Network system for vehicle-mounted electronic devices and vehicle-mounted operating system used therein

• US 6,052,632 A
• Filed: 02/20/1998
• Issued: 04/18/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Sakagami, Yoshiaki, Iihoshi, Akira
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): ARTHUR JEANGLAUDE, GERTRUDE
• Application Number:
  US09/026,950
• Time in Patent Office: 788 Days
• Field of Search: 701/22, 701/24, 701/29, 701/33, 701/34, 701/35, 701/36, 364/131, 364/133, 364/134, 395/800.32, 395/800.34
• US Class Current: 701/36
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/17 using an input/output type connection, e.g. channel, I/O port
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40013 Details regarding a bus controller
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/40273 the transportation system being a vehicle

Abstract

A network system includes a plurality of vehicle-mounted, microcomputer-based electronic devices each having & distributed operating system for performing data communication and distributed processes among the electronic devices. By virtue of the distributed operating system, information resources and hardware resources can be used in common by two or more of the vehicle-mounted electronic devices. Thus the network system has a higher level of network transparency. Because the electronic devices can operate independently and they are interconnected by a common interface called network, a revision to the program of one of the electronic devices or entry of a new electronic device to the network system does not induce tedious and time-consuming version-up of the program of any other electronic device.

Claims

1. A network system for a vehicle comprising:

a plurality of electronic devices mountable on the vehicle and interconnected by a transmission line, each of said vehicle-mounted electronic devices having a microcomputer; and

a distributed operating system having functions assigned distributively to the respective microcomputers of said vehicle-mounted electronic devices to perform data communication and distributed processes among said vehicle mounted electronic devices.

2. A network system according to claim 1, wherein said operating system comprises a system call containing a parameter assigned to a travel distance of the vehicle.

3. A network system according to claim 1, wherein said operating system comprises a system call containing a parameter assigned to a running velocity of the vehicle.

4. A network system for a vehicle, comprising:

a plurality of electronic devices mountable on the vehicle and interconnected by a transmission channel, each of said vehicle-mounted electronic devices having a microcomputer and containing a distributed operating system for performing data communication and distributed processes among said vehicle-mounted electronic devices, wherein data about vehicles including the own velocity of the vehicle are routed within the network system, with tags indicating shared data being affixed to the data, and stored in respective internal memories in said microcomputers of the vehicle-mounted electronic devices, thus enabling said internal memories to form virtual distributed shared memories.

5. A network system for a vehicle, comprising:

a plurality of electronic devices mountable on the vehicle and interconnected by a transmission channel, each of said vehicle-mounted electronic devices having a microcomputer and containing a distributed operating system for performing data communication and distributed processes among said vehicle-mounted electronic devices, and distributed shared memories for storing therein at least shared data about vehicles including the own velocity of the vehicle, said distributed shared memories having respective predetermined storage areas accessible from said vehicle-mounted electronic devices.

6. A network system for a vehicle, comprising:

a plurality of electronic devices mountable on the vehicle and interconnected by a transmission channel, each of said vehicle-mounted electronic devices having a microcomputer and containing a distributed operating system for performing data communication and distributed processes among said vehicle-mounted electronic devices, wherein said distributed operating system deals with a system call from another task invoking a change in the state of an owned task such that said system call becomes effective only when said another task has a higher level of access right than said own task.

7. A network system for a vehicle, comprising:

a plurality of electronic devices mountable on the vehicle and interconnected by a transmission channel, each of said vehicle-mounted electronic devices having a microcomputer and containing a distributed operating system for performing data communication and distributed processes among said vehicle-mounted electronic devices, wherein said distributed operating system deals with a system call from another node invoking a change in the state of a task in the own node such that said system call becomes effective only when said another node has a higher level of access right than the own node.

8. A network system for a vehicle, comprising:

a plurality of electronic devices mountable on the vehicle and interconnected by a transmission channel, each of said vehicle-mounted electronic devices having a microcomputer and containing a distributed operating system for performing data communication and distributed processes among said vehicle-mounted electronic devices, wherein said distributed operating system has a system call function assigned distributively to each node of said network system.

9. A network system for use in a vehicle having an adaptive cruise control function, comprising:

a plurality of electronic devices mountable on the vehicle and interconnected by a transmission channel, each of said vehicle-mounted electronic devices having a microcomputer and containing a distributed operating system for performing data communication and distributed processes among said vehicle-mounted electronic devices, wherein said network system further has distributed shared memories for storing therein at least shared data about vehicles including the own velocity of the vehicle, wherein one of said vehicle-mountable electronic devices is capable of calculating at least a velocity of the preceding vehicle and a vehicle-to-vehicle distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle, and wherein said one vehicle-mountable electronic device stores data about the calculated preceding vehicle'"'"'s velocity and a vehicle-to-vehicle distance in said distributed shared memories to secure access to the data from any other vehicle-mountable electronic device, and is capable of performing distributed processes to calculate, on the basis of the own velocity, preceding vehicle'"'"'s velocity and vehicle-to-vehicle distance stored in said distributed shared memories, a gear set and a throttle opening both required for enabling the vehicle to cruise after the preceding vehicle with a predetermined vehicle-to-vehicle distance kept between itself and the preceding vehicle.