Vehicle electronic control unit calibration

• US 9,443,359 B2
• Filed: 08/29/2013
• Issued: 09/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Sarkar, Susanta P., Correia, John J., Hoover, Robert D., Schroeder, Jamison C.
• Primary Examiner(s): MOYER, DALE S
• Application Number:
  US14/013,193
• Publication Number:
  US 20150066289A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,111 Days
• Field of Search: 701/33.1, 701/29.1, 701/29.2, 701/29.6, 701/33.4
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0075 Automatic parameter input, automatic initialising or calibrating means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0083 Setting, resetting, calibration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/45 External transmission of data to or from the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/00 Details of control systems for road vehicle drive control not related to the control of a particular sub-unit , e.g. process diagnostic or vehicle driver interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/60 Software deployment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/445 Program loading or initiating bootstrapping G06F9/4401; security arrangements for program loading or initiating G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C

Abstract

Calibration for a vehicle electronic control unit (ECU) includes determining a trigger event configured to initiate a check for updates to calibration data files of the ECU, iterating through calibration part numbers present in the ECU, and accessing, from a memory device in communication with the vehicle, in response to the iterating, a chain of parts table in a linked list that maps calibration part numbers identified in the ECU unit to any subsequently-issued calibration part numbers. The subsequently-issued calibration part numbers reflect an index to the updates to the calibration data files. The calibration also includes searching the chain of parts table using the calibration part numbers identified in the ECU to determine a corresponding subsequently-issued calibration part number, selecting one of the updates to the calibration data files using the subsequently-issued calibration part number from the memory device, and updating the ECU with the selected update.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

determining, by a computer processor in a vehicle, a trigger event configured to initiate a check for updates to calibration data files of an electronic control unit of the vehicle, wherein the trigger event occurs in response to one of the user updating a software application associated with the electronic control unit, the user inserting a storage device into a storage drive of the vehicle, and upon a post-reset or self-test the determination an application is not compatible with at least one calibration;

iterating through and identifying calibration part numbers present in the electronic control unit;

accessing, from the storage device in communication with the vehicle, in response to the iterating, a chain of parts table in a linked list that maps calibration part numbers identified in the electronic control unit to any subsequently-issued calibration part numbers, the subsequently-issued calibration part numbers reflecting an index to the updates to the calibration data files;

searching the chain of parts table using the calibration part numbers identified in the electronic control unit to determine a corresponding subsequently-issued calibration part number;

selecting one of the updates to the calibration data files using the subsequently-issued calibration part number from the memory device; and

updating the electronic control unit with the one of the updates to the calibration data files.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

verifying a digital signature of the chain of parts table and the calibration data file prior to the accessing.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the linked list, containing an original calibration part number followed by all of the subsequently-issued calibration part numbers that each represent a revision and update to the original calibration part number, includes:

a first calibration part number representing either the original part number or one of the subsequently-issued calibration part numbers in the linked list; and

a second calibration part number that is linked in consecutive order to the first calibration part number.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the check for the updates is determined in response to one of the calibration part numbers identified for the electronic control unit matches the first calibration part number.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein no calibration update is performed when none of the calibration part numbers identified for the electronic control unit has the corresponding second calibration part number.

6. The method of claim 3 further comprising sending a message to a user to contact a vehicle dealer when the trigger event occurs in response to the user updating a software application associated with the electronic control unit, or upon a post-reset or self-test the determination an application is not compatible with at least one calibration, and in response to none of the calibration part numbers identified for the electronic control unit has the corresponding second calibration part number.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising performing no calibration update in response to none of the calibration part numbers identified for the electronic control unit having the corresponding second calibration part number, and in response to the trigger even occurring in response to the user inserting a storage device into a storage drive of the vehicle.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer processor resides in the electronic control unit.

