Patent ID: 7467036
Filing Date: 2008-12-16
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. An in-vehicle electronic control unit, comprising a first control circuit portion and a second control circuit portion, said first control circuit portion comprising: a program memory having input/output control means and communication control means; a RAM memory for operation processing; a microprocessor in cooperation with the program memory; and a first serial-parallel converter, said second control circuit portion comprising: a communication control circuit portion for communicating at least monitoring signals and control signals; a switch signal input circuit; an analog signal input circuit including a multi-channel AD converter; a data memory; and a second serial-parallel converter, the first and second control circuit portions serially communicating the monitoring signals and the control signals with each other through the first and second serial-parallel converters, the first control circuit portion further comprising periodic transmission means, periodic report permission means, and AD conversion permission means, the periodic transmission means serving as writing setting means for periodically transmitting control output data and constant setting data from the first control circuit portion to the second control circuit portion and storing the control output data and the constant setting data in the data memory in the second control circuit portion, the periodic report permission means serving as writing setting means for storing first instruction data to permit the second control circuit portion to transmit the periodic report, said first instruction data being transmitted by the periodic transmission means to a prescribed address portion of the data memory provided in the second control circuit portion, the AD conversion permission means serving as writing setting means for storing second instruction data to permit the second control circuit portion to issue an AD conversion start instruction to the multi-channel AD converter, said second instruction data being transmitted by the periodic transmission means to a prescribed address portion of the data memory in the second control circuit portion, the second control circuit portion further comprising periodic reporting means, report sequence selecting means, and AD conversion timing specifying means, the periodic reporting means serving as input reading means used for periodically reporting periodic report data including monitoring input data and status information from the second control circuit portion to the first control circuit portion and used for allowing the first control circuit portion to store the periodic report data in the RAM memory, the report sequence selecting means serving as selecting control means for sequentially selecting a first report packet that reports a batch of a plurality of ON/OFF information inputted from the switch signal input circuit, and a second report packet that reports digital information for a prescribed number of channels produced by digital conversion by the multi-channel AD converter, and carrying out periodic reporting by the periodic reporting means so that the first report packet is given priority and at least the second report packets are not successive, the AD conversion timing specifying means serving as conversion control means for generating the AD conversion start instruction to the multi-channel AD converter after the second control circuit portion receives instructions for periodic report permission and AD conversion permission by the periodic report permission means and the AD conversion permission means and after the first report packet is transmitted, and specifying AD conversion start timing so that a series of AD conversion operation by the multi-channel AD converter is complete before the timing of transmitting the next second report packet.