JP7525571B2 - Vehicle-mounted relay device, sleep control method, and sleep control program - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to an in-vehicle relay device, a sleep control method, and a sleep control program.

A technology has been developed for reducing power consumption by controlling the sleep state of a communication circuit provided corresponding to a communication port in an in-vehicle relay device. For example, Patent Document 1 (JP Patent Publication No. 2018-074243) discloses the following technology. That is, the relay device (11) has a relay execution unit that executes relay processing by selecting one of a plurality of ports (P1 to P5) through which frames are transmitted and received, and a relay execution unit that executes relay processing by selecting one of the plurality of ports as a relay destination of the received frame based on the destination of the received frame, which is a frame received through one of the plurality of ports, and transmitting the received frame from the selected port, a switch unit (31) that can be switched between a first activation state in which the relay execution unit is in a state in which the relay execution unit can execute the relay processing and a first pause state in which the relay execution unit cannot execute the relay processing, and a communication execution unit that executes a reception function of converting a communication signal input from the port into reception data and outputting it to the switch unit, and a transmission function of converting data transmitted from the switch unit into a communication signal transmitted on a communication line and outputting it to the port, and the communication execution unit executes the reception function and the transmission function. The PHY unit is switchable between a second active state in which the communication execution unit can execute the reception function and the transmission function and a second idle state in which the communication execution unit cannot execute the reception function and the transmission function, and includes a plurality of PHY units (Y1 to Y5) that are set corresponding to the plurality of ports, a first control unit (37) that transitions the PHY unit corresponding to the port in which the frame is detected from the second idle state to the second active state when the switch unit is in the first idle state and each of the plurality of PHY units is in the second idle state, and a second control unit (38) that transitions the switch unit from the first idle state to the first active state when any of the plurality of PHY units transitions from the second idle state to the second active state when the switch unit is in the first idle state and each of the plurality of PHY units is in the second idle state.

JP 2018-074243 A

In an in-vehicle network, in-vehicle functional units such as ECUs may be added in response to user needs. Here, for example, if the time required for the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port of the in-vehicle relay device to which the new in-vehicle functional unit is connected to transition from sleep mode to wake-up mode exceeds the allowable time for an application installed in the new in-vehicle functional unit to start up, the operation of the newly configured in-vehicle network may become unstable.

The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide an in-vehicle relay device, a sleep control method, and a sleep control program that can achieve stable operation in a newly configured in-vehicle network.

The in-vehicle relay device disclosed herein includes a plurality of communication ports that can be respectively connected to a plurality of in-vehicle functional units, a plurality of communication circuits that are provided corresponding to the plurality of communication ports and can communicate with the in-vehicle functional units via the corresponding communication ports, an acquisition unit that acquires functional unit information of the new functional unit that is the in-vehicle functional unit detected to be added when the addition of the in-vehicle functional unit to an in-vehicle network including one or more existing functional units that are the in-vehicle functional units is detected, and a sleep control unit that performs a selection process to select from a plurality of types of sleep modes the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the new functional unit is connected and the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the existing functional unit is connected, based on the functional unit information of the new functional unit acquired by the acquisition unit.

One aspect of the present disclosure can be realized not only as an in-vehicle relay device equipped with such a characteristic processing unit, but also as a semiconductor integrated circuit that realizes part or all of the in-vehicle relay device, or as a system that includes the in-vehicle relay device.

This disclosure makes it possible to achieve stable operation in a newly configured in-vehicle network.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an in-vehicle communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an in-vehicle relay device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sequence of a sleep process in the in-vehicle communication system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication circuit table stored in the vehicle-mounted relay device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the allowable wake-up time of each application in the in-vehicle communication system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication circuit table after an update process is performed by the vehicle-mounted relay device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a condition table stored in the vehicle-mounted relay device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 8 is a flowchart defining an operation procedure of a selection process by the vehicle-mounted relay device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 9 is a flowchart defining an operation procedure of the sleep control in the vehicle-mounted relay device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sequence of sleep control in the in-vehicle communication system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a modified example of an in-vehicle communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a communication circuit table stored in a modified example of the vehicle-mounted relay device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a communication circuit table after update processing according to a modified example of the vehicle-mounted relay device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

First, the contents of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described.
(1) An in-vehicle relay device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a plurality of communication ports that can be respectively connected to a plurality of in-vehicle function units, a plurality of communication circuits that correspond to the plurality of communication ports and can communicate with the in-vehicle function units via the corresponding communication ports, an acquisition unit that, when the addition of an in-vehicle function unit to an in-vehicle network including one or more existing function units that are the in-vehicle function units, acquires function unit information of a new function unit that is the in-vehicle function unit whose addition has been detected, and a sleep control unit that performs a selection process to select from a plurality of types of sleep modes a type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the new function unit is connected and the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the existing function unit is connected, based on the function unit information of the new function unit acquired by the acquisition unit.

In this manner, by selecting the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuits corresponding to the new functional unit and the existing functional unit based on the functional unit information of the new functional unit, when the sleep conditions of the in-vehicle relay device are met, the communication circuits corresponding to the new functional unit and the existing functional unit can each be transitioned to an appropriate sleep mode according to the functional unit information of the new functional unit. Therefore, when the wake-up conditions of the in-vehicle relay device are met, delays in transitioning to the wake-up mode of the communication circuits corresponding to the new functional unit and the existing functional unit can be suppressed. Therefore, stable operation can be achieved in the newly configured in-vehicle network.

(2) In the above (1), the functional unit information may include application information regarding an application installed in the new functional unit, and the sleep control unit may perform the selection process based on the application information of the new functional unit acquired by the acquisition unit.

With this configuration, a sleep mode corresponding to the application information of the new functional unit can be selected as the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuits corresponding to the new functional unit and the existing functional unit.

(3) In (2) above, the application information may include information regarding the type of the application.

This configuration allows the appropriate sleep mode to be used depending on the type of application of the new functional section.

(4) In (2) or (3) above, the application information may include information regarding the time allowed until the application is started.

This configuration allows the appropriate sleep mode to be used depending on the allowable time until the application installed in the new functional unit starts up.

(5) In any of (1) to (4) above, the acquisition unit may further acquire functional unit information of the existing functional unit, and the sleep control unit may perform the selection process based on the functional unit information of the new functional unit and the functional unit information of the existing functional unit acquired by the acquisition unit.

With this configuration, the selection process can select a more appropriate sleep mode that reflects the contents of the functional unit information of the existing functional units in addition to the functional unit information of the new functional units.

(6) In any of (1) to (5) above, the vehicle-mounted relay device may further include a storage unit that stores function correspondence information indicating the correspondence between the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the existing function unit is connected and the function unit information of the existing function unit, and when the acquisition unit acquires the function unit information of the new function unit, the acquisition unit may perform an update process to register the correspondence between the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the new function unit is connected and the function unit information of the new function unit in the function correspondence information in the storage unit, and the sleep control unit may perform the selection process based on the function correspondence information after the update process.

With this configuration, for example, selection processing can be performed with simple processing using function support information after the update processing.

(7) In any of (1) to (6) above, the vehicle-mounted relay device may further include a memory unit that stores sleep mode compatibility information indicating the sleep mode to be applied to each of the multiple communication circuits, and the acquisition unit may acquire function unit information of the other new function units when the other new function units are added to the vehicle-mounted network, and the sleep control unit may perform the selection process based on the function unit information of the other new function units acquired by the acquisition unit and the sleep mode compatibility information in the memory unit.

With this configuration, when performing a selection process using the functional unit information of other new functional units, the sleep mode support information in the memory unit can be referenced, and the sleep mode applied to each communication circuit in the most recent selection process can be easily confirmed.