9. A system, comprising:

an electronic control unit disposed in a vehicle;

a computer processor communicatively coupled to the electronic control unit; and

logic executable by the computer processor, the logic configured to implement a method, the method comprising;

determining a trigger event configured to initiate a check for updates to calibration data files of the electronic control unit, wherein the trigger event occurs in response to one of the user updating a software application associated with the electronic control unit, the user inserting a storage device into a storage drive of the vehicle, and upon a post-reset or self-test the determination an application is not compatible with at least one calibration;

iterating through and identifying calibration part numbers present in the electronic control unit;

accessing, from the storage device in communication with the vehicle, in response to the iterating, a chain of parts table in a linked list that maps calibration part numbers identified in the electronic control unit to any subsequently-issued calibration part numbers, the subsequently-issued calibration part numbers reflecting an index to the updates to the calibration data files;

searching the chain of parts table using the calibration part numbers identified in the electronic control unit to determine a corresponding subsequently-issued calibration part number;

selecting one of the updates to the calibration data files using the subsequently-issued calibration part number from the memory device; and

updating the electronic control unit with the one of the updates to the calibration data files.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the logic is further configured to implement:

verifying a digital signature of the chain of parts table and the calibration data file prior to the accessing.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the linked list, containing an original calibration part number followed by all of the subsequently-issued calibration part numbers that each represent a revision and update to the original calibration part number, includes:

a first calibration part number representing either the original part number or one of the subsequently issued calibration part numbers in the linked list; and

a second calibration part number that is linked in consecutive order to the first calibration part number.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the check for the updates is determined in response to one of the calibration part numbers identified for the electronic control unit matches the first calibration part number.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein no calibration update is performed when none of the calibration part numbers identified for the electronic control unit has the corresponding second calibration part number.

14. The system of claim 11 wherein the method further comprises sending a message to a user to contact a vehicle dealer when the trigger event occurs in response to the user updating a software application associated with the electronic control unit, or upon a post-reset or self-test the determination an application is not compatible with at least one calibration, and in response to none of the calibration part numbers identified for the electronic control unit has the corresponding second calibration part number.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the method further comprises performing no calibration update in response to none of the calibration part numbers identified for the electronic control unit having the corresponding second calibration part number, and in response to the trigger even occurring in response to the user inserting a storage device into a storage drive of the vehicle.

16. The system of claim 9, wherein the computer processor resides in the electronic control unit.

17. A computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium having program instructions embodied thereon, wherein the computer-readable storage medium is not a transitory signal, the program instructions when executed by a computer processor disposed in a vehicle, causes the computer processor to implement a method, the method comprising:

determining a trigger event configured to initiate a check for updates to calibration data files of an electronic control unit of the vehicle, wherein the trigger event occurs in response to one of the user updating a software application associated with the electronic control unit, the user inserting a storage device into a storage drive of the vehicle, and upon a post-reset or self-test the determination an application is not compatible with at least one calibration;

iterating through and identifying calibration part numbers present in the electronic control unit;

accessing, from the storage device in communication with the vehicle, in response to the iterating, a chain of parts table in a linked list that maps calibration part numbers identified in the electronic control unit to any subsequently-issued calibration part numbers, the subsequently-issued calibration part numbers reflecting an index to the updates to the calibration data files;

searching the chain of parts table using the calibration part numbers identified in the electronic control unit to determine a corresponding subsequently-issued calibration part number;

selecting one of the updates to the calibration data files using the subsequently-issued calibration part number from the memory device; and

updating the electronic control unit with the one of the updates to the calibration data files.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the linked list, containing an original calibration part number followed by all of the subsequently-issued calibration part numbers that each represent a revision and update to the original calibration part number, includes:

a first calibration part number representing either the original part number or one of the subsequently-issued calibration part numbers in the linked list; and

a second calibration part number that is linked in consecutive order to the first calibration part number.

19. The computer program product of claim 18 wherein the method further comprises sending a message to a user to contact a vehicle dealer when the trigger event occurs in response to the user updating a software application associated with the electronic control unit, or upon a post-reset or self-test the determination an application is not compatible with at least one calibration, and in response to none of the calibration part numbers identified for the electronic control unit has the corresponding second calibration part number.

20. The computer program product of claim 19 wherein the method further comprises performing no calibration update in response to none of the calibration part numbers identified for the electronic control unit having the corresponding second calibration part number, and in response to the trigger even occurring in response to the user inserting a storage device into a storage drive of the vehicle.