IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,524,549
Granted Patent B2
US 12,524,549 · App. 18/397,213 · Granted Jan 13, 2026

Method of updating software of electronic control unit of vehicle

Inventors: Jun Min Yi (Seoul, KR); Jun Sung Yang (Seoul, KR)
Assignee: Hyundai AutoEver Corp.
G06F21/572G06F21/575
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,524,549
App. No.
18/397,213
Granted
Jan 13, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A method of updating software of an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) includes: downloading a boot loader to a boot area of a second memory bank in an inactive state, and downloading a firmware or data to a normal area, when a first memory bank is in an active state; setting the second memory bank, which is in the inactive state, as a memory bank to operate in the active state after a reset of the ECU; and resetting the ECU to cause the second memory bank to operate in the active state.

Claims (18)

1 . A method of updating software of an Electronic Control Unit (ECU), wherein a flash memory of the ECU includes a first memory bank and a second memory bank, each of the first memory bank and the second memory bank includes a boot area for storing a boot loader and a normal area for storing firmware or data, and when one of the first memory bank and the second memory bank operates in an active state, a remaining one of the first memory bank and the second memory bank operates in an inactive state, the method comprising:

downloading the boot loader to the boot area of the second memory bank in an inactive state, and downloading the firmware or data to the normal area of the second memory bank, when the first memory bank is in an active state, wherein when a download error occurs during the downloading of the boot loader to the boot area of the second memory bank, the updating software of the ECU is determined as a failure, the first memory bank is continually operated in the active state, and the updating software is restarted after a threshold period;

setting the second memory bank, which is in the inactive state, as a memory bank to operate in the active state after a reset of the ECU; and

resetting the ECU to cause the second memory bank to operate in the active state, when a reset error occurs after the resetting of the ECU, the ECU is configured to cause the first memory bank, which is in the inactive state, to operate in the active state.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

prior to the downloading, checking which memory bank of the first memory bank and the second memory bank is in the active state.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

verifying integrity of the downloaded boot loader and firmware or data,

wherein when the integrity is verified, the setting is performed.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

prior to the setting, checking which of the first memory bank and the second memory bank is in the active state.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

checking whether a communication status of the ECU is normal,

wherein when the communication status is normal, the setting is performed.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the boot area includes a boot loader area for storing the boot loader and a Hardware Security Module (HSM) area for storing HSM software, and

the downloading includes downloading the boot loader to the boot loader area.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the downloading is performed by an Over-The-Air (OTA) downloading method.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the normal area includes a code area for storing the firmware and a data area for storing the data.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 27, 2023
From: YI, JUN MIN; YANG, JUN SUNG
To: HYUNDAI AUTOEVER CORP.
Reel/Frame 065961/0569 →
Priority Claims (1)
KR 10-2022-0187801 · Dec 28, 2022 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20240220625A1 · Jul 4, 2024
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Cited By (1)
US 12,645,449