Patent ID: 8155824

Claim:
An electric control apparatus for a vehicle, comprising: at least two microcomputers composed of at least a first microcomputer and a second microcomputer, the first microcomputer being assigned to controlling travel functions of a vehicle; an external monitoring unit that monitors whether or not the first microcomputer is in a normal operation, wherein the external monitoring unit is placed outside the first and second microcomputers; and an internal monitoring means that monitors whether or not the first microcomputer is in a normal operation, wherein the internal monitoring means is within the first microcomputer; the first microcomputer comprises output means that outputs a monitoring signal to the internal monitoring means and the external monitoring unit at intervals which are set within a given period of time, the monitoring signal being for allowing both of the internal monitoring means and the external monitoring unit to monitor the operations of the first microcomputer; and each of the second microcomputer and the external monitoring unit is formed to output a reset signal to the first microcomputer when the monitoring signal has not been provided from the first microcomputer for a given period of monitoring time, the reset signal resetting the operations of the first microcomputer; wherein the internal monitoring means is given a monitoring time which is set to monitor the operations of the first microcomputer and the external monitoring unit is given a further monitoring time monitor to monitor the operations of the first microcomputer, the monitoring time given to the internal monitoring means being different from the further monitoring time given to the external monitoring unit; wherein the further monitoring time given to the external monitoring unit is longer than the monitoring time given to the internal monitoring means.