(8) In any of (1) to (7) above, the multiple types of sleep modes may include a first sleep mode and a second sleep mode that consumes less power in the communication circuit than the first sleep mode, and when the sleep control unit has selected the second sleep mode as the sleep mode to be applied to a predetermined number of the communication circuits, and when the new function unit is connected to the communication port corresponding to at least one of the communication circuits among the predetermined number of communication circuits and the sleep control unit has selected the first sleep mode as the sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the new function unit is connected, the sleep control unit may change the sleep mode to be applied to all remaining communication circuits among the predetermined number of communication circuits from the second sleep mode to the first sleep mode.

With this configuration, for example, when multiple communication circuits cannot be individually put into sleep mode due to constraints on the specifications of the hardware of the vehicle-mounted repeater, the type of sleep mode to be applied to the multiple communication circuits can be correctly selected, making the sleep control more stable.

(9) A sleep control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is a sleep control method used in an in-vehicle relay device having a plurality of communication ports that can be respectively connected to a plurality of in-vehicle functional units, and a plurality of communication circuits that are provided corresponding to the plurality of communication ports and can communicate with the in-vehicle functional units via the corresponding communication ports, and includes the steps of: when an addition of an in-vehicle functional unit to an in-vehicle network including one or more existing functional units that are the in-vehicle functional units is detected, acquiring functional unit information of the new functional unit that is the in-vehicle functional unit whose addition was detected; and performing a selection process to select from a plurality of types of sleep modes the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the new functional unit is connected and the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the existing functional unit is connected, based on the acquired functional unit information of the new functional unit.

In this manner, by selecting the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuits corresponding to the new functional unit and the existing functional unit based on the functional unit information of the new functional unit, when the sleep conditions of the in-vehicle relay device are met, the communication circuits corresponding to the new functional unit and the existing functional unit can each be transitioned to an appropriate sleep mode according to the functional unit information of the new functional unit. Therefore, when the wake-up conditions of the in-vehicle relay device are met, delays in transitioning to the wake-up mode of the communication circuits corresponding to the new functional unit and the existing functional unit can be suppressed. Therefore, stable operation can be achieved in the newly configured in-vehicle network.

(10) A sleep control program according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is a sleep control program used in an in-vehicle relay device having a plurality of communication ports that can be respectively connected to a plurality of in-vehicle functional units, and a plurality of communication circuits that are provided corresponding to the plurality of communication ports and can communicate with the in-vehicle functional units via the corresponding communication ports, and causes a computer to function as an acquisition unit that, when the addition of an in-vehicle functional unit to an in-vehicle network including one or more existing functional units that are the in-vehicle functional units is detected, acquires functional unit information of the new functional unit that is the in-vehicle functional unit whose addition has been detected, and a sleep control unit that performs a selection process that selects from a plurality of types of sleep modes the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the new functional unit is connected and the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the existing functional unit is connected, based on the functional unit information of the new functional unit acquired by the acquisition unit.

In this manner, by selecting the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuits corresponding to the new functional unit and the existing functional unit based on the functional unit information of the new functional unit, when the sleep conditions of the in-vehicle relay device are met, the communication circuits corresponding to the new functional unit and the existing functional unit can each be transitioned to an appropriate sleep mode according to the functional unit information of the new functional unit. Therefore, when the wake-up conditions of the in-vehicle relay device are met, delays in transitioning to the wake-up mode of the communication circuits corresponding to the new functional unit and the existing functional unit can be suppressed. Therefore, stable operation can be achieved in the newly configured in-vehicle network.

The following describes embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the drawings. Note that the same or corresponding parts in the drawings are given the same reference numerals and their description will not be repeated. In addition, at least some of the embodiments described below may be combined in any manner.

[In-vehicle communication system]
Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of an in-vehicle communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Fig. 1, the in-vehicle communication system 301 includes an in-vehicle relay device 101 and a plurality of in-vehicle ECUs (Electronic Control Units) 201. The in-vehicle communication system 301 is mounted on a vehicle 501. The in-vehicle ECU 201 is an example of an in-vehicle function unit mounted on the vehicle 501.

The in-vehicle ECU 201 may be, for example, an autonomous driving ECU, an engine ECU, a door lock ECU, a TCU (Telematics Communication Unit), etc. Note that the in-vehicle functional unit is not limited to the in-vehicle ECU 201, but may also be a sensor, a navigation device, a human-machine interface, a camera, etc.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, the in-vehicle communication system 301 includes multiple in-vehicle ECUs 201A, 201B, and 201C.

Note that the in-vehicle communication system 301 is not limited to a configuration having three in-vehicle ECUs 201, but may be a configuration having two or more in-vehicle ECUs 201.

The in-vehicle relay device 101 and the multiple in-vehicle ECUs 201 form an in-vehicle network 401.

Hereinafter, the in-vehicle function unit newly added to the in-vehicle network 401 is also referred to as a new function unit. The in-vehicle network 401 including the new function unit is also referred to as a new network, and the in-vehicle network 401 before the new function unit is added is also referred to as an existing network. The in-vehicle function unit included in the existing network is also referred to as an existing function unit.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, the in-vehicle ECU 201B is an example of a new functional unit, and the in-vehicle ECUs 201A and 201C are examples of existing functional units. Also, in FIG. 1, the double-ended dashed arrow indicates that the in-vehicle ECU 201B and the in-vehicle relay device 101 are not connected.

Application 202 is installed on on-board ECUs 201A, 201B, and 201C. More specifically, as application 202, application 202A is installed on on-board ECU 201A, applications 202A and 202B are installed on on-board ECU 201B, and application 202C is installed on on-board ECU 201C.

In the in-vehicle network 401, the in-vehicle ECU 201 is connected to the in-vehicle relay device 101 via, for example, an Ethernet (registered trademark) cable 11. Each in-vehicle ECU 201 is connected to other in-vehicle ECUs 201 via the Ethernet cable 11 and the in-vehicle relay device 101.

The in-vehicle relay device 101 is, for example, a switch device, and performs relay processing to relay data between multiple in-vehicle ECUs 201 connected to it.

More specifically, the in-vehicle relay device 101 performs relay processing of Ethernet frames (hereinafter also simply referred to as "frames") exchanged between in-vehicle ECUs 201 connected via an Ethernet cable 11, for example, in accordance with the Ethernet communication standard.

Note that the in-vehicle communication system 301 is not limited to a configuration in which frame relay processing is performed according to the Ethernet communication standard, but may be a configuration in which frame relay is performed according to a communication standard such as CAN (Controller Area Network) (registered trademark), CAN FD (CAN with Flexible Data Rate), FlexRay (registered trademark), MOST (Media Oriented System Transport) (registered trademark), and LIN (Local Interconnect Network).

[In-vehicle relay device]
2 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of an in-vehicle relay device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. With reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the in-vehicle relay device 101 includes a plurality of communication ports 51, a plurality of communication circuits 52, a switch IC (Integrated Circuit) 53, a processing unit 54, and a storage unit 55.

The processing unit 54 includes a determination unit 71, a sleep control unit 72, a detection unit 73, and an acquisition unit 74. The processing unit 54 is realized, for example, by a processing circuit including one or more processors. The storage unit 55 is, for example, a non-volatile memory included in the processing circuit.

The multiple communication ports 51 can respectively connect to multiple in-vehicle ECUs 201. The communication ports 51 are terminals to which, for example, Ethernet cables 11 can be connected.

