GATEWAY AND IN-VEHICLE NETWORK SYSTEM

• US 20130031212A1
• Filed: 07/27/2012
• Published: 01/31/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Enosaki, Takeshi, Ohi, Masaya, Harata, Yuzo, Takahashi, Yasuyuki, Yakabe, Hideki
• Granted Patent: US 9,219,802 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/218
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40 Bus networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4625 Single bridge functionality, e.g. connection of two networks over a single bridge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/40273 the transportation system being a vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/28 Timers or timing mechanisms used in protocols

Abstract

An in-vehicle system comprising a gateway between multiple networks is disclosed. One of the networks specifies that when a source apparatus connected to the one of the networks sends a request message to a destination apparatus connected to another one of the networks, the source apparatus should time-out if the source apparatus does not receive a response message within a specified time after sending the request message. Upon receipt of the request message, the gateway relays the request message to the destination apparatus and sends a wait request code to the source apparatus to instruct the source apparatus to wait by extending the specified time.

Claims

1. A gateway for performing data relay between a plurality of networks, wherein at least one of the networks specifies that when a source apparatus connected to the at least one of the networks sends a request message to a destination apparatus connected to another one of the networks different from the at least one of the networks, the source apparatus should time-out if the source apparatus does not receive, within a specified time after sending the request message, a response message responding to the request message, the gateway comprising:

a wait request sending device that, upon receipt of the request message sent from the source apparatus to the destination apparatus, relays the request message to the destination apparatus and sends to the source apparatus a wait request code which instructs the source apparatus to wait by extending the specified time.

2. The gateway according to claim 1, further comprising:

an abnormality determining device that determines whether or not there is an abnormality in the data relay; and

a notifying device that notifies the source apparatus of an occurrence of the abnormality in the data relay when the abnormality determining device determines that there is the abnormality in the data relay.

3. The gateway according to claim 1, further comprising:

a relay history learning device that

learns a relay history of at least one of the request message, the response message and the wait request code and

records a learning result of the relay history in a storage medium; and

a wait request code sending determining device that determines whether or not it is necessary to send the wait request code, based on the learning result of the relay history stored in the storage medium,

wherein;

when the wait request code sending determining device determines that it is necessary to send the wait request code, the wait request code sending device sends the wait request code to the source apparatus, which is a source of the request message.

4. The gateway according to claim 3, further comprising:

a measuring device that measures a time period from a time of relaying the request message to a time of receiving the response message,

wherein;

the relay history learning device learns, as the relay history of the response message, the time period from the time of relaying the request message to the time of receiving the response message.

9. The gateway according to claim 1, further comprising:

a LAN controller that performs data transmission and receipt between the at least one of the networks and the another one of the networks,

wherein a communication protocol of the at least one of the networks is diffrent from that of the another one of the networks.

5. An in-vehicle network system comprising

a gateway disposed between a network connected with an electronic control unit (ECU) and another network adapted to be connected with a diagnostic tool, the diagnostic tool being configured to diagnose the ECU, wherein:

when the ECU receives a session transition request from the diagnostic tool via the gateway, the ECU transitions from an initial session to a specific session and sends a session response to the diagnostic tool via the gateway in accordance with receipt of the session transition request, where the session transition request requests the ECU to transition from the initial session, in which a specific service setting state is to be an initial state, to the specific session, in which the specific service setting state is to be a specific state different from the initial state;

when the diagnostic tool receives the session response, the diagnostic tool sends a state transition request to the ECU via the gateway, where the state transition request requests the specific service setting state of the ECU to transition from the initial state to the specific state;

when the ECU receives the state transition request from the diagnostic tool via the gateway in a state where the ECU has transitioned to the specific session, the specific service setting state of the ECU transitions from the initial state to the specific state; and

upon elapse of a specified time since transitioning of the ECU from the initial session to the specific session, the ECU transitions from the specific session to the initial session and the specific service setting state returns to the initial state,

the gateway includes;

a first timer that measures an elapsed time from when the gateway receives the session transition request, which is sent from the diagnostic tool to the ECU to request the ECU to transition from the initial session to the specific session;

a session state recording device that estimates an ECU'"'"'s session state recognized by the diagnostic tool based on the elapsed time measured by the first timer, and records the estimated ECU'"'"'s session state in a storage medium; and

a session maintaining request sending device that, in cases where the ECU'"'"'s session state recognized by the diagnostic tool is determined to be the specific session based on the ECU'"'"'s session state stored in the storage medium,

sends a session state maintaining request, which instructs the ECU to maintain the specific session, to the ECU in order to prevent the ECU from transitioning from the specific session to the initial session.

6. The in-vehicle network system according to claim 5, wherein:

the gateway further includes

a second timer that measures an elapsed time from when the session maintaining request sending device sends the session state maintaining request to the ECU.

7. The in-vehicle network system according to claim 5, wherein:

upon determining, based on the ECU'"'"'s session state stored in the storage medium, that the ECU'"'"'s session state recognized by the diagnostic tool transitions the initial state, the session maintaining request sending device stops sending the session state maintaining request.

8. The in-vehicle network system according to claim 5, wherein:

the specific service setting state is a security setting state;

the initial state is a security-locked state; and

the specific state is a security-unlocked state.