Patent ID: 7739013

Claim:
A powertrain electronic control apparatus (ECU) that controls only a powertrain unit including an engine and a transmission mounted on a vehicle, the powertrain ECU being communicatable with a plurality of other ECUs that control a plurality of vehicle equipments other than the powertrain unit, the powertrain ECU comprising: a vehicle control section that receives data from the plurality of other ECUs or the plurality of vehicle equipments, and a unit control section that controls a function of the powertrain unit, wherein the vehicle control section is disposed on a first software platform which is implemented on a first hardware and the unit control section is disposed on a second software platform which is different from the first software platform and is implemented on a second hardware which is different from the first hardware, wherein the vehicle control section includes a plurality of softwares, each of which corresponds to a different one of the plurality of vehicle equipments, the plurality of softwares calculate the received data and output calculation results to the unit control section; wherein one of the softwares is configured to calculate at least one of: a driving force, which is required or consumed by one of the plurality of vehicle equipments, and a torque, which is required or consumed by one of the plurality of vehicle equipments, wherein the vehicle control section includes an arbitration section for arbitrating each requirement from the plurality of vehicle equipments or each consumption amount of the plurality of vehicle equipments, wherein the vehicle control section outputs an arbitration result to the unit control section, and wherein the unit control section controls the function of the powertrain unit based on the calculation results and the arbitration result.