More specifically, the vehicle-mounted relay device 101 has four communication ports 51A, 51B, 51C, and 51D as the multiple communication ports 51. In the vehicle-mounted relay device 101, the vehicle-mounted ECUs 201A, 201B, and 201C are connected to the communication ports 51A, 51B, and 51C, respectively, via the Ethernet cables 11.

The multiple communication circuits 52 are provided corresponding to the multiple communication ports 51, respectively. More specifically, the vehicle-mounted relay device 101 has four communication circuits 52A, 52B, 52C, and 52D as the multiple communication circuits 52. The communication circuits 52A, 52B, 52C, and 52D are provided corresponding to the communication ports 51A, 51B, 51C, and 51D, respectively.

The communication circuits 52 can communicate with the on-board ECU 201 via the corresponding communication ports 51. More specifically, the communication circuit 52A can communicate with the on-board ECU 201A via the communication port 51A, the communication circuit 52B can communicate with the on-board ECU 201B via the communication port 51B, and the communication circuit 52C can communicate with the on-board ECU 201C via the communication port 51C.

In the example shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle relay device 101 includes a switch IC 53. The switch IC 53 includes communication circuits 52A and 52B and a switch unit 61.

In this way, the communication circuits 52A and 52B are provided inside the switch IC 53. That is, the communication circuits 52A and 52B are built into the switch IC 53. On the other hand, the communication circuit 52C is provided outside the switch IC 53. That is, the communication circuit 52C is external to the switch IC 53.

The communication circuits 52A and 52B are not limited to being built into the switch IC 53, but may be externally attached to the switch IC 53. The communication circuits 52C and 52D are not limited to being externally attached to the switch IC 53, but may be built into the switch IC 53.

The communication circuit 52 built into the switch IC 53 is not limited to the two communication circuits 52A and 52B, and one or three or more communication circuits 52 may be built into the switch IC 53. The communication circuit 52 attached externally to the switch IC 53 is not limited to the two communication circuits 52C and 52D, and one or three or more communication circuits 52 may be attached externally to the switch IC 53.

The switch IC 53 operates, for example, as an L2 switch. The switch unit 61 in the switch IC 53 relays frames transmitted and received between the in-vehicle ECUs 201.

More specifically, when the communication circuit 52 receives a frame addressed to another vehicle ECU 201 from an vehicle ECU 201 connected to the corresponding communication port 51, the communication circuit 52 outputs the received frame to the switch unit 61.

The memory unit 55 stores an address table that shows the correspondence between destination MAC (Media Access Control) addresses and communication ports 51.

When the switch unit 61 receives a frame addressed to the vehicle-mounted ECU 201 from the communication circuit 52, it refers to the address table in the memory unit 55 and identifies the communication port 51 that corresponds to the destination MAC address included in the frame. The switch unit 61 then transmits the frame received from the communication circuit 52 to the destination vehicle-mounted ECU 201 via the communication circuit 52 that corresponds to the identified communication port 51 and the communication port 51.

When the communication circuit 52 receives a frame addressed to the vehicle relay device 101 from the vehicle ECU 201 connected via the corresponding communication port 51, the communication circuit 52 outputs the received frame to the switch unit 61. The switch unit 61 outputs the frame received from the communication circuit 52 to the processing unit 54.

The processing unit 54 creates a frame addressed to the in-vehicle ECU 201 and outputs the created frame to the switch unit 61. When the switch unit 61 receives a frame from the processing unit 54, it refers to the address table stored in the memory unit 55 and identifies the communication port 51 that corresponds to the destination MAC address included in the frame. The switch unit 61 then transmits the frame received from the processing unit 54 to the destination in-vehicle ECU 201 via the communication circuit 52 that corresponds to the identified communication port 51 and the communication port 51.

The switch unit 61 includes, for example, multiple terminals (not shown) that are respectively connected to multiple communication circuits 52. Each terminal is assigned a unique port number.

(Sleep and wake-up modes)
The vehicle-mounted relay device 101 and the vehicle-mounted ECU 201 transition from a wake-up mode to a sleep mode, and also transition from the sleep mode to the wake-up mode. In the wake-up mode, the vehicle-mounted relay device 101 and the vehicle-mounted ECU 201 communicate with other devices in the vehicle-mounted communication system 301, and in the sleep mode, they stop communicating with other devices in the vehicle-mounted communication system 301. Here, the sleep mode is a mode that consumes less power than the wake-up mode due to the stopping of some functions of the device, the stopping of the power supply to the device, or a decrease in the clock frequency in the device, etc.

For example, in each of the in-vehicle relay device 101 and the in-vehicle ECU 201, a sleep condition, which is a condition for transitioning to a sleep mode, and a wake-up condition, which is a condition for transitioning to a wake-up mode, are set in advance.

For example, the sleep condition is that the ignition of the vehicle 501 is turned off, that the vehicle 501 is parked, etc. Also, for example, the wake-up condition is that the ignition of the vehicle 501 is turned on, that the vehicle 501 starts moving, etc.

Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of a sleep processing sequence in an in-vehicle communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. "Device A" and "Device B" shown in Figure 3 are the in-vehicle relay device 101 and the in-vehicle ECU 201.

Referring to FIG. 3, first, in the wake-up mode (steps S11 and S12), device A and device B transmit a frame containing an NM (Network Management) message conforming to, for example, AUTOSAR (AUTOmotive Open System ARCHitecture) (registered trademark) to each device in the in-vehicle communication system 301. Specifically, device A and device B broadcast a frame containing an NM message to each device for alive monitoring (steps S13 and S14).

Next, when device A's sleep conditions are met in wake-up mode (step S15), it stops sending NM messages (step S16).

In addition, when device B is in wake-up mode and its sleep conditions are met (step S17), it stops sending NM messages (step S18).

Next, if device A and device B do not receive an NM message from another device in the in-vehicle communication system 301 within a predetermined time period after stopping the transmission of the NM message, they transition to sleep mode (step S19).

In this way, by using NM messages to switch the states of device A and device B from wake-up mode to sleep mode, the power consumption of device A and device B can be reduced.

When device A and device B are in the sleep mode (step S19) and their own wake-up conditions are met, they transition to the wake-up mode and start periodically sending NM messages. When device A and device B are in the sleep mode (step S19) and receive a wake-up request from another device in the in-vehicle communication system 301, they transition to the wake-up mode.

(Judgment Department)
2 again, the determination unit 71 in the vehicle-mounted relay device 101 determines whether the sleep condition of the communication circuit 52 is met and whether the wake-up condition of the communication circuit 52 is met.

More specifically, the judgment unit 71 monitors the state of the vehicle 501, and performs a judgment process to judge whether the sleep conditions of the communication circuit 52 are met and whether the wake-up conditions of the communication circuit 52 are met based on the monitoring results. The judgment unit 71 performs the judgment process periodically, for example, and notifies the sleep control unit 72 of the judgment results.

(Sleep control unit)
The sleep control unit 72 transitions the communication circuit 52 to a sleep mode, and also transitions the communication circuit 52 to a wake-up mode.

More specifically, when the operation mode of the communication circuit 52 is the wake-up mode and the sleep control unit 72 receives a notification from the judgment unit 71 that the sleep conditions have been met, the sleep control unit 72 transitions the communication circuit 52 to the sleep mode.

When the operation mode of the communication circuit 52 is the sleep mode and the sleep control unit 72 receives a notification from the judgment unit 71 that the wake-up condition has been met, the sleep control unit 72 transitions the communication circuit 52 to the wake-up mode.

