Vehicle Software Update Lockout During Battery Charging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing software update systems for vehicles, such as those described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-082648, require the user to be present to ensure security, making it difficult to update software efficiently and securely.
Innovation Solution
A software update management system that prohibits vehicles with a travel motor and battery from transitioning to an operable state during software updates, ensuring the vehicle is inoperable by maintaining the parking brake and restricting shift ranges to a parking state while the battery is charged, thereby updating the software without allowing travel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the user must be nearby the vehicle to ensure security during program rewriting, then security is improved, but update opportunities are reduced and productivity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary verification by detecting whether the vehicle is in a state where travel is prohibited before initiating software updates. This preliminary check ensures security conditions are met beforehand, allowing updates to proceed automatically without requiring user presence, thus resolving the contradiction between security and update opportunities
Solution Approach 2:
The software update system performs self-service by automatically detecting vehicle state, determining update eligibility, and executing updates without requiring user intervention or presence. The system serves itself by monitoring its own operational conditions and making autonomous decisions about when to perform updates, improving both security and productivity
2Reliability
If software updates are performed while the vehicle is inoperable and battery is charging, then security is improved, but vehicle availability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of vehicle state (whether travel is prohibited) before initiating updates. By checking conditions in advance and only proceeding when security criteria are met, the system ensures safe updates while minimizing impact on vehicle availability
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts update execution based on real-time vehicle state. Rather than forcing updates during inoperable periods or preventing updates entirely, the system flexibly determines optimal update timing based on whether the vehicle is currently in a prohibited-travel state, balancing security requirements with vehicle availability
3Reliability
If the vehicle is prohibited from transitioning to operable state during updates, then safety is improved, but update timing flexibility deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of whether the vehicle is in a prohibited-travel state before initiating updates. This advance checking ensures safety conditions are met while providing flexibility to schedule updates at appropriate times when the vehicle is naturally inoperable, resolving the contradiction between safety and timing flexibility
Data Source
AI summary
A software update management device that includes: a function of updating software of a vehicle control unit loaded on a vehicle, which is targeted at the vehicle that includes a travel motor as a driving source and a battery, and makes transition between states including a first state where the travel motor is inoperable and a second state where the travel motor is operable. When the vehicle is in a stopped state or the first state and the battery is being charged, the vehicle is prohibited to make transition to the second state and the software of the vehicle control unit is updated.