Method for reversibly coding an engine controller for a motor vehicle in manipulation-proof fashion, and engine controller

• US 8,688,361 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2011
• Issued: 04/01/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Audi AG (Volkswagen AG)
• Original Assignee: Audi AG (Volkswagen AG)
• Inventors: Herz, Joerg, Brecht, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Kwon, John
• Application Number:
  US13/991,553
• Publication Number:
  US 20130253807A1
• Time in Patent Office: 885 Days
• Field of Search: 701/115, 700/90, 711/100, 711/103, 711/163
• US Class Current: 701/115
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 28/00 Programme-control of engines
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/2487 Methods for rewriting
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/249 Methods for preventing the loss of data
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/26 using computer, e.g. microprocessor

Abstract

A reversible, manipulation-proof method encodes an engine controller for a motor vehicle, which is designed for use in motor vehicles with different operating characteristics. At least one first operating characteristic is defined in invariant form for the motor vehicle, with which method during commissioning of the engine controller the first operating characteristic is stored in the engine controller during and/or after an authentication process in such a way that it can only be changed during and/or after a further authentication process.

Claims

1. A method for reversible, manipulation-proof encoding of an engine controller designed for use in different motor vehicles with respective different operating characteristics, comprising:

defining a first operating characteristic as being invariant for a motor vehicle;

during commissioning of the engine controller for the motor vehicle, initiating a commissioning authentication process; and

after initiating the commissioning authentication process, storing the first operating characteristic in such a way that it is changeable only after initiating a further authentication process.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the first operating characteristic is at least one characteristic selected from the group consisting of a characteristic related to performance of the motor vehicle, a characteristic related to exhaust gas treatment for the motor vehicle, and a characteristic related to activation or deactivation of a start-stop mode.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the first operating characteristic is stored in an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) memory element of the engine controller.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein

there are a plurality of first operating characteristics, and

some of the first operating characteristics are stored in an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) memory element of the engine controller.

5. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein

the first operating characteristic is stored in a memory location, and

after storing the first operating characteristic, a locking bit is set to block write access to the memory location of the first operating characteristic.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein

the locking bit is cleared after the further authentication process.

7. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein

first and second code words respectively define and redefine second operating characteristics not corresponding to the first operating characteristic, and

the first operating characteristic is stored during evaluation of the first code word.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the commissioning authentication process and the further authentication process take place during a teaching process and a further teaching process, respectively.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein

during both the commissioning authentication process and the further authentication process, an immobilizer is configured to participate with a plurality of controllers.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein

the first operating characteristic is a characteristic related to performance of the motor vehicle, and

the first operating characteristic is stored during configuration of the immobilizer.

11. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein

a plurality of second operating characteristics are stored in the engine controller,

the second operating characteristics are re-writable and variable operating characteristics, and

data for the second operating characteristics is provided to the engine controller via a code word.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the code word contains both the first and second operating characteristics.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein a plurality of code words are provided to the engine controller.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the first operating characteristic is stored during evaluation of a first code word.

15. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein

the first operating characteristic is not changed during evaluation of subsequent code words, and

the first operating characteristic is used to check validity of subsequent code words.

16. An engine controller for use in different motor vehicles with respective different operating characteristics, comprising:

a memory for reversible, manipulation-proof encoding of a first operating characteristic defined as invariant for a motor vehicle, the first operating characteristic being stored during communications with a tester computing device external to the motor vehicle, the first operating characteristic being stored after initiating a commissioning authentication process performed during commissioning of the engine controller for the motor vehicle, the first operating characteristic being stored in such a way that it is changeable only after initiating a further authentication process.

17. The engine controller as claimed in claim 16, wherein the memory comprises an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) for invariant storage of the first operating characteristic.