Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Brunilda Bleta Caushi

Jason Michael Miller

John Naum Vangelov

Sangeetha Sangameswaran

Lisa Therese Boran

James Weinfurther

Karl Nathan Clark

Vijayababu Jayaraman

Ali Mohamad Suleiman

Simon John William Hurr

Mohamad Nasser

A gateway of a vehicle is connected to a telematics control unit (TCU) and a plurality of electronic control units (ECUs). The gateway is programmed to receive a command from the TCU, the command specifying an electronic serial number (ESN) of a target ECU of the ECUs, and forward the command to the target ECU responsive to confirmation that the ESN of the target ECU is included in the web of trust.

VIN ESN signed commands and vehicle level local web of trust

A vehicle includes onboard controller(s) that initiate an automated feedback mode responsive to software updates to vehicle controller(s), and which generate a trigger signal upon detecting update status inquiry conditions and feedback concluded conditions. The trigger signal causes communication of a feedback update status identifying success or failure of the software update, and terminates the feedback mode upon detecting feedback concluded conditions. The update status inquiry conditions include, for example, one or more of a vehicle door handle actuation, receiving a wireless remote keyfob signal, receiving a wireless software update status inquiry, detecting an instrument cluster switch actuation, and other update status inquiry conditions. The trigger signal causes, for further examples, communication of one or more audiovisual and tactile feedback update statuses, which identify success or failure of the software update with one or more of vehicle lighting signals and display messages, and electromechanical actuation of various vehicle components.

Automated vehicle software update feedback system

An embedded modem communicates over a vehicle bus with controllers that each include data storage. The embedded modem queries the controllers over the bus to identify controllers having available storage, such that if the available storage is located on a priority controller, the embedded modem sends received data over the bus to the priority controller. Otherwise, if the available storage is available on a non-priority controller, the embedded modem send the data over the bus to the non-priority controller. The embedded modem queries the controllers over the bus to confirm that the controllers storing the received data are available for data offload, and responsive to the confirmation, requests the stored data over the bus and transmits the stored data over a wide-area network to a telematics server.

In-vehicle auxiliary memory storage

A body controller may monitor a vehicle bus for diagnostic requests received from a scan device connected to a diagnostic port when a vehicle perimeter alarm of a body controller is armed. The body controller may reset a predetermined lockout timeout responsive to receipt of a session request from the scan device. Upon expiration of the lockout timeout, the body controller may request to establish the session with the body controller from the scan device for a predetermined access timeout. When the session is established, the body controller may allow a user to program entry devices to the body controller and/or download software updates to the body controller.

Diagnostic port protection to body control module

A system includes a processor configured to erase external working memory and program a target image of an authenticated update file into the erased working memory. The processor is also configured to erase a first internal memory location, containing data to be replaced by an update, and program portions of the target image to the first internal memory location for finite time periods following a plurality of key-offs, until a full target image is programmed in internal memory.

Growing community of inventors

Northville, MI, United States of America

Brunilda Bleta Caushi