Communication server switching controller

• US 20040162907A1
• Filed: 12/16/2003
• Published: 08/19/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Komatsu Lt.D
• Original Assignee: Komatsu Lt.D
• Inventors: Kouda, Toshihiko, Nakakoji, Yoshihiko
• Granted Patent: US 7,631,056 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

The server switching controller system of the present invention includes a first server (2) and a second server (3) connected to a common controller (30, 20) installed in a vehicle (50) via communication means (14, 15, 8, 9, 10, and 11) to freely communicate with each other with said first server (2) and said second server (3) each having a server ID and an address (ID1 and ID2) for identifying itself; and with the controller (30, 20) having a controller ID and an address ID3 corresponding to the first server ID or an address ID4 corresponding to the second server ID, respectively such that the controller (30, 20) in the vehicle 50 will be connected either to first server (2) or to the second server (3) based on the address of the first server (2) or second server (3) respectively and program means for switching the address setting in the controller to permit the controller to selectively communicate with either the first or second server so as to operate either in a normal mode or in an overwrite mode.

Claims

1. A server switching controller in which a first server 2 and a second server 3 are connected to a common communication controller 30, 20 installed in a machine or vehicle 50 via communication means 14, 15, 8, 9, 10, 11 to freely communicate with each other;

said first server 2 and said second server 3 each having a server ID and an address ID1, ID2 respectively, for identifying each server;

with said communication controller 30, 20 having a controller ID and an address ID3 corresponding to the ID of the first server 2 and an address 1D4 corresponding to the ID of the second server 3 such that the communication controller 30, 20 can communicate with the first server 2 when set at the address of the first server and can communicate with the second server when set at the address of the second server;

and program means for switching the address setting in said communication controller to permit the controller to selectively communicate with either said first server or said second server so as to operate either in a first mode or in a second mode.

2. The server switching controller as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first server 2 is a normal operation server 2 which transmits and receives data associated with machine and/or vehicle operating conditions to and from said controller 30, 20 during a normal mode of operation, and wherein said second server 3 is an overwriting server 3 that sends a new program to be written over the current program in the controller 30, 20 of the machine and/or vehicle when switched by said program means into an overwrite mode of operation.

3. The server switching controller as set forth in claim 2, wherein said program means includes means to identify a mismatch between the address and server ID numbers for reconnecting the controller to the first server 2.