Control apparatus for automobile

• US 7,542,826 B2
• Filed: 01/06/2006
• Issued: 06/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Hanzawa, Kiichiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Keith; Jack W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dager; Jonathan M
• Application Number:
  US11/326,298
• Publication Number:
  US 20060173585A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,243 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1, 701/36, 701/102, 714/23, 710/9, 710/10, 710/63, 710/104, 700/19, 700/20, 700/25, 49/24, 307/10.1, 318/265, 318/266, 318/267, 296/190.1
• US Class Current: 701/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/7814 Specially adapted for real time processing, e.g. comprising hardware timers

Abstract

In a control apparatus for an automobile with a microcomputer, the control software stores the type of the terminal pin allocated to each control function in the fixed storage section, in a non-fixed state by using a terminal pin variable, in order to alter an allocation arrangement of the terminal pin to the control function. A rearrangement table showing the allocation arrangement of the terminal pin to the control function is stored in a rearrangement table storage section. An allocation content of the terminal pin to each control function is read out from the rearrangement table memory section and specific information of a corresponding terminal pin is substituted into the terminal pin variable corresponding to the each control function included in the control software, based upon the allocation content.

Claims

1. A control apparatus for an automobile, comprising:

a control unit which controls an electrical operation of a controlled electronic device in the automobile, wherein the control unit includes;

a plurality of terminal pins used, either as input for obtaining exterior control information or as output for sending a control signal to the controlled electronic device;

a ROM provided as a fixed storage section configured to store control software having a terminal pin variable, the control software performing signal input/output control in each of the terminal pins;

a RAM provided as an execution area of the control software;

a rearrangement table storage section configured to store a rearrangement table on a computer readable medium, the rearrangement table showing allocation information for each of the terminal pins; and

a CPU configured to read out the allocation information for each of the terminal pins from the rearrangement table storage section and to substitute the allocation information for each of the terminal pins into the terminal pin variable of the control software at the RAM.

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

the rearrangement table corresponding to a specification of the controlled electronic device is written and mounted in an electrically rewritable ROM in accordance with the specification.

3. The control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the rearrangement table has a content arranged so that a function provided to an electronic device by the control software differs from one another depending on a mounting position of the electronic device to the automobile.

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

functions provided to a plurality of electronic devices sharing a hardware arrangement by the control software are set to differ from one another;

distribution positions of the functions in the automobile differ from one another depending on an automobile specification; and

the content of the rearrangement table is defined so that a relation between the terminal pin connected to the electronic device and the mounting position of the electronic device is unchanged regardless of the automobile specification.

5. The control apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein:

the controlled electronic device is a power window unit disposed corresponding to each of a driver'"'"'s seat and a passenger'"'"'s seat for the automobile;

the control software is provided with lifting/lowering software for a driver'"'"'s seat window for handling lifting/lowering of the driver s seat window and lifting/lowering software for a passenger'"'"'s seat window for handling lifting/lowering of the passenger'"'"'s seat window with a control pattern different from that of the driver'"'"'s seat window;

the terminal pins for input/output of power window unit control of the control unit fixedly define the terminal pins connecting the power window unit for a right seat at a front side of the automobile and the terminal pins connecting the power window unit for a left seat at a front side of the automobile in advance; and

the content of the rearrangement table is defined so that a substitution content of the allocation information for each of the terminal pin into the terminal pin variable for the power window unit control which the lifting/lowering software for a driver'"'"'s seat window and the lifting/lowering software for a passenger'"'"'s seat window each are provided with is replaced with each other depending on whether a steering unit is mounted to the automobile with a right-hand steering wheel or the automobile with a left-hand steering wheel.

6. The control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the terminal pin for connection of these exclusively mounted electronic devices is set in common when two electronic devices or more, each having a different hard arrangement with one another are exclusively mounted in accordance with an automobile type; and

the rearrangement table has a content defined so that the input/output driver function allocated to the common terminal pin differs depending on the electronic device connected.

