Vehicle control devices

Abstract

To provide a control device for a vehicle, which has an optimal function arrangement that takes into account the maintainability.SOLUTION: Among multiple functions that perform diagnosis, a function that requires maintenance after a vehicle is sold, and a high load processing function that does not require the maintenance and has a load greater than a predetermined load are placed in a central ECU (104, 106, 110). On the other hand, among the functions, in a functional ECU with lower performance than the central ECU, a low load processing function that does not require maintenance and is less than a load is placed (104 to 108).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle control device.

Background Art

[0002] In Patent Document 1, a driving diagnosis method is proposed in which a computer uses the driving history information of drivers stored in a storage unit, with the horizontal axis being the degree of a driver's dangerous driving behavior and the vertical axis being the number of drivers corresponding to the degree of the dangerous driving behavior, to generate and output screen information including the distribution of a safe driver group and a dangerous driver group determined based on the driving history information and the diagnosis result regarding the dangerous driving behavior of a driver to be diagnosed.

[0003] In the technology of Patent Document 1, the driving histories of a plurality of drivers are collected, driving diagnosis is performed at a center, and the diagnosis result is transmitted to a terminal device.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

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Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] <(X)00028>Although all diagnoses are performed on a server such as a center, real - time diagnosis becomes possible if the diagnosis is performed on the vehicle side. When providing a diagnostic function on the vehicle side, it is necessary to arrange the function in consideration of maintainability.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above facts, and an object thereof is to provide a vehicle control device with an optimal function arrangement considering maintainability.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] According to the first embodiment, the first control unit executes, among a plurality of diagnostic functions, functions that require maintenance after the vehicle is sold, and functions that do not require maintenance and perform high-load processing above a predetermined load.

[0009] The second control unit has lower performance than the first control unit and executes low-load processing functions that do not require maintenance and are below a predetermined load level, among several functions.

[0010] This allows for a functional arrangement that is tailored to the need for maintenance and performance requirements, thus providing a vehicle control system with an optimal functional arrangement that takes maintainability into consideration.

[0011] Here, High-load processing functions are those that are executed by programs with a predetermined number of steps or more.

[0012] This Since high-load processing is performed by the first control unit, which has higher performance, real-time diagnosis becomes possible.

[0013] The 2 The vehicle control device relating to the first form is To In the vehicle control device described above, the function requiring maintenance is a function that requires logic modification after the vehicle has been sold.

[0014] The 2 Depending on the configuration, maintenance of the first control unit can be performed by changing the logic.

[0015] The 3The vehicle control device according to the aspect is the first aspect or a vehicle control device relating to the second embodiment In this case, the first control unit is wirelessly rewritable, and the second control unit is not wirelessly rewritable.

[0016] No. 3 According to the aspect, it becomes possible to perform maintenance of the first control unit by wireless rewriting.

Effect of the Invention

[0017] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle control device with an optimal function arrangement considering maintainability.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018] [Figure 1] It is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing system according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] It is a functional block diagram showing the functional configurations of an in-vehicle device and a server in the information processing system according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] It is a block diagram showing the configurations of each ECU of the control unit and the central processing unit. [Figure 4] It is a flowchart for explaining a function arrangement method for optimally arranging functions in the information processing system according to this embodiment.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0019] Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing system according to this embodiment.

[0020] An information processing system 10 according to this embodiment includes an in-vehicle device 16 as an example of a vehicle control device mounted on a vehicle 14 and a server 12 connected via a communication network 18.

[0021] The on-board unit 16 performs a driving diagnosis of the vehicle 14 based on at least one of the vehicle information detected by the vehicle 14 and the captured image information. For example, the on-board unit 16 performs a real-time driving diagnosis of the driver. The on-board unit 16 may also perform vehicle diagnoses, such as deterioration diagnosis, based on the vehicle information.

[0022] Meanwhile, the server 12 collects information from the in-vehicle device 16 and provides a cloud service that performs vehicle diagnostics such as driver assessments of the vehicle 14 and vehicle deterioration assessments.

[0023] Figure 2 is a functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of the in-vehicle device 16 and server 12 in the information processing system 10 according to this embodiment.

[0024] The in-vehicle unit 16 includes a control unit 20, a vehicle information detection unit 22, an imaging unit 24, a communication unit 26, and a display unit 28.

