Apparatus, method and system for remotely accessing and/or controlling can node arrangements, including vehicle electronic control units, during vehicle operation

• Main Authors: Dietrich, Arne, Klausner, Markus, Seubert, Bernhard, Springer, Alexander
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 05.10.2004

The present invention concerns an apparatus, method and system for remotely and wirelessly accessing and/or controlling vehicle-based controller area network (CAN) based node arrangements, including accessing and/or controlling data available in a memory of a vehicle-based electronic control unit (ECU), obtaining a memory dump of such a memory, remotely controlling a selected CAN node arrangement, such as, for example, a vehicle ECU, and monitoring in essentially real-time internal conditions and states of a selected CAN node arrangement, such as, for example, a vehicle ECU, during vehicle operation. A method for remotely accessing at least one of at least one CAN node arrangement of a CAN bus arrangement associated with the vehicle during vehicle operation, the CAN bus arrangement being associated with a CAN gateway arrangement for coupling to an external network, inn which the method includes the steps of communicating an initialization control message from the CAN gateway arrangement to the at least one CAN node arrangement using the CAN bus arrangement, the initialization control message including a CAN node arrangement identifier code, comparing the CAN node arrangement identifier code with a unique CAN node arrangement identifier code stored at each of the at least one CAN node arrangement for determining a selected CAN node arrangement based on the CAN node arrangement identifier code and the unique CAN node arrangement identifier code, processing the initialization control message using the selected CAN node arrangement, communicating a data addressing message from the CAN gateway arrangement to the selected CAN node arrangement, the data addressing message including at least one memory address of the data to be at least one of accessed, controlled and retrieved, communicating at least one data reply message from the selected CAN node arrangement to the CAN gateway arrangement, in which the at least one data reply message includes a data payload, incorporating at least the data payload of the at least one data reply message using a communication protocol of the external network for communication of the data payload to the remote accessing arrangement, and communicating an end control message from the CAN gateway arrangement to the selected CAN node arrangement using the CAN bus arrangement.