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

under a situation of whether inputs from a plurality of input-side electronic devices are individually used for output control to a plurality of independent output-side electronic devices or for output control to a common output-side electronic device is selected in accordance with an automobile type, the rearrangement table has a content defined to take either one of a first mode in which the terminal pins for connection to the plurality of the output-side electronic devices are designated individually and the individual input/output driver function of each input-side electronic device is allocated to the individual terminal pin, and a second mode in which the common terminal pin for connection of the plurality of the output-side electronic devices is designated and the single input/output driver function is allocated to the common terminal pin.

8. The control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

under a situation where whether a plurality of electronic devices each having the same hardware arrangement are independently controlled or commonly controlled is selected depending on an automobile type, the rearrangement table has a content defined to take either one of an independent mode in which the terminal pins for connection to the plurality of the electronic devices are designated individually and the individual input/output driver function specific for each electronic device is allocated to the individual terminal pin, and a common mode in which a common terminal pin for connection of the plurality of the electronic devices is designated and the single input/output driver function is allocated to the common terminal pin.

9. The control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the rearrangement table stores a function pointer of the input/output driver function is stored in the form of a function pointer table corresponding to a series of absolute indexes associated directly with the terminal pins which the control unit is provided with;

the terminal pin variable is defined corresponding to the function pointer of the input/output driver function using the terminal pin;

the rearrangement table shows a corresponding relation between the absolute index of each input/output driver function in the function pointer table and the terminal pin to which the input/output driver function is allocated; and

the CPU configured to read out the allocation information for each of the terminal pins is configured to;

subtract a leading index out of a series of absolute indexes allocated to a terminal pin group which is used by the focused control software on the function pointer table, from the absolute index of each terminal pin to be converted into relative indexes; and

allocat the function pointer to each terminal pin by substituting the converted relative index of each terminal pin as specific information of the terminal pin into the corresponding terminal pin variable.

10. The control apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein:

the CPU configured to read out the allocation information for each of the terminal pins is configured to allocat the function pointer of the function for nullifying the terminal pins unused in the control software.

11. The control apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein:

the rearrangement table is arranged so that the index of the terminal pin unused in the control software is designated as an absolute index value larger than the maximum value out of a series of the absolute index values corresponding to the terminal pin group used in the control software inside the index space in the function pointer table; and

said allocating the function pointer of the function for nullifying the terminal pins unused in the control software, when the relative index value exceeds a total terminal pin number, includes allocating to the terminal pin corresponding to the relative index value the function which nullifies this terminal pin.

13. The control apparatus as in claim 1, wherein:

substituting the allocation information for each of the terminal pins into the terminal pin variable includes changing terminal pin variable data without having to change the control software.

14. The control apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the computer readable medium is an electrically rewritable ROM.

12. A controller for controlling power window units of an automobile, the controller comprising:

a CPU;

a plurality of terminal pins, a first terminal pin being associated with a first power window unit on the right-side of the automobile, and a second terminal pin being associated with a second power window unit on the left-side of the automobile regardless of a position of a driver'"'"'s seat;

a memory configured to store applications on a computer readable medium, a first of the applications establishing a first terminal pin variable and being associated with raising or lowering a window on a driver'"'"'s side of the automobile and a second of the applications establishing a second terminal pin variable and being associated with raising or lowering a window on a passenger'"'"'s side of the automobile; and

a rearrangement table configured to store, on another computer readable medium, data for a changeable allocation arrangement of the first and second terminal pins with respect to the first and second applications, the allocation arrangement depending on whether the automobile has a right-hand steering wheel or a left-hand steering wheel;

wherein the CPU is configured to read out data for an allocation arrangement from the rearrangement table to define values of the terminal pin variables so that the first terminal pin becomes associated with the first application and the second terminal pin becomes associated with the second application when the automobile has a right-hand steering wheel, and is configured to read out data for another, different, allocation arrangement so that the first terminal pin becomes associated with the second application and the second terminal pin becomes associated with the first application when the automobile has a left-hand steering wheel; and

wherein a change in the allocation arrangement of the first and second terminal pins with respect to the first and second applications requires a change to the data stored in the rearrangement table but no change to the first or second application.

15. The controller as claimed in claim 12, wherein the another computer readable medium is an electrically rewritable ROM.