Program update control system and program update control method

• US 10,496,393 B2
• Filed: 10/27/2017
• Issued: 12/03/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Okuyama, Hiroshi, Matsui, Toshinori, Saito, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Morshed, Hossain M
• Application Number:
  US15/795,399
• Publication Number:
  US 20180136924A1
• Time in Patent Office: 767 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/57 Certifying or maintaining trusted computer platforms, e.g. secure boots or power-downs, version controls, system software checks, secure updates or assessing vulnerabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57

Abstract

A first control device includes a data processing controller that generates and transfers information indicating a current operating condition of the first control device and information indicating a current operating condition of a vehicle, and transfers a most recent version of a security program, to which the program is to be updated, to a second control device, while the second control device, having received the most recent version of the security program from the first control device, specifies the current operating condition of the vehicle on the basis of the information obtained from the first control device, and when the specified current operating condition matches a vehicle operating condition in which processing for updating the program to the most recent version of the security program is possible, executes processing for updating the program to the most recent version of the security program.

Claims

1. A vehicle program update method of a vehicle controller, the vehicle program update method comprising:

receiving, by a first controller from among a plurality of controllers in a vehicle, an update for a security program that is being executed by one of the plurality of controllers;

in response to the receiving of the update of the security program, executing, by the first controller, following operations;

predicting, a travel condition of the vehicle at a preset time in the future, based on past driving history, wherein the travel condition includes a state of the vehicle which indicates that the vehicle is stopped or the vehicle is traveling;

comparing the predicted travel condition with a required condition for applying the update;

in response to a match of the predicted travel condition and the required condition for the update, checking whether a number of times an installation of the update was attempted in the past and a time by which the update needs to be installed are within ranges preset by a user;

in response to the number of times the installation of the update was attempted and the time by which the update needs to be installed are both satisfied, transmitting the update to a gateway controller;

in response to receiving the update, transmitting the update to a target controller, by the gateway controller, wherein the target controller is one or more of the plurality of controllers which install the update of the security program; and

in response to receiving the update, installing the update of the security program and transmitting the results of the update to the gateway controller, by the target controller, which in turn transmitting the results to the first controller.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

an operating state of the vehicle is one of a moving state, a stop state, and a charging state,

the method further comprises;

receiving first information indicating an operating state of the gateway controller, and determining whether the first information corresponds to second information indicating the operating state of the vehicle, and

the first information indicates whether the first controller executes at least one operation associated with one of;

the moving state of the vehicle, the stop state of the vehicle, and the charging state of the vehicle.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the second information is obtained by the gateway controller from data detected by at least one second controller of the vehicle connected to the gateway controller.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the at least one second controller comprises a driving system controller which transmits a speed of the vehicle to the gateway controller,

wherein the second information comprises the speed of the vehicle obtained from the driving system controller,

wherein the first controller comprises a body system controller, and

wherein the required condition of the vehicle for the update of the security program of the body system controller is a moving state of the vehicle.

5. A vehicle program update system of a vehicle, the vehicle program update system comprising a plurality of controllers,

wherein the plurality of controllers comprises a first controller, a gateway controller, a target controller,

wherein the first controller is configured to:

receive an update for a security program that is being executed by one of the plurality of controllers;

in response to the receiving of the update of the security program, executes following operations;

predicting, a travel condition of the vehicle at a preset time in the future, based on past driving history, wherein the travel condition includes a state of the vehicle which indicates that the vehicle is stopped or the vehicle is traveling;

comparing the predicted travel condition with a required condition for applying the update;

in response to a match of the predicted travel condition and the required condition for the update, checking whether a number of times an installation of the update was attempted in the past and a time by which the update needs to be installed are within ranges preset by a user;

in response to the number of times the installation of the update was attempted and the time by which the update needs to be installed are both satisfied, transmitting the update to the gateway controller;

wherein the gateway controller is configured to;

in response to receiving the update, transmitting the update to the target controller, wherein the target controller is one or more of the plurality of controllers which install the update of the security program, and

wherein the target controller is configured to;

in response to receiving the update, installing the update of the security program and transmitting the results of the update to the gateway controller, and in turn transmitting the results to the first controller.

6. The vehicle program update system of claim 5, wherein

an operating state of the vehicle is one of a moving state, a stop state, and a charging state,

the first controller receives first information indicating an operating state of the gateway controller, and determines whether the first information corresponds to second information indicating the operating state of the vehicle, and

the first information indicates whether the first controller executes at least one operation associated with one of:

the moving state of the vehicle, the stop state of the vehicle, and the charging state of the vehicle.

7. The vehicle program update system of claim 6, wherein the gateway controller is further configured to obtain the second information from data detected by at least one second controller of the vehicle connected to the gateway controller.

8. The vehicle program update system of claim 7, wherein the at least one second controller comprises a driving system controller which transmits a speed of the vehicle to the gateway controller,

wherein the second information comprises the speed of the vehicle obtained from the driving system controller,

wherein the first controller comprises a body system controller, and

wherein the required condition of the vehicle for the update of the security program of the body system controller is a moving state of the vehicle.