Patent ID: 8165745

Claim:
An electronic control unit connected to other electronic control units via a communication network, wherein the electronic control unit comprises: a node status determination section which receives node status data from the other electronic control units via the communication network and determines node statuses which indicate one or more failed states and non-failed states of the other electronic control units and an own electronic control unit; a status evaluation result transmitting/receiving section having a storage section which stores node status data including node statuses of the own electronic control unit and the other electronic control units determined by the node status determination section, for transmitting the node status data of the own electronic control unit to the other electronic control units, and receiving the node status data from the other electronic control units via the communication network; a failed-node judging section which identifies a failed electronic control unit connected to the communication network based on the node status data including node statuses of the other electronic control units determined by the node status determination section and transmitted from the other electronic control units; wherein operations in the node status determination section, the status evaluation result transmitting/receiving section and the failed-node judging section are executed in synchronization with communications between the own electronic control unit and other electronic control units via the communication network; and each of the node statuses of the own electronic control unit and the other electronic control units is transmitted in a communication cycle that is used by the own electronic control unit and the other electronic control units.