Patent ID: 7940689

Claim:
A communication managing apparatus that manages communication performed among a plurality of control units that operate based on a plurality of application components respectively performing processes for realizing functions necessary for driving a vehicle, the apparatus comprising: a table in which i) a plurality of types of messages to be issued from the plurality of application components and information indicative of how the messages are routed among the plurality of control units are previously memorized and ii) message states are provided for managing the communication, the messages being stored as identifiers indicative of the messages, the message states showing how current states of the messages are and being updatable; a first control means for receiving both a message and the information from a first application component among the plurality of application components, updating the message state of the table in response to receiving the message, and transmitting the message to a second application component designated by the information among the plurality of application components, the message received from the first application component being one of the messages previously memorized in the table and requesting that the second application component perform the process assigned thereto and send back results of the process to the first application component; a second control means for receiving the message transmitted by the first control means, making the second application component perform the process assigned thereto and requested by the received message, sending back to the first application component a response indicating results of the requested process, and updating the message state of the table in response to receiving the message and sending back the response; a storage configured to be able to store therein the messages; a storage managing block managing the message to be stored in the storage in response to both the reception of the message and the acquisition of the results such that only specific messages remain in the storage, the specific messages being ones of the messages stored in the table and waiting for responses indicating results of processes requested by the specific messages; a first determination block that determines whether or not the specific messages remain in the storage; a measuring block measuring an elapse of time showing how long the specific messages remain in the storage when the first determination block determines that the specific messages remain in the storage; and a second determination block that determines whether or not the elapse of time measured by the measuring component reaches a preset value.