Vehicular control apparatus and program storage medium

• US 8,095,262 B2
• Filed: 10/02/2008
• Issued: 01/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Shimizu, Kokichi, Ban, Yoshinori, Kondoh, Masayoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Culbreth, Eric
• Assistant Examiner(s): Frisby, Keith
• Application Number:
  US12/244,314
• Publication Number:
  US 20090088923A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,195 Days
• Field of Search: 701/31, 701/29, 701/114, 701/115, 701/33, 701/34, 701/35, 340/438, 340/439
• US Class Current: 701/31
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers

Abstract

Whether an anomaly occurs in a data-rewritable second nonvolatile memory is determined by comparison between (i) a diagnosis code stored in the second nonvolatile memory and (ii) data contents stored as a diagnosis table in a first nonvolatile memory. The first nonvolatile memory previously stores the diagnosis table for listing diagnosis codes. If the diagnosis codes are appropriately registered in the diagnosis table, it is thereafter unnecessary to take into consideration whether the diagnosis codes are normally stored in the first nonvolatile memory. This configuration requires no further rewriting of information in the first nonvolatile memory unlike other memories, and thus decreases a possibility of an occurrence of an anomaly to garble the information in the first nonvolatile memory in comparison with other memories. Whether an anomaly occurs in the second nonvolatile memory can be thus performed more appropriately.

Claims

1. A vehicular control apparatus comprising:

a first memory of a nonvolatile memory for storing a plurality of diagnosis codes;

a second memory of a nonvolatile memory in which data are deletable or rewritable;

a second-memory storing unit for

(i) designating, in response to an event occurring in a process in which a predetermined control unit controls an operation of a control target, a diagnosis code among the plurality of diagnosis codes stored in the first memory by referring to the first memory, the designated diagnosis corresponding to the event occurring in the process, and

(ii) storing, in the second memory, the diagnosis code designated in the first memory by referring to the first memory;

a first accordance determination unit for performing a first accordance determination as to whether or not a not-according diagnosis code is present in the second memory, the not-according diagnosis code being stored in the second memory by the second-memory storing unit and not according with any one of the plurality of diagnosis codes stored in the first memory; and

a second-memory anomaly determination unit for determining that an anomaly occurs in the second memory when the first accordance determination unit determines that the not-according diagnosis code is present in the second memory.

2. The vehicular control apparatus according to claim 1, further using a third memory of a volatile memory for retaining data by receiving a power supply,

the vehicular control apparatus further comprising:

a third-memory storing unit for storing, in the third memory, a diagnosis code among the plurality of diagnosis codes stored in the first memory, in response to an event occurring in the process, the diagnosis code stored in the third memory corresponding to the event occurring in the process; and

a second accordance determination unit for performing a second accordance determination as to whether or not a not-according diagnosis code related with the third memory is present in the second memory, the not-according diagnosis code related with the third memory being stored in the second memory by the second-memory storing unit and not according with the diagnosis code stored in the third memory,

wherein when the second accordance determination unit determines that the not-according diagnosis code related with the third memory is present in the second memory, the first accordance determination unit is further configured to perform the first accordance determination.

3. The vehicular control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the first accordance determination unit is further configured to perform the first accordance determination at a time point of an access to the diagnosis code in the third memory in response to a demand from an external tool.

4. The vehicular control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a third memory of a volatile memory for retaining data by receiving a power supply, wherein the second memory storing unit stores a diagnosis code, which corresponds to an event occurring in the process, in a storage area of the second memory and a storage area of the third memory corresponding to the storage area of the second memory; and

a second accordance determination unit for performing a second accordance determination as to whether or not a not-according diagnosis code related with the third memory is present in the storage area of the second memory, the not-according diagnosis code related with the third memory being stored in a storage area of the second memory and not according with a diagnosis code stored in a storage area of the third memory corresponding to the storage area of the second memory,

wherein when the second accordance determination unit determines that the not-according diagnosis code related with the third memory is present in the storage area of the second memory, the first accordance determination unit is further configured to perform the first accordance determination.

5. The vehicular control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

a third memory of a volatile memory for retaining data by receiving a power supply;

a third-memory storing unit for storing, in the third memory, a diagnosis code among the plurality of diagnosis codes stored in the first memory, at a predetermined time point in response to an event occurring in the process, the diagnosis code corresponding to the event occurring in the process,

wherein the first accordance determination unit is further configured to perform the first accordance determination each time the predetermined time point comes.

6. The vehicular control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the first accordance determination unit is further configured to perform the first accordance determination every cycle ranging from a start to a stop of the control unit.

7. The vehicular control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the first accordance determination unit is further configured to perform the first accordance determination at a time point of an access to the diagnosis code in the second memory in response to a demand from an external tool.

8. The vehicular control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the first accordance determination unit is further configured to perform the first accordance determination at a time point which comes periodically.

9. A non-transitory program storage medium containing instructions readable and executable by a computer, the instructions for causing the computer to function as all the units included in the vehicular control apparatus according to claim 1.

10. The vehicular control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the first accordance determination unit is further configured to perform the first accordance determination at a time point when the vehicular control apparatus starts.

11. The vehicular control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the first accordance determination unit is further configured to perform the first accordance determination when a specified time period elapses after the vehicular control unit starts.

12. The vehicular control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the first accordance determination unit is further configured to perform the first accordance determination when the vehicular control unit stops or a specified time point prior to the stop of the vehicular control unit.