RELAY DEVICE, ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNIT, AND VEHICLE-MOUNTED SYSTEM

• US 20180203685A1
• Filed: 07/14/2016
• Published: 07/19/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: NAKAMURA, Sho, HARATA, Yuzo, NATSUME, Mitsuyoshi, DOI, Masakazu, KANEKO, Naoji
• Granted Patent: US 10,489,141 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0426 Programming the control sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2637 Vehicle, car, auto, wheelchair
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40 Bus networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/40273 the transportation system being a vehicle
• 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

Abstract

A relay device is provided. The relay device includes: an acquisition unit acquiring data necessary for an upgrade processing from an upgrading tool, which performs the upgrading processing to an ECU connected to a vehicle-mounted network; a relay unit providing the data, via the vehicle-mounted network, to a target ECU which is subject to the upgrade processing; a suspend instructing unit transmitting, via the vehicle-mounted network, a suspend command which instructs the non-target ECU to shift to a suspend state in which a transmission of other data to the non-target ECU via the vehicle-mounted network is suspended in response to a start of the upgrade processing; and a cancel instructing unit instructing, via the vehicle-mounted network, the non-target ECU to cancel the suspend state when the upgrade processing is completed.

Claims

1. A relay device comprising:

an acquisition unit acquiring data necessary to perform an upgrade processing from an upgrading tool, wherein the upgrading tool performs the upgrade processing to upgrade ECUs connected to a vehicle-mounted network, and the ECUs include a target ECU which is subject to the upgrade processing and a non-target ECU which is not subject to the upgrade processing;

a relay unit providing, via the vehicle-mounted network, the data acquired by the acquisition unit to the target ECU;

a suspend instructing unit transmitting, via the vehicle-mounted network, a suspend command which instructs the non-target ECU to shift to a suspend state in response to a start of the upgrade processing, the suspend state being a state in which a transmission of other data to the non-target ECU via the vehicle-mounted network is suspended; and

a cancel instructing unit instructing, via the vehicle-mounted network, the non-target ECU to cancel the suspend state when the upgrade processing is completed.

2. The relay device according to claim 1, wherein

the cancel instructing unit periodically transmits, via the vehicle-mounted network, a suspend extending command which instructs the non-target ECU to extend the suspend state by a predetermined period during an execution of the upgrade processing, and

the cancel instructing unit instructs a cancel of the suspend state of the non-target ECU by canceling a transmission of the suspend extending command.

3. The relay device according to claim 1, wherein

the cancel instructing unit periodically transmits, via the vehicle-mounted network, a suspend extending command which instructs the non-target ECU to extend the suspend state by a predetermined period during an execution of the upgrade processing, and

when the upgrade processing is completed, the cancel instructing unit instructs a cancel of the suspend state of the non-target ECU by transmitting, via the vehicle-mounted network, a suspend canceling command which instructs the non-target ECU to cancel the suspend state.

4. The relay device according to claim 1, wherein the ECUs include one or more target ECUs, the relay device further comprising:

a start determination unit determining whether the upgrade processing for upgrading one of the one or more target ECUs is started according to the data acquired from the upgrading tool;

an end determination unit determining whether the upgrade processing for upgrading the one of the one or more target ECUs is completed according to the data acquired from the upgrading tool; and

a counting unit counting a total number of the one or more target ECUs to which the upgrade processing is presently performed according to a determination result of the start determination unit and a determination result of the end determination unit,

wherein the cancel instructing unit instructs a cancel of the suspend state of the non-target ECU via the vehicle-mounted network when the total number of the one or more target ECUs counted by the counting unit decreases to zero.

5. The relay device according to claim 1, further comprising

a start determination unit determining whether the upgrade processing for the target ECU is started according to the data acquired from the upgrading tool,

wherein

a time when the start determination unit determines that the upgrade processing is started is defined as a start time, and

the cancel instructing unit instructs a cancel of the suspend state of the non-target ECU via the vehicle-mounted network when a predetermined end duration elapses from the start time.

