Vehicle Software Update Scheduling by State and Situation Conditions

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing software update systems for vehicles struggle to determine appropriate situations for updating vehicle control units, leading to potential safety issues and inconveniences.

Innovation Solution

A software update management device and method that includes a storage unit for update recommendation information associated with vehicle control units, recommending updates based on vehicle and situation conditions, ensuring updates are performed in optimal scenarios.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If software update is performed without considering vehicle conditions and situation conditions, then update processing can be started quickly, but safety may be compromised and inconveniences may occur

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovesafetyVSAvoidupdate determination complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-defining update recommendation information including vehicle conditions and situation conditions before actual update determination. The management ECU stores these conditions in advance and automatically compares current state against them, resolving the contradiction by preparing safety criteria beforehand rather than creating complexity during real-time decision making.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The management ECU autonomously determines whether update conditions are met by automatically comparing current vehicle and situation conditions against stored update recommendation information. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for complex manual evaluation processes while ensuring safety criteria are consistently applied, thus improving reliability without proportionally increasing operational complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

2Reliability

If update determination requires comprehensive vehicle conditions and situation conditions, then safety is improved, but determination difficulty increases

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovesafetyVSAvoiddetermination difficulty

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The update determination process is segmented into distinct components: vehicle conditions (ignition state, hybrid system state) and situation conditions (update execution permission, communication availability). By dividing the comprehensive safety check into these manageable segments, the system maintains high reliability through thorough evaluation while reducing overall determination difficulty through structured organization.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system transforms the abstract concept of 'safety determination' into concrete parameter comparisons by defining specific vehicle conditions (ignition on/off, hybrid system on/off) and situation conditions (update execution permission, communication status). This parameterization makes the determination process more measurable and less difficult while maintaining comprehensive safety coverage.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Productivity

If update is performed without considering vehicle state, then update processing can be executed promptly, but vehicle functions may be disrupted

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveupdate execution speedVSAvoidvehicle function stability

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adjusts update execution based on real-time vehicle conditions and situation conditions. Rather than using a static update schedule, the management ECU continuously monitors whether current conditions meet the stored update recommendation criteria, allowing prompt execution when conditions are favorable while preventing disruptions when conditions are unfavorable, thus balancing productivity and reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentUS20250304090A1Software update management device and software update management method

Publication Date: 2025.10.02 HONDA MOTOR CO LTD

AI summary

A software update management device that includes: a storage unit configured to store update recommendation information including conditions for recommending update of software of vehicle control units mounted on a vehicle, the update recommendation information being associated with the vehicle control units; and a recommendation processing unit configured to recommend update of the software based on the conditions in the update recommendation information. The conditions in the update recommendation information include a vehicle condition regarding a state of the vehicle and a situation condition indicating a situation suited for updating the software.