[0025] The vehicle information detection unit 22 detects vehicle information related to the vehicle 14. For example, it detects vehicle information such as the vehicle's position, acceleration, accelerator pedal position, distance to obstacles around the vehicle, and route. Specifically, the vehicle information detection unit 22 can apply multiple types of sensors and devices to acquire information representing the conditions of the surrounding environment of the vehicle 14. Examples of sensors and devices include sensors mounted on the vehicle 14, such as a vehicle speed sensor, steering angle sensor, and acceleration sensor, as well as a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) device, an in-vehicle communication device, a navigation system, and a radar device. The GNSS device determines the position of the vehicle 14 by receiving GNSS signals containing time information from multiple GNSS satellites. The accuracy of positioning improves as the number of receivable GNSS signals increases. The in-vehicle communication device is a communication device that performs at least one of vehicle-to-vehicle communication with other vehicles 14 and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication with roadside devices. The navigation system includes a map information storage unit that stores map information, and performs processing to display the position of the vehicle 14 on a map and to guide the vehicle to a destination based on the position information obtained from the GNSS device and the map information stored in the map information storage unit. The radar device includes multiple radars with different detection ranges, and detects objects such as pedestrians and other vehicles 14 that are present around the vehicle 14, and acquires the relative position and relative speed of the detected objects and the vehicle 14. The radar device also incorporates a processing unit that processes the detection results of surrounding objects. This processing unit excludes noise and roadside objects such as guardrails from the monitoring target based on changes in the relative position and relative speed of individual objects included in the most recent multiple detection results, and tracks and monitors pedestrians and other vehicles 14 as monitored objects. The radar device then outputs information such as the relative position and relative speed of each monitored object. In this embodiment, all of this information may be detected as vehicle information, or any of the information may be detected as vehicle information.

[0026] In this embodiment, the camera unit 24 is mounted inside the vehicle and captures images of the driver and the area around the vehicle 14, generating image data representing the captured images for the video. The area around the vehicle 14 is captured from at least one point in front of, to the side of, and behind the vehicle 14.

[0027] The communication unit 26 establishes communication with the server 12 via the communication network 18 and transmits and receives information such as image information obtained by the imaging unit 24 and vehicle information detected by the vehicle information detection unit 22.

[0028] The display unit 28 provides various information to the crew by displaying information. In this embodiment, information provided by the server 12 is also displayed.

[0029] The control unit 20 includes multiple ECUs (Electronic Control Units), and in this embodiment, it includes a central ECU 20a as an example of a first control unit and a functional ECU 20b as an example of a second control unit. In this embodiment, the central ECU 20a has a processing capacity greater than a predetermined capacity, and the functional ECU 20b has a lower processing capacity than the central ECU 20a. In other words, the central ECU 20a is more powerful than the functional ECU 20b. Although only one functional ECU 20b is shown in Figure 2, multiple functional ECUs 20b may be provided.

[0030] Each ECU of the control unit 20 is composed of a general-purpose microcomputer, including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 20A, ROM (Read Only Memory) 20B, RAM (Random Access Memory) 20C, storage 20D, interface (I / F) 20E, and bus 20F, as shown in Figure 3.

[0031] Furthermore, the control unit 20 performs a driver's driving diagnosis based on image information representing the image captured by the imaging unit 24 and vehicle information detected by the vehicle information detection unit 22 at the time of image capture, and also controls the uploading of the image information, vehicle information, and diagnosis results to the server 12. In addition, the control unit 20 may further perform a vehicle deterioration diagnosis, such as battery deterioration, based on the detection results of the vehicle information detection unit 22.

[0032] On the other hand, the server 12 includes a central processing unit 30, a central communication unit 36, and a DB (database) 38.

[0033] As shown in Figure 3, the central processing unit 30 is composed of a general-purpose microcomputer including a CPU 30A, ROM 30B, RAM 30C, storage 30D, interface (I / F) 30E, and bus 30F.

[0034] The central processing unit 30 performs driver diagnostics and generates a driver diagnostic report based on the images and vehicle information acquired from the in-vehicle device 16. The central processing unit 30 also performs vehicle diagnostics, such as diagnosing the deterioration of auxiliary equipment and batteries installed in the vehicle, based on the vehicle information.

[0035] The central communications unit 36 ​​establishes communication with the in-vehicle device 16 via the communication network 18 and transmits and receives information such as image information and vehicle information.

[0036] DB38 receives image information, vehicle information, and driving diagnostic results from the in-vehicle unit 16, and stores the received image information, vehicle information, and driving diagnostic results in association with each other.

[0037] Incidentally, in the information processing system 10 according to this embodiment, the server 12 and the in-vehicle unit 16 each perform various diagnoses such as driver performance diagnosis and vehicle diagnosis, so it is necessary to assign the functions for performing the diagnoses to each of them. Also, as mentioned above, the control unit 20 of the in-vehicle unit 16 is equipped with multiple ECUs, and it is necessary to pre-assign the functions for performing the diagnoses to each of the multiple ECUs.

