JP2004326689A - Method for rewriting software of on-vehicle equipment, system of telematics system, and telematics device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a software rewriting method of on-vehicle equipment which saves a vehicle user from bringing a vehicle into a retailer or a service center and saves him or her inconveniences that the vehicle becomes unable to use and saves the retailer and the service center from informing the user of the vehicle that the software of the on-vehicle equipment is to be rewritten. <P>SOLUTION: A rewriting software so as to update the software of an ECU 3 is distributed by radio from the service center 6 via a mobile communication network 4. The rewriting software distributed by radio is received by a communication terminal 2 and downloaded from a telematics device 1. By using the downloaded rewriting software, the software of the ECU 3 is rewritten and updated. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to rewriting software for in-vehicle devices.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In vehicles, microcomputers are used in various in-vehicle devices such as engine control devices and drive system control devices including automatic transmissions. As described above, in an in-vehicle device operated by a microcomputer, software may be rewritten due to a change in a market or a customer request, and a device for rewriting software of the in-vehicle device is known (Patent Document 1).
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-11-96082
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the software rewriting device disclosed in Patent Literature 1, it is necessary to add a connector, a harness, and the like to the vehicle beforehand for connection to the in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle, which leads to an increase in the cost of the vehicle. In rewriting software using this rewriting device, the user of the vehicle is notified that the software of the in-vehicle equipment of the vehicle is to be rewritten, and the vehicle is left for a while at a store or a service center. Normally, rewriting is performed. Therefore, the trouble of bringing the vehicle to a store or a service center and the inconvenience that the vehicle cannot be used for a while occur on the user side of the vehicle. In addition, the store and the service center have trouble in informing the user of the vehicle that the software of the in-vehicle device is to be rewritten.
[0005]
The present invention provides a software rewriting method for an in-vehicle device that does not cause such inconvenience or trouble, and further provides a telematics system and a telematics device that execute the software rewriting method.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention provides a software rewriting method for an in-vehicle device that rewrites software of the in-vehicle device using rewriting software, wherein the rewriting software is wirelessly distributed by a wireless distribution unit, and the wirelessly distributed rewriting software is received by a receiving unit. It is to download and rewrite the software of the in-vehicle device using the downloaded rewriting software.
The present invention also provides an in-vehicle telematics device that rewrites software of an in-vehicle device using rewriting software, a download unit that receives and downloads the rewriting software wirelessly distributed by the wireless distribution unit by the receiving unit, Rewriting means for rewriting the software of the in-vehicle device using the software for use.
[0007]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the rewriting software is wirelessly distributed by the wireless distribution unit, the wirelessly distributed rewriting software is received and downloaded by the receiving unit, and the software of the in-vehicle device is used by using the downloaded rewriting software. Was rewritten. With this configuration, in rewriting the software of the in-vehicle device, the user of the vehicle does not have to bring the vehicle to a store or a service center, and there is no inconvenience that the vehicle cannot be used for a while. Further, there is no need to notify the dealer or the service center that the software of the on-vehicle device is to be rewritten to the user of the vehicle.
[0008]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
One embodiment of a telematics system according to the present invention is shown in FIG. The telematics device 1 mounted on the vehicle 100 in FIG. 1 is connected to a communication terminal 2 and an ECU (Engine Control Unit) 3 and provides a user with various types of information such as maps and e-mails acquired via the communication terminal 2. provide. In addition, the telematics device 1 downloads the rewriting software of the ECU 3 via the communication terminal 2, and updates the software of the ECU 3 to the latest one using the software. In the following description, software is a program, and realizes various controls by being executed by the ECU 3.
[0009]
The communication terminal 2 connects to the mobile communication network 4 by wireless communication. The mobile communication network 4 is a public communication network generally used in mobile communication, and is connected to an information distribution center 5 and a service center 6 by circuit switching equipment (not shown). The telematics device 1 can acquire various information supplied from the communication terminal 2 by connecting it to the information distribution center 5 and the service center 6 via the mobile communication network 4. The communication terminal 2 is, for example, a mobile phone.
