Vehicle control apparatus having multiple ECUs loaded with respective control programs

• US 6,445,989 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2001
• Issued: 09/03/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Iwai, Akihito, Nishimura, Tadaharu
• Primary Examiner(s): Beaulieu, Yonel
• Application Number:
  US09/814,102
• Publication Number:
  US 20010025216A1
• Time in Patent Office: 530 Days
• Field of Search: 701/48, 701/36, 701/33, 701/102, 701/53
• US Class Current: 701/48
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 2250/12 Timing of calculation, i.e. specific timing aspects when calculation or updating of engine parameter is performed
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/266 the computer being backed-up or assisted by another circuit, e.g. analogue
• 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 vehicle control apparatus has multiple electronic control units, A-ECU and B-ECU, connected via a communication line. Control programs of the apparatus is defined in an object-oriented type and loaded distributedly among multiple control units. The control programs of each control unit includes an application layer, an interface layer, a hardware-dependent virtual sensor part, a virtual actuator part, an input information converting part and output control part. The application layer is separated from hardware-dependent parts When an application layer of a B-ECU specifies a virtual actuator part and outputs driving information, an interface layer sends the driving information via the communication line to an interface layer of an A-ECU. The output control part of the A-ECU outputs that driving information at suitable timing to the virtual actuator part.

Claims

1. A vehicle control apparatus comprising:

detecting means for detecting vehicle information;

driving means for driving a vehicle;

multiple processing executing units for carrying out computation processing based on the vehicle information and outputting driving information to the driving means in accordance with results of the computation processing, wherein the processing executing units are loaded with vehicle control programs distributedly; and

communication means connecting the processing executing units,

wherein the vehicle control programs include

an application layer for executing the computation processing,

a sensor/actuator layer for executing processing dependent on the detecting means and the driving means and carrying out acquisition of the vehicle information and outputting of the driving information,

an interface layer for acquiring and sending to another processing executing unit via the communication means the driving information from the application layer, and also acquiring the driving information sent from the another processing executing unit, and

an information control layer for outputting to the sensor/actuator layer at suitable timing the driving information acquired by the interface layer.

2. The vehicle control apparatus as in claim 1, wherein:

the application layer outputs the driving information in a fixed form; and

the information control layer converts to information directly processable by the sensor/actuator layer and outputs the driving information.

5. The vehicle control apparatus as in claim 1, wherein:

the information control layer at suitable timing acquires and outputs the vehicle information acquired by the sensor/actuator layer; and

the interface layer acquires and outputs to the application layer the vehicle information outputted from the information control layer on the basis of a request from the application layer, makes a request for the vehicle information to another processing executing unit via the communication means, acquires and outputs to the application layer the vehicle information sent with respect to this request, and sends the vehicle information from the information control layer when a request is made for the vehicle information from another processing executing unit.

6. The vehicle control apparatus as in claim 5, wherein:

.

the sensor/actuator layer outputs the vehicle information in a form corresponding to the detecting means, and

the information control layer converts to information directly processable by the application layer and outputs the vehicle information.

7. The vehicle control apparatus as in claim 1, wherein:

the application layer, the interface layer, the information control layer and the sensor/actuator layer are made up of multiple objects provided in component units or function units.

8. A computer-readable recording medium on which is recorded a vehicle control program loaded into the vehicle control apparatus as set forth in claim 1.

3. A vehicle control apparatus comprising:

detecting means for detecting vehicle information;

driving means for driving a vehicle;

multiple processing executing units for carrying out computation processing based on the vehicle information and outputting driving information to the driving means in accordance with results of the computation processing, wherein the processing executing units are loaded with vehicle control programs distributedly; and

communication means connecting the processing executing units,

wherein the vehicle control programs include

an application layer for executing the computation processing,

a sensor/actuator layer for executing processing dependent on the detecting means and the driving means and carrying out acquisition of the vehicle information and outputting of the driving information,

an information control layer for at suitable timing acquiring and outputting the vehicle information acquired by the sensor/actuator layer, and

an interface layer for acquiring and outputting to the application layer the vehicle information outputted from the information control layer on the basis of a request from the application layer, making a request for the vehicle information to another processing executing unit via the communication means, acquiring and outputting to the application layer the vehicle information sent with respect to this request, and sending the vehicle information from the information control layer when a request is made for the vehicle information from another processing executing unit.

4. The vehicle control apparatus as in claim 3, wherein:

the sensor/actuator layer outputs the vehicle information in a form corresponding to the detecting means; and

the information control layer converts to information directly processable by the application layer and outputs the vehicle information.

9. The vehicle control apparatus as in claim 3, wherein:

the application layer, the interface layer, the information control layer and the sensor/actuator layer are made up of multiple objects provided in component units or function units.

10. A computer-readable recording medium on which is recorded a vehicle control program loaded into the vehicle control apparatus as set forth in claim 3.