When the sleep control unit 72 receives a wake-up request from the in-vehicle ECU 201 via the communication port 51, the communication circuit 52, and the switch unit 61, the sleep control unit 72 transitions the communication circuit 52, which is operating in the sleep mode, to the wake-up mode. Hereinafter, the wake-up request that the in-vehicle ECU 201 sends to the in-vehicle relay device 101 is also referred to as the "wake-up request W1."

The vehicle relay device 101 and the vehicle ECU 201 then establish a communication connection between each other by exchanging frames containing various information.

The sleep control unit 72 also controls the in-vehicle ECU 201 to transition to the wake-up mode. More specifically, for example, when the in-vehicle ECU 201 operating in the sleep mode is the in-vehicle ECU 201 to be woken up, the sleep control unit 72 transmits a wake-up request to the in-vehicle ECU 201 via the switch IC 53 and the communication port 51. Hereinafter, the wake-up request transmitted by the in-vehicle relay device 101 to the in-vehicle ECU 201 is also referred to as a "wake-up request W2."

When the in-vehicle ECU 201 receives a wake-up request W2 from the in-vehicle relay device 101, it transitions to the wake-up mode.

When the operation mode of the in-vehicle ECU 201 is the sleep mode, all applications 202 installed in the in-vehicle ECU 201 are stopped. When the in-vehicle ECU 201 receives a request to start an application 202 from another device in the in-vehicle communication system 301, the in-vehicle ECU 201 starts the application 202 specified in the start request from among the applications 202 installed in the in-vehicle ECU 201.

(Light sleep mode and deep sleep mode)
The sleep control unit 72 transitions the communication circuit 52 to a light sleep mode or a deep sleep mode. The light sleep mode is an example of a first sleep mode, and the deep sleep mode is an example of a second sleep mode. Note that the descriptions "first" and "second" do not imply a priority order.

More specifically, the vehicle-mounted relay device 101 includes multiple power supply lines (not shown) that can supply power to the communication circuit 52. For example, the vehicle-mounted relay device 101 includes a power supply line with a voltage of 12 V and a power supply line with a voltage of 3 V.

For example, when the operation mode of the communication circuit 52 is the light sleep mode, all of the multiple power supply lines are connected to the communication circuit 52, and when the operation mode of the communication circuit 52 is the deep sleep mode, one of the multiple power supply lines is disconnected from the communication circuit 52. In other words, the deep sleep mode is a sleep mode in which the power consumption of the communication circuit 52 is smaller than that of the light sleep mode.

For example, when the operation mode of the communication circuit 52 is the light sleep mode, the communication circuit 52 stops sending and receiving data to and from the in-vehicle ECU 201 connected via the corresponding communication port 51. Alternatively, when the operation mode of the communication circuit 52 is the light sleep mode, the processing unit 54 can perform some processing, such as reading the values of a register (not shown) of the communication circuit 52, but cannot perform other processing with the communication circuit 52.

Here, the memory unit 55 stores sleep mode compatibility information that indicates the sleep mode to be applied to each of the multiple communication circuits 52. More specifically, the memory unit 55 stores a communication circuit table Tb1 that includes the sleep mode compatibility information.

When the operation mode of the communication circuit 52 is the wake-up mode and the sleep control unit 72 receives a notification from the judgment unit 71 that the sleep conditions are met, the sleep control unit 72 refers to the communication circuit table Tb1 in the storage unit 55 and determines the sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuit 52. Then, the sleep control unit 72 transitions the communication circuit 52 to the determined sleep mode.

Figure 4 shows an example of a communication circuit table stored by an in-vehicle relay device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Figure 4 shows an example of a communication circuit table Tb1 stored in the memory unit 55 of the vehicle-mounted relay device 101 in an existing network. In the example shown in Figure 4, deep sleep mode is registered in the communication circuit table Tb1 as the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuits 52A and 52C.

Therefore, in an existing network, when the operation mode of the communication circuits 52A and 52C is the wake-up mode and the sleep control unit 72 receives a notification from the judgment unit 71 that the sleep conditions have been met, the sleep control unit 72 transitions the communication circuits 52A and 52C to the deep sleep mode.

In the example shown in FIG. 4, the deep sleep mode is registered as the initial value in the communication circuit table Tb1 as the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuits 52B, 52D corresponding to the communication ports 51B, 51D to which the in-vehicle ECU 201 is not connected. The "ID of the in-vehicle ECU" and "functional unit information" shown in FIG. 4 will be described later.

(Detection unit)
The detection unit 73 detects the addition of a new functional unit to the in-vehicle network 401. Here, the detection unit 73 detects the in-vehicle ECU 201B that has been connected to the communication port 51B by the user.

More specifically, for example, when the in-vehicle ECU 201B is connected to the communication port 51B, it transmits connection request information to the in-vehicle relay device 101 to request a communication connection in the in-vehicle network 401.

When the detection unit 73 receives connection request information from the in-vehicle ECU 201B via the switch IC 53, it performs authentication processing of the in-vehicle ECU 201B using the ID and authentication password included in the connection request information.

When the detection unit 73 successfully authenticates the in-vehicle ECU 201B, it transmits a frame including authentication success information indicating that the authentication was successful to the in-vehicle ECU 201B via the switch IC 53.

When the detection unit 73 succeeds in authenticating the new functional unit as described above, it outputs detection information indicating, for example, the ID of the new functional unit and the port number corresponding to the new functional unit to the acquisition unit 74.

When the detection unit 73 successfully authenticates the in-vehicle ECU 201B, the in-vehicle relay device 101 and the new function unit transmit and receive NM messages, for example, periodically.

The detection unit 73 may be configured to periodically broadcast a search message to detect the new function unit via the switch IC 53. In this case, the new function unit receives the search message and transmits connection request information in response to the received search message.

[Problem Description]
The deep sleep mode involves cutting off the power supply line, and therefore takes a longer time to transition to the wake-up mode than the light sleep mode.

In the in-vehicle communication system 301, the allowable time until each application 202 starts (hereinafter also referred to as the "wake-up allowable time") is set.

Figure 5 shows an example of the allowable wake-up time for each application in an in-vehicle communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

In the example shown in FIG. 5, the allowable wake-up time for application 202A is "100 ms", the allowable wake-up time for application 202B is "10 ms", and the allowable wake-up time for application 202C is "100 ms". In other words, in the example shown in FIG. 5, the allowable wake-up time for applications 202A and 202C is longer than the allowable wake-up time for application 202B.

On-board ECUs 201A and 201B equipped with application 202A having a long allowable wake-up time communicate with communication circuits 52A and 52B, respectively. On-board ECU 201C equipped with application 202C having a long allowable wake-up time communicates with communication circuit 52C. For this reason, it is considered to apply a deep sleep mode to communication circuits 52A, 52B, and 52C.

However, in the example shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the in-vehicle ECU 201B is equipped with the application 202B. The wake-up allowable time of the application 202B is shorter than the wake-up allowable time of the application 202A. Now consider a case where the sleep control unit 72 transitions the communication circuit 52B operating in the deep sleep mode to the wake-up mode. In this case, even if the time required for the communication circuit 52B to transition to the wake-up mode does not exceed the wake-up allowable time of the application 202A, if the wake-up allowable time of the application 202B exceeds "10 ms", the operation in the new network becomes unstable. Specifically, the in-vehicle ECU 201B may not be able to communicate with another in-vehicle ECU 201 that has transmitted a request to start the application 202B equipped in the in-vehicle ECU 201B via the in-vehicle relay device 101.

