the same way. Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to the embodiments, it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments or structures. The present disclosure also encompasses various modifications and equivalent modifications. In addition, various combinations and forms, including only one element, more than one element, or less than one element, are also within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.

[0033] The means and / or functions provided by each device, etc., can be provided by software recorded in a tangible memory device and a computer that executes the software, software alone, hardware alone, or a combination thereof. For example, if a control device is provided by electronic circuits that are hardware, it can be provided by digital circuits including a large number of logic circuits, or analog circuits.

[0034] The control unit and the method described herein may be implemented by a special-purpose computer configured by configuring a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions embodied in a computer program. Alternatively, the control unit and the method described herein may be implemented by a special-purpose computer configured by configuring a processor with one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits. Alternatively, the control unit and the method described herein may be implemented by one or more special-purpose computers configured by combining a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions with a processor configured with one or more hardware logic circuits. Furthermore, the computer program may be stored as instructions executed by a computer on a computer-readable non-transitory tangible storage medium. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] In the drawing, 1 indicates ECU, 1C indicates client, 1S indicates server, 2 indicates application program, 3 indicates BSW, 6 indicates SOME / IP_Xf, 6a indicates data superposition unit, 9 indicates SOME / IP_TP, 11 indicates SD, 11a indicates data superposition unit, and 13 indicates TcpIp.

Claims

1. In a system in which one of a plurality of electronic control units (1) serves as a client (1C) and the other serves as a server (1S) via an in-vehicle communication network, and communication is performed between the client and the server, The server and the client are equipped with service-oriented communication modules (6, 9, 11) of application programs that comply with service-oriented communication standards, The service-oriented communication module (6, 11) has added thereto a function conforming to either or both of the communication standards IEEE1722 and IEEE1722.1; If either or both of the communication standards IEEE1722 and IEEE1722.1 are collectively referred to as the communication standard IEEE1722, The server and the client are each provided with a data superposition unit (6a, 11a) that transmits communication packets to each other that store information about services that comply with the service-oriented communication standard and information about services that comply with the communication standard IEEE 1722.

2. The server of a system in which one of a plurality of electronic control units (1) serves as a client (1C) and the other serves as a server (1S) via an in-vehicle communication network to perform client-server communication, The server is equipped with a service-oriented communication module (6, 9, 11) of an application program that complies with a service-oriented communication standard, The service-oriented communication module (6, 11) has added thereto a function conforming to either or both of the communication standards IEEE1722 and IEEE1722.1; If either or both of the communication standards IEEE1722 and IEEE1722.1 are collectively referred to as the communication standard IEEE1722, An in-vehicle communication server including a data superposition unit (6a, 11a) that transmits communication packets that store information on services that comply with the service-oriented communication standard and information on services that comply with the communication standard IEEE 1722.

3. A client of a system in which one of a plurality of electronic control units (1) serves as a client (1C) and another serves as a server (1S) via an in-vehicle communication network to perform client-server communication, The client is equipped with a service-oriented communication module (6, 9, 11) of an application program that complies with the service-oriented communication standard, The service-oriented communication module (6, 11) has added thereto a function conforming to either or both of the communication standards IEEE1722 and IEEE1722.1; If either or both of the communication standards IEEE1722 and IEEE1722.1 are collectively referred to as the communication standard IEEE1722, The in-vehicle communication client includes a data superimposing unit (6a, 11a) that transmits a communication packet that stores information on a service that complies with the service-oriented communication standard and information on a service that complies with the communication standard IEEE1722.

4. 4. The in-vehicle communication system according to claim 1, wherein the service-oriented communication standard is SOME / IP (Scalable service Oriented Middleware over IP).

5. 4. The in-vehicle communication system according to claim 1, wherein the data superimposing unit stores information about a service conforming to the communication standard IEEE 1722 in an option area of ​​a response message conforming to the service-oriented communication standard.

6. 4. The in-vehicle communication system according to claim 1, wherein the data superimposing unit performs communication conforming to the communication standard IEEE 1722 over the service-oriented communication after making a response conforming to the standard of the service-oriented communication.

7. 7. The in-vehicle communication system according to claim 6, wherein the service-oriented communication standard is SOME / IP (Scalable service-oriented Middleware over IP).

8. 7. The in-vehicle communication system according to claim 6, wherein the data superimposing unit stores the data of the communication conforming to the communication standard IEEE 1722 in a payload area of ​​a header in the service-oriented communication.

9. When the data superimposing unit determines that storing data conforming to the communication standard IEEE 1722 will cause the data size of the communication packet to exceed a maximum value, it divides the communication packet; 9. The in-vehicle communication system according to claim 8, wherein the communication data with the higher priority is stored in a communication packet to be transmitted first to a transmission destination, taking into consideration the priorities of the service-oriented communication and the communication conforming to the communication standard IEEE 1722 at that time.

10. In a system in which one of a plurality of electronic control units (1) serves as a client (1C) and the other serves as a server (1S) via an in-vehicle communication network, and communication is performed between the client and the server, the program is executed by a computer mounted on each of the server and the client, The server and the client are equipped with service-oriented communication modules (6, 9, 11) of application programs that comply with service-oriented communication standards, The service-oriented communication module (6, 11) has added thereto a function conforming to either or both of the communication standards IEEE1722 and IEEE1722.1; If either or both of the communication standards IEEE1722 and IEEE1722.1 are collectively referred to as the communication standard IEEE1722, A computer program that stores information about services that comply with the service-oriented communication standard and information about services that comply with the communication standard IEEE 1722 in communication packets transferred between the server and the client.

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