US 11,753,025 B2
Vehicle control apparatus and vehicle control method
Satoshi Furuhashi, Wako (JP); and Shunji Tsukabayashi, Wako (JP)
Assigned to Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Tokyo (JP)
Filed by Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Tokyo (JP)
Filed on Feb. 18, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/179,362.
Claims priority of application No. 2020-031934 (JP), filed on Feb. 27, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2021/0269050 A1, Sep. 2, 2021
Int. Cl. B60W 50/02 (2012.01); B60W 30/182 (2020.01); B60W 50/14 (2020.01); B60W 30/18 (2012.01)
CPC B60W 50/0205 (2013.01) [B60W 30/182 (2013.01); B60W 30/18018 (2013.01); B60W 50/14 (2013.01); B60W 2050/021 (2013.01)] 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A vehicle control apparatus comprising a plurality of control units communicable with each other via an on-vehicle communication network, wherein
the plurality of control units include a host unit, and a plurality of lower units assigned to a lower hierarchy than the host unit and managed by the host unit,
the host unit includes a first microprocessor and a first memory connected to the first microprocessor,
the lower units each include a second microprocessor and a second memory connected to the second microprocessor, wherein
the first memory stores a table that associates a predetermined operation with one or more necessary lower units for executing the predetermined operation among the plurality of lower units,
the second microprocessor of one of the lower units is configured to perform outputting, when receiving a start signal of the predetermined operation, an activation request command to the host unit via the on-vehicle communication network,
the first microprocessor is configured to perform:
when receiving the activation request command from the one of the lower units, activating the host unit, and outputting a standby command to the one of the lower units via the on-vehicle communication network for preventing failure detection from being executed at the one of the lower units;
specifying the necessary lower units from the plurality of lower units based on the predetermined operation as stored in the table; and
outputting the activation request command to the necessary lower units via the on-vehicle communication network;
the second microprocessor of each of the necessary lower units is configured to further perform maintaining a state in which the failure detection is not performed if the standby command is received from the host unit, and activating its own lower unit when receiving the activation request command from the host unit, and
the first microprocessor is configured to further perform outputting, after a predetermined time elapsed since the activation request command is output to the necessary lower units, an operation start command to the necessary lower units via the on-vehicle communication network to execute the predetermined operation,
the second microprocessor of each of the necessary lower units is configured to further perform starting the predetermined operation when receiving the operation start command.