Inspection apparatus, inspection system, and inspection method

• US 10,127,740 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2015
• Issued: 11/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Astemo Ltd. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Morita, Nobuyoshi, Kayashima, Makoto, Hakuta, Keisuke, Owada, Toru
• Primary Examiner(s): Shafi, Muhammad
• Application Number:
  US15/308,954
• Publication Number:
  US 20170076516A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,328 Days
• Field of Search: 701 314
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/02 electric constitutive elements
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/021 Means for detecting failure or malfunction
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/45 External transmission of data to or from the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/02 Ensuring safety in case of control system failures, e.g. by diagnosing, circumventing or fixing failures
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 17/007 Wheeled or endless-tracked vehicles G01M17/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0235 based on a comparison with predetermined threshold or range, e.g. "classical methods", carried out during normal operation; threshold adaptation or choice; when or how to compare with the threshold
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0256 injecting test signals and analyzing monitored process response, e.g. injecting the test signal while interrupting the normal operation of the monitored system; superimposing the test signal onto a control signal during normal operation of the monitored system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0808 Diagnosing performance data testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005

Abstract

There are provided an inspection apparatus, an inspection system, and an inspection method capable of inspecting operation of a control device, accurately, during use.

An inspection apparatus configured to inspect operation of an ECU coupled to automotive networks, includes an inspection performance control unit configured to transmit two pieces of data including operation-inspection data and security-check data used for inspecting the operation of the ECU, to the ECU, and configured to receive data output from the ECU. The operation-inspection data is data previously generated based on design information of the ECU. The security-check data is data including part or entirety of the operation-inspection data replaced with random data.

Claims

1. An inspection apparatus configured to inspect operation of an ECU coupled to automotive networks, the inspection apparatus comprising:

an inspection performance control unit configured to transmit two pieces of data including operation-inspection data and security-check data used for inspecting the operation of the ECU, to the ECU, and configured to receive data output from the ECU,

wherein the operation-inspection data is data previously generated based on design information of the ECU,

the security-check data is data including part or entirety of the operation-inspection data replaced with random data, and

reception of the operation-inspection data and the security-check data at the ECU is configured to cause the ECU to operate according to the operation-inspection data and the security-check data and to output inspection data.

2. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the inspection performance control unit receives the operation-inspection data and the security-check data from an external terminal, and transmits inspection performance result information including the inspection data output from the ECU, to the external terminal.

3. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

estimate output data estimated to be output from the ECU in a case where the security-check data is transmitted to the ECU,

wherein the inspection performance control unit compares the inspection data output from the ECU and the estimated output data, analyzes the inspection data output from the ECU, determines whether the operation of the ECU is normal, based on an analysis result, and inspects the operation of the ECU.

4. The inspection apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the inspection performance control unit transmits an inspection result of the operation of the ECU, to an external terminal.

5. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the inspection performance control unit confirms a vehicle state of a motor vehicle including the ECU, and, only in a case where the vehicle state is on standby, transmits the two pieces of data including the operation-inspection data and the security-check data, to the ECU.

6. An inspection system configured to inspect operation of an ECU coupled to automotive networks, the inspection system comprising:

a service providing server including;

an inspection plan unit configured to plan a schedule for inspecting the operation of the ECU;

an inspection data generation unit configured to generate two pieces of data including operation-inspection data and security-check data used for inspecting the operation of the ECU; and

an inspection control unit configured to transmit the generated two pieces of data to an exterior in accordance with the planned schedule; and

a gateway configured to transmit, in a case where the two pieces of data including the operation-inspection data and the security-check data transmitted from the service providing server, are received, the received two pieces of data to the ECU, and the gateway is further configured to transmit, in a case where inspection data output from the ECU is received, inspection performance result information including the received inspection data to the service providing server,

wherein the operation-inspection data is data previously generated based on design information of the ECU,

the security-check data is data including part or entirety of the operation-inspection data replaced with random data, and

reception of the operation-inspection data and the security-check data at the ECU is configured to cause the ECU to operate according to the operation-inspection data and the security-check data and to output inspection data.

7. The inspection system according to claim 6,

wherein the service providing server is configured to:

estimate output data estimated to be output from the ECU in a case where the security-check data is transmitted to the ECU; and

an inspection result analysis unit configured to compare, in a case where the inspection performance result information transmitted from the gateway is received, the inspection data output from the ECU included in the received inspection performance result information and the estimate output data, analyze the inspection data output from the ECU, and determine whether the operation of the ECU is normal, based on an analysis result, and configured to inspect the operation of the ECU.

8. The inspection system according to claim 6,

wherein the service providing server includes:

field structure information indicating correspondence between CAN-ID being identification information of the automotive networks to which the ECU belongs and a plurality of detailed fields being constituent elements of a data field storing the security-check data; and

field dependence information indicating correspondence between the CAN-ID and dependence of the detailed fields,

wherein, when generating the security-check data, the inspection data generation unit refers to the field structure information, analyzes structures of the detailed fields, specifies segments of the detailed fields, refers to the field dependence information, specifies dependence of the segments of the detailed fields, allocates and stores the random data into any or entirety of the detailed fields based on the specified segments of the detailed fields and the specified dependence of the segments, and generates the security-check data.

9. The inspection system according to claim 6, further comprising:

a terminal having a communication function,

wherein the service providing server transmits the inspection result to the terminal having a communication function.

10. An inspection method of inspecting operation of an ECU coupled to automotive networks, the inspection method comprising:

a first step of planning a schedule for inspecting the operation of the ECU, by an inspection plan unit;

a second step of generating two pieces of data including operation-inspection data and security-check data used for inspecting the operation of the ECU, by an inspection data generation unit;

a third step of transmitting the generated two pieces of data to an exterior, by an inspection control unit, in accordance with the planned schedule;

a fourth step of transmitting by a gateway, in a case where the two pieces of data including the operation-inspection data and the security-check data transmitted from a service providing server, are received, the received two pieces of data to the ECU; and

a fifth step of transmitting inspection performance result information including inspection data received from the ECU to the service providing server,

wherein the operation-inspection data is data previously generated based on design information of the ECU,

the security-check data is data including part or entirety of the operation-inspection data replaced with random data, and

reception of the operation-inspection data and the security-check data at the ECU is configured to cause the ECU to operate according to the operation-inspection data and the security-check data and to output the inspection data.

11. The inspection method according to claim 10, further comprising:

a fifth step of inspecting the operation of the ECU, in a case where the inspection performance result information transmitted from the gateway is received, by comparing the inspection data output from the ECU included in the received inspection performance result information and estimate output data, analyzing the inspection data output from the ECU, and determining whether the operation of the ECU is normal, based on an analysis result,

wherein the service providing server generates the estimated output data to be output from the ECU in a case where the security-check data is transmitted to the ECU.

12. The inspection method according to claim 10, further comprising:

a sixth step of generating the security-check data, in a case where the security-check data is generated, by referring to field structure information, analyzing structures of detailed fields, specifying segments of the detailed fields, referring to field dependence information, specifying dependence of the segments of the detailed fields, and allocating and storing the random data into any or entirety of the detailed fields based on the specified segments of the detailed fields and the specified dependence of the segments, by the inspection data generation unit,

wherein the service providing server includes;

the field structure information indicating correspondence between CAN-ID being identification information of the automotive networks to which the ECU belongs and the plurality of detailed fields being constituent elements of a data field storing the security-check data; and

the field dependence information indicating correspondence between the CAN-ID and the dependence of the detailed fields.

13. The inspection method according to claim 10, further comprising:

a seventh step of transmitting the inspection result to a terminal having a communication function by the service providing server.