Control apparatus and control method for controlling equipment mounted on vehicle

Abstract

To provide a technique to cause a plurality of virtual machines to execute execution processes in the correct order of execution.SOLUTION: A control apparatus 110 which controls equipment 120 mounted on a vehicle 10 includes: a processor 113 that executes a management application program for managing running multiple virtual machines 230, 240; and a storage unit 112 which stores a definition file 114 that defines the order of executing execution processes to implement functions of the equipment. Each of the virtual machines executes guest operating systems 231, 241 corresponding to the execution processes. The management application program uses the definition file and causes the virtual machines corresponding to the execution processes to execute the execution processes in the correct order.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a control device and a control method for controlling equipment mounted on a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] There are known techniques for providing multiple virtual processors in a virtual environment. Patent Document 1 describes a technique in which a virtual machine monitor allocates hardware resources to each virtual processor according to its priority. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-18813 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In-vehicle systems are required to strictly adhere to the order of application execution when the vehicle starts up. In conventional technology, multiple virtual machines each set the priority of the applications they run. Therefore, when building a conventional virtual environment in an in-vehicle system, there is a risk that the order of application execution may not be strictly adhered to. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and can be realized in the following forms.

[0006] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a control device (110) for controlling a device (120) mounted on a vehicle (10). The control device includes a processor (113) that executes a management application program that manages a plurality of running virtual machines (230, 240), and a storage unit (112) that stores a definition file (114) that defines an execution order of execution processes that realize the functions of the device. The plurality of virtual machines each execute a guest operating system (231, 241) corresponding to the execution process, and the management application program uses the definition file to cause the virtual machine corresponding to the execution process to execute the execution process in the execution order.

[0007] According to the control device of this aspect, it is possible to make a plurality of virtual machines execute processes in the correct execution order using a definition file. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a control system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a virtual machine environment. [Figure 3] FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of processing performed by the control device immediately after starting the vehicle. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a definition file. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of another example of a virtual machine environment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] A. First embodiment: 1 is mounted on a vehicle 10. The control system 100 includes a control device 110 and a device 120.

[0010] The device 120 has a camera 121, a display device 122, and an audio device 123. The camera 121 captures images of the surroundings of the vehicle 10 and acquires the images. The display device 122 displays, for example, images captured by the camera 121 and characters and images of a car navigation system, etc., to the driver of the vehicle 10. The audio device 123 plays, for example, music or warning sounds to the driver of the vehicle 10.

[0011] The control device 110 is a device that controls the device 120. The control device 110 is configured by a computer that includes an input / output interface 111, a storage unit 112 configured by ROM and RAM, and a CPU 113. The input / output interface 111, the storage unit 112, and the CPU 113 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate bidirectionally.

[0012] The input / output interface 111 is connected to a camera 121, a display device 122, and an audio device 123. The input / output interface 111 transmits instructions to each device included in the control system 100 to execute processing.

[0013] The storage unit 112 is configured with a ROM and a RAM. A definition file 114 is recorded in the storage unit 112. The definition file 114 defines the execution order of execution processes that realize the functions of the device 120. The definition file 114 defines, for example, the order in the execution order and the virtual machine that executes the execution process corresponding to that order.

[0014] The CPU 113 is a processor that creates multiple virtual machines by executing a program for creating a virtual machine environment in the control device 110, which is pre-installed in the storage unit 112. The CPU 113 also manages the multiple running virtual machines by executing a management application program that is pre-installed in the storage unit 112. However, some or all of this function may be realized by a hardware circuit.

[0015] The management application program is a program that uses the definition file 114 to make multiple virtual machines execute processes in the execution order defined in the definition file 114. The management application program may be a program that runs as part of a host operating system (hereinafter simply referred to as a "host OS"), or may be a program that operates as a hypervisor.

[0016] Each of the virtual machines executes a guest operating system (hereinafter simply referred to as a "guest OS") corresponding to an executing process. In this embodiment, the guest OS executes an executing process that controls the device 120.

[0017] 2, the virtual environment created in the control device 110 in this embodiment includes computer hardware 210, a host OS 220, a first virtual machine 230, and a second virtual machine 240. The host OS 220 is an operating system that runs directly on the physical computer hardware 210. A management application 221 runs on the host OS 220. The first virtual machine 230 and the second virtual machine 240 are also created on the host OS 220. The host OS 220 executes a management application program and manages the first virtual machine 230 and the second virtual machine 240 via the management application 221.

[0018] The first virtual machine 230 executes a first guest OS 231. The first guest OS 231 executes a first application 232. In this embodiment, the first virtual machine 230 controls the camera 121 and the display device 122 by executing the first application 232.

[0019] The second virtual machine 240 executes a second guest OS 241. The second guest OS 241 executes a second application 242. In this embodiment, the second virtual machine 240 controls the sound device 123 by executing the second application 242.

[0020] The sequence diagram shown in FIG. 3 illustrates processing performed by the control device 110 immediately after the vehicle 10 is started. The vehicle 10 is started when the ignition switch is operated and the control system 100 enters a standby state. First, the host OS 220 runs the first virtual machine 230 and the second virtual machine 240, and initializes each device of the device 120 at event E200. In this embodiment, in parallel with event E200, the first guest OS 231 initializes the first application 232 at event E205, and the second guest OS 241 initializes the second application 242 at event E207.

