Vehicle Control Systems

Abstract

To provide a control system for a vehicle that can execute succession of a total running distance at the time of replacing an odometer, in a short time, while preventing falsification of the total running distance integrated by the odometer.SOLUTION: A control system for a vehicle described in the disclosure comprises a meter-side control device, mounted on the vehicle, which can measure a total running distance of the vehicle, and a back-up device that can obtain replication of the total running distance measured by the meter-side control device. An authentication signal using a common key is utilized for data communication between the meter-side control device and the back-up device. In registering a new common key between the meter-side control device and the back-up device, the larger of a value of the total running distance stored in the meter-side control device and a value of the total running distance stored in the back-up device is set as the total running distance stored in the meter-side control device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to control systems for vehicles. [Background technology]

[0002] A total distance accumulator (commonly called an "odometer") that displays the total distance traveled by a vehicle is known. Patent Document 1 listed below describes a device that estimates the lifespan of instruments included in a vehicle based on the total distance traveled by the vehicle calculated by a meter ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that includes an odometer. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-247222 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The above-mentioned Patent Document 1 describes that when the total mileage value stored in the meter ECU differs from the total mileage value stored in the ECU of each instrument, the total mileage value is determined by majority vote. However, there is room for further improvement in the method for determining the total mileage data of the meter ECU.

[0005] The present disclosure aims to provide a vehicle control system that can prevent tampering with the total mileage calculated by the odometer while quickly transferring the total mileage when the odometer is replaced. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the vehicle control system according to claim 1 of the present disclosure is a vehicle control system including a meter-side control device mounted in a vehicle and capable of measuring the total mileage of the vehicle, and a backup device capable of obtaining a copy of the total mileage measured by the meter-side control device, wherein data communication between the meter-side control device and the backup device utilizes an authentication signal using a common key, and when a new common key is registered between the meter-side control device and the backup device, the larger of the total mileage value stored in the meter-side control device and the total mileage value stored in the backup device is set as the total mileage of the meter-side control device.

[0007] In the vehicle control system according to claim 1, the larger of the total mileage values ​​that can be inherited is inherited at the timing of registering the common key, for example, when replacing the meter-side control device, thereby preventing tampering with the total mileage. In addition, inheritance of the mileage can be achieved by updating the data, thereby reducing the time required for replacing the meter-side control device, etc.

[0008] A vehicle control system according to claim 2 of the present disclosure is the vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein the common key can be registered only once.

[0009] In the vehicle control system according to claim 2, the timing at which the total mileage is inherited is limited, so that tampering with the mileage can be more reliably prevented.

[0010] The vehicle control system according to claim 3 of the present disclosure is the vehicle control system according to claim 1, including: a total mileage measurement unit in the meter side control device that measures and stores the total mileage; a backup unit in the backup device that stores a copy of the total mileage; and a total mileage inheritance unit that, when registering the new common key, identifies the larger of the value of the total mileage in the total mileage measurement unit and the value of the copy of the total mileage in the backup unit as the total mileage of the total mileage measurement unit.

[0011] In the vehicle control system according to claim 3, it is possible to prevent the total mileage from being tampered with and to realize the inheritance of the total mileage in a short period of time.

[0012] The vehicle control system according to claim 4 of the present disclosure is the vehicle control system according to claim 3, further including an authentication error flag that is turned on when it is detected that the authentication signal generated by the meter side control device is not generated using a preset common key and that is turned off when the total mileage inheritance unit determines the total mileage, and when the authentication error flag is on, the total mileage inheritance unit determines the total mileage.

[0013] In the vehicle control system according to claim 4, the mileage inheritance process can be reliably carried out.

[0014] The vehicle control system according to claim 5 of the present disclosure is the vehicle control system according to claim 4, further including a succession time information storage unit capable of storing at least one of the value of the authentication error flag when the total mileage is determined by the total mileage inheritance unit, the value of the total mileage in the total mileage measurement unit, the value of the duplicate of the total mileage in the backup unit, and the time when the total mileage is determined.

[0015] In the vehicle control system according to claim 5, it is possible to easily perform verification of the operation of the ECU and performance tests. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a vehicle control system that can prevent tampering with the total mileage calculated by the odometer while quickly transferring the total mileage when the odometer is replaced. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1]1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a vehicle control system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 2 is a functional block diagram showing an example of a software configuration of the vehicle control system of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a total mileage inheritance process performed by the vehicle control system of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating the inheritance process of FIG. 3. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of a software configuration of a vehicle control system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the scope necessary for the explanation to achieve the object of the present disclosure will be schematically shown below, and the scope necessary for explaining the relevant parts of the present disclosure will be mainly explained, and the parts for which explanation is omitted will be considered to be based on publicly known techniques.