In addition, due to constraints on the specifications of the hardware of the in-vehicle relay device 101, the sleep control unit 72 cannot individually control the sleep states of the communication circuits 52A and 52B built into the switch IC 53. In other words, in the in-vehicle relay device 101, it is necessary to apply a common sleep mode to the communication circuits 52A and 52B.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, in the existing network, the communication port 51A corresponding to the communication circuit 52A is connected to the in-vehicle ECU 201A equipped with the application 202A with a long wake-up allowable time, while the communication port 51B corresponding to the communication circuit 52B is not connected to the in-vehicle ECU 201B. Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the sleep control unit 72 selects the deep sleep mode as the common sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuits 52A and 52B in the existing network.

However, in the new network, in addition to application 202A, application 202B, which has a shorter wake-up allowable time than application 202A, is mounted on in-vehicle ECU 201B. Therefore, when sleep control unit 72 transitions communication circuit 52B, which operates in deep sleep mode, to wake-up mode, as described above, even if the time required for communication circuit 52B to transition to the wake-up mode does not exceed the wake-up allowable time of application 202A, if it exceeds the wake-up allowable time of application 202B, operation in the new network becomes unstable.

In response to this, the vehicle-mounted relay device 101 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure solves this problem through the following configuration and operation.

(Acquisition Department)
1 and 2 again, the acquisition unit 74 acquires the identification information of the existing functional units. In the following, it is assumed that the IDs of the in-vehicle ECUs 201A, 201B, and 201C are “ID1-A”, “ID1-B”, and “ID1-C”, respectively, as the identification information of the existing functional units.

More specifically, the acquisition unit 74, for example, periodically or irregularly transmits an information request notification to the existing functional unit via the switch IC 53 to request identification information of the existing functional unit. The existing functional unit transmits its own ID to the in-vehicle relay device 101 in response to the information request notification received from the in-vehicle relay device 101.

When the acquisition unit 74 receives the identification information of the existing functional unit via the switch IC 53, it registers the identification information of the existing functional unit in the communication circuit table Tb1 stored in the memory unit 55, by associating the identification information with the communication circuit 52 corresponding to the communication port 51 that received the identification information.

Referring again to FIG. 4, the ID of the in-vehicle ECU 201 that communicates with the communication circuit 52A is "ID1-A," and the ID of the in-vehicle ECU 201 that communicates with the communication circuit 52C is "ID1-C."

The acquisition unit 74 acquires functional part information of the existing functional part. More specifically, for example, the acquisition unit 74 periodically or irregularly transmits an information request notification to the existing functional part via the switch IC 53 to request the functional part information of the existing functional part. The existing functional part transmits its own functional part information to the vehicle-mounted relay device 101 in response to the information request notification received from the vehicle-mounted relay device 101.

When the acquisition unit 74 receives the function part information of the existing functional unit via the switch IC 53, it registers the function part information of the existing functional unit in association with the communication circuit 52 corresponding to the communication port 51 to which the existing functional unit is connected in the communication circuit table Tb1 stored in the storage unit 55. In this way, the storage unit 55 stores function correspondence information indicating the correspondence relationship between the communication circuit 52 corresponding to the communication port 51 to which the existing functional unit is connected and the function part information of the existing functional unit. In other words, the communication circuit table Tb1 includes function correspondence information.

The functional unit information of the existing functional unit includes application information related to the application installed in the existing functional unit. Specifically, the application information includes information related to the type of application 202 and information related to the allowable wake-up time. The information related to the type of application 202 includes, for example, the ID of application 202 (hereinafter also referred to as "application ID").

In the following, the IDs of applications 202A, 202B, and 202C are assumed to be "ID2-A", "ID2-B", and "ID2-C", respectively.

In the example shown in FIG. 4, the functional unit information of the in-vehicle ECU 201A is associated with the communication circuit 52A. Specifically, the application ID of the in-vehicle ECU 201 that communicates with the communication circuit 52A is "ID2-A", and the wake-up allowable time is "100 ms". The functional unit information of the in-vehicle ECU 201C is associated with the communication circuit 52C. Specifically, the application ID of the in-vehicle ECU 201 that communicates with the communication circuit 52C is "ID2-C", and the wake-up allowable time is "100 ms".

In addition, if the identification information and functional unit information of the existing functional unit are stored in advance in the storage unit 55, the acquisition unit 74 may acquire the identification information and functional unit information of the existing functional unit from the storage unit 55.

When the addition of the in-vehicle ECU 201 to the in-vehicle network 401 including the existing functional unit, i.e., the existing network, is detected, the acquisition unit 74 acquires functional unit information of the new functional unit whose addition is detected.

For example, when the acquisition unit 74 receives detection information from the detection unit 73, it references the port number included in the detection information and identifies the communication port 51 to which the new functional unit is connected. The acquisition unit 74 then transmits an information request notification to the new functional unit via the switch IC 53 and the identified communication port 51 to request functional unit information of the new functional unit. The new functional unit transmits its own functional unit information to the vehicle-mounted relay device 101 in response to the information request notification received from the vehicle-mounted relay device 101.

The functional unit information of the new functional unit includes application information related to the application installed in the new functional unit. If the new functional unit is equipped with one application 202, the new functional unit transmits, as application information, information including the ID of the application 202 and information related to the allowable wake-up time to the vehicle relay device 101.

On the other hand, if the new function unit is equipped with multiple applications 202, it transmits information including the ID of each application 202 as application information to the in-vehicle relay device 101. Also, if the new function unit is equipped with multiple applications 202, it transmits information regarding the smallest value of the wake-up allowable time as application information to the in-vehicle relay device 101.

When the acquisition unit 74 acquires the function part information of the new function part, it performs an update process to register the correspondence relationship between the communication circuit 52 corresponding to the communication port 51 to which the new function part is connected and the function part information of the new function part in the function correspondence information in the storage unit 55.

More specifically, when the acquisition unit 74 acquires the functional part information of the in-vehicle ECU 201B, the acquisition unit 74 registers the functional part information of the in-vehicle ECU 201B in association with the communication circuit 52B in the communication circuit table Tb1 stored in the storage unit 55. When the acquisition unit 74 completes the update process, it outputs an update completion notification indicating that the update process has been completed to the sleep control unit 72.

Figure 6 shows an example of a communication circuit table after update processing by an in-vehicle relay device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6, the application ID of the in-vehicle ECU 201 that communicates with the communication circuit 52B is "ID2-A, ID2-B" and the wake-up allowable time is "10 ms."

In addition, when the acquisition unit 74 receives detection information from the detection unit 73, it registers the ID of the new function unit contained in the detection information in the communication circuit table Tb1.

More specifically, when the acquisition unit 74 receives detection information from the detection unit 73, the acquisition unit 74 refers to the port number included in the detection information and identifies the communication circuit 52 that communicates with the new function unit. Then, the acquisition unit 74 registers the ID of the new function unit in association with the identified communication circuit 52 in the communication circuit table Tb1 stored in the storage unit 55.

In the example shown in FIG. 6, the ID of the in-vehicle ECU 201 that communicates with the communication circuit 52B is "ID1-B."

(Sleep mode selection)
Referring again to Figures 1 and 2, the sleep control unit 72 performs a selection process to select from a plurality of types of sleep modes the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuit 52 corresponding to the communication port 51 to which the new functional unit is connected and the communication circuit 52 corresponding to the communication port 51 to which the existing functional unit is connected, based on the functional unit information of the new functional unit acquired by the acquisition unit 74.

More specifically, the memory unit 55 stores a condition table Tb2. The condition table Tb2 is a table for the sleep control unit 72 to determine whether or not to select the deep sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuit 52.

When the sleep control unit 72 receives an update completion notification from the acquisition unit 74, it performs a selection process based on the communication circuit table Tb1 after the update process in the memory unit 55.