[0038] Here, a method for optimally arranging functions in the information processing system 10 according to this embodiment will be described.

[0039] In this embodiment, the assignment of each function is determined based on the principle that low development costs, maintenance costs, and upkeep costs are desirable in order to provide services to users at a low cost, and that it is possible to respond quickly to market demands in order to provide services that are highly convenient for users.

[0040] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for optimally arranging functions in the information processing system 10 according to this embodiment.

[0041] First, in step 100, it is determined whether the target function requires center placement. If this determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 102; otherwise, it proceeds to step 104.

[0042] In step 102, the target functions are assigned to server 12. Deploying functions to the center would result in high communication costs to server 12, high maintenance costs, and high post-sale maintenance costs. Therefore, only functions that absolutely require center deployment are deployed to the center. For example, functions to be assigned to server 12 include machine learning-based driving diagnostics utilizing machine learning, and long-term diagnostic driving diagnostics with extended diagnostic periods.

[0043] Step 104 determines whether the target function requires maintenance after the vehicle is sold. This determination determines, for example, that a function requiring logic changes after the vehicle is sold is a function that requires maintenance. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 106; if it is positive, the process proceeds to step 110.

[0044] Step 106 determines whether the target function is a low-load process. This determination determines whether the target function has a load below a predetermined level. For example, a function executed by a program with a predetermined number of steps or more is determined to be a high-load process, and a function executed by a program with fewer than a predetermined number of steps is determined to be a low-load process. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 108; otherwise, the process proceeds to step 110.

[0045] In step 108, a function is assigned to the function ECU 20b of the control unit of the in-vehicle device 16. For example, a function such as pre-processing for vehicle diagnostics is assigned to the function ECU 20b.

[0046] On the other hand, in step 110, a function is assigned to the central ECU 20a of the control unit 20 of the in-vehicle unit 16. In this embodiment, the central ECU 20a is capable of program rewriting via wireless communication, while the function ECU 20b is not capable of program rewriting via wireless communication. Therefore, functions that require maintenance after the vehicle is sold are assigned to the central ECU 20a, which is capable of wireless program rewriting. Also, since the central ECU 20a has higher processing power than the function ECU 20b, functions with high processing loads are assigned to the central ECU 20a, which is not capable of wireless communication. For example, functions such as event detection, driving diagnostics for different scenes, and diagnosis of human characteristics (cognitive ability, visual acuity, operating ability, etc.) are assigned to the central ECU 20a.

[0047] In this way, by arranging the functions, the central ECU 20a is used to execute functions that require maintenance after the vehicle is sold, as well as functions that do not require maintenance and perform high-load processing above a predetermined load. On the other hand, the function ECU 20b, which has lower performance than the central ECU 20a, is used to execute functions that do not require maintenance and perform low-load processing below the load. This allows for a function arrangement that considers maintainability, as the functions are arranged according to whether maintenance is required and their performance.

[0048] In addition, the processing shown in Figure 4 in the above embodiment may be performed by having a computer execute the processing shown in Figure 4 based on the design information used when designing the information processing system 10, thereby arranging functions for each part of the information processing system 10.

[0049] Furthermore, the processing performed by the information processing system 10 in each of the above embodiments may be software processing performed by executing a program, or hardware processing. For example, it may be processing performed by hardware such as a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), and FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). Alternatively, it may be processing that combines both software and hardware. In the case of software processing, the program may be stored in various storage media and distributed.

[0050] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above, and it is of course possible to implement it in various modified forms without departing from its spirit. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0051] 10 Information Processing Systems 14 vehicles 16. On-board devices (vehicle control devices) 20 Control Unit 20a Central ECU (First Control Unit) 20b Functional ECU (Second Control Unit)

Claims

1. Among the multiple diagnostic functions, the first control unit performs functions that require maintenance after the vehicle is sold, and functions that do not require such maintenance and perform high-load processing exceeding a predetermined load. Of the aforementioned multiple functions, a second control unit with lower performance than the first control unit performs a low-load processing function that does not require maintenance and is below the aforementioned load, Includes, The aforementioned high-load processing function is a vehicle control device that is executed by a program with a predetermined number of steps or more.

2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the function requiring maintenance is a function that requires logic modification after the vehicle is sold.

3. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the first control unit is wirelessly rewritable, and the second control unit is wirelessly non-rewritable.

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