Automobile control system and method capable of revising control data transmission function

• US 6,374,161 B1
• Filed: 04/18/2000
• Issued: 04/16/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Iwai, Akihito, Sakai, Hirotaka
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Dalena
• Application Number:
  US09/551,870
• Time in Patent Office: 728 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1, 701/36, 701/48, 712/28, 712/200, 712/201, 370/466, 370/395, 370/401, 709/201, 709/102, 709/223, 710/29, 710/30
• US Class Current: 701/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40013 Details regarding a bus controller
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40032 Details regarding a bus interface enhancer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/413 with random access, e.g. carrier-sense multiple-access with collision detection [CSMA-CD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/40273 the transportation system being a vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

An automobile control system has a microcomputer that subjects each control data to be transmitted to a communication opponent to LSB conversion (accuracy conversion) to convert the control data to the data having the resolution acceptable for the communication opponent. The microcomputer stores a plurality of types of LSB conversion programs and a physical value conversion table. The microcomputer activates the physical value conversion program corresponding to the control data to be transmitted this time based on information listed in the table and subjects the control data to LSB conversion process according to the program of the physical value conversion. The microcomputer further has a Handle number specification table and a packet number specification table. The microcomputer generates the packet data to be transmitted based on the two tables. A transmission target packet number is used for regular transmission and the Handle number of the data to be event-transmitted is used for event transmission.

Claims

1. An automobile control system comprising:

a control target mounted on an automobile; and

an information processing unit including a memory unit, the information processing unit being for performing arithmetic process for controlling the control target, storing control data calculated in the arithmetic process in the memory unit, subjecting the stored control data to a predetermined process and transmitting the processed control data to a communication opponent,

wherein the information processing unit includes at least one of an accuracy conversion unit subjecting a physical value of the control data to be transmitted among the stored data to an accuracy conversion process to produce converted data to be transmitted to the communication opponent, the accuracy conversion process converting the control data having a first resolution to the converted data having a second resolution, and a packet data generation unit for rearranging the control data among the stored data to generate a packet data to be communicated to the communication opponent,

wherein the accuracy conversion unit includes conversion program storage means storing a plurality of types of conversion programs for subjecting the control data to the accuracy conversion process, conversion information memory means storing conversion information that defines a correlative relation between each of the control data and each of the conversion programs, and data conversion means for converting the control data to the converted data by specifying one of the conversion programs stored in correspondence with the second data based on the stored conversion information, and

wherein the packet data generation means includes a first table storing information of the control data used to generate each of the packet data, a second table storing position information of each of the control data in each of the packet data, and determination means for determining the control data to be used to generate the packet data and the position of the control data to be used in the packet data by referring to the first table and the second table.

2. An automobile control system as in claim 1, wherein:

the information processing unit further includes

transmission operation activation means for issuing a transmission command that indicates the control data to be transmitted this time to the communication opponent at a predetermined transmission timing; and

transmission means for transmitting the converted data to the communication opponent after the data conversion means has completed the accuracy conversion process.

3. An automobile control system as in claim 2, wherein:

the conversion information memory means stores a data table that correlates type information of each of the control data to be transmitted to the communication opponent to storage position information for indicating a storage position in the conversion program storage means where the conversion program that is to be used for subjecting the control data indicated by the type information to the accuracy conversion process is stored as the conversion information; and

the data conversion means retrieves the storage position information corresponding to the type information of the control data indicated by the transmission command from the data table, activates the conversion program stored at the storage position indicated by the retrieved storage position information to process the control data retrieved from the memory unit, and thereby subjects the control data indicated by the transmission command to the accuracy conversion process.

4. An automobile control system as in claim 2, wherein:

the conversion information memory means stores the data table that defines correlatively an identification number of the packet data, the type information of each of the control data that constitutes the packet data having an identification number, and the storage position information for indicating the storage position of the conversion program, which is to be used for subjecting the control data indicated by the type information to the accuracy conversion process, in the conversion program storage means as the conversion information;

the transmission operation activation means issues the identification number of the packet data to be transmitted this time to the communication opponent as the transmission command;

the data conversion means includes,

transmission data specification means for retrieving the type information of each control data corresponding to the issued identification number from the data table when the transmission operation activation means issues the identification number as the transmission command, and

accuracy conversion means that retrieves the control data corresponding to each the type information retrieved by the transmission data specification means, retrieves the storage position information corresponding to the type information from the data table, and activates the conversion program stored at the storage position indicated by the retrieved storage position information to thereby subject the control data of each identification information retrieved from the memory unit to the accuracy conversion process.

5. An automobile control system as in claim 1, wherein:

the first data table stores a type number of each of the control data for each packet number that is an identification number of the packet data; and

the second data table stores, in addition to the location position information, the packet number of the packet data that includes the control data for each type number of the control data.

6. An automobile control system as in claim 1, wherein:

the conversion information memory means further stores a position and data size of the control data in the packet data with respect to each of the control data.

7. An automobile control system as in claim 1, wherein:

the first table further stores a period of transmission and a communication system to be used with respect to each of the packet data; and

the second table further stores a data size of each of the control data in the packet data and an identification of the packet data in which to be used with respect to each of the control data.

