VEHICULAR DATA RECORDING APPARATUS

• US 20120197481A1
• Filed: 10/18/2011
• Published: 08/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: TAKEDA, Toshihiko
• Granted Patent: US 8,565,961 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/31.4
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0005 Processor details or data handling, e.g. memory registers or chip architecture
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0006 Digital architecture hierarchy
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0045 using databus protocols
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0075 Automatic parameter input, automatic initialising or calibrating means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/10 Historical data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0205 Diagnosing or detecting failures; Failure detection models
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers

Abstract

Each of a plurality of electronic control units (i.e., ECUs) of a vehicle control system has a memory for recording data regarding a system operation condition of the vehicle control system. When one of the ECUs detects an occurrence of a predetermined abnormal event, that ECU records data regarding the system operation condition of the vehicle control system, which is held by that ECU, in the memory of that ECU. Further, the detecting ECU notifies the other ECUs of the occurrence of the predetermined abnormal event. Accordingly, each of the remaining ECUs records data regarding the system operation condition of the vehicle control system held by each of them to its memory. In such manner, even if multiple ECUs are installed as the vehicle control system, a vehicular data recording apparatus is enabled to record required data at a time of occurrence of a predetermined event.

Claims

1. A vehicular data recording apparatus for recording, at a time of occurrence of a certain event, a system operation condition data that is related to a system operation condition of a vehicle control system that controls a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

a recorder in each of a plurality of electronic control units (ECUs) in the vehicle control system in which each ECU stores data in their respective recorder, the ECUs are communicably coupled to each other,

wherein when at least one of the ECUs detects an occurrence of an event, a detecting ECU that detected the occurrence of the event records a data held by the detecting ECU that is related to the system operation condition of the vehicle control system in the recorder of the detecting ECU, and

the detecting ECU notifies the remaining ECUs of the occurrence of the event, and each of the remaining ECUs, respectively, at least records a data held by the remaining ECUs that is related to the system operation condition of the vehicle control system in their respective recorder.

2. The vehicular data recording apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the ECUs records, in their respective recorder, event information indicative of the event that just occurred.

3. The vehicular data recording apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the ECUs records, in their respective recorder, time information indicative of when the data is recorded.

4. The vehicular data recording apparatus of claim 3, wherein,

when the detecting ECU notifies the remaining ECUs of the occurrence of the event, the detecting ECU transmits a notification that includes the time information indicative of when the data is recorded, and

each of the remaining ECUs records, in their respective recorder, the data for a predetermine period of time that is defined based on the time information included in the notification.

5. The vehicular data recording apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the event is classified into multiple event types,

each of the multiple event types has a predetermined data set that must be recorded in association with each of the multiple event types,

when the detecting ECU has detected the event, the detecting ECU determines the event type and the predetermined data set associated with the occurred event, and

the detecting ECU notifies the occurrence of the event to only the ECUs that hold the predetermined data set associated with the occurred event, for recording the predetermined data set.

6. The vehicular data recording apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the ECUs are communicably coupled with each other through a local area network for data exchange that is required for cooperative operation and are also communicably coupled with each other through a dedicated line that is dedicated for notification of occurrence of the event, and

the detecting ECU notifies the remaining ECUs of the occurrence of the event through the dedicated line, and thereafter notifies the event information regarding the occurred event through the local area network.

7. The vehicular data recording apparatus of claim 6, wherein

each of the remaining ECUs at least temporarily records data that is possibly considered as a recording object upon receiving the notification of the occurrence of the event, and

each of the remaining ECUs selectively records in their respective recorder, from among the temporarily recorded data, data that is related to the event information upon receiving the event information.

8. The vehicular data recording apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the data recorded in the vehicular data recording apparatus is output to an external diagnosis device, and

output of the recorded data to the external diagnosis device is performed (a) after data collection from the recorder in the each of the ECUs by one of the ECUs, or (b) after data collection from the recorder in each of the ECUs by a dedicated ECU for collecting the data.

9. The vehicular data recording apparatus of claim 8, wherein collection of the data is performed by one of the ECUs or the dedicated ECU when communication load for data exchange that is required for vehicle control among the ECUs is lower than a threshold.

10. The vehicular data recording apparatus of claim 8, wherein

collection of the data is performed by one of the ECUs or by the dedicated ECU upon receiving a command that specifies the data to be collected, and

one of the ECUs or the dedicated ECU collects the data from the ECUs according to the received command.

11. The vehicular data recording apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the data recorded in the vehicular data recording apparatus is output to an external diagnosis device, and

output of the recorded data is performed by turns from the recorder in each of the ECUs to the external diagnosis device.