control device

Abstract

The present invention provides a control device that can efficiently collect information about the ECU installed in a vehicle. [Solution] A control device mounted on a vehicle comprises: a determination unit that determines whether the communication specifications for the vehicle's diagnostic communication support broadcast; a communication unit that performs diagnostic communication for a plurality of ECUs mounted on the vehicle according to the determination result of the determination unit; and a registration unit that registers the ECUs that have responded to the diagnostic communication performed by the communication unit in a management list. The communication unit performs broadcast diagnostic communication for a plurality of ECUs if the communication specifications support broadcast, and performs unicast diagnostic communication for a candidate ECU among the plurality of ECUs if the communication specifications do not support broadcast.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a control device for collecting and managing information of an ECU mounted on a vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a method for managing an electronic control unit (ECU) mounted on a vehicle.

Prior Art Document

Patent Document

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When attempting to collect information on a plurality of ECUs mounted on a vehicle through manual work, not only does it require a huge amount of man-hours, but there is also a risk of errors such as omissions or leaks in information collection. On the other hand, when considering automatically collecting ECU information so as to avoid omissions or leaks, it is necessary to perform information collection processing for a huge number of ECUs that may be mounted on the vehicle regardless of whether they are actually mounted on the vehicle, and there is a problem that it takes a long time to complete the information collection. Therefore, there is room for further consideration regarding the method for collecting information on a plurality of ECUs mounted on a vehicle.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a control device capable of efficiently collecting information on an ECU mounted on a vehicle.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above problems, one aspect of the disclosed technology is a control device mounted on a vehicle, comprising: a determination unit that determines whether the communication specifications for the vehicle's diagnostic communication support broadcast; a communication unit that performs diagnostic communication with a plurality of ECUs mounted on the vehicle according to the determination result of the determination unit; and a registration unit that registers the ECUs that have responded to the diagnostic communication performed by the communication unit in a management list, wherein the communication unit performs broadcast diagnostic communication with a plurality of ECUs if the communication specifications support broadcast, and performs unicast diagnostic communication with candidate ECUs among the plurality of ECUs if the communication specifications do not support broadcast. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the control device described above, by appropriately using broadcast-based diagnostic communication and unicast-based diagnostic communication to register ECUs in a management list, information about ECUs installed in a vehicle can be efficiently collected. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] Functional block diagram of a control device and its peripheral parts according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] Flowchart of the ECU information acquisition control process performed by the control unit. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] The control device described herein utilizes broadcast-based and unicast-based diagnostic communication within the vehicle to automatically and comprehensively collect information on the vehicle's ECU installation status. Hereinafter, one embodiment of this disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0010] <Embodiment> [composition] Figure 1 is a functional block diagram of a control device 110 and its peripheral parts according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The functional block illustrated in Figure 1 includes the control device 110, a plurality of ECUs 121 to 123, and an external device 150. The control device 110 and the plurality of ECUs 121 to 123 are mounted on a vehicle 100.

[0011] Vehicle 100 has two types of communication specifications for diagnostic communication (depending on the diagnostic phase and communication path, etc.): some support broadcast communication, and others do not. In vehicles 100 that support broadcast communication, a diagnostic request sent via broadcast communication to multiple ECUs 121-123 can be received from multiple ECUs 121-123. On the other hand, in vehicles 100 that do not support broadcast communication, a diagnostic request sent via individual unicast communication to each of the multiple ECUs 121-123 can be received from multiple ECUs 121-123. The ECUs (addresses) to which this unicast communication should be sent can be any of the ECUs (addresses) that have been pre-listed based on the type and grade of vehicle 100.

[0012] The control device 110 is configured to collect and manage information regarding multiple ECUs 121 to 123 installed in the vehicle 100 when performing diagnostic communication inside the vehicle 100. This control device 110 comprises a determination unit 111, a communication unit 112, and a registration unit 113.

