Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Vehicle diagnosis or maintenance indication
Patent
1995-10-03
1998-06-23
Louis-Jacques, Jacques H.
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Vehicle diagnosis or maintenance indication
701 33, 701 35, 701 31, 731173, 324 731, 340439, G06F 770
Patent
active
057714746
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method of testing electronic control devices containing a microcomputer and a volatile memory for programs processed in the microcomputer, which receives test instructions from an external test device, and, more particularly, to methods for testing motor vehicle control devices.
A method for testing electronic control devices has already been disclosed by DE 39 35 144 C2. In this case, a plurality of electronic control devices are installed in a motor vehicle. The electronic control devices are connected for testing to an external diagnosis unit via a communication bus. In this case, different data transmission protocols, such as asynchronous, serial data transmission and synchronous, serial data transmission, are realized in the various electronic control devices for communication with the external diagnosis unit. The individual electronic control devices have appropriately adapted transmitting and receiving circuits for this purpose.
So that the external diagnosis unit can communicate with the individual control devices, the unit has various communication circuits. A specific communication circuit is selected via the keyboard of the external diagnosis unit for the purpose of testing the electronic control devices. Request signals are then transmitted to the electronic control units via the appropriately selected communication circuit. Those electronic control devices which correctly receive the request signals in accordance with their data transmission protocol then transmit specific data back to the external diagnosis unit. This is then followed by the checking of these electronic control devices in a specific sequence. For this purpose, specific test instructions are transmitted via the external diagnosis unit to an electronic control unit. The instructions are received in the electronic control unit and lead to the output of specific diagnostic data by the respective electronic control device. The received data are displayed on a display of the external diagnosis unit.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, method for testing an electronic control device containing a microcomputer and a volatile memory for programs processed in the microcomputer includes transferring a program module for testing to the microcomputer via a serial interface prior to the testing, the program module including instructions for executing individual data reading and writing operations in the control device in response to respective test commands; writing the program module into the volatile memory in the control device prior to the testing; receiving test instructions including several of the test commands in the microcomputer from an external test device via the serial interface; processing the program module by the microcomputer to test the control device; triggering a number of the individual data reading and writing operations in the control device via the several test commands received in the control device; transferring data generated in the control device during the processing of the control module and by the triggering to the external test device and evaluating and/or displaying the data received in the external test device with the external test device.
By contrast, the method according to the invention has the advantage that the program module for testing is designed such that it can execute data writing operations and/or data reading operations in the electronic control device, and that the individual data writing operations and/or data reading operations are in each case triggered by a test instruction which is transmitted from the external test device to the control device. Testing is thereby very flexible. With the aid of the program module for testing, the external test device can specifically access the CPU register and/or memory locations of the test specimen. The sequence of the testing steps resides solely in the hand of the external test device. It is not, as in the case of conventional diagnosis programs, essentially firmly
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Jordan Mark-John
Matt Peter
Schmid Roland
Walter Gerold
Louis-Jacques Jacques H.
Robert-Bosch GmbH
Striker Michael J.
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