Vehicle ECU Configuration Verification for OTA Update Compatibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle update systems through Over the Air (OTA) fail to ensure compatibility among the configurations of multiple electronic control units (ECUs) on a vehicle, leading to potential inoperability due to mismatched application program versions.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle information communication system where an in-vehicle device collects configuration information from multiple ECUs and transmits it to a center device for comparison against approved lists, alerting the device of any discrepancies, allowing proactive measures like prohibiting vehicle travel if incompatibilities are detected.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If configuration information is not verified before ECU updates, then update speed is fast, but system reliability deteriorates due to potential incompatibility among ECUs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by collecting and verifying configuration information from all ECUs before performing updates. The center device obtains configuration information lists from each ECU, compares them against pre-stored approved configuration lists for the vehicle type, and only permits updates if compatibility is confirmed. This advance verification ensures reliability while maintaining a relatively simple update execution process.
2Reliability
If configuration information is collected and verified from all ECUs, then configuration compatibility is ensured, but communication time and data transmission increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary configuration information from each ECU - specifically identification information and version information - rather than transmitting complete ECU datasets. This selective extraction minimizes communication overhead and data transmission time while still providing sufficient information for compatibility verification against the approved configuration information lists stored at the center device.
3Measurement precision
If configuration information lists are stored and compared at the center device, then configuration accuracy is improved, but information storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by organizing approved configuration information lists according to vehicle types. Each vehicle type has its specific approved configuration list stored at the center device, allowing precise verification tailored to the particular vehicle model. This approach ensures high verification accuracy for each vehicle type while avoiding the need to store all possible ECU configuration combinations across all vehicle types, thus optimizing storage requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle information communication system including a center device and an in-vehicle device is provided. When pieces of configuration information regarding configurations of respective devices are received from electronic control units, the in-vehicle device transmits a configuration information list including the pieces of configuration information to the center device. The center device includes a configuration information storage unit storing the configuration information list approved with respect a vehicle type, compares the configuration information list received from the in-vehicle device with the configuration information list stored in the configuration information storage unit. When the center device determines that the configuration information list received from the in-vehicle device is disapproved, the center device transmits a presence of abnormality to the in-vehicle device.