[0021] After event E200 is completed, the host OS 220 retrieves the definition file 114 from the storage unit 112 at event E210. As shown in FIG. 4, the definition file 114 defines the order in the execution sequence, the execution processes corresponding to the order, and the virtual machines that execute the execution processes. In this embodiment, the execution sequence at the startup of the vehicle 10 defined in the definition file 114 includes first executing a first execution process and then executing a second execution process. The first execution process is to enable the camera 121 to capture an image of the rear of the vehicle 10 and enable the display device 122 to display the image captured by the camera 121. The second execution process is to play a startup sound from the audio device 123 to notify the user that the control system 100 has started up.

[0022] The host OS 220 refers to the definition file 114 and instructs the first guest OS 231 of the first virtual machine 230, which executes the first process highest in the execution order defined in the definition file 114, to execute the first application 232. More specifically, the management application 221 allocates the hardware resources of the computer hardware 210 to the first virtual machine 230 for executing the first application 232.

[0023] Upon receiving the instruction, the first guest OS 231 controls the camera 121 and the display device 122 at event E220. More specifically, the first guest OS 231 executes the first application 232 to enable the camera 121 to capture an image of the rear of the vehicle 10 and to enable the display device 122 to display the image captured by the camera 121. If the initialization process at event E205 is not completed, the first guest OS 231 interrupts the initialization process and executes the first application 232.

[0024] The first guest OS 231 executes the first application 232 and notifies the host OS 220 that the processing has been completed. If the initialization processing at event E205 was interrupted, the first guest OS 231 resumes the initialization processing. Upon receiving the notification that the first application 232 has been executed, the host OS 220 refers to the definition file 114 and instructs the second guest OS 241 of the second virtual machine 240, which executes the second process that is next highest in the execution order defined in the definition file 114 after the first application 232, to execute the second execution application. More specifically, the management application 221 allocates hardware resources of the computer hardware 210 to the second virtual machine 240 for executing the second application 242.

[0025] Upon receiving the instruction, the second guest OS 241 controls the sound device 123 at event E230. More specifically, the second guest OS 241 executes the second application 242 and plays a startup sound from the sound device 123 to notify that the control system 100 has started up. If the initialization process at event E207 is not completed, the second guest OS 241 interrupts the initialization process and executes the second application 242.

[0026] After the playback of the startup sound is completed, the second guest OS 241 notifies the host OS 220 that the processing of the second application 242 is completed. If the initialization processing at event E207 is interrupted, the second guest OS 241 resumes the initialization processing.

[0027] According to the control device 110 described above, the host OS 220 can cause multiple virtual machines to execute processes in the correct execution order using the definition file 114. Furthermore, there is no need to arbitrate the allocation of hardware resources to the first virtual machine 230 and the second virtual machine 240 using a virtual machine monitor.

[0028] In addition, the host OS 220 executes the second execution process after the first execution process is completed, so that the first virtual machine 230 can execute the first execution process using sufficient hardware resources.

[0029] The definition file 114 also defines the execution order when the vehicle 10 is started up. Therefore, the control device 110 can strictly adhere to the execution order of the apps when the vehicle 10 is started up.

[0030] B. Other Embodiments: (B1) In the above embodiment, two virtual machines are created on the host OS 220. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and three or more virtual machines may be created on the host OS 220.

[0031] (B2) In the above embodiment, as shown in Fig. 4, the first virtual machine 230 and the second virtual machine 240 may be constructed on a hypervisor 225. In this case, the executable application 226 runs on the hypervisor 225. The hypervisor 225 executes the executable application program and manages the first virtual machine 230 and the second virtual machine 240 via the executable application 226.

[0032] (B3) In the above embodiment, the definition file 114 defines the execution order at the time of startup of the vehicle 10. However, the definition file 114 may also define the execution order of the execution processes at the time of a failure of the vehicle 10.

[0033] (B4) In the above embodiment, the host OS 220 executes the second execution process after the first execution process is completed. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The host OS 220 may execute the second execution process after the first execution process is started but before the first execution process is completed.

[0034] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be realized in various configurations without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, the technical features in the embodiments corresponding to the technical features in each aspect described in the Summary of the Invention section can be appropriately replaced or combined to solve the above-described problems or achieve some or all of the above-described effects. Furthermore, if a technical feature is not described as essential in this specification, it can be appropriately deleted. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 10...vehicle, 100...control system, 110...control device, 111...input / output interface, 112...storage unit, 113...CPU, 114...definition file, 120...device, 121...camera, 122...display device, 123...acoustic device, 210...computer hardware, 220...host OS, 221, 226...management application, 225...hypervisor, 230...first virtual machine, 231...first guest OS, 232...first application, 240...second virtual machine, 241...second guest OS, 242...second application

Claims

1. A control device (110) for controlling equipment (120) mounted on a vehicle (10), a processor (113) that executes a management application program that manages a plurality of running virtual machines (230, 240); a storage unit (112) for storing a definition file (114) in which an execution order of execution processes for realizing the functions of the device is defined; Each of the plurality of virtual machines executes a guest operating system (231, 241) corresponding to the executing process; The management application program uses the definition file to cause a virtual machine corresponding to the execution process to execute the execution process in the execution order.

2. The control device according to claim 1, The management application program executes a second execution process that is next highest in the execution order after a first execution process that is higher in the execution order is completed.

3. The control device according to claim 1, The definition file defines the execution order at the time of starting the vehicle.

4. A control method for controlling a device mounted on a vehicle in a control device in which a virtual environment having a plurality of virtual machines is constructed, comprising: obtaining a definition file that defines an execution order of execution processes that realize the functions of the device; a step of causing a virtual machine associated with the executing process to execute the executing process in accordance with the acquired execution order.

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