OTA Center ECU Software Version Restoration Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
When an electronic control unit (ECU) is replaced in a vehicle, there is a risk of software version mismatches among multiple ECUs, leading to potential operational issues due to non-conforming version combinations, which need to be addressed to ensure proper vehicle functionality.
Innovation Solution
A center and management method that communicate with an OTA master to receive identification information about ECU software versions, determine if they are implementation management versions, and perform restoration control to return non-conforming versions to the correct implementation management versions, ensuring consistency across ECUs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of repair
If ECU replacement is performed to improve vehicle maintenance flexibility, then ease of repair is improved, but software version consistency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by having the OTA master report ECU software version information to the OTA center. The center then determines whether the software version is appropriate based on this feedback, and can instruct restoration to correct versions, creating a closed-loop control system that maintains version consistency across replaced ECUs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by determining the appropriateness of ECU software versions before actual use. The OTA center proactively identifies non-conforming version combinations and initiates restoration control before the vehicle encounters operational issues due to version mismatches.
2Reliability
If ECU software versions are strictly controlled to ensure vehicle operation reliability, then reliability is improved, but adaptability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by managing software version constraints specifically for ECU combinations that affect vehicle operation reliability, while allowing flexibility for individual ECU updates. The center determines appropriateness based on the specific combination of ECU versions rather than imposing uniform restrictions on all ECUs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements dynamics by allowing ECU software versions to be flexible and updatable, while dynamically determining whether specific version combinations are appropriate. The OTA center can adaptively manage version consistency based on the current state of ECUs in the vehicle, rather than using static version locking.
3Reliability
If software version checking is performed to prevent non-conforming combinations, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses an intermediary approach by introducing the OTA center as a mediator between the OTA master and ECU version management. The center handles the complex task of determining version appropriateness and coordinating restorations, while the OTA master and ECUs follow simpler protocols for reporting and executing updates.
Data Source
AI summary
A center configured to communicate with an OTA master configured to control software updating of a plurality of electronic control units installed in a vehicle includes: a communication device configured to receive, from the OTA master, identification information; a storage device storing propriety determination information used in propriety determination of determining whether the version of software implemented in each of the electronic control units is an implementation management version; and a processor configured to perform the propriety determination based on the identification information and the propriety determination information, and perform, by communicating with the OTA master, restoration control on at least one of the electronic control units regarding which a determination has been made that the version of the software is not the implementation management version.