VEHICLE GATEWAY DEVICE, A COMMUNICATION DATA CONTROL METHOD AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT THEREFOR

• US 20080304502A1
• Filed: 06/05/2008
• Published: 12/11/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sumitomo Wiring Systems Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sumitomo Wiring Systems Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsuo, Tomoki
• Granted Patent: US 8,077,733 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/402
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/005 Moving wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 Gateway arrangements

Abstract

A vehicle gateway device is provided with a relay function unit (11) for relaying communication data to a bus line (BL2) if communication data flowing on a bus line (BL1) is relay data to be relayed to a bus line (BL2) and a (NM) function unit (21) for performing a specified network management process in accordance with (NM) data if the communication data flowing on the bus line (BL1) is (NM) data transmitted for the implementation of an (NM) function. The relay function unit (11) is constructed by an (ASIC) and the (NM) function unit (21) is constructed by a microcomputer.

Claims

1. A vehicle gateway device (1) to be connected with a bus line (BL), on which communication data flow, comprising:

a relay function unit (11 ) for relaying communication data if communication data flowing on the bus line (BL) is relay data, and

a network management function unit (21) for performing a network management process in accordance with network management data if communication data flowing on the bus line (BL) is network management data transmitted for the implementation of a network management function,

wherein;

the relay function unit (11) is constructed by an application specific integrated circuit, and

the network management function unit (21) is constructed by a microcomputer.

2. The vehicle gateway device of claim 1, wherein the relay function unit (11) includes a first transmitting/receiving section (111;

113) for receiving communication data flowing on the bus line (BL) and transmitting the communication data to the bus line (BL), a judging section (112) for judging whether the communication data received by the first transmitting/receiving section (111;

113) is the relay data or the network management data, and a notifying section (114) for notifying to the network management function unit (21) if the judging section (112) judges the reception of the network management data and/or the first transmitting/receiving section (111;

113) relaying the relay data if the judging section (112) judges the reception of the relay data.

3. The vehicle gateway device of claim 2, wherein the network management function unit (21) includes a second transmitting/receiving section (211;

213) for receiving communication data flowing on the bus line (BL) and transmitting the communication data to the bus line (BL), and a processing section (212) for performing the network management process in accordance with the network management data, the second transmitting/receiving section (211;

213) outputting the network management data to the processing section (212) if the reception of the network management data is notified from the notifying section (114) and the processing section (212) performing the network management process in accordance with the network management data outputted from the second transmitting/receiving section (211;

213).

4. The vehicle gateway device of claim 3, wherein the second transmitting/receiving section (211;

213) discards the received relay data if the reception of the relay data is notified from the notifying section (114).

5. The vehicle gateway device of claim 1, wherein the relay function unit (11) includes a first transmitting/receiving section (111113) for receiving communication data flowing on the bus line (BL) and transmitting the communication data to the bus line (BL), a judging section (115;

116) for judging whether the communication data received by the first transmitting/receiving section (111;

113) is the relay data or the network management data, and at least one queue (117a;

117b) for storing the relay data and the network management data.

6. The vehicle gateway device of claim 5, wherein the judging section (115) outputs the communication data judged to be the relay data to the queue (117a;

117b) while outputting the communication data judged to be the network management data to the network management function unit (21), and the network management function unit (21) performs the network management process in accordance with the network management data outputted from the judging section (115).

7. The vehicle gateway device of claim 5, wherein the first transmitting/receiving section (111) successively transmits the communication data stored in the queue (117a;

117b) to the bus line (BL).

8. The vehicle gateway device of claim 5, wherein the queue (117a;

117b) comprises a First In First Out (FIFO) memory for storing the relay data and the network management data to be transmitted from the transmitting/receiving section (111).

9. The vehicle gateway device of claim 1, wherein the communication data includes a label portion (F1) for storing data indicating the network management data and data indicating the type of the relay data.

10. A communication data control method for controlling communication data flowing on a bus line (BL), comprising the following steps:

relaying communication data by means of a relay function unit (11) constructed by an application specific integrated circuit, if communication data flowing on the bus line (BL) is relay data, and

performing a network management process in accordance with network management data by means of a network management function unit (21) constructed by a microcomputer if communication data flowing on the bus line (BL) is network management data transmitted for the implementation of a network management function.

11. The communication data control method of claim 10, wherein the relaying communication data comprises:

receiving communication data flowing on the bus line (BL) and transmitting the communication data to the bus line (BL),

judging whether the communication data received is the relay data or the network management data, and

notifying to the network management function unit (21) if the reception of the network management data is judged and/or relaying the relay data if the reception of the relay data is judged.

12. The communication data control method of claim 11, wherein the performing a network management process comprises:

receiving communication data flowing on the bus line (BL) and transmitting the communication data to the bus line (BL), and

performing the network management process in accordance with the network management data, the network management data being output to a processing section (212) in order to be processed if the reception of the network management data is notified and the processing section (212) performing the network management process in accordance with the network management data outputted.

13. The communication data control method of claim 12, wherein the received relay data is discarded if the reception of the relay data is notified.

14. The communication data control method of claim 10, wherein the relaying communication data comprises:

receiving communication data flowing on the bus line (BL) and transmitting the communication data to the bus line (BL),

judging whether the communication data received is the relay data or the network management data, and

storing in at least one queue (117a;

117b) the relay data and the network management data.

15. The communication data control method of claim 14, wherein:

the communication data judged to be the relay data are output to the queue (117a;

117b) while outputting the communication data judged to be the network management data to the network management function unit (21),

the network management function unit (21) performs the network management process in accordance with the network management data outputted.

16. The communication data control method of claim 15, wherein the communication data stored in the queue (117a;

117b) are successively transmitted to the bus line (BL).

17. The communication data control method of claim 10, wherein the communication data includes a label portion (F1) for storing data indicating the network management data and data indicating the type of the relay data.

18. A computer program product comprising computer readable instructions which, when loaded and executed on a suitable system, perform the communication data control method comprising:

relaying communication data by means of a relay function unit (11) constructed by an application specific integrated circuit, if communication data flowing on the bus line (BL) is relay data, and

performing a network management process in accordance with network management data by means of a network management function unit (21) constructed by a microcomputer if communication data flowing on the bus line (BL) is network management data transmitted for the implementation of a network management function.