Figure 7 shows an example of a condition table stored by an in-vehicle relay device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 7, condition table Tb2 stores, for example, "Condition 1," which is a condition related to the type and number of applications 202, and "Condition 2," which is a condition related to the wake-up allowable time. Condition 1 is a condition for determining whether to select deep sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to be applied to communication circuits 52A and 52B built into switch IC 53. Condition 2 is a condition for determining whether to select deep sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to be applied to communication circuits 52A, 52B, 52C, and 52D.

The sleep control unit 72 performs the selection process using condition 1 or condition 2. Hereinafter, the judgment condition used by the sleep control unit 72 in the selection process is also referred to as the "deep sleep application condition."

For example, in the selection process using condition 1, if the type of application 202 installed in the existing functional unit matches the type of application 202 installed in the new functional unit, and the number of applications 202 installed in the existing functional unit matches the number of applications 202 installed in the new functional unit, the sleep control unit 72 selects the deep sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuits 52A and 52B.

In the example shown in FIG. 7, "If the corresponding application IDs are the same, select deep sleep mode" is registered as condition 1. If the application ID of the in-vehicle ECU 201A that communicates with the communication circuit 52A matches the application ID of the in-vehicle ECU 201B that communicates with the communication circuit 52B, the sleep control unit 72 selects deep sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuits 52A and 52B.

On the other hand, if the application ID of the in-vehicle ECU 201A that communicates with the communication circuit 52A does not match the application ID of the in-vehicle ECU 201B that communicates with the communication circuit 52B, the sleep control unit 72 selects the light sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuits 52A and 52B.

In the example shown in FIG. 7, the application ID of the in-vehicle ECU 201A that communicates with the communication circuit 52A is "ID-A", while the application ID of the in-vehicle ECU 201B that communicates with the communication circuit 52B is "ID-A, ID-B". In other words, the number of applications 202 mounted on the in-vehicle ECU 201A does not match the number of applications 202 mounted on the in-vehicle ECU 201B. Therefore, the sleep control unit 72 selects the light sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuits 52A and 52B.

More specifically, the sleep control unit 72 changes the type of sleep mode applied to "communication circuit 52A" and "communication circuit 52B" in the communication circuit table Tb1 from "deep sleep mode" to "light sleep mode."

In the selection process using condition 2, if the wake-up allowable time of the in-vehicle ECU 201 communicating with the communication circuit 52 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the sleep control unit 72 selects the deep sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuit.

In the example shown in FIG. 7, "If the corresponding wake-up allowable time is 100 ms or more, select deep sleep mode" is registered as condition 2. Specifically, if the wake-up allowable time of the in-vehicle ECU 201 that communicates with the communication circuit 52 is 100 ms or more, the sleep control unit 72 selects deep sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuit 52.

In the example shown in FIG. 7, the wake-up allowable time of "10 ms" of the in-vehicle ECU 201B that communicates with the communication circuit 52B is shorter than 100 ms. Therefore, the sleep control unit 72 selects the light sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuit 52B.

As described above, for example, the sleep control unit 72 is in a state in which the deep sleep mode is registered as the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuits 52A and 52B built into the switch IC 53 in the existing network (hereinafter also referred to as the "mode initial state").

In the examples shown in Figures 6 and 7, as described above, in the initial mode state, when a new function unit is connected to at least one of the multiple communication circuits 52 built into the switch IC 53, i.e., the communication port 51B corresponding to the communication circuit 52B, the sleep control unit 72 selects the light sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuit 52B. In this case, the sleep control unit changes the type of sleep mode to be applied to all remaining communication circuits 52 built into the switch IC 53, i.e., the communication circuit 52A, from the deep sleep mode to the light sleep mode.

Specifically, the sleep control unit 72 changes the type of sleep mode applied to "communication circuit 52A" and "communication circuit 52B" in the communication circuit table Tb1 from "deep sleep mode" to "light sleep mode."

<Operation flow>
FIG. 8 is a flowchart defining an operation procedure of a selection process by the vehicle-mounted relay device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 8, first, the vehicle relay device 101 registers sleep mode support information in the communication circuit table Tb11 when the existing functional unit is connected to one of the multiple communication ports 51. Here, it is assumed that the existing functional unit is connected to communication ports 51A and 51C. It is also assumed that deep sleep mode is registered in the communication circuit table Tb11 as the type of sleep mode to be applied to communication circuits 52A, 52B, 52C, and 52D (step S101).

Next, the in-vehicle relay device 101 waits for the addition of a new functional unit to the in-vehicle network 401 (NO in step S102), and when it detects the addition of a new functional unit (YES in step S102), it acquires the functional unit information of the detected new functional unit (step S103).

Next, the in-vehicle relay device 101 updates the function correspondence information. For example, as described above, when the in-vehicle relay device 101 acquires the function part information of the new function part, it registers the function part information of the new function part in the communication circuit table Tb1 stored in the memory unit 55 in association with the communication port 51 to which the new function part is connected (step S104).

Next, the vehicle relay device 101 refers to the communication circuit table Tb1 and the condition table Tb2 in the memory unit 55, and if the deep sleep application conditions are met (YES in step S105), it selects the deep sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuit 52 corresponding to the communication port 51 to which the new functional unit is connected and the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port 51 to which the existing functional unit is connected (step S106).

On the other hand, if the deep sleep application conditions are not met (NO in step S105), the in-vehicle relay device 101 selects the light sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuit 52 corresponding to the communication port 51 to which the new functional unit is connected and the communication circuit 52 corresponding to the communication port 51 to which the existing functional unit is connected (step S107).

Next, the vehicle-mounted repeater 101 changes the sleep mode support information contained in the communication circuit table Tb1. For example, as described above, when the vehicle-mounted repeater 101 selects the light sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to be applied to each communication circuit 52, the vehicle-mounted repeater 101 changes the type of sleep mode to be applied to "communication circuit 52A" and "communication circuit 52B" in the communication circuit table Tb1 from "deep sleep mode" to "light sleep mode" (step S108).

In addition, if the in-vehicle relay device 101 detects the addition of another new functional unit to the in-vehicle network 401 after the selection process, it performs a new selection process.

More specifically, referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, when another new functional unit is added to the in-vehicle network 401, the acquisition unit 74 acquires functional unit information of the other new functional unit. The sleep control unit 72 performs a selection process based on the functional unit information of the other new functional unit acquired by the acquisition unit 74 and the sleep support information included in the communication circuit table Tb1 in the storage unit 55.

Specifically, when the acquisition unit 74 receives detection information of the in-vehicle ECU 201 connected to the communication port 51D from the detection unit 73, it acquires functional part information of the in-vehicle ECU 201.

When the acquisition unit 74 acquires the functional part information of the in-vehicle ECU 201 connected to the communication port 51D, the acquisition unit 74 registers the functional part information of the in-vehicle ECU 201 in association with the communication circuit 52 corresponding to the communication port 51D in the communication circuit table Tb1 stored in the memory unit 55. The sleep control unit 72 then performs a new selection process using the communication circuit table Tb1 and the condition table Tb2 in the memory unit 55.

Figure 9 is a flowchart that defines the operation procedure of sleep control in an in-vehicle relay device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 9, first, the vehicle relay device 101 operates in wake-up mode (step S201) until its sleep condition is met (NO in step S202).

Next, when the vehicle relay device 101's own sleep condition is met (YES in step S202), it refers to the communication circuit table Tb1 in the memory unit 55 and determines the sleep mode to be applied to each communication circuit 52 (step S203).

Next, the vehicle relay device 101 transitions each communication circuit 52 to the determined sleep mode and maintains the sleep mode (step S204) until its own wake-up condition is met (NO in step S205).

