# US 10,501,081 B2 · Vehicular control device, method of controlling vehicular control device, and vehicular control system > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,501,081 B2 - Document ID: US10501081B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/557,279 - Filed: 2016-02-19 - Published: 2018-03-01 - Granted: 2019-12-10 - Earliest claimed: 2015-03-17 - Assignees: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd. - Applicants: Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd. - Inventors: Yoshiyuki Utagawa - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10501081B2 ## CPC - B60W 30/18109: {Braking} - B60R 16/0231: {Circuits relating to the driving or the functioning of the vehicle (monitoring tyres B60C23/00; indicating overspeed B60K31/00; for dash boards B60K37/00, B60Q3/10; for indicating emergencies B60Q1/52; brake control systems B60T; registering or indicating the working of vehicles G07C5/00; measuring distance G01C, e.g. combinations of speed and distance G01C23/00; engine indicators G01L; measuring speed or acceleration G01P)} - B60T 7/12: for automatic initiation; for initiation not subject to will of driver or passenger {(limiting speed of vehicles other than rail vehicles B60K31/00)} - B60T 8/00: Arrangements for adjusting wheel-braking force to meet varying vehicular or ground-surface conditions, e.g. limiting or varying distribution of braking force (by changing number of effective brake cylinders in power brake systems B60T17/10) - B60T 13/741: {acting on an ultimate actuator} - G07C 5/0808: {Diagnosing performance data (testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005)} - H04L 12/40: Bus networks - F16D 55/226: in which the common actuating member is moved axially {, e.g. floating caliper disc brakes} - F16D 65/183: {with force-transmitting members arranged side by side acting on a spot type force-applying member} - F16D 2121/24: using motors - B60W: CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT - B60R: VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - B60T: VEHICLE BRAKE CONTROL SYSTEMS OR PARTS THEREOF; BRAKE CONTROL SYSTEMS OR PARTS THEREOF, IN GENERAL (electrodynamic brake systems for vehicle, in general B60L; brakes per se, i.e. devices where braking effect occurs, including ultimate brake actuators, F16D); ARRANGEMENT OF BRAKING ELEMENTS ON VEHICLES IN GENERAL; PORTABLE DEVICES FOR PREVENTING UNWANTED MOVEMENT OF VEHICLES; VEHICLE MODIFICATIONS TO FACILITATE COOLING OF BRAKES - G07C: TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) - F16D: COUPLINGS FOR TRANSMITTING ROTATION; CLUTCHES; BRAKES ## Abstract A vehicular control device includes a control unit that controls an electrical component, a wake-up circuit that wakes up the control unit on the basis of a wake-up signal from a switch for operating the electrical component, and a wake-up stop circuit that interrupts the wake-up signal supplied from the switch to the wake-up circuit after a predetermined length of time has elapsed from a wake-up instruction. The vehicular control device is put to sleep by forcibly interrupting the wake-up signal in the wake-up stop circuit, regardless of the state of the switch after the predetermined length of time has elapsed from the wake-up instruction, and thus it is possible to prevent a wake-up state from being maintained even in a case where the switch is fixed in an on-state. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A vehicular control device comprising: a control unit that controls an electrical component; a wake-up circuit that wakes up the control unit on the basis of a wake-up signal from a switch for operating the electrical component; and a wake-up stop circuit that interrupts the wake-up signal supplied from the switch to the wake-up circuit after a predetermined length of time has elapsed from a wake-up instruction, wherein the control unit diagnoses whether the switch is fixed in an on-state, performs an on/off determination of an ignition key when the switch is diagnosed to be fixed in an on-state, and performs failure recording in a case where the switch is fixed in an on-state, and the ignition key is determined to be off, and stops self-maintenance to put the control unit to sleep so as to stop its operation. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The vehicular control device according to claim 1, wherein the wake-up stop circuit includes a trigger circuit that starts clocking using an on-operation of the switch as a trigger, and transmits the wake-up signal for a predetermined length of time from the trigger. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The vehicular control device according to claim 2, wherein the trigger circuit includes a relay circuit that interrupts the wake-up signal from the switch to the wake-up circuit, a relay control circuit that detects an on/off operation of the switch to control the relay circuit, and a delay circuit, controlled by the relay control circuit, which turns on the relay circuit until an on-state of the switch is detected and then a predetermined length of time elapses. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The vehicular control device according to claim 1, wherein the electrical component is an electric parking brake. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The vehicular control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit includes a microcomputer. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The vehicular control device according to claim 5, further comprising a CAN communication integrated circuit (IC), an OR gate, and a power supply IC. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The vehicular control device according to claim 6, wherein the CAN communication IC performs data communication with a control device that controls another electrical component through a CAN bus. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The vehicular control device according to claim 7, wherein the OR gate receives a CAN wake-up signal output from the CAN communication IC; a signal indicating a state of an ignition key; a wake-up signal interlocked with a state of the switch; and a self-maintenance signal from the microcomputer, and controls the wake-up circuit. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The vehicular control device according to claim 8, wherein the wake-up circuit wakes up the microcomputer from a sleep state by supplying power from the power supply IC to the microcomputer, on the basis of an output signal of the OR gate. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The vehicular control device according to claim 9, wherein the wake-up circuit includes a semiconductor switch element of which a current passage is connected between a power supply terminal and the power supply IC, and which is controlled on/off on the basis of the output signal of the OR gate. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The vehicular control device according to claim 10, wherein the electrical component is an electric parking brake, and wherein the microcomputer monitors the state of the switch, and sets the electric parking brake to an applied state in a case where the switch gives an instruction to apply the electric parking brake. ### Claim 12 A method of controlling a vehicular control device including a control unit that controls an electrical component, a wake-up circuit that wakes up the control unit on the basis of a wake-up signal from a switch for operating the electrical component, and a wake-up stop circuit that interrupts the wake-up signal supplied from the switch to the wake-up circuit after a predetermined length of time has elapsed from a wake-up instruction, the method comprising: diagnosing whether the switch for operating the electrical component in the control unit is fixed in an on-state; performing an on/off determination of an ignition key when the switch is diagnosed to be fixed in an on-state; performing failure recording in a case where the ignition key is determined to be off; and stopping self-maintenance to put the control unit to sleep so as to stop its operation. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The method of controlling a vehicular control device according to claim 12, further comprising giving a notice to a driver of a vehicle in a case where the ignition key is determined to be on. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The method of controlling a vehicular control device according to claim 13, wherein the giving the notice to the driver of the vehicle is turning on a warning lamp. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The method of controlling a vehicular control device according to claim 14, further comprising performing a return diagnosis of whether the switch returns from a state of being fixed in an on-state, after the giving the notice to the driver of the vehicle.