[0010]
The information distribution center 5 supplies various information services such as maps and electronic mails to the telematics device 1 by wireless distribution in response to a request from the telematics device 1. For example, map information is supplied based on the information on the current location and the destination transmitted from the telematics device 1, and electronic mail is transmitted and received based on the user identification information transmitted from the telematics device 1.
[0011]
The service center 6 supplies the rewriting software of the ECU 3 to the telematics device 1 by wireless distribution. The telematics device 1 downloads the supplied rewriting software, outputs the rewritten software to the ECU 3, and updates the software of the ECU 3. The telematics device 1 and the ECU 3 are connected by an in-vehicle communication bus (not shown), and the output of rewriting software from the telematics device 1 to the ECU 3 is performed via the in-vehicle communication bus. In addition to the telematics device 1 and the ECU 3, various in-vehicle information devices such as an audio unit that reproduces a CD or the like and outputs sound to a speaker (not shown) are connected to the communication bus in the vehicle.
[0012]
The ECU 3 is a device that controls the engine of the vehicle 100, for example, controls the amount of fuel to be injected, and operates by software stored therein. This software is stored in an externally rewritable nonvolatile storage device, such as a flash memory. The software of the ECU 3 can be updated to the latest software by using rewriting software downloaded from the service center 6 using the telematics device 1.
[0013]
FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the telematics device 1. The telematics device 1 includes a control circuit 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, a current position detection device 14, an image memory 15, a display monitor 16, an input device 17, and an update memory 18. The control circuit 11 includes a microprocessor and its peripheral circuits, and performs various controls by executing a control program stored in the ROM 12 using the RAM 13 as a work area. As a result, the communication terminal 2 is used to download various information and rewriting software for the ECU 3, and to output the downloaded rewriting software to the ECU 3.
[0014]
The current position detection device 14 is a device that detects the current position of the vehicle 100 of FIG. 1 on which the telematics device 1 is mounted, and for example, a direction sensor 14a that detects the traveling direction of the vehicle, a vehicle speed sensor 14b that detects the vehicle speed, a GPS satellite And a GPS sensor 14c for detecting a GPS signal from the camera. The telematics device 1 requests a map from the information distribution center 5 in FIG. 1 based on the current state of the vehicle 100 detected by the current position detection device 14. Further, on the map data transmitted from the information distribution center 5 in response to the request, the current position of the vehicle 100 detected by the current position detecting device 14, that is, the own vehicle position is indicated and displayed on the monitor 16.
[0015]
The image memory 15 stores image data to be displayed on the monitor 16. The image data includes road map drawing data, various graphic data, and the like, and these are appropriately selected based on the map data transmitted from the information distribution center 5. The telematics device 1 can provide the user with the information of the transmitted map data by displaying the selected image data on the monitor 16.
[0016]
The input device 17 has various switches for inputting a destination of the vehicle and the like. When the destination of the vehicle is input using the input device 17, the telematics device 1 requests the information distribution center 5 for map data from the current position of the vehicle 100 detected by the current position detection device 16 to the destination. In response to this request, the map data of the recommended route from the current location to the destination is transmitted from the information distribution center 5.
[0017]
The update memory 18 stores rewriting software for the ECU 3 downloaded from the service center 6. When the software of the ECU 3 is updated to the latest one using the rewriting software, the original software before the update is stored in the update memory 18. Thus, when the updated software is inconvenient and the ECU 3 does not operate normally, the original software before the update can be restored.
[0018]
FIG. 3 shows a flowchart when the software of the ECU 3 is updated. FIG. 3A shows a processing flow in the service center 6, and FIG. 3B shows a processing flow in the telematics device 1. Hereinafter, these processing flows will be described.
[0019]
First, in step S1 of FIG. 3A, the service center 6 calls a telematics device of a vehicle on which a vehicle-mounted device to be updated is installed. Therefore, the service center 6 is connected in advance to the version management information of the software of the in-vehicle device for each vehicle, the individual identification information of the telematics device mounted on the vehicle, for example, the serial number of the telematics device, and the telematics device. As a matter of fact, it is necessary to store information such as telephone numbers of registered communication terminals in a database. In the following description, it is assumed that the vehicle-mounted device to be updated is mounted on the vehicle 100 in FIG. 1 and the service center 6 calls the telematics device 1 mounted on the vehicle 100 in step S1. When this step S1 is performed in the service center 6, the called telematics device 1 executes the flowchart of FIG. 3B described later.