[0019] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a vehicle control system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle control system 1 according to this embodiment may mainly include a meter-side electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as "meter ECU") 10 as an example of a meter-side control device at least a part of which functions as an odometer, and a backup electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as "backup ECU") 20 as an example of a backup device capable of communicating with the meter ECU 10.

[0020] The meter ECU 10 may be an electronic control device mounted in a vehicle for controlling various instruments within the vehicle, such as a speedometer and a tachometer, including an odometer capable of measuring the total distance traveled by the vehicle. The meter ECU 10 may be configured, for example, by a microcomputer. The meter ECU 10 may include at least a meter-side processor 11, a meter-side non-volatile memory 12, and a meter display unit 13. In addition to the above-mentioned components, the meter ECU 10 may also include other elements constituting a microcomputer, such as a ROM, a RAM, various interfaces, and the like, but a description of these will be omitted here.

[0021] The meter-side processor 11 may execute various processes for controlling various meters. The meter-side processor 11 may be configured with an MPU (Micro Processor Unit) or a CPU (Central Processing Unit). Among the various processes executed by the meter-side processor 11, processes for realizing the function of an odometer may include, for example, an accumulation process of odometer data (data on total mileage) based on a signal from the vehicle speed sensor 2. In addition, the processes may include a process for preventing odometer data from being decremented, a process for comparing mileage and mileage speed, a high-speed calculation limiter, etc. The meter-side processor 11 may also register and manage a MAC key, which will be described later.

[0022] The meter-side non-volatile memory 12 may be used to store data related to various processes executed by the meter-side processor 11. This meter-side non-volatile memory 12 may be configured with an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), flash memory, or the like. The meter-side non-volatile memory 12 can store odometer data accumulated by the meter-side processor 11. It can also store a MAC key, which will be described later.

[0023] The meter display unit 13 may be disposed, for example, in an appropriate location on the instrument panel and may display the latest total mileage value (hereinafter also referred to as ODO value) based on the odometer data stored in the meter-side non-volatile memory 12.

[0024] The backup ECU 20 may be configured as a part of any of the ECUs installed in the vehicle, excluding the meter ECU 10, or as an ECU newly installed in the vehicle. In this embodiment, the backup ECU 20 backs up the odometer data. Therefore, the backup ECU 20 may include at least a backup processor 21 and a backup nonvolatile memory 22 to realize the backup function.

[0025] The backup processor 21 can be configured with an MPU or CPU, similar to the meter processor 11. This backup processor 21 can at least acquire odometer data from the meter ECU 10 and store it in the backup non-volatile memory 22. In addition, like the meter processor 11, this backup processor 21 can also perform odometer data subtraction prevention processing and mileage comparison processing. The backup processor 21 can also register and manage MAC keys, which will be described later.

[0026] The backup-side nonvolatile memory 22 can be configured with an EEPROM, flash memory, or the like, similar to the meter-side nonvolatile memory 12. The backup-side nonvolatile memory 22 can store a copy of the odometer data acquired by the backup-side processor 21. The backup-side nonvolatile memory 22 can also store a MAC key, which will be described later.

[0027] The meter ECU 10 and the backup ECU 20 may be connected to each other so as to be able to transmit and receive information to and from each other, for example, via a CAN (Controller Area Network) 3. Odometer data may be mainly transmitted and received between the meter ECU 10 and the backup ECU 20. The meter ECU 10 and the backup ECU 20 may be connected to a power source via a B terminal and an IG terminal, respectively.

[0028] The data communication transmitted and received between the meter ECU 10 and the backup ECU 20 via the CAN 3 may be provided with an authentication signal using a common key. Specifically, a MAC (Message Authentication Code) may be provided as an example of an authentication signal created using a common MAC key. As described above, odometer data is mainly transmitted and received between the meter ECU 10 and the backup ECU 20. By providing a MAC to the odometer data, tampering with the odometer data can be prevented.

[0029] In addition, the number of times a new MAC key can be registered between the meter ECU 10 and the backup ECU 20 can be limited to one. By limiting the number of times a new MAC key can be registered, odometer data tampering can be more reliably prevented.

[0030] Fig. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the software configuration of the vehicle control system of Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the vehicle control system 1 according to this embodiment can include at least a total mileage measurement unit 31, a backup unit 32, and a total mileage inheritance unit 33.

[0031] The total mileage measuring unit 31 functions as an odometer and may be realized by the meter ECU 10. The total mileage measuring unit 31 can measure the total mileage of the vehicle based on the output of the vehicle speed sensor 2 and store it as odometer data.