Next, when the vehicle relay device 101's own wake-up condition is met (YES in step S205), it transitions each communication circuit 52 to the wake-up mode (step S201).

Figure 10 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence of sleep control in an in-vehicle communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Below, an example of sleep control in the in-vehicle relay device 101 when existing functional units are connected to communication ports 51A and 51C is described.

Referring to FIG. 10, first, the vehicle relay device 101 registers sleep mode support information in the communication circuit table Tb1 when the existing functional units are connected to the communication ports 51A and 51C. Here, it is assumed that the deep sleep mode is registered in the communication circuit table Tb1 as the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuits 52A, 52B, 52C, and 52D (step S301).

Next, the new functional unit added to the in-vehicle network 401 transmits connection request information to the in-vehicle relay device 101. Here, it is assumed that the new functional unit is connected to the communication port 51B (step S302).

Next, when the in-vehicle relay device 101 receives connection request information from the new function unit, it detects the new function unit and performs authentication processing for the new function unit (step S303).

Next, if the in-vehicle relay device 101 successfully authenticates the new function unit, it transmits authentication success information to the new function unit (step S304).

Next, the in-vehicle relay device 101 sends an information request notification to the new functional unit to request functional unit information about the new functional unit (step S305).

Next, the new functional unit transmits the functional unit information of the new functional unit to the vehicle relay device 101 in response to the information request notification (step S306).

Next, when the in-vehicle relay device 101 acquires the function part information of the new function part, it performs an update process to update the function correspondence information. For example, as described above, the in-vehicle relay device 101 registers the function part information of the new function part in the communication circuit table Tb1 in the memory unit 55 by associating it with the communication circuit 52 corresponding to the communication port 51 to which the new function part is connected (step S307).

Next, based on the function support information after the update process, the vehicle-mounted repeater 101 performs a selection process to select from a plurality of types of sleep modes the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuit 52 corresponding to the communication port 51 to which the new functional unit is connected and the communication circuit 52 corresponding to the communication port 51 to which the existing functional unit is connected. Here, the vehicle-mounted repeater 101 changes the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuits 52A and 52B from deep sleep mode to light sleep mode, and maintains the deep sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuits 52C and 52D (step S308).

Next, when the sleep conditions of the existing functional unit, the vehicle relay device 101, and the new functional unit are met (step S309), the existing functional unit transitions to sleep mode (step S310).

The vehicle-mounted relay device 101 also transitions each communication circuit 52 to the sleep mode selected by the selection process. More specifically, the vehicle-mounted relay device 101 transitions the communication circuits 52A and 52B to the light sleep mode and transitions the communication circuits 52C and 52D to the deep mode (step S311). The new function unit also transitions to the sleep mode (step S312).

Next, when the new function unit's wake-up condition is met and the unit transitions to the wake-up mode (step S313), the new function unit transmits a wake-up request W1 to the vehicle relay device 101 (step S314).

Next, when the in-vehicle relay device 101 receives a wake-up request W1 from the new function unit, it transitions the communication circuit 52 corresponding to the new function unit to the wake-up mode. Here, the sleep control unit 72 in the in-vehicle relay device 101 transitions the communication circuit 52B to the wake-up mode (step S315).

Next, the in-vehicle relay device 101 sends a wake-up request W2 to the existing functional unit (step S316).

Next, when the existing functional unit receives a wake-up request W2 from the vehicle relay device 101, it transitions to the wake-up mode (step S317).

The new functional unit and the existing functional unit then communicate with each other. For example, when the communication circuit 52 in the in-vehicle relay device 101 receives a frame addressed to the existing functional unit from the new functional unit via the corresponding communication port 51, it outputs the received frame to the switch unit 61. The switch unit 61 transmits the frame received from the communication circuit 52 to the addressed existing functional unit (step S318).

In the vehicle relay device 101 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the sleep control unit 72 is configured to select from two sleep modes as the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuits 52 corresponding to the new functional unit and the existing functional unit, respectively, in the selection process, but this is not limited to this. The sleep control unit 72 may be configured to select from three or more sleep modes as the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuits 52 corresponding to the new functional unit and the existing functional unit, respectively, in the selection process.

In the vehicle-mounted relay device 101 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the acquisition unit 74 is configured to acquire application information of the new functional unit as the functional unit information of the new functional unit, but this is not limited to this. For example, the acquisition unit 74 may acquire hardware information of the new functional unit as the functional unit information of the new functional unit.

In addition, in the in-vehicle relay device 101 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the acquisition unit 74 is configured to acquire information regarding the type of application 202 and information regarding the allowable wake-up time as the application information, but this is not limited to this. For example, the acquisition unit 74 may acquire information regarding hardware constraints of the application 202 as the application information.

In addition, in the vehicle relay device 101 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the acquisition unit 74 is configured to acquire function unit information of existing function units and function unit information of new function units, but this is not limited to this. The acquisition unit 74 may be configured not to acquire function unit information of existing function units, for example.

In addition, in the vehicle relay device 101 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the memory unit 55 is configured to store the communication circuit table Tb1 including function support information and sleep support information, but this is not limited to this. The memory unit 55 may, for example, separately store a table including function support information and a table including sleep support information.

[Modification]
In the in-vehicle relay device 101 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the sleep control unit 72 is configured to select the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuits 52A and 52B built into the switch IC 53 from among a plurality of types of sleep modes, but this is not limited to this. The sleep control unit 72 may be configured to select the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuit 52 externally attached to the switch IC 53 from among a plurality of types of sleep modes.

Figure 11 is a diagram showing the configuration of a modified example of an in-vehicle communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 11, in the modified example, the in-vehicle ECUs 201A and 201B are an example of an existing functional unit, and the in-vehicle ECU 201D is an example of a new functional unit. Also, in FIG. 11, the double-ended dashed arrow indicates that the in-vehicle ECU 201D and the in-vehicle relay device 101 are not connected.

In a modified example, applications 202B and 202C are installed on the in-vehicle ECU 201D.

Figure 12 shows a communication circuit table stored in a modified example of an in-vehicle relay device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Figure 12 shows an example of a communication circuit table Tb11 stored in the memory unit 55 of a modified example of the vehicle-mounted relay device 101 in an existing network. In the example shown in Figure 12, the light sleep mode is registered in the communication circuit table Tb11 as the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuits 52A and 52B.

In the example shown in FIG. 12, the deep sleep mode is registered as the initial value in the communication circuit table Tb11 as the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuits 52C and 52D corresponding to the communication ports 51C and 51D to which the in-vehicle ECU 201 is not connected.

When the acquisition unit 74 detects the addition of the in-vehicle ECU 201D to the existing network, it transmits an information request notification to the in-vehicle ECU 201D via the switch IC 53 to request functional part information of the in-vehicle ECU 201D. In response to the information request notification received from the in-vehicle relay device 101, the in-vehicle ECU 201D transmits its own functional part information to the in-vehicle relay device 101. Here, it is assumed that the in-vehicle ECU 201D has been connected to the communication port 51C by the user.

When the acquisition unit 74 acquires the functional part information of the on-board ECU 201D, the acquisition unit 74 registers the functional part information of the on-board ECU 201D in the communication circuit table Tb11 stored in the memory unit 55 in association with the communication circuit 52C corresponding to the communication port 51C to which the on-board ECU 201D is connected.

Figure 13 shows a communication circuit table after update processing in a modified example of an in-vehicle relay device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 13, the application ID of the in-vehicle ECU 201D that communicates with the communication circuit 52C is "ID2-B, ID2-C" and the wake-up allowable time is "10 ms." The ID of the in-vehicle ECU 201D that communicates with the communication circuit 52C is "ID1-D."