8. An automobile control system comprising:

a control target mounted on an automobile; and

an information processing unit including a memory unit, the information processing unit being for performing arithmetic process for controlling the control target, storing control data calculated in the arithmetic process in the memory unit, subjecting the stored control data to a predetermined process and transmitting the processed control data to a communication opponent,

wherein the information processing unit includes at least one of an accuracy conversion unit subjecting a physical value of the control data to be transmitted among the stored data to an accuracy conversion process to produce converted data to be transmitted to the communication opponent, the control data having a first resolution and the converted data having a second resolution, and a packet data generation unit for rearranging the control data among the stored data to generate a packet data to be communicated to the communication opponent,

wherein;

the accuracy conversion unit includes conversion program storage means storing a plurality of types of conversion programs for subjecting the control data to the accuracy conversion process, conversion information memory means storing conversion information that defines a correlative relation between each of the control data and each of the conversion programs, and data conversion means for converting the control data to the converted data by specifying one of the conversion programs stored in correspondence with the second data based on the stored conversion information,

the packet data generation means includes a first table storing information of the control data used to generate each of the packet data, a second table storing position information of each of the control data in each of the packet data, and determination means for determining the control data to be used to generate the packet data and the position of the control data to be used in the packet data by referring to the first table and the second table;

the first data table stores a type number of each of the control data for each packet number that is an identification number of the packet data;

the second data table stores, in addition to the location position information, the packet number of the packet data that includes the control data for each type number of the control data;

the information processing means includes regular transmission operation activation means that issues the packet number of the packet data to be transmitted this time to the communication opponent every predetermined transmission period;

the information processing unit includes event transmission operation activation means that issues the type number of specified data as a transmission command when update of the specified data out of the transmission target data in the memory unit is detected;

the packet data generation means includes regular transmission packet data generation means that retrieves the type number of each transmission target data listed corresponding to the packet number issued as a transmission command from the first data table when the packet number is issued as the transmission command by the regular transmission operation activation means, retrieves the transmission target data of each type number from the memory unit, retrieves the location position information listed corresponding to the retrieved each type number respectively, and arranges the transmission target data retrieved from the memory unit based on the retrieved location position information, and thereby generates the packet data of the packet number issued as the transmission command;

event transmission packet data generation means that, when the event transmission operation activation means issues the type number as a transmission command, retrieves the packet number listed corresponding to the type number of the transmission command from the second data table and then retrieves the type number of each transmission target data listed corresponding to the retrieved packet number from the first data table retrieved the transmission target data of the type number from the memory unit and also retrieves the position information listed corresponding to the retrieved type number from the second data table, arranges the transmission target data retrieved from the memory unit based on the retrieved location position information, and thereby generates a packet data that includes the data of the type number issued as the transmission command; and

the information processing unit includes transmission means for transmitting the packet data generated by the regular transmission packet data generation means and the event transmission packet data generation means to the communication opponent.

9. An automobile control system as in claim 8, wherein:

the first data table further stores a transmission period used for transmitting the packet data of the packet number for each of the packet number; and

the regular transmission operation activation means issues each packet number listed in the first data table every transmission period listed in the data table corresponding to the packet number as the transmission command.

10. An automobile control system as in claim 8, wherein:

the information processing unit includes both of the conversion program storage means and the packet data generation means;

the second data table further stores storage position information that indicates the storage position of the conversion program used for subjecting the transmission target data of the type number to the accuracy conversion process in the conversion program storage means for each type number of the transmission target data; and

the regular transmission packet data generation means and the event transmission packet data generation means retrieve the storage position information listed corresponding to the type number of the transmission target data from the second data table for all the transmission target data retrieved from the memory unit and activates the conversion program stored at the storage position indicated by the storage position information that is retrieved to process the transmission target data to thereby subjecting the transmission target data retrieved from the memory unit to the accuracy conversion process, arranges the accuracy-converted transmission target data based on the location position information retrieved from the second data table to thereby generate the packet data.

11. A method of processing control data in an information processing unit for transmission to a communication opponent in an automobile comprising the steps of:

performing arithmetic calculation for controlling a target;

storing a plurality of calculated data in a first memory, each of the calculated data having a first resolution required in the information processing unit;

converting the stored data to corresponding data having a second resolution different from the first resolution, the second resolution being required in the communication opponent;

generating a packet data using the corresponding data; and

transmitting the packet data to the communication opponent which uses the corresponding data transmitted as the packet data,

wherein the converting step retrieves, in a conversion process of each of the stored data thereof, a predetermined program of a plurality of conversion programs respectively stored in a second memory in correspondence with the plurality of the calculated data, and converts each of the stored data by the retrieved conversion program.

12. A method of processing control data in an information processing unit for transmission to a communication opponent comprising the steps of:

performing arithmetic calculation for controlling a target;

storing a plurality of calculated data in a memory;

generating a common packet data of the stored data in a predetermined order;

generating a transmission command;

generating a transmission packet data from the common packet data in response to the transmission command; and

transmitting the transmission packet data to the communication opponent for use in the communication opponent,

wherein packet data generating step determines a type of transmission packet data in response to the transmission command, retrieves the stored data required in the determined type of transmission packet data based on a first data table storing a plurality of required control data with respect to each type of the transmission packet data, and rearranging the retrieved data in the transmission packet data based on a second table storing a position of each data in the common packet data.

13. A method as in claim 12 further comprising accuracy converting the stored data, the stored data having a first resolution, to corresponding data having a second resolution different from the first resolution and being required in the communication component.