Apparatus for administrating communication among on-vehicle electronic control units

• US 20080027588A1
• Filed: 07/31/2007
• Published: 01/31/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Fukui, Ryusuke, Noda, Waka, Shidai, Takahiro, Miyamoto, Seiji
• Granted Patent: US 7,940,689 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/547 Remote procedure calls [RPC]; Web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2001/0094 Bus
• 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

An apparatus is provided for managing communication among a plurality of process means respectively operating on given control programs realizing functions necessary for a vehicle. The plural process means includes a first process means issuing requesting messages for requesting a function and a second process means receiving the requesting message, performing a process requested by each requesting massage, and sending back a response indicating results of the process to the first process means. In the apparatus, storage means stores therein, of the requesting massages issued, only response-waiting messages issued by the first process means and received by the second process means. A measuring component measures an elapse of time from a time when the request stored in the storage is received by the second process means. A determining component determines whether or not the elapse of time measured by the measuring component reaches a preset value.

Claims

1. An apparatus for managing communication among a plurality of process means respectively operating on given control programs realizing functions necessary for a vehicle, the plurality of process means including a first process means issuing requesting messages for requesting a function and a second process means receiving the requesting message issued by the first process means, performing a process requested by each of the requesting massages, and sending back a response indicating results of the process to the first process means, the apparatus comprising:

storage means for storing therein, of the requesting massages issued, only response-waiting messages issued by the first process means and received by the second process means, wherein the response-waiting messages stored in the storage require that the second process means perform the process requested by the response-waiting massages and send back responses to the first process means, but the responses are not sent back from the second process means to the first process means yet;

a measuring component measuring an elapse of time from a time when the request stored in the storage is received by the second process means; and

a determining component determining whether or not the elapse of time measured by the measuring component reaches a preset value.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising

a performing component performing a predetermined process when the determining component determines that the elapse of time measured by the measuring component has reached the preset value.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the predetermined process performed by the performing component is notification the first process means of being an error to make the first process means give up waiting for the response in reply to the massage issued by the first process means and received by the second process means.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the storage means is configured to store information indicative of a sequence of the response-waiting messages stored in the storage means;

the measuring component is configured to measure, in the sequence, the elapse of time for each of the response-waiting massages stored in the storage means; and

the determining component is configured to determine, in the sequence, whether or not the elapse of time measured for each of the response-waiting massages stored in the storage means reaches the preset value.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the information indicative of the sequence is an order in which the second process means receives the response-waiting messages from the first process means.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the preset value is defined for every type of the requesting massages and

the information indicative of the sequence is information indicative of a sequence of the response-waiting messages each having the elapse of time which is closer to the preset value.

7. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the storage means is configured to store the information indicative of the sequence in a data structure with a two-way list.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein

the data structure with the two-way list includes an area in which data indicative of the number of response-waiting massages stored in the storage means is recorded, an area in which an Index identifying a response-waiting massage standing at a forefront of the sequence is recorded, and first and second pointer areas which are set respectively for every identifier of each requesting massage,

wherein, in the first pointer area corresponding to the index of each response-waiting massage, an index of a response-waiting massage preceding the corresponding response-waiting massage by one in the sequence is recorded, while, in the second pointer area corresponding to the index of each response-waiting massage, an index of a response-waiting massage following the corresponding response-waiting massage by one in the sequence is recorded.

9. A control system comprising

a plurality of process means respectively operating on given control programs realizing functions necessary for a vehicle, the plurality of process means including a first process means issuing requesting messages for requesting a function and a second process means receiving the requesting message issued by the first process means, performing a process requested by each of the requesting massages, and sending back a response indicating results of the process to the first process means;

and

an apparatus for managing communication among the plurality of process means, the communication including communication of the requesting messages and the responses,

wherein the apparatus comprising;

storage means for storing therein, of the requesting massages issued, only response-waiting messages issued by the first process means and received by the second process means, wherein the response-waiting messages stored in the storage require that the second process means perform the process requested by the response-waiting massages and send back responses to the first process means, but the responses are not sent back from the second process means to the first process means yet;

a measuring component measuring an elapse of time from a time when the request stored in the storage is received by the second process means; and

a determining component determining whether or not the elapse of time measured by the measuring component reaches a preset value.

10. The control system of claim 9, further comprising

a performing component performing a predetermined process when the determining component determines that the elapse of time measured by the measuring component has reached the preset value.

11. The control system of claim 10, wherein the predetermined process performed by the performing component is notification the first process means of being an error to make the first process means give up waiting for the response in reply to the massage issued by the first process means and received by the second process means.

12. The control system according to claim 10, wherein the first process means is provided by a first electronic control unit mounted in the vehicle and the second process means is provided by a second electronic control unit mounted in the vehicle, the first electronic control unit being different from the second electronic control unit,

the communication managing apparatus is arranged in the first electronic control unit, and

the first and second electronic control units are communicably connected with each other via a network built in the vehicle such that the requesting messages and the responses are transmitted and received via the network.

13. The control system according to claim 12, wherein

the first process means is provided by a first electronic control unit mounted in the vehicle and the second process means is provided by a second electronic control unit mounted in the vehicle, the first electronic control unit being different from the second electronic control unit,

the communication managing apparatus is arranged in the second electronic control unit, and

the first and second electronic control units are communicably connected with each other via a network built in the vehicle such that the requesting messages and the responses are transmitted and received via the network.

14. The control system of claim 12, wherein

the storage means is configured to store information indicative of a sequence of the response-waiting messages stored in the storage means;

the measuring component is configured to measure, in the sequence, the elapse of time for each of the response-waiting massages stored in the storage means; and

the determining component is configured to determine, in the sequence, whether or not the elapse of time measured for each of the response-waiting massages stored in the storage means reaches the preset value.

15. The control system of claim 14, wherein the information indicative of the sequence is an order in which the second process means receives the response-waiting messages from the first process means.

16. The control system of claim 14, wherein

the preset value is defined for every type of the requesting massages and

the information indicative of the sequence is information indicative of a sequence of the response-waiting messages each having the elapse of time which is closer to the preset value.

17. The control system of claim 14, wherein the storage means is configured to store the information Indicative of the sequence in a data structure with a two-way list.

18. The control system of claim 17, wherein

the data structure with the two-way list includes an area in which data indicative of the number of response-waiting massages stored in the storage means is recorded, an area in which an index identifying a response-waiting massage standing at a forefront of the sequence is recorded, and first and second pointer areas which are set respectively for every identifier of each requesting massage,

wherein, in the first pointer area corresponding to the index of each response-waiting massage, an index of a response-waiting massage preceding the corresponding response-waiting massage by one in the sequence is recorded, while, in the second pointer area corresponding to the index of each response-waiting massage, an index of a response-waiting massage following the corresponding response-waiting massage by one in the sequence is recorded.