Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Vehicle subsystem or accessory control
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-02
2001-01-16
Nguyen, Tan (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Vehicle subsystem or accessory control
C701S029000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06175795
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to an on-vehicle electronic control unit for controlling electrical equipment.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, automobiles have been provided with various electrical equipment such as an electric door lock systems, electric flexible outer mirrors and similar devices. The electrical equipment to be provided differs depending on the type and grade, etc., of an automobile as well as the utility of the automobile, i.e., a commercial car, etc.
Conventionally, electronic control units for controlling the electrical equipment are arranged and mounted on automobiles in a manner such that a dedicated electronic control unit is provided for each combination of electrical equipment mounted on the vehicle.
Thus, the conventional electronic control units are required to be manufactured such that the number of types of dedicated electronic control units is same as the number of types of combinations of electrical equipment. As a consequence, since the microcomputer and the print circuit board of the electronic control unit are required to be designed and manufactured independently depending on the type of the combination of electrical equipment, there arises a problem that the cost of the electronic control unit becomes expensive and the management of the parts thereof becomes complicated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, in view of the aforesaid problem of the conventional art, an object of the invention is to provide an on-vehicle electronic control unit, wherein all types of combinations of electrical equipment can be controlled by the electronic control unit via a common arrangement without changing the arrangement of the microcomputer and the print circuit board, or similar device, so as to reduce the number of parts of the on-vehicle electronic control unit to a large extent and reduce its cost.
In order to achieve the aforesaid object, an on-vehicle electronic control unit provided in a vehicle for controlling electrical equipment mounted thereon comprises an input terminal electrically connectable to at least one type of arbitrary input side electrical equipment among multiple types of electrical equipment capable of being mounted on the vehicle; an output terminal electrically connectable to at least one type of arbitrary output side electrical equipment among the multiple types of electrical equipment capable of being mounted on the vehicle; a switching terminal which receives a signal representing which ones of the multiple types of electrical equipment are connected to the input and output terminals; and a control means connected to the input, output and switching terminals, the control means having multiple types of control modes such that the control mode can be changed in accordance with the type of combination of the multiple types of electrical equipment to be connected to the input and output terminals, and the control means changing its control mode in accordance with the signal inputted through the switching terminal to another control mode corresponding to the combination of electrical equipment represented by the signal and controlling the output side electrical equipment connected to the output terminal in accordance with the input signal inputted from the input side electrical equipment through the input terminal.
Preferably, the control means includes a memory portion storing multiple types of control programs, in accordance with the type of the output side electrical equipment to be connectable to the output terminal, for controlling the output side electrical equipment connected to the output terminal in accordance with the input signal inputted from the input side electrical equipment through the input terminal; a control portion for controlling the output side electrical equipment connected to the output terminal on a basis of the input signal inputted from the input side electrical equipment through the input terminal in accordance with the control program read from the memory portion; and a switching portion for informing the control portion of one type of control program to be read corresponding to the output side electrical equipment connected to the output terminal from the multiple types of control programs stored in the memory portion on the basis of the signal inputted through the switching terminal so as to change the control mode of the control means into the control mode corresponding to the combination of the electrical equipment connected to the input and output terminals.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4348726 (1982-09-01), Igarashi et al.
patent: 4500820 (1985-02-01), Noto et al.
patent: 4876649 (1989-10-01), Kawai et al.
patent: 5063513 (1991-11-01), Shank et al.
Harness System Technologies Research Ltd.
Nguyen Tan
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
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