Electronic control device and updating method for control software

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12333013-B2
Application number	US-202118010297-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 5, 2021
Priority date	Jun 17, 2020
Publication date	Jun 17, 2025
Grant date	Jun 17, 2025

Abstract

Provided is a technique for enabling software having different memory maps to be written in a nonvolatile memory of an electronic control device in reprogramming of control software.
The electronic control device includes a microcomputer including a CPU and a nonvolatile memory. The nonvolatile memory includes activation software, control software, and validity confirmation information for confirming validity of the control software. A storage area of the validity confirmation information in the nonvolatile memory is different from a storage area of the activation software.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An electronic control device comprising:
a microcomputer including a CPU and a nonvolatile memory, the nonvolatile memory comprising:
activation software;
control software;
and validity confirmation information for confirming validity of the control software, wherein:
a storage area of the validity confirmation information in the nonvolatile memory is different from a storage area of the activation software, the activation software verifies the validity of the control software based on the validity confirmation information, and the CPU jumps to the control software after the validity of the control software is confirmed;

a communication unit for communicating with the outside, the activation software has a reprogramming function of the control software, and the reprogramming function includes:
erasing the control software and the validity confirmation information from the nonvolatile memory;
writing new control software and new validity confirmation information from the communication unit into the nonvolatile memory;
and verifying the validity of the control software written in the nonvolatile memory based on the validity confirmation information written in the nonvolatile memory.

2. The electronic control device according to claim 1 , wherein the nonvolatile memory includes:
a first storage area in which software is mainly stored;
and a second storage area in which data is mainly stored, the activation software and the control software are stored in the first storage area, and the validity confirmation information is stored in the first storage area or the second storage area.

3. The electronic control device according to claim 2 , wherein
the microcomputer further includes a volatile memory, and
when the validity confirmation information is stored in the second storage area,
the validity confirmation information stored in the second storage area is deployed in the volatile memory, and
verification of the validity of the control software based on the validity confirmation information written in the nonvolatile memory is performed by referring to the validity confirmation information deployed in the volatile memory.

4. The electronic control device according to claim 2 , wherein
the nonvolatile memory includes erase blocks and a plurality of write blocks provided corresponding to the erase blocks,
data can be erased in units of the erase blocks, and
data can be written in units of the write blocks.

5. The electronic control device according to claim 2 , wherein
the control software is divided into a plurality of division units and stored in the first storage area,
each of the plurality of division units includes an expected value,
the validity confirmation information includes:
a number of division units of the plurality of division units;
a start point address of each of the plurality of division units; and
an end point address or size information of each of the plurality of division units,
verification of the validity of the control software is performed for each of the plurality of division units, and is performed by calculating a validation value by calculating a sum value, a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) value, or a hash value based on the start point address, the end point address, or the size information corresponding to each of the plurality of division units and comparing the validation value with a corresponding expected value.

6. The electronic control device according to claim 5 , wherein
the validity confirmation information further includes an inverted value of the number of division units, an inverted value of the start point address or an inverted value of the size information.

7. The electronic control device according to claim 6 , wherein
the validity confirmation information further includes:
a start point address of a corresponding expected value of each of the plurality of division units; and
an end point address or size information of a corresponding expected value of each of the plurality of division units.

8. The electronic control device according to claim 7 , wherein
the validity confirmation information further includes a validation value of the validity confirmation information.

9. A method for updating control software of an electronic control device, the electronic control device including a microcomputer including a CPU, a nonvolatile memory, and a communication unit for communicating with the outside, the nonvolatile memory including activation software, control software, and validity confirmation information for confirming validity of the control software, and a storage area of the validity confirmation information in the nonvolatile memory being different from a storage area of the activation software, the method comprising:
enabling a reprogramming function of the control software of the activation software;
erasing the control software and the validity confirmation information from the nonvolatile memory;
writing new control software and new validity confirmation information from the communication unit into the nonvolatile memory;
and verifying the validity of the control software written in the nonvolatile memory based on the validity confirmation information written in the nonvolatile memory, wherein:
the validity of the control software is verified by the activation software based on the validity confirmation information, and the CPU jumps to the control software after the validity of the control software is confirmed;

a communication unit for communicating with the outside, the activation software has a reprogramming function of the control software, and the reprogramming function includes:
erasing the control software and the validity confirmation information from the nonvolatile memory;
writing new control software and new validity confirmation information from the communication unit into the nonvolatile memory;
and verifying the validity of the control software written in the nonvolatile memory based on the validity confirmation information written in the nonvolatile memory.

Assignees

• Hitachi Astemo Ltd

Inventors

• Kinugasa Shun
• Ando Kenji
• Abe Yusuke

Classifications

• G06F3/0665

  at area level, e.g. provisioning of virtual or logical volumes · CPC title

• G06F3/061

  Improving I/O performance · CPC title

• G06F3/0607

  by facilitating the process of upgrading existing storage systems, e.g. for improving compatibility between host and storage device · CPC title

• G06F3/0652

  Erasing, e.g. deleting, data cleaning, moving of data to a wastebasket · CPC title

• G06F2221/033

  Test or assess software · CPC title