[0032] The backup unit 32 may be capable of storing a copy of the odometer data by periodically acquiring the odometer data measured and stored by the total mileage measurement unit 31. This backup unit 32 can be realized by the backup ECU 20. The copy of the odometer data stored in the backup unit 32 can be used by the total mileage inheritance unit 33.

[0033] The total mileage inheritance unit 33 may inherit the total mileage when a new MAC key is registered between the meter ECU 10 and the backup ECU 20. More specifically, for example, when the meter ECU 10 is replaced and it becomes necessary to register a MAC key between the replaced meter ECU and the backup ECU 20, the total mileage inheritance unit 33 may specify a predetermined total mileage to be inherited by the replaced meter ECU. The total mileage inheritance unit 33 may be realized by either or both of the meter ECU 10 and the backup ECU 20. In the following, in order to distinguish between the total mileage measurement units in the meter ECU before and after replacement, the replaced total mileage measurement unit may be referred to as the "replaced total mileage measurement unit 31N."

[0034] The total mileage inheritance unit 33 may specify the total mileage when the total mileage measurement unit (i.e., the meter ECU) is replaced. Specifically, the execution of a MAC key registration process, which is executed when the meter ECU 10 constituting the total mileage measurement unit 31 is newly installed, may be used as a trigger. By using the execution of the MAC key registration process as a trigger for specifying the total mileage, it is possible to reliably inherit the total mileage when the total mileage measurement unit 31 is replaced.

[0035] The total mileage inheritance unit 33 sets the total mileage value of the replaced total mileage measurement unit 31N to the larger of the total mileage value held by the replaced total mileage measurement unit 31N and the total mileage value held by the backup unit 32. Here, the total mileage value held by the replaced total mileage measurement unit 31N refers to the total mileage value stored in the replaced total mileage measurement unit 31N at the time of replacement. Therefore, if the replaced total mileage measurement unit 31N is unused, the stored total mileage value will generally be 0 km.

[0036] By adopting the inheritance process described above in the total mileage inheritance unit 33, the value of the total mileage inherited by the replaced total mileage measurement unit 31N will not be shorter than the actual total mileage of the vehicle. Therefore, even if the meter ECU is replaced with one that has a smaller total mileage value, the total mileage value of the replaced meter ECU will not be shorter than the actual total mileage, and falsification of the total mileage can be suppressed.

[0037] As described above, the total mileage inheritance unit 33 of this embodiment uses the execution of the MAC key registration process as a trigger for identifying the total mileage. However, it is conceivable that, for example, someone who wants to tamper with the value of the total mileage may perform an operation such as stopping the power supply to the vehicle control system 1 immediately after the MAC key registration process is completed in order to skip the execution of the inheritance process by the total mileage inheritance unit 33. Therefore, the vehicle control system 1 of this embodiment may further include an authentication error flag 34 so that the inheritance process by the total mileage inheritance unit 33 can be reliably executed even if such an operation is performed.

[0038] The authentication error flag 34 may be turned on (flag value = 1) when it is detected that the MAC as an authentication signal generated by the meter ECU 10 was not generated using a preset MAC key, and may be turned off (flag value = 0) when the total mileage inheritance unit 33 determines the mileage. The authentication error flag 34 may be stored, for example, in at least one of the meter-side nonvolatile memory 12 and the backup-side nonvolatile memory 22. In this regard, when the authentication error flag 34 is on, the total mileage inheritance unit 33 determines the total mileage regardless of whether the registration of a new common key has been completed. As a result, even if power supply to the vehicle control system 1 is stopped immediately after the registration of the MAC key has been completed, the total mileage inheritance unit 33 can execute the inheritance process based on the authentication error flag 34 after the power supply is resumed. Therefore, by using the authentication error flag 34, the inheritance process can be reliably executed when the total mileage measurement unit 31 is replaced.

[0039] In order to determine whether the odometer data has been correctly inherited, the vehicle control system 1 of the present disclosure may further include a inheritance information storage unit 35. This inheritance information storage unit 35 can be realized by, for example, at least one of the meter-side nonvolatile memory 12 and the backup-side nonvolatile memory 22.

[0040] The inheritance information storage unit 35 can store at least one of the value of the authentication error flag 34 (i.e., either 0 or 1) when the total mileage is determined by the total mileage inheritance unit 33, the value of the total mileage in the replaced total mileage measurement unit 31N, the value of the total mileage in the backup unit 32, and the time when the total mileage was determined. The inheritance information storage unit 35 can also store information other than the above-mentioned information as long as it is information necessary for verifying the operation of each ECU, performance testing, etc.