[0013] The determination unit 111 determines whether the communication specifications for diagnostic communication of the vehicle 100 support broadcast communication. The communication unit 112 performs diagnostic communication for multiple ECUs 121 to 123 installed in the vehicle 100 according to the determination result of the determination unit 111. The registration unit 113 registers the ECUs that responded to the diagnostic communication performed by the communication unit 112 in a predetermined management list.

[0014] The plurality of ECUs 121 to 123 are electronic control units mounted on the vehicle 100. These ECUs 121 to 123 can perform diagnostic communication inside the vehicle 100 and can send out responses when receiving diagnostic requests. Note that the number of ECUs 121 to 123 mounted on the vehicle 100 is not limited to the three shown in FIG. 1.

[0015] The external device 150 is, for example, a diagnostic tool that can instruct the vehicle 100 to perform diagnostic communication. This external device 150 may be wirelessly connected to the vehicle 100 or may be wired-connected to the vehicle 100.

[0016] [Control] Next, referring further to FIG. 2, the control performed by the control device 110 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of ECU information collection control executed by the control device 110.

[0017] The ECU information collection control illustrated in FIG. 2 is started, for example, when the external device 150 instructs the control device 110 of the vehicle 100 to perform diagnostic communication.

[0018] (Step S201) The determination unit 111 of the control device 110 determines whether the communication specification regarding the diagnostic communication of the vehicle 100 supports broadcast communication. This determination is made based on the corresponding application, the corresponding diagnostic communication method (diagnostic Phase), the communication path, and the like.

[0019] If the communication specification of the vehicle 100 supports broadcast communication (Step S201, Yes), the process proceeds to Step S202. On the other hand, if the communication specification of the vehicle 100 does not support broadcast communication (Step S201, No), the process proceeds to Step S204.

[0020] (Step S202) The communication unit 112 of the control device 110 performs diagnostic communication by broadcast (diagnostic request by broadcast communication) with all the ECUs 121 to 123 (unknown) mounted on the vehicle 100. When the diagnostic communication by broadcast to all the ECUs is performed, the process proceeds to step S203.

[0021] (Step S203) The registration unit 113 of the control device 110 registers all the ECUs that have responded to the diagnostic communication by broadcast performed by the communication unit 112 to all the ECUs in the management list. That is, it can be determined that the ECUs registered in this management list are all the ECUs mounted on the vehicle 100. When the ECUs that have responded to the diagnostic communication are registered in the management list, this ECU information collection control ends.

[0022] (Step S204) The communication unit 112 of the control device 110 performs unicast diagnostic communication (diagnostic request by unicast communication) on a candidate ECU (known), which is any one of the ECUs 121 to 123 mounted on the vehicle 100 (unicast process). In this implementation, the diagnostic request to the candidate ECU is a simple request that allows the candidate ECU to respond immediately. Also, as a list of ECUs to be communicated by unicast, for example, an address list of ECUs that combines other vehicle models with the own vehicle model is given in advance by the client. When the unicast diagnostic communication to the candidate ECU is performed, the process proceeds to step S205.

[0023] (Step S205) The registration unit 113 of the control device 110 determines whether or not a response to the unicast diagnostic communication performed by the communication unit 112 to the candidate ECU has been received from the candidate ECU. As described above, by making the diagnostic request to the candidate ECU a simple request that allows the candidate ECU to respond immediately, it becomes a premise that the candidate ECU can respond immediately, and the time for the client side to determine that there is no response can be shortened.

[0024] If a response to the diagnostic communication is received from the candidate ECU (step S205, yes), the process proceeds to step S206. On the other hand, if no response to the diagnostic communication is received from the candidate ECU (step S205, no), the unicast process for this candidate ECU is terminated.

