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In-vehicle electronic control apparatus having monitoring control circuit

  • US 7,912,600 B2
  • Filed: 05/15/2008
  • Issued: 03/22/2011
  • Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2007
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. An in-vehicle electronic control apparatus, having a monitoring control circuit, comprising:

  • a main control circuit unit including;

    a non-volatile program memory;

    a RAM memory for calculation processing;

    a first input interface circuit to which a first input sensor group incorporating opening and closing sensors that operate at a variable frequency is connected;

    a first output interface circuit to which a first electric load group incorporating loads that operate at a variable frequency is connected;

    a microprocessor that controls the first electric load group, in response to contents of a control program stored in the non-volatile program memory and an operation status of the first input sensor group, anda monitoring control circuit unit including;

    a question information generation unit that is connected to the microprocessor through a pair of serial interface circuits, that performs communication with regard to input and output signals, of the second input sensor group and the second electric load group, which are part of input and output signals for the microprocessor, and that periodically and sequentially transmits question information items to the main control circuit unit;

    a correct-information storage memory that stores correct information items for the question information items; and

    an abnormality determination unit that compares answer information, based on the question information, from the main control circuit unit with the correct information stored in the correct-information storage memory so as to determine whether or not an abnormality exists in the main control circuit unit,wherein the serial interface circuits are connected between the main control circuit unit and the monitoring control circuit unit, and configure a full-duplex block communication circuit in which multi-byte downlink communication information and uplink communication information are simultaneously transmitted and received based on a communication permission signal and a communication synchronization signal;

    wherein the monitoring control circuit unit is provided with a question information updating unit;

    wherein the downlink communication information is transmitted through downlink communication from the main control circuit unit to the monitoring control circuit unit and includes a setting constant or a control output that is required by the monitoring control circuit unit, answer information for the question information obtained from the immediately previous uplink communication information, and code check information;

    wherein the uplink communication information is transmitted through uplink communication from the monitoring control circuit unit to the main control circuit unit and includes input signal information for the monitoring control circuit unit or storage information for the setting constant or the control output obtained from the main control circuit unit, present question information, and code check information;

    wherein the communication permission signal is a signal that is periodically transmitted, through an independent control signal line, from the main control circuit unit to the monitoring control circuit unit and with which the main control circuit unit permits the monitoring control circuit unit to start the full-duplex block communication;

    wherein the communication synchronization signal is transmitted, through an independent control signal line, from the monitoring control circuit unit to the main control circuit unit or from the main control circuit unit to the monitoring control circuit unit and has a train of pulses whose number corresponds to at least the number of communication-information bits;

    wherein the question information updating unit recurrently transmits question information included in the uplink communication information in such a way that the question information becomes the same in a plurality times of communication, and after transmitting of the question information for a predetermined duration, updates the question information; and

    wherein the main control circuit unit generates answer information for the question information before the predetermined duration elapses from the update of the question information.

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