Software update device

Abstract

To provide a software update device that can improve the convenience of software updates. [Solution] The software update device includes an installation processing unit that installs the software to be updated into the ECU, and an activation processing unit that, in response to a notification from the user that it intends to activate the software, instructs the ECU to stop the data writing operation, and after the data writing operation has stopped, requests the user to perform the operation to activate the software.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a software update device.

Background Art

[0002] Regarding the update of the software of an ECU (Electronic Control Unit), for example, Patent Document 1 describes that the installation and activation of the software of the ECU are executed when the vehicle is stopped and can further maintain the stopped state.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The newly installed software is activated by the user turning on and off the ignition switch to restart the ECU. However, when the ignition switch is turned off, if the ECU is writing various data to its flash memory, for example, the power - on state is maintained so as not to corrupt the data being written. In this state, even if the user turns on and off the ignition switch, the ECU is not powered off and restarted, so there is a risk that the activation of the new software will fail. Therefore, the convenience of software update is low.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a software update device capable of improving the convenience of software update.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The software update device of the present invention includes an installation processing unit that installs the software to be updated into an ECU, and an activation processing unit that, in response to a notification from the user that it intends to activate the software, instructs the ECU to stop the data writing operation, and after the data writing operation has stopped, requests the user to perform the operation to activate the software. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, the convenience of software updates can be improved. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of a vehicle system S. [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows an example of a software update sequence. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] (Vehicle system configuration) Figure 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a vehicle system S. The vehicle system S is installed in hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles, and includes an OTA (Over The Air) master 1, an ECU 2 that performs vehicle control, a touch panel 3, and an ignition switch (IG-SW) 4.

[0010] Touch panel 3 is an example of a user's HMI (Human Machine Interface). Touch panel 3 receives various operations from the vehicle user and displays various screens.

[0011] IG-SW4 is used for the overall starting and stopping of the vehicle system S, as well as for starting and stopping the vehicle's power sources, such as motors and engines (not shown).

[0012] OTA Master 1 and ECU 2 are computers that include a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), and RAM (Random Access Memory). The CPUs of OTA Master 1 and ECU 2 operate according to the program.

[0013] OTA Master 1 is an example of a software update device. OTA Master 1 has a communication module 10 that communicates wirelessly with a server 5 via a communication network (not shown), and an installation processing unit 11 and an activation processing unit 12, which are software functions formed by the CPU. The communication module 10 is implemented by hardware such as a wireless communication circuit. OTA Master 1 updates the software of ECU 2 using the OTA function.

[0014] The installation processing unit 11 downloads the software to be updated from the server 5 via the communication module 10 and installs it on the ECU 2. The activation processing unit 12 performs the activation process for the newly installed software on the ECU 2. The activation processing unit 12 displays various screens on the touch panel 3 and receives various notifications from the user via the touch panel 3.

[0015] The ECU2 includes a software (SW) management unit 20, a non-volatile memory storage 21, various applications (APPs) 22 that perform vehicle control and other operations, a flash memory 24 that holds various data such as operation settings written from the APPs 22 as needed, an access control unit 23 that controls access from the APPs 22 to the flash memory 24, and a power management module 25 that manages the power supply of the ECU2. The SW management unit 20, APPs 22, and access control unit 23 are formed as software functions of the ECU2, while the power management module 25 is implemented by hardware such as relays and analog circuits.

[0016] The storage 21 is provided with two storage areas, #1 and #2, for storing software. The SW management unit 20 receives new software from the installation processing unit 11 and stores it in one of the storage areas #1 or #2. For example, when the ECU2 is operating using software in storage area #1, the new software is stored in the other storage area, #2.

[0017] Furthermore, storage 21 stores boot area information indicating which of storage area #1 or #2 the software stored in will start the ECU2 (i.e., the CPU). The ECU2 boot program loads the software from either storage area #1 or #2, as indicated by the boot area information, and starts it up in the CPU.

[0018] The SW management unit 20 updates the boot area information when newly installed software is activated. When the ECU2 is powered off and on by the user's IG-SW4 operation, the ECU2 restarts and the new software is activated.