[0025] (Step S206) The registration unit 113 of the control device 110 registers candidate ECUs that have responded to the diagnostic communication in a management list. In other words, all ECUs installed in the vehicle 100 can be determined to be those registered in this management list. As described above, by making the diagnostic request to the candidate ECU a simple request that the candidate ECU can respond to immediately, and by shortening the time it takes for the client to determine that there is no response based on the assumption that the candidate ECU can respond immediately, the total time required to collect information on the ECUs installed in the vehicle 100 can be shortened. When a candidate ECU that has responded to the diagnostic communication is registered in the management list, the unicast processing for that candidate ECU is terminated.

[0026] The process from step S204 to step S206 described above is repeated (looped) until it is completed for all candidate ECUs listed in the ECU address list (for example, in order according to the list).

[0027] By identifying the ECUs installed in vehicle 100 through the above process, manual prior information collection becomes unnecessary. Furthermore, by notifying the center (not shown) of the collected information, unnecessary requests to ECUs not installed in vehicle 100 can be reduced when the center requests diagnostics from vehicle 100.

[0028] Furthermore, during repair work at dealerships and other locations, by providing ECU installation information to an external device 150 (diagnostic tool) via a wired connection, the external device 150 (diagnostic tool) is enabled to communicate only with ECUs installed in the vehicle 100.

[0029] <Effects and Actions> As described above, according to the control device 110 of one embodiment of the present disclosure, if it is determined that the vehicle 100 supports broadcast diagnostic communication, the ECU that responded to the broadcast diagnostic communication is registered in the management list, and if it is determined that the vehicle 100 does not support broadcast diagnostic communication, the ECU that responded to the unicast diagnostic communication sent to each of the multiple ECUs is registered in the management list.

[0030] This control system automatically collects information on the installation status of ECUs within the vehicle 100, eliminating the need to manually register ECU information within the vehicle 100. Furthermore, because the ECU information is registered automatically, registration errors are prevented.

[0031] Furthermore, according to the control device 110 of this embodiment, by performing this ECU information collection control periodically (weekly, monthly, etc.) according to a predetermined schedule (a schedule set in the collection conditions downloaded from the center), the ECU installation information can be updated even if an ECU is added at a dealership or elsewhere after the vehicle 100 has been shipped from the factory.

[0032] Furthermore, according to the control device 110 of this embodiment, when updating ECU installation information, instead of immediately removing from the management list ECUs that responded to diagnostic communication last time but did not respond this time, the decision is made after waiting for multiple response confirmations. This prevents the system from mistakenly determining that an ECU is not installed (fail function).

[0033] Furthermore, according to the control device 110 of this embodiment, by using the management list of ECUs from which information has been collected, access to ECUs not installed in the vehicle 100 can be eliminated, thereby enabling efficient diagnostic communication within the vehicle 100.

[0034] Although one embodiment of the disclosed technology has been described above, the disclosure can be understood not only as a control device, but also as a method performed by a control device comprising a processor and memory, a program for performing the method, a computer-readable non-temporary storage medium storing the program, and a vehicle equipped with the control device. [Industrial applicability]

[0035] The control device described herein can be used in situations where it is necessary to efficiently collect information about an ECU installed in a vehicle. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0036] 100 vehicles 110 Control device 111 Judgment section 112 Communications Department 113 Registration Department 121, 122, 123 ECU 150 External equipment

Claims

1. A control device installed in a vehicle, A determination unit that determines whether the communication specifications for the diagnostic communication of the vehicle support broadcasting, A communication unit that performs diagnostic communication according to the determination result of the determination unit for multiple ECUs installed in the aforementioned vehicle, The system includes a registration unit that registers ECUs that have responded to diagnostic communications performed by the aforementioned communication unit into a management list. The aforementioned communications unit is If the aforementioned communication specification supports broadcasting, diagnostic communication is performed via broadcast for the multiple ECUs. A control device that, if the aforementioned communication specifications do not support broadcasting, performs unicast diagnostic communication with candidate ECUs among the multiple ECUs.

2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the registration unit periodically registers the ECU that has responded to the management list at predetermined intervals.

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