Vehicle control system

• US 20060259208A1
• Filed: 05/02/2006
• Published: 11/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Ota, Atsushi
• Application Number:
  US11/415,313
• Publication Number:
  US 20060259208A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/1
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 16/22 Safety or protection circuits preventing unauthorised or accidental access to memory cells
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 16/225 Preventing erasure, programming or reading when power supply voltages are outside the required ranges
• 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

Abstract

A vehicle control system for a vehicle is disclosed. The vehicle control system includes a communication network and a plurality of control units in communication with each other via the communication network. At least one of the control units includes a nonvolatile memory device with a write environment determination program written thereon. This control unit receives vehicle data from at least one other control unit. The write environment determination program is run to determine whether a writing environment is appropriate based on the vehicle data, and a writing process of the control program commences when it is determined that the writing environment is appropriate.

Claims

1. A vehicle control system for a vehicle comprising:

a communication network; and

a plurality of control units in communication with each other via the communication network;

wherein at least one of the plurality of control units includes a nonvolatile memory device with a write environment determination program written thereon;

wherein the at least one of the plurality of control units receives vehicle data from at least one other control unit;

wherein the write environment determination program is run to determine whether a writing environment is appropriate based on the vehicle data, and a writing process of the control program commences when it is determined that the writing environment is appropriate.

2. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one control unit receives redundant vehicle data.

3. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one control unit again runs the write environment determination program after the writing process has commenced.

4. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, further comprising a display for displaying the status of the writing process.

5. The vehicle control system according to claims 1, wherein the at least one control unit includes a control program and transmits version information of the control program through the communication network, and wherein at least one other of the plurality of control units collects the version information to determine compatibility of the control program.

6. A vehicle control system for a vehicle comprising:

a communication network; and

a plurality of control units in communication with each other via the communication network;

wherein a first control unit of the plurality of control units includes a nonvolatile memory device with a control program written thereon and a write program written thereon, wherein the write program is used for a writing process of the control program;

wherein a second control unit of the plurality of control units includes a write determination program written thereon, the write determination program is run to determine whether a writing environment is appropriate; and

wherein the first control unit commences the writing process of the control program when the second control unit determines that the writing environment is appropriate.

7. The vehicle control system according to claim 6, wherein the second control unit again runs the write environment determination program after the writing process has commenced.

8. The vehicle control system according to claim 6, further comprising a display for displaying the status of the writing process.

9. The vehicle control system according to claims 6, wherein the first control unit transmits version information of the control program through the communication network and at least one other of the plurality of control units collects the version information to determine compatibility of the control program.

10. A method for writing a control program of a vehicle control system, wherein the vehicle control system comprises a plurality of control units, the method comprising:

acquiring vehicle data by a control unit;

transmitting the vehicle data to another control unit;

determining whether a write environment is appropriate based on the vehicle data;

commencing a writing process of the control program when it is determined that the write environment is appropriate.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein transmitting comprises transmitting redundant vehicle data to the other control unit.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein, after commencing the writing process, the method further comprises determining whether the write environment is appropriate.

13. The method of claim 10 further comprising displaying the status of the writing process.

14. The method of claim 10 further comprising transmitting version information of the control program, and determining compatibility of the control program based on the version information.