[0020]
In step S2, the telematics device 1 called in step S1 is notified of the in-vehicle device to be updated. In the following description, it is assumed that the ECU 3 has notified that it is an update target. When this step S2 is executed in the service center 6, the telematics device 1 notified of the in-vehicle device to be updated executes a step S11 of FIG. 3B described later.
[0021]
In step S3, the rewriting software of the ECU 3 used for updating is delivered to the telematics device 1. The distributed rewriting software is received by the communication terminal 2 from the service center 6 via the mobile communication network 4 and downloaded by the telematics device 1. The downloaded rewriting software is stored in the update memory 18 in FIG. When this step S3 is executed in the service center 6, the telematics device 1 to which the rewriting software has been distributed executes step S13 in FIG. 3B described later. After executing step S3, the service center 6 ends the processing flow of FIG.
[0022]
The telematics device 1 executes the flowchart of FIG. 3B when the service center 6 executes step S1 and calls the telematics device 1. In step S11, when the service center 6 receives the information of the in-vehicle device to be updated notified by executing step S2, in step S12, the currently stored software (source) of the in-vehicle device to be updated, ie, the ECU 3, is received. Is copied and stored in the update memory 18.
[0023]
In step S13, the service center 6 executes step S3 to download the distributed rewriting software and stores it in the update memory 18. At this time, the downloaded rewriting software is stored in a memory area different from the memory area storing the original software in step S12.
[0024]
When the download of the rewriting software is completed in step S13, it is determined in step S14 whether or not the download was successful. For this determination, for example, a CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) code is added to the communication data at the time of downloading at the service center 6 side, and it is checked whether or not a communication error has occurred in the received telematics device 1 using the CRC code. Do it by doing. If there is no communication error, it is determined that the download is successful, and the process proceeds to step S15. If there is a communication error, it is determined that the download has failed, and the processing flow in FIG. 3B ends. At this time, it is preferable to notify the service center 6 of the download result, and if it fails, request the download again.
[0025]
In step S15, the rewriting software downloaded in step S13 is output to the ECU 3, and the rewriting software is written in the software storage area of the ECU 3. When the rewriting software is written, the ECU 3 performs a self-diagnosis using the software. The self-diagnosis is performed to diagnose whether or not the ECU 3 operates normally, and is performed by a predetermined processing program. In the next step S16, it is determined whether or not the writing of the rewriting software executed in step S15 is successful. This determination is made, for example, by comparing the software content written in step S15 and stored in the ECU 3 with the software content downloaded from the service center 6 and stored in the update memory 18 in step S13. Is determined by whether or not they match. If they match, it is determined that the download has been successful, and the process proceeds to step S17. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S18.
[0026]
In step S17, it is determined whether the self-diagnosis result of the ECU 3 is normal. The self-diagnosis is automatically executed in the ECU 10 when the rewriting software is written as described above, and the result is output to the telematics device 1. If the self-diagnosis result is normal, the telematics device 1 ends the processing flow of FIG. Thereby, the software of the ECU 3 is updated to the new software. If the self-diagnosis result is not normal, the process proceeds to step S18.
[0027]
In step S18, the original software stored in the update memory 18 is written to the ECU 3. In this case, the software of the ECU 3 is not updated to the new software. After executing step S18, the telematics device 1 ends the processing flow of FIG. By doing so, when the ECU 3 does not operate normally with the updated new software, the original software before the update can be restored.
[0028]
According to the embodiment described above, the following operation and effect can be obtained.
(1) The rewriting software is wirelessly distributed by the service center 6 (step S3), the rewriting software is received by the communication terminal 2 and downloaded by the telematics device 1 (step S13), and the downloaded rewriting software is downloaded. By using this, the software of the ECU 3 is rewritten (step S15). Because of this, the user of the vehicle is notified that the vehicle is a target for rewriting the software of the ECU, and the user receiving the notification brings the vehicle to a store or a service center, and the store or service There is no need to store the vehicle at the center for a while and rewrite the ECU.
