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DE-102025146016-A1 - Aggregation box and vehicle-internal system

DE102025146016A1DE 102025146016 A1DE102025146016 A1DE 102025146016A1DE-102025146016-A1

Abstract

An aggregation box (100) is located between an ECU and a power source attached to a vehicle and an end device (200). It forwards data exchanged between the ECU and the end device (200) and supplies the end device (200) with electrical current provided by the power source. The aggregation box (100) includes a power source unit (120) that switches the voltage of the electrical current supplied by the power source according to the input voltage specifications of the end device (200) to be connected and delivers the electrical current to the end device (200). The aggregation box (100) also includes a control unit (110) that forwards the data and controls the switching of the voltage value in the power source unit (120). Furthermore, the aggregation box (100) includes a connector (102) for connection to the other aggregation box (100), wherein the connector (102) includes signal terminals for sending and receiving data and power source terminals for supplying electrical power.

Inventors

  • Yohei Uchida
  • You Yanagida
  • Mirei Hosoki
  • Shingo Suzuki

Assignees

  • YAZAKI CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20251107
Priority Date
20241113

Claims (8)

  1. An aggregation box (100) is provided between an ECU and a power source attached to a vehicle and an end device (200). The aggregation box forwards data exchanged between the ECU and the end device (200) and supplies the end device (200) with electrical current provided by the power source. The aggregation box (100) comprises: a power source unit (120) that switches a voltage value of the electrical current provided by the power source according to the input voltage specifications of the end device (200) to be connected and supplies the electrical current to the end device (200); a control unit (110) that forwards the data and controls the switching of a voltage value in the power source unit; and a connector (102) for connecting to the other aggregation box (100). The connector (102) comprises signal terminals for sending and receiving the data and power source terminals for supplying the electrical current.
  2. In-vehicle system (10), comprising: the ECU installed in a vehicle; the power source attached to the vehicle; the terminal device (200) attached to the vehicle; and the aggregation box (100) according to Claim 1 , which is provided between the ECU and the power source and the terminal device (200), which forwards the data exchanged between the ECU and the terminal device (200) and supplies the electrical current provided by the power source to the terminal device (200).
  3. In-vehicle system (10) according to Claim 2 , wherein the ECU and the aggregation box (100) and the aggregation box (100) and the terminal device (200) are connected by a cylindrical or flat cable management material, an optical fiber, a coaxial cable or a cable management material formed from a symmetrical communication cable.
  4. In-vehicle system (10) according to Claim 3 , in which a wire length of the cable guidance material used to connect the ECU and the aggregation box (100) is longer than a wire length of the cable guidance material used to connect the aggregation box (100) and the terminal device (200).
  5. In-vehicle system (10) according to Claim 2 , wherein the aggregation box (100) includes a connection detection circuit (114, 114b, 114c, 114x) that detects whether the terminal device (200) is connected, when the terminal device (200) is connected to the aggregation box (100), the ECU authenticates the terminal device (200) and sends information to the aggregation box (100) relating to a type of supplied power source acquired via an external center (700), and the aggregation box (100) sets a voltage to be supplied to the terminal device (200) based on the information received from the ECU about the type of supplied power source.
  6. In-vehicle system (10) according to Claim 2 , wherein the terminal device (200) is a TPMS (230) (tire pressure monitoring system) with a power generation function.
  7. In-vehicle system (10) according to Claim 2 , further comprising: an in-vehicle camera (243) that captures the driver's face, wherein the terminal device (200) comprises a card reader (241) that reads personal information data containing the driver's personal information, and the ECU authenticates the driver on the basis of the driver's facial data captured by the in-vehicle camera (243) and the personal information data captured by the card reader (241).
  8. In-vehicle system (10) according to Claim 2 , in which, if the communication capacity of the data exceeds a predetermined threshold due to the addition of the terminal device (200), the aggregation box (100) communicates with the ECU via the other aggregation box (100).

Description

Technical field The present invention relates to an aggregation box and a vehicle-internal system. background Conventionally, a technique is proposed for managing the replacement or addition of in-vehicle devices that are mounted on vehicles. JP2022-112837 discloses an in-vehicle communication system capable of handling the modification or expansion of in-vehicle devices without altering the hardware configuration of in-vehicle control units. In the JP2022 - 112837 The disclosed in-vehicle communication system enables an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that changes a connection path, allowing the addition of devices that correspond to multiple types of communication protocols. Overview of the invention Devices installed in vehicles have various functions, and the required input voltages also vary depending on these functions. For example, in the JP2022-112837 The revealed in-vehicle communication system allows for the addition of devices for multiple types of communication protocols, but it is difficult to manage the addition of in-vehicle devices with different input voltages. Therefore, there is a need for a technique that makes it possible to flexibly add in-vehicle devices with input voltages that are unpredictable at the time of vehicle sale. The present invention was made with regard to such problems of conventional technology. One objective of the present invention is to provide an aggregation box to which in-vehicle devices not provided at the time of vehicle sale can be easily added. An aggregation box according to one aspect of the present invention is provided between an ECU and a power source attached to a vehicle and an end device, forwards data exchanged between the ECU and the end device, and supplies the end device with electrical current supplied by the power source, and comprises: a power source unit that switches a voltage value of the electrical current supplied by the power source according to the input voltage specifications of the end device to be connected and supplies the electrical current to the end device; a control unit that forwards the data and controls the switching of a voltage value in the power source unit; and a connector for connecting to the other aggregation box, wherein the connector comprises signal terminals for sending and receiving the data and power source terminals for supplying the electrical current. A vehicle-internal system according to a further aspect of the present invention comprises: the ECU attached to a vehicle; the power source attached to the vehicle; the terminal device attached to the vehicle; and the above-mentioned aggregation box, which is provided between the ECU, the power source and the terminal device, forwards the data exchanged between the ECU and the terminal device and supplies the electrical current supplied by the power source to the terminal device. According to the present invention, it is possible to specify an aggregation box in which devices not provided for in the vehicle at the time of the vehicle sale can be easily added. Brief description of the drawings 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an in-vehicle system according to the present embodiment.2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the vehicle's internal system according to the present embodiment.3 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of an aggregation box according to the present embodiment.4A is a diagram to illustrate a determining function of the aggregation box according to the present embodiment.4B is a diagram to illustrate the determination function of the aggregation box according to the present embodiment.5A is a diagram to illustrate the determination function of the aggregation box according to the present embodiment.5B is a diagram to illustrate the determination function of the aggregation box according to the present embodiment.6 is a diagram to illustrate the configuration of the vehicle's internal system according to the present embodiment.7 is a diagram to illustrate the configuration of the aggregation box according to the present embodiment.8 is a diagram to illustrate the configuration of the aggregation box according to the present embodiment.9A This is a diagram illustrating a connection example of the aggregation box according to the present embodiment.9B is a diagram illustrating a connection example for the aggregation box according to the present embodiment.10A is a diagram illustrating a connection example for the aggregation box according to the present embodiment.10B is a diagram illustrating a connection example for the aggregation box according to the present embodiment.11A is a diagram illustrating a connection example for the aggregation box according to the present embodiment.11B is a diagram illustrating a connection example for the aggregation box according to the present embodiment.12A is a diagram illustrating a connection example for the aggregation box according to the present embodiment