ELECTRONIC CONTROL APPARATUS

• US 20090267733A1
• Filed: 04/21/2009
• Published: 10/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Teramura, Mikio, Umesaka, Takeo
• Granted Patent: US 8,223,002 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/5.610
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/045 by limiting or cutting the electrical supply to the propulsion unit
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/24 using electronic identifiers containing a code not memorised by the user

Abstract

Disclosed is an electronic control apparatus for a vehicle which includes: 1) first storage means for storing vehicle identification information unique to the vehicle; 2) second storage means for storing immobilizer identification information unique to the vehicle; 3) command receiving means for receiving, from an external control apparatus, an update command that commands the electronic control apparatus to update the vehicle identification information stored in the first storage means; and 4) information handling means for handling all the information stored in the first and second storage means. Moreover, in the electronic control apparatus, upon receipt of the update command by the command receiving means, the information handling means updates the immobilizer identification information stored in the second storage means as well as the vehicle identification information stored in the first storage means.

Claims

1. An electronic control apparatus for a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

first storage means for storing vehicle identification information unique to the vehicle;

second storage means for storing immobilizer identification information unique to the vehicle;

command receiving means for receiving, from an external control apparatus, an update command that commands the electronic control apparatus to update the vehicle identification information stored in the first storage means; and

information handling means for handling all the information stored in the first and second storage means,

wherein

upon receipt of the update command by the command receiving means, the information handling means updates the immobilizer identification information stored in the second storage means as well as the vehicle identification information stored in the first storage means.

2. The electronic control apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein upon receipt of the update command by the command receiving means, the information handling means performs a single information handling process to update both the vehicle identification information stored in the first storage means and the immobilizer identification information stored in the second storage means.

3. The electronic control apparatus as set forth in claim 2, further comprising information acquiring means for acquiring immobilizer identification information from another electronic control apparatus that is installed in the same vehicle as the electronic control apparatus,

wherein the information handling means updates the immobilizer identification information stored in the second storage means with the immobilizer identification information acquired by the information acquiring means.

4. The electronic control apparatus as set forth in claim 2, further comprising third storage means for storing learning values for control of the vehicle,

wherein in the information handling process, the information handling means further initializes the learning values stored in the third storage means to default values.

5. The electronic control apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein upon receipt of the update command by the command receiving means, the information handling means automatically performs the information handling process without communicating with the external control apparatus.

6. The electronic control apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein upon receipt of the update command by the command receiving means, the information handling means automatically performs, while communicating with the external control apparatus, the information handling process without any human intervention.

7. The electronic control apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein in the information handling process, the information handling means first updates the vehicle identification information stored in the first storage means and then updates the immobilizer identification information stored in the second storage means, and

when it fails to successfully update the vehicle identification information stored in the first storage means, the information handling means refrains from further updating the immobilizer identification information stored in the second storage means.

8. The electronic control apparatus as set forth in claim 2, further comprising fourth storage means for storing emission-related diagnostic information on the vehicle,

wherein in the information handling process, the information handling means further erases the emission-related diagnostic information from the fourth storage means.

9. The electronic control apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the electronic control apparatus is an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) for controlling an engine of the vehicle.

10. The electronic control apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the vehicle identification information is a vehicle identification number of the vehicle.

11. The electronic control apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the first and second storage means are made up of a common nonvolatile memory.

12. The electronic control apparatus as set forth in claim 11, wherein the nonvolatile memory is an EEPROM.

13. The electronic control apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein upon receipt of the update command by the command receiving means, the information handling means performs a first update process to update the vehicle identification information stored in the first storage means, and

upon completion of the first update process, the information handling means performs a second update process to update the immobilizer identification information stored in the second storage means.