6. The relay device according to claim 1, further comprising

an abnormality treating unit instructing the non-target ECU to cancel the suspend state via the vehicle-mounted network when the acquisition unit fails to acquire, from the upgrading tool, the data necessary to perform the upgrade processing over a period equal to or longer than a predetermined abnormality detection duration during an execution of the upgrade processing.

7. The relay device according to claim 1, wherein

the non-target ECU in the suspend state does not treat a failure in a data acquiring via the vehicle-mounted network as an abnormality.

8. An ECU comprising:

an acquisition unit acquiring, via a vehicle-mounted network, data necessary to perform an upgrade processing of own ECU from an upgrading tool through a relay device;

an upgrading unit performing a processing associated with the upgrade processing according to the data acquired by the acquisition unit;

a suspending unit shifting the own ECU to a suspend state in which a data transmission via the vehicle-mounted network is suspended upon receipt of a suspend command from the relay device via the vehicle-mounted network when the upgrade processing is started; and

a suspend canceling unit canceling the suspend state upon receipt of a command from the relay device via the vehicle-mounted network when the upgrade processing is completed.

9. The ECU according to claim 8, further comprising:

a suspend extending unit extending the suspend state by a predetermined suspend period upon receipt of a suspend extending command from the relay device via the vehicle-mounted network during an execution of the upgrade processing, the suspend extending command instructing an extension of the suspend state by the predetermined suspend period,

wherein, when the suspend canceling unit receives the command for canceling the suspend state from the relay device, the suspend canceling unit cancels the suspend state under a condition that the predetermined suspend period is elapsed after receiving the suspend extending command from the suspend extending unit.

10. A vehicle-mounted system comprising:

a plurality of ECUs connected to a vehicle-mounted network; and

a relay device connected to a vehicle-mounted network,

wherein

the relay device includes;

a relay device side acquisition unit acquiring data necessary to perform an upgrade processing from an upgrading tool, wherein the upgrading tool performs the upgrade processing to upgrade the plurality of ECUs, and the plurality of ECUs include a target ECU which is subject to the upgrade processing and a non-target ECU which is not subject to the upgrade processing;

a relay unit providing, via the vehicle-mounted network, the data acquired by the relay device side acquisition unit to the target ECU;

a suspend instructing unit transmitting, via the vehicle-mounted network, a suspend command which instructs the non-target ECU to shift to a suspend state in response to a start of the upgrade processing, the suspend state being a state in which a transmission of other data to the non-target ECU via the vehicle-mounted network is suspended; and

a cancel instructing unit instructing, via the vehicle-mounted network, the non-target ECU to cancel the suspend state when the upgrade processing is completed, and

each of the plurality of ECUs includes;

an ECU side acquisition unit acquiring, from the relay device via the vehicle-mounted network, data that is necessary to perform the upgrade processing of an own ECU and transmitted from the upgrading tool through the relay device;

an upgrading unit performing a processing associated with the upgrade processing according to the data acquired by the ECU side acquisition unit;

a suspending unit shifting the own ECU to the suspend state upon receipt of the suspend command from the relay device via the vehicle-mounted network when the upgrade processing is started; and

a suspend canceling unit canceling the suspend state upon receipt of a command from the relay device when the upgrade processing is completed.

11. The vehicle-mounted system according to claim 10, wherein

the cancel instructing unit periodically transmits, via the vehicle-mounted network, a suspend extending command which instructs the non-target ECU to extend the suspend state by a predetermined suspend period during an execution of the upgrade processing,

the cancel instructing unit instructs the non-target ECU to cancel the suspend state by canceling a transmission of the suspend extending command,

each of the plurality of ECUs further includes a suspend extending unit extending the suspend state by the predetermined suspend period upon receipt of the suspend extending command from the relay device via the vehicle-mounted network during the execution of the upgrade processing, and

when the suspend canceling unit receives the command that instructs a cancel of the suspend state from the relay device, the suspend canceling unit cancels the suspend state after the predetermined suspend period elapses after from reception time of the suspend extending command.