[0041] By storing the above information in the inheritance information storage unit 35, it becomes easy to verify, for example, if the inheritance of odometer data is not performed correctly, or to check whether the inheritance process is operating normally.

[0042] Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a total mileage inheritance process by the vehicle control system of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a sequence diagram schematically showing the inheritance process of Fig. 3. The odometer data inheritance process in the vehicle control system 1 according to this embodiment will be described below mainly with reference to Figs. 3 and 4. Note that the sequence diagram shown in Fig. 4 shows a state immediately after the meter ECU is replaced, and exemplifies a case in which the total mileage value held by the replaced meter ECU 10 (in other words, the replaced total mileage measurement unit 31N) at the time of replacement is 10,000 km, and the total mileage value held by the backup ECU 20 (in other words, the backup unit 32) is 25,000 km.

[0043] 3, when the ignition switch is turned on (step S1), the vehicle control system 1 according to this embodiment first detects whether the authentication error flag 34 is on (step S2). If the authentication error flag 34 is on (Yes in step S2), it determines that the odometer data inheritance process may have been interrupted, and proceeds to step S5 (described later).

[0044] If it is determined that the authentication error flag 34 is in the OFF state (No in step S2), the presence or absence of a MAC authentication error is then detected (step S3). The presence or absence of a MAC authentication error can be confirmed, for example, by performing data communication between the meter ECU 10 constituting the total mileage measurement unit 31 and the backup ECU 20 constituting the backup unit 32, as shown in Fig. 4. If the MAC authentication has been performed successfully (No in step S3), it is determined that the meter ECU 10 has not been replaced and that registration of a new MAC key is not necessary, and the process may proceed to normal accumulation processing.

[0045] On the other hand, if the meter ECU 10 constituting the total mileage measurement unit 31 is replaced due to a malfunction or the like of the meter ECU 10, a MAC authentication error is detected in step S3 (Yes in step S3). When a MAC authentication error is detected, a MAC authentication error process is executed. Specifically, to ensure that each subsequent step is completed, the authentication error flag 34 is first set to the ON state (step S4). Next, a new MAC key is registered between the backup ECU 20 and the replaced meter ECU 10 (step S5). The specific method for registering the MAC key is not particularly limited. Note that when the authentication error flag 34 is detected to be in the ON state in step S2 and the process proceeds to step S4, the registration of the new MAC key may have already been completed. In this case, step S5 may be skipped.

[0046] After the registration of the new MAC key is completed, the total mileage inheritance unit 33 then inherits the value of the total mileage to the replaced total mileage measurement unit 31N. Specifically, the total mileage value stored in the replaced total mileage measurement unit 31N configured by the replaced meter ECU 10 is compared with the total mileage value stored in the backup unit 32 configured by the backup ECU 20 (step S6). This comparison may be performed by transmitting and receiving odometer data stored in the meter ECU 10 and the backup ECU 20. The data may be transmitted and received multiple times, for example, three times, to allow for handling of transmission errors, data corruption, and the like.

[0047] Next, based on the comparison result of step S6, an ODO value inheritance process is performed (step S7). Specifically, for example, as shown in Fig. 4, if the ODO value held by the replaced total mileage measuring unit 31N is 10,000 km, while the ODO value held by the backup unit 32 is 25,000 km, the ODO value held by the replaced total mileage measuring unit 31N is updated from 10,000 km to 25,000 km. When the ODO value inheritance process is completed, the authentication error flag 34 is finally set to OFF (step S8), and the process proceeds to normal processing.

[0048] 4 illustrates a case where the ODO value held by the replaced total mileage measuring unit 31N is smaller than the ODO value held by the backup unit 32, but the magnitude relationship between these two ODO values ​​may be reversed. In such a case, the comparison in step S6 will determine that the ODO value of the replaced total mileage measuring unit 31N is larger, and in step S7, the ODO value of the replaced total mileage measuring unit 31N will be maintained as is.

[0049] In addition, in the vehicle control system 1 according to the embodiment described above, even when the backup ECU 20 constituting the backup unit 32 is replaced, a MAC authentication error is detected in the above-described step S3. In this case, by performing the above-described steps S4 to S8, the ODO value held by the total mileage measuring unit 31 is maintained as is, and the process shifts to normal processing, so that the ODO value is not subtracted.

[0050] As described above, the vehicle control system 1 according to this embodiment can prevent the value of the total mileage from being tampered with, specifically, from being subtracted, even when the meter ECU 10 is replaced. Furthermore, because the value of the total mileage can be updated only once, at the timing of registering the MAC key, there is no need to perform the conventional work of winding up the total mileage of the replaced meter ECU by inputting a simulated vehicle speed, and the total mileage can be inherited in a short time.

