Vehicular communication system for communicating information among electronic devices installed in vehicle

• US 6,629,032 B2
• Filed: 07/08/2002
• Issued: 09/30/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Akiyama, Susumu
• Primary Examiner(s): Camby, Richard M.
• Application Number:
  US10/189,628
• Publication Number:
  US 20030018422A1
• Time in Patent Office: 449 Days
• Field of Search: 701/48, 701/29, 701/36, 701/49, 701/1, 340/901, 710/100, 710/105, 710/305, 709/107, 714/730
• US Class Current: 701/48
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/0315 using multiplexing techniques multiplexing for transmission of signals G08C15/00; multiplexing for electrical communication in general H04J

Abstract

A vehicular communication system communicates information among a plurality of ECUs installed in a vehicle. The communication system includes a plurality of transceiver circuits for communicating information, and each transceiver circuit is provided in an associated one of the ECUs. The transceiver circuits are divided into groups of transceiver circuits. Each transceiver circuit of a given group communicates with the transceiver circuits of the same group using one of a predetermined communication frequency and a predetermined code, which is allocated to the given group and is different from that of any other group.

Claims

1. A vehicular communication system that communicates information among a plurality of electronic devices installed in a vehicle, the vehicular communication system comprising:

a plurality of communicating means for communicating information, and each communicating means is provided in an associated one of the electronic devices, wherein;

the plurality of communicating means is divided into groups of communicating means; and

each communicating means of a given group communicates with the communicating means of the same group using one of a predetermined communication frequency and a predetermined code, which is allocated to the given group and is different from that of any other group.

2. A vehicular communication system according to claim 1, wherein each communicating means of the given group performs simultaneous multiplex communication with the communicating means of the same group using one of FDMA and CDMA.

3. A vehicular communication system according to claim 1, wherein:

each electronic device is connected to a power supply line arranged in the vehicle to supply electric power to each electronic device; and

each communicating means of the given group communicates information through one of the power supply line and a wireless link, wherein the wireless link is established between each communicating means of the given group and the communicating means of the same group.

4. A vehicular communication system according to claim 1, wherein:

the plurality of communicating means is divided into the groups of communicating means based on types of information communicated among the plurality of communicating means; and

one or more of the electronic devices have two or more of the plurality of communicating means, which belong to different groups, to obtain two or more types of information.

5. A vehicular communication system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of communicating means is divided into the groups of communicating means based on types of the electronic devices, so that each electronic device includes the communicating means of a corresponding one of the groups.

6. A vehicular communication system according to claim 1, wherein:

the plurality of communicating means is divided into the groups of communicating means in such a manner that each group of communicating means includes two or more of the plurality of communicating means; and

the two or more communicating means of each group include;

a transmitter means, which is provided in an associated one of the electronic devices to transmit information of the associated one of the electronic devices; and

one or more receiver means, each of which is provided in an associated one of the electronic devices that requires the information transmitted from the transmitter means.

7. A vehicular communication system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the electronic devices includes:

two or more of the plurality of communicating means that belong to different groups; and

an information relaying means, which receives information from a first one of the two or more communicating means and outputs the information through a second one of the two or more communicating means when the information received from the first one of the two or more communicating means is preset to be transferred to the communicating means of another group, to which the second one of the two or more communicating means belongs.

8. A vehicular communication system according to claim 1, wherein each communicating means transmits information according to a preset transmission schedule.

9. A vehicular communication system according to claim 8, wherein:

at least one of the electronic devices includes a channel changing command generating means in addition to each associated communicating means that is associated with the at least one of the electronic devices;

the channel changing command generating means receives information received by the associated communicating means and monitors whether information is transmitted and received at a predetermined timing specified by the corresponding schedule within the group, to which the associated communicating means belongs, based on the information received by the associated communicating means; and

when it is determined that information is not transmitted and received at the predetermined timing specified by the corresponding schedule within the group, to which the associated communicating means belongs, the channel changing command generating means outputs a channel changing command for changing the one of the predetermined communication frequency and the predetermined code to all of the communicating means of the group, to which the associated communicating means belongs.

10. A vehicular communication system according to claim 9, wherein:

each electronic device includes;

an emergency communicating means, which belongs to a dedicated emergency information communicating group; and

a communication channel changing means, which changes a communication channel of each corresponding communicating means based on the channel changing command when the emergency communicating means receives the channel changing command, which is outputted to the corresponding communicating means that belongs to the group of communicating means other than the dedicated emergency information communicating group; and

each channel changing command generating means outputs the channel changing command through the emergency communicating means, which is provided in the corresponding electronic device that has the channel changing command generating means.

11. A vehicular communication system according to claim 8, wherein:

each electronic device further includes a communication channel changing means in addition to each associated communicating means that is associated with the electronic device;

the communication channel changing means receives information received by the associated communicating means and monitors whether information is transmitted and received at a predetermined timing specified by the corresponding schedule within the group, to which the associated communicating means belongs, based on the information received by the associated communicating means; and

when it is determined that information is not transmitted and received at the predetermined timing specified by the corresponding schedule within the group, to which the associated communicating means belongs, the communication channel changing means changes the one of the predetermined communication frequency and the predetermined code, which is used by the associated communicating means, to one of an auxiliary communication frequency and an auxiliary code assigned to a preset auxiliary communication channel.