Vehicle electronic control system, vehicle master device, method for controlling transmission of data storage bank information and computer program product for controlling transmission of data storage bank information

A vehicle electronic control system, comprising:

• a center device that is configured to distribute update data;
• and
• a vehicle master device that is configured to acquire the update data from the center device and control update of a rewrite target electronic control unit (ECU) using the acquired update data, wherein
• the vehicle master device includes:
• a data storage bank information acquisition unit that is configured to acquire data storage bank information including information for specifying which bank is an active bank and information for specifying software versions of the active bank and an inactive bank from the rewrite target ECU that has a non-volatile memory with a plurality of data storage banks;
• a data storage bank information transmission unit that is configured to transmit the data storage bank information acquired by the data storage bank information acquisition unit to the center device;
• and
• an update data distribution unit that is configured to distribute the update data received from the center device to the rewrite target ECU, and
• the center device includes:
• a version determination unit that is configured to determine a software version of the update data that is newer than the software version of the active bank based on the software version of the active bank specified by the information included in the data storage bank information received from the vehicle master device;
• an update data selection unit that is configured to select an update data file to rewrite the inactive bank based on the determined software version of the update data;
• and
• an update data transmission unit that is configured to transmit the update data file selected by the update data selection unit to the vehicle master device when the software version of the update data determined by the version determination unit is newer than the software version of the inactive bank specified by the information included in the data storage bank information received from the vehicle master device;
• wherein:
• the non-volatile memory includes, as the plurality of data storage banks, a first data storage bank and a second data storage bank;
• the center device further includes an update data file management unit that is configured to store, separately, first differential data for the first data storage bank and second differential data for the second data storage bank;
• the first differential data is differential data to update the first data storage bank to the software version determined by the version determination unit;
• the second differential data is differential data to update the second data storage bank to the software version determined by the version determination unit;
• and
• the update data selection unit is configured to:
• determine which is the inactive bank between the first data storage bank and the second data storage bank;
• acquire the first differential data from the update data file management unit when the first data bank is determined to be the inactive bank;
• and
• acquire the second differential data from the update data file management unit when the second data bank is determined to be the inactive bank.

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer program for controlling transmission of data storage bank information for a vehicle electronic control system that includes:

• a computer readable medium and a processor;
• a center device that is configured to distribute update data;
• and
• a vehicle master device that is configured to acquire the update data from the center device and control update of a rewrite target electronic control unit (ECU) using the acquired update data, the computer program comprising instructions, when executed, configured to cause the processor to:
• acquire, with the vehicle master device, data storage bank information including information for specifying which bank is an active bank and information for specifying software versions of the active bank and an inactive bank from the rewrite target ECU that has a non-volatile memory with a plurality of data storage banks;
• transmit the acquired data storage bank information to the center device;
• determine, with the center device, a software version of the update data that is newer than the software version of the active bank based on the software version of the active bank specified by the information included in the received data storage bank information;
• select, with the center device, an update data file to rewrite the inactive bank based on the determined software version of the update data;
• and
• transmit the selected update data file to the vehicle master device when the determined software version of the update data is newer than the software version of the inactive bank specified by the information included in the data storage bank information;
• wherein:
• the non-volatile memory includes, as the plurality of data storage banks, a first data storage bank and a second data storage bank;
• the center device further includes an update data file management unit that is configured to store, separately, first differential data for the first data storage bank and second differential data for the second data storage bank;
• the first differential data is differential data to update the first data storage bank to the software version determined by the version determination unit;
• the second differential data is differential data to update the second data storage bank to the software version determined by the version determination unit;
• and
• the update data selection unit is configured to:
• determine which is the inactive bank between the first data storage bank and the second data storage bank;
• acquire the first differential data from the update data file management unit when the first data bank is determined to be the inactive bank;
• and
• acquire the second differential data from the update data file management unit when the second data bank is determined to be the inactive bank.

A vehicle electronic control system, comprising:

• a center device that is configured to distribute update data;
• and
• a vehicle master device that is configured to acquire the update data from the center device and control update of a rewrite target electronic control unit (ECU) using the acquired update data, wherein
• the vehicle master device includes a vehicle processor programmed to:
• acquire data storage bank information including information for specifying which bank is an active bank and information for specifying software versions of the active bank and an inactive bank from the rewrite target ECU that has a non-volatile memory with a plurality of data storage banks;
• transmit the acquired data storage bank information to the center device;
• and
• distribute the update data received from the center device to the rewrite target ECU, and
• the center device includes a center processor programmed to:
• determine a software version of the update data that is newer than the software version of the active bank based on the software version of the active bank specified by the information included in the data storage bank information received from the vehicle master device;
• select an update data file to rewrite the inactive bank based on the determined software version of the update data;
• and
• transmit the update data file selected by the center processor to the vehicle master device when the determined software version of the update data is newer than the software version of the inactive bank specified by the information included in the data storage bank information received from the vehicle master device;
• wherein:
• the non-volatile memory includes, as the plurality of data storage banks, a first data storage bank and a second data storage bank;
• the center device further includes an update data file management unit that is configured to store, separately, first differential data for the first data storage bank and second differential data for the second data storage bank;
• the first differential data is differential data to update the first data storage bank to the software version determined by the version determination unit;
• the second differential data is differential data to update the second data storage bank to the software version determined by the version determination unit;
• and
• the update data selection unit is configured to:
• determine which is the inactive bank between the first data storage bank and the second data storage bank;
• acquire the first differential data from the update data file management unit when the first data bank is determined to be the inactive bank;
• and
• acquire the second differential data from the update data file management unit when the second data bank is determined to be the inactive bank.