[0051] Furthermore, in the vehicle control system 1 according to this embodiment, for example, when the meter ECU 10 breaks down, it is assumed that the meter ECU 10 will be replaced with a meter ECU 10 that holds a total mileage value greater than the actual total mileage value of the vehicle. However, even in such a case, in the vehicle control system 1 according to this embodiment, the ODO value of the replaced total mileage measurement unit 31N is maintained as the ODO value held at the time of replacement (not the actual total mileage value of the vehicle). In the vehicle control system 1 according to this embodiment, the function of preventing tampering with the ODO value is strengthened by strictly preventing subtraction of the ODO value as described above.

[0052] In the above-described vehicle control system 1, the components constituting the system are implemented by the meter ECU 10 and backup ECU 20 inside the vehicle, but the present disclosure is not limited to this structure. Specifically, the storage location for storing the copy of the odometer data may be implemented outside the vehicle, rather than in an in-vehicle facility such as the backup ECU 20. Therefore, the following describes, as an example, a vehicle control system 100 according to another embodiment in which the copy of the odometer data is stored in a backup device outside the vehicle.

[0053] 5 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the software configuration of a vehicle control system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, the vehicle control system 100 according to this embodiment may include the same components as the above-described vehicle control system 1, except that it includes a communication unit 36 ​​instead of the backup unit 32. Furthermore, each component of the vehicle control system 100 according to this embodiment can be realized by one or more ECUs, specifically, by only the above-described meter ECU 10, or by the meter ECU 10 and the backup ECU 20.

[0054] The communication unit 36 ​​may be connectable to a network or the like outside the vehicle via wired or wireless communication. The communication unit 36 ​​can be connected to at least one of a backup device different from the backup ECU 20 described above, specifically, a maintenance PC 101 used during vehicle maintenance work, a cloud 102 part of which functions as a backup area, and an OTA (On The Air) server 103 for implementing an Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS). The maintenance PC 101, the cloud 102, and the OTA server 103 described above can implement functions similar to those of the backup unit 32 configured by the backup ECU 20.

[0055] When storing a copy of the odometer data in a part of the maintenance PC 101, for example, the maintenance PC 101 and the communication unit 36 ​​may be connected by wire and the copy of the odometer data may be sent to the maintenance PC 101. When storing a copy of the odometer data in a part of the cloud 102 or the OTA server 103, the latest odometer data may be sent from the communication unit 36 ​​via wireless communication at any time, for example, when the ignition switch is turned off. Regardless of which of the components of the maintenance PC 101, the cloud 102, or the OTA server 103 is used, by referring to these components when inheriting the total mileage, the same effects as those obtained by the vehicle control system 1 according to the above-described embodiment can be expected.

[0056] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, all of which are included in the technical concept of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 1,100 Vehicle control system 10 Meter ECU (an example of a meter control device) 20 Backup ECU (an example of a backup device) 31 Total distance measurement unit 32 Backup Unit 33 Total Mileage Inheritance Unit 34 Authentication Error Flag 35 Inheritance information storage unit

Claims

1. A vehicle control system including a meter-side control device mounted in a vehicle and capable of measuring a total mileage of the vehicle, and a backup device capable of acquiring a copy of the total mileage measured by the meter-side control device, The data communication between the meter-side control device and the backup device uses an authentication signal using a common key, When a new common key is registered between the meter-side control device and the backup device, the larger of the total mileage value stored in the meter-side control device and the total mileage value stored in the backup device is set as the total mileage of the meter-side control device. Vehicle control systems.

2. The common key can be registered only once. The vehicle control system of claim 1 .

3. a total mileage measuring unit in the meter side control device that measures and stores the total mileage; a backup unit in the backup device that stores a copy of the total mileage; a total mileage inheritance unit that, when registering the new common key, specifies the larger value of the total mileage value in the total mileage measurement unit and the duplicated value of the total mileage value in the backup unit as the total mileage of the total mileage measurement unit; The vehicle control system of claim 1 .

4. and an authentication error flag that is turned on when it is detected that the authentication signal generated by the meter-side control device is not generated using a preset common key, and that is turned off when the total mileage inheritance unit identifies the total mileage, the total mileage inheritance unit specifies the total mileage when the authentication error flag is on; 4. The vehicle control system according to claim 3.

5. The vehicle information storage unit may further include a succession time information storage unit capable of storing at least one of the value of the authentication error flag, the value of the total mileage in the total mileage measurement unit, the value of the copy of the total mileage in the backup unit, and the time when the total mileage was specified by the total mileage succession unit.

5. The vehicle control system according to claim 4.

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