[0019] The power management module 25 controls the power supply from the power supply unit (not shown) to the ECU2 in accordance with the user's operation of the IG-SW4 and the access status from the APP 22 to the flash memory 24. When the IG-SW4 is turned on, the power management module 25 starts supplying power. On the other hand, when the IG-SW4 is turned off, if the APP 22 is in the process of writing data to the flash memory 24, the power management module 25 waits for the data writing operation to finish before stopping the power supply to avoid data corruption.

[0020] Thus, even when IG-SW4 is turned off, power supply to ECU2 is maintained during data writing operations. Therefore, if APP22 attempts to perform a data writing operation after IG-SW4 has been turned off, even if the user turns IG-SW4 on, the power to ECU2 cannot be turned off or on, and there is a risk that the activation of the new software will fail.

[0021] In response to the user's notification to execute the activation of the software of ECU2, the activation processing unit 12 instructs ECU2 to stop the data writing operation. After the data writing operation is stopped, as an operation for the user to execute activation, an on-off operation of IG-SW4 is requested. Thereby, the access control unit 23 can restrict access to the flash memory 24 in accordance with the instruction of the activation processing unit 12 prior to the activation of the new software.

[0022] Therefore, ECU2 is immediately powered off and on when the user turns IG-SW4 off and on. As a result, the user can activate the software at any timing after the installation of the software, improving convenience.

[0023] (Software Update Sequence) FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a software update sequence. The user gives an installation instruction on the installation instruction screen (S21) on the touch panel 3 (S11). The OTA master 1 installs new software (new SW) in ECU2 in response to the installation instruction notification (S31), and ECU2 stores the new software in the storage 21 (S41). At this time, the SW management unit 20 stores the new software in the storage area that is not indicated by the activation area information among the storage areas #1 and #2.

[0024] Next, the user performs an activation execution confirmation on the activation execution confirmation screen (S22) on the touch panel 3 (S12). At this time, the activation processing unit 12 controls the display of the touch panel 3. When the user operates the touch panel 3, a notification that the user wishes to execute the activation of the software is transmitted to the OTA master 1. The OTA master 1 instructs ECU2 to prepare for activation in response to the notification (S32). This instruction is an example of an instruction to stop the data writing operation.

[0025] In response to the instruction, the ECU2 uses the access control unit 23 to perform activation preparations, such as updating the boot area information (S42), and stops access to the flash memory 24 (S43). At this time, the access control unit 23 stops the data writing and data reading operations of the APP 22. After stopping, the OTA master 1 uses the access control unit 23 to display an activation operation request screen (S23) on the touch panel 3, requesting the user to operate the IG-SW4 to perform the activation (S33).

[0026] Next, when the user requests to turn IG-SW4 off or on (S13, S14), the ECU2 is powered off and on (S44, S45). At this time, the data writing operation to flash memory 24 is stopped, so the ECU2 is immediately powered off and on by this operation of IG-SW4. As a result, the ECU2 restarts and the new software is activated (S46).

[0027] Next, the OTA master 1 confirms that activation is complete (S34), and the activation processing unit 12 displays an activation completion notification screen (S24) on the touch panel 3. In this way, the software of the ECU 2 is updated.

[0028] Thus, after installing new software on ECU2, OTA Master 1, in response to a notification from the user that it intends to activate the software on ECU2, instructs ECU2 to stop data writing operations. After stopping the data writing operations, it requests the user to turn IG-SW4 off and on to perform the activation. Therefore, OTA Master 1 can stop data writing operations in advance according to the user's instructions before the off and on operation. This allows the user to restart ECU2 by turning the power off and on using IG-SW4 and activate the new software. Thus, user convenience is improved.

[0029] The embodiments described above are preferred examples of the present invention. However, the invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0030] 1 OTA Master (Software Update Device), 2 ECU, 4 Ignition Switch, 11 Installation Processing Unit, 12 Activation Processing Unit

Claims

[Claim 1] The installation processing unit installs the software to be updated into the ECU, The system includes an activation processing unit that, upon receiving notification from the user that it intends to activate the software, instructs the ECU to stop the data writing operation, and after the data writing operation has stopped, requests the user to perform the operation to activate the software. Software update device.

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