Apparatus and method for programming motor vehicle electronic control units
First Claim
1. An apparatus for programming a plurality of electronic control units of a vehicle, each electronic control unit being coupled to at least one device within the vehicle, and each electronic control unit being adapted to control the functioning of the device connected thereto in response to a software program stored in a memory of the electronic control unit, the apparatus comprising:
- a host module positioned within the vehicle, said host module being coupled to each of the electronic control units, and said host module including a memory that stores software programs to be downloaded for controlling the functioning of the devices;
a software down load enabler included in said host module, said software down load enabler being coupled to said memory of said host module, and said software down load enabler being responsive to a control signal to cause said host module to download at least one of said software programs from said memory thereof so that the program can be stored in the memory of at least one of the electronic control units; and
a software down load initiator selectively coupled to said software down load enabler, said software down load initiator providing said control signal to said down load enabler to initiate said download of said software program from said memory of said host module to the memory of each electronic control unit so that each electronic control unit can control the functioning of the device connected thereto.
13 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatuses are provided for programming a plurality of Electronic Control Units (ECUs) for controlling devices in a motor vehicle. A host module positioned within the vehicle is coupled to each of the ECUs. The host module stores the software programs to be downloaded to the ECUs. A software down load enabler included in the host module is responsive to a radio frequency control signal to cause said host module to download the software programs to the ECUs. A software down load initiator is located external to the vehicle. The software down load initiator is selectively coupled to the software down load enabler. The software down load initiator provides the control signal to initiate the download of the software programs from the host module to each ECU so that each ECU can control the functioning of a device connected thereto.
64 Citations
21 Claims
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1. An apparatus for programming a plurality of electronic control units of a vehicle, each electronic control unit being coupled to at least one device within the vehicle, and each electronic control unit being adapted to control the functioning of the device connected thereto in response to a software program stored in a memory of the electronic control unit, the apparatus comprising:
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a host module positioned within the vehicle, said host module being coupled to each of the electronic control units, and said host module including a memory that stores software programs to be downloaded for controlling the functioning of the devices;
a software down load enabler included in said host module, said software down load enabler being coupled to said memory of said host module, and said software down load enabler being responsive to a control signal to cause said host module to download at least one of said software programs from said memory thereof so that the program can be stored in the memory of at least one of the electronic control units; and
a software down load initiator selectively coupled to said software down load enabler, said software down load initiator providing said control signal to said down load enabler to initiate said download of said software program from said memory of said host module to the memory of each electronic control unit so that each electronic control unit can control the functioning of the device connected thereto. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for programming a plurality of electronic control units of a vehicle, each electronic control unit being coupled to at least one device within the vehicle, and each electronic control unit being adapted to control the functioning of the device connected thereto in response to a software program stored in a memory thereof, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing a host module;
coupling said host module to each of the electronic control units;
including a memory in said host module for storing software programs for controlling the functioning of the devices;
further including a software down load enabler in said host module;
arranging said software down load enabler to be responsive to a control signal to cause said host module to download at least one of said software programs from said memory thereof to the memory of each of the electronic control units;
providing a software down load initiator;
selectively coupling said software down load initiator to said software down load enabler when said down load is to be initiated; and
arranging said software down load initiator to provide said control signal to said down load enabler to initiate said download of said software program to the memory of each electronic control unit so that each electronic control unit can control the functioning of the device connected thereto. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification