RELAY CONNECTION UNIT

• US 20100169717A1
• Filed: 06/04/2008
• Published: 07/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Autonetworks Technologies, Ltd. (Sumitomo Corporation), Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited (Sumitomo Corporation), Sumitomo Wiring Systems Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Autonetworks Technologies, Ltd. (Sumitomo Corporation), Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited (Sumitomo Corporation), Sumitomo Wiring Systems Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Inventors: Sonoda, Toshiyuki, Isoyama, Yoshikazu
• Granted Patent: US 8,081,643 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/48
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/437 Ring fault isolation or reconfiguration for SDH/SONET ring networks H04J3/085
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4625 Single bridge functionality, e.g. connection of two networks over a single bridge

Abstract

Provided is an on-vehicle relay connection unit which forms a network by arranging electronic control units between buses to which the electronic control units are respectively connected and relays a message transmitted and received between the electronic control units belonging to the different buses. The relay connection unit includes a network management processing circuit of the relay connection unit and a storage device which stores as parameters, specification conditions of the network management functions held in the network management processing circuit and a condition which may be modified among the state transition conditions between the functions. Upon start of the relay connection unit, the network management processing circuit reads out the parameters from the storage device and executes the network management functions by using the parameters.

Claims

1. A relay connection unit, to be mounted on a car, in which a network is formed by interposing said relay connection unit between buses to which electronic control units are connected so that said relay connection unit relays messages sent and received between said electronic control units belonging to different buses,

said relay connection unit comprising:

a network management processing circuit for executing a network management function; and

a storage means for storing a specification condition of a network management function held by said network management processing circuit and a condition, of state transition conditions between functions, which may be altered by parameterizing said specification condition and said condition which may be altered,

wherein said network management processing circuit reads out said parameters from said storage means when said relay connection unit actuates and executes said network management function by using said parameters.

2. The relay connection unit to be mounted on a car according to claim 1, wherein said network management processing circuit is formed of an integrated circuit;

and said storage means is formed of a rewritable non-volatile memory; and

said parameters to be stored in said storage means include a transition destination corresponding to a transition condition, an ID of said relay connection unit, a timer value, an error counter threshold, and a sleep control.

3. The relay connection unit to be mounted on a car according to claim 1, wherein said network management processing circuit sends ring messages to electronic control units respectively connected to said relay connection unit via said buses to execute detection of a communication error or/and said sleep control.

4. The relay connection unit to be mounted on a car according to claim 2, wherein said network management processing circuit sends ring messages to electronic control units respectively connected to said relay connection unit via said buses to execute detection of a communication error or/and said sleep control.