VEHICLE CONTROL UPDATE METHODS AND SYSTEMS

• US 20160202966A1
• Filed: 01/13/2015
• Published: 07/14/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/13/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: VANGELOV, John
• Granted Patent: US 9,841,970 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/654 using techniques specially adapted for alterable solid state memories, e.g. for EEPROM or flash memories
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring

Abstract

A vehicle can include methods and systems to update controls in vehicle modules. The systems and methods can include receiving a control update for a receiving vehicle module to be stored at a first memory location, installing the received controls at the first memory location, running the module using controls at a second memory location, checking the controls at the first memory location, if checking is valid, operating the vehicle module using the controls at the first memory location in place of the controls at the second memory location. The vehicle module can operate the controls at the first memory location without waiting to restart the vehicle or can delay use of the controls until a later event, e.g., restart or download to other vehicle modules on which the current module may depend.

Claims

1. A vehicle controls updating method comprising:

receiving a control update for a vehicle module;

installing the received control update at a first memory location;

running the module using controls at a second memory location;

checking controls at the first memory location;

if checking is valid, operating the vehicle module using the controls at the first memory location in place of corresponding controls at the second memory location.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein operating includes delaying operating the controls at the first memory location until restarting the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the controls at the second memory location include engine controls.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the operating includes operating the controls at the first memory location without waiting to restart the vehicle.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the controls at the second memory location include any one of radio controls or environmental controls.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the checking includes error checking for a download error.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the checking includes waiting to activate the controls at the first memory location until a further control update is received, installed and checked if the controls at the first memory location depend on the further control update.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the checking includes reverting to a prior control if the control update fails checking and further checking other control updates to determine if any other control update depends on a control update that has been reverted and then if a dependency between the control updates exists, reverting the other control updates to a prior version.

9. A vehicle comprising:

a vehicle module configured to

receive a control update;

install the received control update at a first memory location;

run the vehicle module using controls at a second memory location;

check controls at the first memory location;

operate, if checking is valid, the vehicle module using the controls at the first memory location in place of corresponding controls at the second memory location.

10. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein the vehicle module is to delay operating the controls at the first memory location until restarting the vehicle.

11. The vehicle of claim 10, wherein the controls at the second memory location include at least one of engine controls and brake controls.

12. The vehicle of claim 9, the vehicle module is to operate the controls at the first memory location without waiting to restart the vehicle.

13. The vehicle of claim 12, wherein the controls at the second memory location include one of radio controls and environmental controls.

14. The vehicle of claim 9, the vehicle module is to error check for a download error.

15. The vehicle of claim 9, the vehicle module is to wait to activate the controls at the first memory location until a further control update is received, installed and checked if the controls at the first memory location depend on the further control update.

16. The vehicle of claim 15, wherein the vehicle module is to check any control update for dependency on any additional control update and revert any dependent control update to a prior control if the control update fails a check operation.

17. A vehicle control updating method comprising:

sending a control update for a class of vehicle from a server remote from the vehicles in the class;

receiving a confirmation that the sent control update is received by the vehicle and stored at a first memory location with the vehicle operating the control from a second location;

receiving confirmation that the control update has passed a check; and

storing the control now being run on a vehicle is the control at the first location and storing that the prior control at the second location is not being run and will be erased. operating the vehicle module using the controls at the first memory location in place of corresponding controls at the second memory location.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein storing includes includes waiting to activate the controls at the first memory location until a further control update is received, installed and checked if the controls at the first memory location depend on the further control update.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the storing includes storing that the vehicle has reverted to a prior control if the control update fails checking and further checking other control updates to determine if any other control update depends on a control update that has been reverted and then if a dependency between the control updates exists, reverting the other control updates to a prior version.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein storing includes storing that a vehicle module is to delay operating the controls at the first memory location until restarting the vehicle,

wherein the controls at the second memory location include at least one of engine controls, brake controls, radio controls, environmental controls or combinations thereof.