In the modified example, when the sleep control unit 72 receives an update completion notification from the acquisition unit 74, it refers to the communication circuit table Tb11 and the condition table Tb2 after the update process in the memory unit 55. Then, the sleep control unit 72 determines that the wake-up allowable time of the in-vehicle ECU 201D that communicates with the communication circuit 52C is shorter than 100 ms, and selects the light sleep mode as the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuit 52C.

Specifically, the sleep control unit 72 changes the type of sleep mode applied to "communication circuit 52C" in the communication circuit table Tb11 from "deep sleep mode" to "light sleep mode."

In addition, in the modified example, in the new network, the sleep control unit 72 maintains the type of sleep mode applied to the communication circuits 52A and 52B built into the switch IC 53 as the sleep mode applied in the existing network. In the example shown in FIG. 13, the sleep control unit 72 maintains the type of sleep mode applied to each of the "communication circuit 52A" and the "communication circuit 52B" as the "light sleep mode."

The above-described embodiments should be considered to be illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims rather than the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims.

Each process (each function) of the above-mentioned embodiments is realized by a processing circuit including one or more processors. The processing circuit may be composed of an integrated circuit or the like that combines one or more memories, various analog circuits, and various digital circuits in addition to the one or more processors. The one or more memories store programs (instructions) that cause the one or more processors to execute each of the above processes. The one or more processors may execute each of the above processes according to the programs read from the one or more memories, or may execute each of the above processes according to a logic circuit designed in advance to execute each of the above processes. The processor may be any of various processors suitable for computer control, such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), and an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The physically separated processors may cooperate with each other to execute the above processes. For example, the processors mounted on each of the physically separated computers may cooperate with each other via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), or the Internet to execute the above processes. The above program may be installed into the memory from an external server device or the like via the network, or may be distributed in a state stored on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disc Read Only Memory), or a semiconductor memory, and may be installed into the memory from the recording medium.

The above description includes the following additional features.
[Appendix 1]
A plurality of communication ports each connectable to a plurality of in-vehicle functional units;
a plurality of communication circuits provided corresponding to the plurality of communication ports, respectively, capable of communicating with the in-vehicle function unit via the corresponding communication ports;
a processing circuit;
The processing circuitry includes:
When an addition of an in-vehicle function unit to an in-vehicle network including one or more existing function units that are the in-vehicle function units is detected, acquiring function unit information of the new function unit that is the in-vehicle function unit whose addition has been detected;
An in-vehicle relay device performs a selection process to select from a plurality of types of sleep modes the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the new functional unit is connected and to the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the existing functional unit is connected, based on the acquired functional unit information of the new functional unit.

11 Ethernet cable 51, 51A, 51B, 51C, 51D Communication port 52, 52A, 52B, 52C, 52D Communication circuit 53 Switch IC
54 Processing unit 55 Memory unit 61 Switch unit 71 Determination unit 72 Sleep control unit 73 Detection unit 74 Acquisition unit 101 Vehicle-mounted relay device 201, 201A, 201B, 201C, 201D Vehicle-mounted ECU
202, 202A, 202B, 202C Application 301 Vehicle-mounted communication system 401 Vehicle-mounted network 501 Vehicle

Claims (10)

A plurality of communication ports each connectable to a plurality of in-vehicle functional units;
a plurality of communication circuits provided corresponding to the plurality of communication ports, respectively, capable of communicating with the in-vehicle function unit via the corresponding communication ports;
an acquisition unit that acquires, when an addition of an in-vehicle function unit to an in-vehicle network including one or more existing function units that are the in-vehicle function units is detected, function unit information of a new function unit that is the in-vehicle function unit whose addition has been detected;
An in-vehicle relay device comprising: a sleep control unit that performs a selection process to select from a plurality of types of sleep modes the type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the new functional unit is connected and to the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the existing functional unit is connected, based on the functional unit information of the new functional unit acquired by the acquisition unit. the functional unit information includes application information related to an application installed in the new functional unit,
The vehicle-mounted relay device according to claim 1 , wherein the sleep control unit performs the selection process based on application information of the new function unit acquired by the acquisition unit. The vehicle-mounted relay device according to claim 2, wherein the application information includes information regarding the type of the application. The vehicle-mounted relay device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the application information includes information regarding the allowable time until the application is started. The acquisition unit further acquires functional unit information of the existing functional units,
The vehicle-mounted relay device according to claim 1 , wherein the sleep control unit performs the selection process based on the functional unit information of the new functional unit and the functional unit information of the existing functional unit acquired by the acquisition unit. The vehicle-mounted relay device further includes:
a storage unit configured to store function correspondence information indicating a correspondence relationship between the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the existing function unit is connected and function unit information of the existing function unit;
when the acquisition unit acquires the function unit information of the new function unit, the acquisition unit performs an update process to register a correspondence relationship between the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the new function unit is connected and the function unit information of the new function unit in the function correspondence information in the storage unit;
The vehicle-mounted relay device according to claim 1 , wherein the sleep control unit performs the selection process based on the function support information after the update process. The vehicle-mounted relay device further includes:
a storage unit that stores sleep mode support information indicating the sleep mode to be applied to each of the plurality of communication circuits;
When another new function unit is added to the in-vehicle network, the acquisition unit acquires function unit information of the other new function unit,
The vehicle-mounted relay device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the sleep control unit performs the selection process based on the functional part information of the other new functional parts acquired by the acquisition unit and the sleep mode compatibility information in the memory unit. the plurality of types of sleep modes include a first sleep mode and a second sleep mode in which power consumption in the communication circuit is smaller than that in the first sleep mode;
The in-vehicle relay device of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein, when the sleep control unit has selected the second sleep mode as the sleep mode to be applied to a predetermined number of communication circuits, when the new function unit is connected to the communication port corresponding to at least any one of the communication circuits among the predetermined number of communication circuits and the sleep control unit has selected the first sleep mode as the sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the new function unit is connected, the sleep mode to be applied to all remaining communication circuits among the predetermined number of communication circuits is changed from the second sleep mode to the first sleep mode. A sleep control method for use in an in-vehicle relay device including a plurality of communication ports that can be respectively connected to a plurality of in-vehicle function units, and a plurality of communication circuits that are provided corresponding to the plurality of communication ports and can communicate with the in-vehicle function units via the corresponding communication ports,
When an addition of an in-vehicle function unit to an in-vehicle network including one or more existing function units that are the in-vehicle function units is detected, acquiring function unit information of the new function unit that is the in-vehicle function unit whose addition has been detected;
A sleep control method comprising: a step of performing a selection process for selecting from a plurality of types of sleep modes the type of sleep mode to be applied to each of the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the new functional unit is connected and the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the existing functional unit is connected, based on the acquired functional unit information of the new functional unit. A sleep control program for use in an in-vehicle relay device including a plurality of communication ports connectable to a plurality of in-vehicle function units, respectively, and a plurality of communication circuits provided corresponding to the plurality of communication ports and capable of communicating with the in-vehicle function units via the corresponding communication ports,
Computer,
an acquisition unit that acquires, when an addition of an in-vehicle function unit to an in-vehicle network including one or more existing function units that are the in-vehicle function units is detected, function unit information of a new function unit that is the in-vehicle function unit whose addition has been detected;
a sleep control unit that performs a selection process to select, from a plurality of types of sleep modes, a type of sleep mode to be applied to the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the new functional unit is connected and to the communication circuit corresponding to the communication port to which the existing functional unit is connected, based on the functional unit information of the new functional unit acquired by the acquisition unit;
A sleep control program to function as a

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