(2) It is determined whether or not the downloaded rewriting software is normal (step S14). If not, the software of the ECU 3 is not rewritten. If the software of the ECU 3 has been rewritten, it is determined whether or not the operation of the ECU 3 is normal (step S17). If it is determined that the operation is not normal, it is stored in the update memory 18. By writing the original software, the software of the ECU 3 is returned to the state before rewriting (step S18). With this configuration, it is possible to eliminate an abnormality in the rewriting software due to garbled data in the wireless communication, an operation abnormality due to inconsistency in the software after the update, and the like, and improve reliability at the time of the update.
(3) The downloaded rewriting software and the original software before rewriting are stored in the update memory 18 of the telematics device 1. With this configuration, it is not necessary to provide the ECU 3 with a memory for storing both of these software in the rewriting operation, and the cost of the ECU 3 can be reduced.
[0029]
In the above embodiment, an example in which the software of the ECU 3 is rewritten has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this content, and can be applied to rewriting of software of various other in-vehicle devices. At this time, the memory for storing the downloaded rewriting software and the memory for storing the original software before rewriting can be commonly used between different vehicle-mounted devices.
[0030]
In the above embodiment, the telematics device 1 has been described as an example in which various information such as maps and e-mails is supplied by the information distribution center 5 in addition to downloading the rewriting software from the service center 6. Is not limited to this content. As long as the device downloads the rewriting software wirelessly distributed, the device may be used also as a device used for various other purposes.
[0031]
In the above embodiment, the wireless distribution means is realized by the service center 6, the receiving means is realized by the communication terminal 2, the download means and the rewriting means are realized by the telematics device 1, and the on-vehicle equipment is realized by the ECU 3. Further, the first storage unit and the second storage unit are realized by the update memory 18. However, these are merely examples, and each component is not limited to the above-described embodiment as long as the features of the present invention are not impaired.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a telematics system according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a telematics device according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing flow when updating software of an ECU, wherein (a) shows a processing flow in a service center, and (b) shows a processing flow in a telematics device.
[Explanation of symbols]
1: Telematics device 2: Communication terminal 3: ECU 4: Mobile communication network 5: Information distribution center 6: Service center

Claims (7)

An in-vehicle device software rewriting method for rewriting in-vehicle device software using rewriting software,
Wirelessly delivering the rewriting software by wireless delivery means,
Receiving and downloading the wirelessly distributed rewriting software by receiving means,
A software rewriting method for an in-vehicle device, comprising rewriting software of the in-vehicle device using the downloaded rewriting software. The software rewriting method according to claim 1,
Determine whether the downloaded rewriting software is normal, if it is determined to be normal, rewrite the software of the vehicle-mounted device using the rewriting software, if it is determined that it is not normal Without rewriting the software of the in-vehicle device,
When the software of the in-vehicle device is rewritten as determined to be normal by the above determination, it is further determined whether or not the operation of the in-vehicle device is normal after the rewriting. A method for rewriting software of an in-vehicle device, wherein the software of the device is returned to a state before being rewritten. The software rewriting method according to claim 2,
Before rewriting the software of the in-vehicle device, the software stored in the in-vehicle device is stored in another first storage means, and when the software of the in-vehicle device is returned to the state before being rewritten after the rewriting, A software rewriting method for an in-vehicle device, wherein the stored software is used. The software rewriting method according to claim 3,
The first storage means is commonly used between a plurality of different on-vehicle devices,
A software rewriting method for an in-vehicle device, wherein any one of software stored in the different in-vehicle devices is stored in the first storage means. The software rewriting method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The downloaded rewriting software is rewriting software for any of a plurality of different in-vehicle devices,
Storing the rewriting software in a second storage means commonly used between the different vehicle-mounted devices;
A software rewriting method for an in-vehicle device, comprising rewriting software of one of the in-vehicle devices using rewriting software stored in the second storage means. A vehicle telematics system that executes the software rewriting method according to claim 1. In the in-vehicle telematics device that rewrites the software of the in-vehicle device using the rewriting software,
Download means for receiving and downloading the rewriting software wirelessly distributed by the wireless distribution means by the reception means,
An in-vehicle telematics device comprising: rewriting means for rewriting software of the in-vehicle device using the downloaded rewriting software.

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